JP2009251759A - Intersection giving way support system, and on-vehicle information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle information terminal for effectively prompting vehicle drivers on a priority road, "to yield the right of way". <P>SOLUTION: A giving way at intersection support system includes a vehicle stop determination means for determining whether a vehicle on a non-priority road has been stopping longer than a predetermined period, before an intersection in which the non-priority road and a priority road are crossing with each other; and an information transmission means for transmitting information, showing that the vehicle on the non-priority road has been stopping to the vehicle driver on the priority road, when the determination means determines that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped longer than the predetermined period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an intersection transfer support system and an in-vehicle information terminal that support transfer at an intersection where a non-priority road and a priority road intersect.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle information providing apparatus that detects an approaching vehicle and notifies a driver at an intersection is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this vehicle information providing device, when an approaching vehicle stops before an intersection or decelerates to a predetermined extremely low speed range, it is determined that the approaching vehicle has the will to give way to the own vehicle, and the approaching vehicle The driver is informed that he is willing to give way to the car.
JP 2006-184942 A

  By the way, at intersections where non-priority roads and priority roads intersect, due to preferential traffic of vehicles on priority roads, vehicles on non-priority roads cannot turn right or left or go straight unless they wait for a long time Situations may arise. Such a situation is often difficult for the driver of the vehicle on the priority road to recognize, and it is difficult for the driver of the vehicle on the priority road to have a “confidence”. As a result, such a situation is not solved for a long time, and there arises a problem that unnecessary stress is accumulated on the driver of the vehicle on the non-priority road.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an intersection transfer support system and an in-vehicle information terminal that can effectively promote “transfer” to a driver of a vehicle on a priority road.

In order to achieve the above object, the intersection transfer support system according to the first invention determines whether or not a vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more before the intersection where the non-priority road and the priority road intersect. Stop determination means for determining;
When it is determined by the stop determination means that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or longer, information indicating that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped is displayed on the vehicle on the priority road. And an information transmission means for transmitting to the driver.

The intersection transfer support system according to the second invention is a stop determination means for determining whether or not a vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more before the intersection where the non-priority road and the priority road intersect.
When it is determined by the stop determination means that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more, information requesting that the vehicle should stop before the intersection for concession is given on the priority road And an information transmission means for transmitting to a driver of the vehicle.

A third invention is an intersection transfer support system according to the first or second invention.
The vehicle further comprises a right / left turn determination means for determining whether a vehicle on the non-priority road is going to turn right or left at the intersection,
In addition to the determination by the stop determination unit, the information transmission unit transmits the information to the driver of the vehicle on the priority road when the right / left turn determination unit determines that the vehicle is going to turn right or left. Features.

4th invention is the intersection transfer support system which concerns on 1st or 2nd invention,
An approaching vehicle determination means for determining whether or not there is a vehicle on a priority road approaching the intersection;
In addition to the determination by the stop determination unit, the information transmission unit transmits the information on the priority road when the approaching vehicle determination unit determines that there is a vehicle on the priority road approaching the intersection. It is transmitted to the driver of the vehicle.

5th invention is the intersection transfer support system which concerns on 1st or 2nd invention,
A traffic judgment means for judging whether or not a traffic jam occurs behind the vehicle on the non-priority road;
In addition to the determination by the stop determination unit, the information transmission unit transmits the information to the driver of the vehicle on the priority road when the congestion determination unit determines that the traffic jam has occurred. Features.

  An intersection transfer support system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is realized by an in-vehicle information terminal in which each means of the intersection transfer support system according to any of the first to fifth aspects is mounted on a vehicle on the non-priority road It is characterized by being.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle information terminal mounted on a host vehicle that realizes each of the means described above according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention.
Receiving means for receiving the information from an in-vehicle information terminal mounted on another vehicle that realizes the means of the intersection transfer support system according to any one of the first to fifth inventions;
And an information output means for outputting the received information.

The eighth invention is an in-vehicle information terminal, and receiving means for receiving the information from the intersection transfer support system according to any one of the first to fifth inventions;
And an information output means for outputting the received information.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the intersection transfer support system and vehicle information terminal which can promote effectively "transfer" to the driver | operator of the vehicle on a priority road are obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a main configuration of an intersection transfer support system according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the intersection transfer support system is realized by the in-vehicle information terminal 100 mounted on a specific vehicle.

