JP2010107364A - Device, method, and program for guiding road information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein a recommendation lane cannot be guided clearly, when passing a spot to be traveled straight carefully. <P>SOLUTION: Map information is acquired, and one's own vehicle position information showing the position of the own vehicle is acquired, and it is detected that the own vehicle has approached a traveling caution spot wherein each road before and after passing is parallel and a road after passing is not on a prolongation of a road before passing, based on the map information and the own vehicle position information. When the own vehicle approaches the traveling caution spot, guidance is performed, relative to a recommendation lane after passing the traveling caution spot corresponding to a traveling lane along which the own vehicle is traveling based on the map information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a road information guidance apparatus, method, and program for generating information about roads.

Conventionally, in a navigation apparatus, guidance on intersections and the like existing on the route of the vehicle is performed while the vehicle is traveling. This guidance includes visual guidance and voice guidance on the display, but there are many points on the actual road that can cause user confusion by stylized map guidance and voice guidance. Various technologies have been developed to clearly recognize the recommended route. For example, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a technique for performing voice guidance for a difficult-to-guide point with a point where there is another road in the vicinity of the recommended route that causes confusion with the recommended route as a difficult-to-guide point In addition, there is disclosed a technique for guiding a difference (for example, a difference in the number of lanes) between a recommended route and another road that causes confusion.
JP 2007-232608 A

However, even if the recommended route and other roads are not confused, there are points that cause anxiety to the driving user. For example, even if the recommended route is a route that goes straight without turning left or right at an intersection, if the extension direction of the road before and after passing through the intersection does not match, steering when traveling in the intersection is required Become. That is, at such an intersection, it is impossible to go straight without steering even though the vehicle does not turn right or left when passing through the intersection. Therefore, in order to pass through the point, it is necessary to perform steering operation and lane recognition in order to travel in an appropriate lane before and after the passage and during the passage process, and the burden on the user becomes heavy.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to clearly guide an appropriate lane when passing through a point where the vehicle should travel straight ahead with caution.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, when the vehicle approaches a traveling caution point where the road before and after passing is parallel and the road after passing is not on the extension line of the road before passing, Guidance regarding the recommended lane after passing the travel caution point corresponding to the travel lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is performed. In other words, if the vehicle travels straight on the road before and after the driving caution point, but there is a deviation in the direction in which the road extends, the lane correspondence before and after passing the driving caution point is shown to the user when approaching the driving caution point. Provide guidance for recognition. As a result, the user can recognize the lane changes before and after passing the driving caution point and the state of the change before arriving at the driving caution point. When you do this, you can clearly grasp the recommended route.

  Here, the map information acquisition means only needs to be able to acquire map information indicating the travel caution point and the lanes existing on the road before and after passing the travel caution point. Therefore, it is possible to configure map information by a database including node data in which information indicating a travel attention point is associated with information indicating the number of lanes and the direction in which the vehicle can travel on each lane. Moreover, the form acquired from the storage medium mounted in the vehicle may be sufficient as map information, and the form acquired by communication from an information center may be sufficient.

  The own vehicle position information acquisition means only needs to acquire own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle, and various configurations for acquiring information indicating the position of the own vehicle can be employed. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the position of the vehicle is specified by a sensor or camera, or a configuration in which the vehicle position information is acquired by a GPS signal, a trajectory of the vehicle on a map, inter-vehicle communication, road-vehicle communication, etc. It is.

  The travel caution point detection means only needs to be able to detect that the host vehicle has approached the travel caution point based on the map information and the vehicle position information, and the road on which the vehicle is traveling is connected to the travel caution point. It is only necessary to be able to specify that the position of the travel caution point and the current position of the host vehicle are equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  The travel attention point is a point where roads before and after passing through the point are parallel and each road is shifted in a direction substantially perpendicular to the road. That is, if the roads before and after passing through the point are parallel, the host vehicle travels in substantially the same direction before and after passing through the point, so that the general driver feels that the vehicle goes straight before and after passing through the point. On the other hand, when the extension line of one road does not coincide with the extension line of the other road in each road extending in parallel, the vehicle travels straight while changing the traveling direction of the vehicle in the same direction as the deviation of each road. Therefore, this point becomes a travel caution point that should be traveled straight ahead with caution.

  The roads before and after the passage of the travel caution point may be parallel, and the extension line of the road after passing may not be on the extension line of the road before passing. Therefore, it is sufficient that the extension lines of the roads do not coincide. The extension line of each road may be set so that it passes through the center of the road and the center of each lane when each road is a straight road, and when each road is a curved road, Various configurations such as setting a predetermined reference point such as a connection point of each road to the travel attention point and setting a tangent to the road at the reference point as an extension line can be adopted. Further, when determining whether or not each road is parallel, it may be determined whether or not the extension line of each road is strictly parallel, and the intersection angle of the extension lines of each road is zero. You may determine whether it is in the near predetermined range. The travel caution point may be a point on a straight road or an intersection where a plurality of roads are connected, but there is a road marking such as a white line indicating a lane in the intersection. In many cases, the present invention is preferably applied to such an intersection.