  The in-vehicle information terminal 100 has a configuration surrounded by dotted lines 102 and 104 in FIG. 1, and the hardware configuration may include a communication module and a microcomputer. The configuration surrounded by the dotted line 102 in FIG. 1 functions when the vehicle (the vehicle on which the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is mounted) is located on the non-priority road, as will be described later, and is surrounded by the dotted line 104 in FIG. The configuration functions when the vehicle is located on the priority road, as will be described later.

  The configuration 102 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 includes an approaching vehicle detection unit 1, a vehicle speed detection unit 2, a direction detection unit 3, a time measurement unit 4, a traffic jam detection unit 5, a vehicle state determination unit 6, a communication processing unit 7, and map information. A stored map information database 30 is provided.

  The configuration 104 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 includes an approaching vehicle detection unit 1, a communication processing unit 7, a notification processing unit 10, and a map information database 30.

  The in-vehicle information terminal 100 is connected to a GPS receiver 32, various in-vehicle sensors 34, an in-vehicle camera 36, a display 20, a speaker 22, and the like. The display 20 and the speaker 22 are mounted on the vehicle. The in-vehicle information terminal 100 is connected to a center 38 as an infrastructure installed outside the vehicle via a wireless communication line. The center 38 includes a traffic information database 40 that holds traffic information.

  Next, the configuration 102 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 that functions when the vehicle is located on a non-priority road will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an example of main processing executed by the configuration 102 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 according to the present embodiment. The processing routine shown in FIG. 2 is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals when the vehicle is located on a non-priority road.

  Whether or not the vehicle is present on the non-priority road is determined, for example, from the vehicle position information obtained from the GPS receiver 32 and the road information in the map information database. Then, based on the road information in the map information database, the determination may be made by comparing the attribute of the specified traveling road with the attribute of the intersecting road that intersects the traveling road. For example, when the width of the traveling road is narrower than the width of the intersection road, it may be determined that the own vehicle exists on the non-priority road. Alternatively, for example, when the road type of the traveling road is a general road and the road type of the intersecting road is a main road, it may be determined that the own vehicle exists on the non-priority road. Or based on the image recognition result by the vehicle-mounted camera 36, when a temporary stop line is image-recognized ahead of the traveling road of the own vehicle, it may be determined that the own vehicle exists on the non-priority road.

  In step 001, the vehicle speed detector 2 detects the current traveling vehicle speed based on, for example, an output signal from a wheel speed sensor. The traveling vehicle speed may be detected using the rotation speed of the output shaft of the transmission, the history of the positioning results of the GPS receiver 32, the speed positioning results, and the like.

  In step 002, it is determined whether or not the detected vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a certain speed. If the detected vehicle speed is less than or equal to a certain speed, the process proceeds to step 003. If the detected vehicle speed is greater than the certain speed, it is determined that the vehicle is not in a temporarily stopped state at an intersection but in a normal traveling state, and this time The cycle processing is terminated.

  In step 003, the time measurement unit 4 measures the time (duration) in which the vehicle is temporarily stopped. For example, the time measurement unit 4 may calculate the time in which the vehicle is temporarily stopped based on the number of cycles in which the positive determination is continuously made in step 002.

  In step 004, it is determined whether or not the measured pause time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T1. The fixed time T1 may be an average time required for safety confirmation at the time of temporary stop before the intersection, and may be, for example, a time of about 2 to 3 seconds. If the measured time of the paused state is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T1, it is determined as a waiting state such as a right or left turn at the intersection, and the process proceeds to step 005. If it is less than this, it is determined that the vehicle is simply slowing down or temporarily stopped for confirming the course, and the processing of this cycle is terminated.

  In step 005, the direction detection unit 3 detects the traveling direction of the vehicle at the intersection based on the normal state of the direction indicator (one element of the sensor 34).

  In step 006, if there is a right / left turn instruction from the direction indicator, it is determined that the intersection is going to turn right / left, and the process proceeds to step 007. In addition, the direction (right turn or left turn) instructed by the direction indicator is used when selecting a transmission partner of a transfer request described later. On the other hand, when there is no right / left turn instruction by the direction indicator, it is determined that there is no intention to proceed, and the process of the current cycle is terminated. Note that when the case of straight ahead is also taken into consideration, step 006 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 007.

  In step 007, information indicating the traffic congestion state behind the host vehicle is acquired in the traffic congestion detection unit 5.

  In step 008, it is determined whether or not there is a traffic jam behind the host vehicle. Whether or not there is traffic behind the host vehicle may be determined based on information on the following vehicle (speed, number, position, etc. of the following vehicle) obtained by inter-vehicle communication with the following vehicle. It may be determined based on the traffic jam information (information in the traffic information database 40) acquired from 38, or may be determined based on the captured image information of the in-vehicle camera 36 (back monitor camera). For example, when a predetermined number (for example, 10) or more of vehicles are waiting in the stopped state behind the host vehicle, it may be determined that a traffic jam has occurred behind the host vehicle. If traffic congestion has occurred behind the host vehicle, it is determined that transfer is necessary, and step 009 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 010. If traffic jam has not occurred behind the host vehicle, step 009 is performed. Proceed to

  In step 009, the vehicle state determination unit 6 determines whether or not the host vehicle is in a long-term stop state. For example, as described above, it is determined whether or not the time of the pause state measured by the time measuring unit 4 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T2. The fixed time T2 used here is sufficiently longer than the fixed time T1 in step 004 described above, preferably 30 seconds or longer, and may be, for example, 2-3 minutes. When the host vehicle is in a long-term stop state, it is determined that the vehicle cannot turn right or left because the traffic on the priority road is large. Then, it is determined that a concession is necessary for a traffic jam that has not occurred behind the host vehicle, and the flow proceeds to step 010. When the own vehicle is not in a long-term stop state, the process of this cycle is terminated.

  In step 010, the approaching vehicle detection unit 1 executes a detection process for a vehicle approaching the host vehicle on the priority road. A vehicle approaching the host vehicle on the priority road is, for example, image information obtained by the in-vehicle camera 36, radar detection information having a detection range in the left-right direction in front of the host vehicle, or a priority road obtained by inter-vehicle communication. It may be detected based on information on the vehicle.

  In step 011, it is determined whether the approaching vehicle detection unit 1 has detected a vehicle approaching the host vehicle on the priority road. If a vehicle approaching the vehicle is detected on the priority road, the process proceeds to step 012. If the vehicle is not detected, it is determined that the vehicle cannot turn right or left is not a traffic problem. This cycle processing ends.

  In step 012, the communication processing unit 7 specifies a vehicle to which a transfer request is to be transmitted from the traveling direction of the vehicle in step 005 and the detection result of the approaching vehicle in step 010, and the transfer request is issued to the specified vehicle. Sent. Here, the transfer request is a signal for transmitting a request to give way for the progress of the own vehicle at the intersection. Note that the transfer request may be broadcast to surrounding vehicles without specifying the destination vehicle. The transfer request may simply be a signal for notifying that a traffic jam has occurred on the non-priority road (or that the vehicle has been waiting on the non-priority road for a long time).

  In this way, according to the process shown in FIG. 2, when a predetermined condition is satisfied in a state where the host vehicle is waiting to advance before the intersection on the non-priority road, the approaching vehicle on the priority road is A transfer request can be sent.

  For example, in the environment shown in FIG. 3, when the own vehicle is a vehicle B1 waiting for a right turn before an intersection on a non-priority road, a transfer request is sent to the approaching vehicle A2 on the priority road. be able to.

  Next, the configuration 104 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 that functions when the vehicle is located on the priority road will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an example of main processing executed by the configuration 104 of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 according to the present embodiment. The processing routine shown in FIG. 2 is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals when the host vehicle is located on the priority road.

  Whether or not the vehicle is present on the priority road is determined based on the vehicle position information obtained from the GPS receiver 32 and the road information in the map information database, for example. Then, based on the road information in the map information database, the determination may be made by comparing the attribute of the identified traveling road with the attribute of the intersection road that intersects the traveling road at the intersection. For example, when the width of the traveling road is wider than the width of the intersection road, it may be determined that the own vehicle exists on the priority road. Alternatively, for example, when the road type of the traveling road is a main road and the road type of the intersecting road is a general road, it may be determined that the own vehicle exists on the priority road. Or based on the image recognition result by the vehicle-mounted camera 36, it is good also as determining with the own vehicle existing on a non-priority road, when a stop line is not image-recognized before the intersection ahead of the traveling road of the own vehicle.

  In step 013, the communication processing unit 7 performs a receiving process for a transfer request from a vehicle on a non-priority road (see step 012 in FIG. 3).

  In step 014, it is determined whether a transfer request from a vehicle on a non-priority road has been received. If a transfer request is received from a vehicle on the non-priority road, the process proceeds to step 018. On the other hand, even if a transfer request from a vehicle on a non-priority road is not received, the process proceeds to step 015 in order to confirm whether transfer is necessary depending on the presence of an approaching vehicle.

  In step 015, the approaching vehicle detection unit 1 executes approaching vehicle detection processing for detecting a vehicle (approaching vehicle) that is a vehicle on a non-priority road and is approaching. Vehicles that are on non-priority roads and that the vehicle is approaching are, for example, image information obtained by the in-vehicle camera 36, radar detection information in the left-right direction in front of the vehicle, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. You may detect based on the information regarding the vehicle on the non-priority road obtained.

  In step 016, it is determined whether the approaching vehicle detection unit 1 has detected an approaching vehicle on the non-priority road. If an approaching vehicle on the non-priority road is detected, the process proceeds to step 017. If an approaching vehicle on the non-priority road is not detected, the processing of this cycle is terminated.

  In step 017, it is confirmed whether there is a transfer request for the approaching vehicle detected in step 015. This is because, although the transfer request is transmitted from the approaching vehicle detected in step 015, the own vehicle may not have received the transfer request. In preparation for such a case, the vehicle on the non-priority road This is to positively confirm whether there is a transfer request from the vehicle on the priority road side. If there is a request for transfer, the process proceeds to step 018. If there is no request for transfer, the process of the current cycle is terminated.

  In step 018, the position information of the requesting vehicle of the transfer request and the position information of the intersection where the vehicle is in a standby state are acquired. It should be noted that these pieces of information (particularly, the position information of the vehicle requesting the transfer request) may be received together with the transfer request in step 013.

  In step 019, in the notification processing unit 10, according to the information acquired in step 018 and the like, information for encouraging transfer is sent to the driver of the vehicle on the priority road by video and / or voice via the display 20 and / or the speaker 22. Be notified. The information that prompts the transfer may be information that prompts the driver of the vehicle on the priority road to directly give the road for the vehicle on the non-priority road at the intersection ahead. It may be information indirectly urging to give way for a vehicle on a non-priority road at an intersection ahead by telling that there is a vehicle waiting for a long time on the priority road.

  In this step 019, the notification processing unit 10 preferably considers the relationship between the current position of the own vehicle and the position of the intersection to be transferred and the current vehicle speed of the own vehicle before the own vehicle is in front of the intersection. Whether or not the vehicle can be safely stopped is determined, and only when it is determined that the vehicle can be safely stopped before the intersection, the above-described information for prompting the transfer may be output. In this case, for example, in the situation shown in FIG. 4, since the vehicle A1 cannot stop safely before the intersection, the information for prompting the above-mentioned transfer is not output, and the vehicle A2 stops safely before the intersection. If possible, the information for encouraging the above-mentioned transfer is output. From the same point of view, the notification processing unit 10 considers the relationship between the traveling direction of the vehicle on the non-priority road and the lane of the own vehicle, and Only when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in the lane (or traveling direction) to be transferred, the above-described information for prompting transfer may be output. In this case, for example, in the situation shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle A2 is traveling in the lane (or traveling direction) to be given to the right turn of the vehicle on the non-priority road. On the other hand, since the vehicle A3 is traveling in a lane (or a traveling direction) that does not affect the right turn of the vehicle on the non-priority road, the information that prompts the transfer is not output. These configurations are particularly suitable when a transfer request is broadcast from a vehicle on a non-priority road to an unspecified vehicle in Step 012 of FIG.

  According to the intersection transfer support system of the present embodiment described above, the following excellent effects are achieved.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, by transferring a transfer request from a vehicle on a non-priority road to a vehicle on a priority road, the driver of the vehicle on the priority road can be urged to transfer. And smooth traffic at the intersection where the non-priority road intersects.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, some of the various functions of the in-vehicle information terminal 100 that realizes the intersection transfer support system may be realized by roadside equipment installed on the roadside. For example, part or all of the processing in FIG. 2 may be realized by roadside equipment installed on the roadside. In this case, the roadside equipment may detect various states of the vehicle on the non-priority road or the priority road by a sensor such as a camera or a radar or road-vehicle communication. Further, the request in S012 of FIG. 2 may be transmitted to the vehicle on the priority road by road-to-vehicle communication.

  From the same point of view, in the above-described embodiment, part or all of the processing in FIG. 2 realized by the vehicle information terminal 100 of the vehicle on the non-priority road is the vehicle information terminal 100 of the vehicle on the priority road. May be realized. In this case, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 of the vehicle (own vehicle) on the priority road detects various states of the vehicle on the non-priority road or the priority road by a sensor such as a camera or radar, or inter-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication. Also good. Further, the request in S012 of FIG. 2 may be transmitted to another vehicle on the priority road (another vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle before the intersection).

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, in consideration of the fact that the vehicle may travel on the non-priority road or the priority road, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may be used on the non-priority road as a preferred embodiment. Both a functioning configuration 102 and a configuration 104 functioning on the priority road are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may include only one of the configuration 102 and the configuration 104.

It is a system configuration | structure figure which shows one Example of the principal part structure of the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an example of the transfer request | requirement transmission process performed with the structure 102 of the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 of a present Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the typical scene where a transfer request | requirement is transmitted. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an example of the transfer request | requirement output process performed with the structure 104 of the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Approaching vehicle detection part 2 Vehicle speed detection part 3 Direction detection part 4 Time measurement part 5 Traffic jam detection part 6 Vehicle state judgment part 7 Communication processing part 10 Notification processing part 20 Display 22 Speaker 30 Map information database 32 GPS receiver 34 Car-mounted sensor 36 In-vehicle camera 38 Center 40 Traffic information database 100 In-vehicle information terminal

Claims (8)

Stop determination means for determining whether a vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more before the intersection where the non-priority road and the priority road intersect;
When it is determined by the stop determination means that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or longer, information indicating that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped is displayed on the vehicle on the priority road. An intersection transfer support system comprising an information transmission means for transmitting the information to a driver. Stop determination means for determining whether a vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more before the intersection where the non-priority road and the priority road intersect;
When it is determined by the stop determination means that the vehicle on the non-priority road has stopped for a predetermined time or more, information requesting that the vehicle should stop before the intersection for concession is given on the priority road An intersection transfer support system comprising an information transmission means for transmitting to a driver of a vehicle. The vehicle further comprises a right / left turn determination means for determining whether a vehicle on the non-priority road is going to turn right or left at the intersection,
The information transmission means transmits the information to the driver of the vehicle on the priority road when the right / left turn determination means determines that the vehicle is about to turn right or left in addition to the determination of the stop determination means. Item 3. An intersection transfer support system according to item 1 or 2. An approaching vehicle determination means for determining whether or not there is a vehicle on a priority road approaching the intersection;
In addition to the determination by the stop determination unit, the information transmission unit transmits the information on the priority road when the approaching vehicle determination unit determines that there is a vehicle on the priority road approaching the intersection. The intersection transfer support system according to claim 1, wherein the intersection transfer support system is transmitted to a driver of the vehicle. A traffic judgment means for judging whether or not a traffic jam occurs behind the vehicle on the non-priority road;
The information transmission unit transmits the information to a driver of a vehicle on a priority road when the traffic determination unit determines that a traffic jam has occurred, in addition to the determination by the stop determination unit. Item 3. An intersection transfer support system according to item 1 or 2.   The intersection transfer support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each means is realized by an in-vehicle information terminal mounted on a vehicle on a non-priority road. An in-vehicle information terminal mounted on a host vehicle that realizes each means of the intersection transfer support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Receiving means for receiving the information from an in-vehicle information terminal mounted on another vehicle that realizes the means of the intersection transfer support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The in-vehicle information terminal according to claim 6, further comprising information output means for outputting the received information. Receiving means for receiving the information from the intersection transfer support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
An in-vehicle information terminal comprising: information output means for outputting the received information.