  The recommended lane guidance means only needs to be able to provide guidance regarding the recommended lane corresponding to the travel lane when the host vehicle approaches the travel caution point. Therefore, guidance indicating the correspondence between the driving lane and the recommended lane may be provided, guidance indicating the deviation between the driving lane and the recommended lane, and the traveling direction when traveling from the driving lane to the recommended lane. Guidance indicating the change (recommended travel route) may be performed, and various configurations may be employed. The recommended lane is a lane to be traveled after the host vehicle travels in the travel lane and further passes through the travel warning point. Therefore, a lane that is associated in advance with each travel lane may be used as a recommended lane, or a road lane before and after passing the travel caution point may be identified based on map information, and the lane before and after passing may be associated. Various configurations can be employed.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to provide guidance regarding recommended lanes corresponding to the travel lanes on a face-to-face road where it is necessary to travel more carefully and carefully. In other words, when the road where the driving caution point exists is a two-way road, the extension lines of the roads before and after passing the driving caution point do not match, and there is a shift in each road, so the road around the driving caution point is driven. When driving, careful driving is required. For this reason, it becomes possible to reduce a user's attention burden by performing guidance by this invention.

  Furthermore, even when the number of straight lanes on each road before and after passing through the travel attention point is different, it is necessary to travel more carefully. In other words, if the number of straight lanes on each road before and after passing the driving caution point is different, the straight lane does not correspond one-to-one before and after passing the driving caution point. It is often difficult to recognize the lane. For this reason, it is preferable to specify the correspondence relationship of the straight lane on each road before and after passing through the travel caution point according to the present invention.

  Various configurations can be adopted for determining the correspondence relationship of the straight lane, for example, when the number of straight lanes on each of the roads before and after passing through the driving caution point is different, It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the straight lane and the straight lane of the road after passing the travel caution point are sequentially associated from either one of the width directions of the road. When it is impossible to associate the straight lanes one-on-one on the road before and after passing the travel caution point, two straight lanes may be associated with one straight lane.

  Furthermore, as a kind of preferable guidance, a configuration may be adopted in which guidance relating to other vehicles traveling on the adjacent lane of the traveling lane on which the host vehicle travels may be employed. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which guidance indicating an other vehicle is performed when another vehicle is detected on an adjacent lane adjacent to the direction of deviation of each road before and after passing the travel caution point. That is, in each road before and after passing the travel caution point, the vehicle is often driven while changing the direction of the host vehicle in the same direction as the direction of deviation between the extension lines of the roads. In this case, if another vehicle exists in the same direction as the deviation, the other vehicle exists in the direction in which the host vehicle travels. Therefore, the user of the host vehicle is encouraged to drive safely by guiding the other vehicle. It becomes possible.

  Of course, when another vehicle exists in a direction opposite to the shift, the other vehicle may be guided. That is, when the other vehicle is traveling while changing its direction in the same direction as the deviation, there is a possibility that the other vehicle may approach the own vehicle. It becomes possible to call attention.

  Furthermore, it is recommended when the travel caution point is included in the planned travel route, the roads before and after passing the travel caution point indicated by the planned travel route are parallel, and the road after passing is not on the extension line of the road before passing. It is good also as a structure which performs guidance regarding a lane. That is, when traveling along a travel attention point included in the planned travel route, guidance is provided by determining whether or not to travel with caution. In this configuration, it is possible to provide guidance when it is planned to pass a travel caution point to be traveled with caution.

  Furthermore, when there is a shift in each road before and after passing the travel caution point as in the present invention, a method for performing guidance on the recommended lane corresponding to the travel lane when traveling straight on each road is a program or method. Is also applicable. Further, the road information guide device, program, and method as described above may be realized as a single road information guide device or may be realized by using parts shared with each part provided in the vehicle. Various embodiments are included. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program including the road information guide device as described above. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the road information guidance device. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation device:
(2) Driving attention point information creation processing:
(3) Road information guidance processing:
(4) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 10 including a road information guidance device according to the present invention. The navigation device 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like and a storage medium 30, and the control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the storage medium 30 or the ROM. In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 can be implemented as one of the programs, and the navigation program 21 guides the correspondence between the travel lane before passing the travel caution point and the recommended lane after passing as one of the functions. It has a function to do.

  The own vehicle (the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted) includes a GPS receiver 40, a vehicle speed sensor 41, a gyro sensor 42, a display unit 43, a speaker 44, and a camera 45 in order to realize the functions of the navigation program 21. The exchange of signals between these units and the control unit 20 is realized by an interface (not shown).

  The GPS receiver 40 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information for calculating the current position of the host vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels provided in the host vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown), and acquires the speed of the host vehicle. The gyro sensor 42 outputs a signal corresponding to the direction of the host vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown) and acquires the traveling direction of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 41 and the gyro sensor 42 are used for correcting the current position of the host vehicle specified from the output signal of the GPS receiver 40. Further, the current position of the host vehicle is corrected as appropriate based on the travel locus of the host vehicle.

  The camera 45 captures an image around the host vehicle and outputs image information. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown), detects an other vehicle by analyzing an image around the own vehicle and extracting a feature amount of the other vehicle traveling around the own vehicle. The camera 45 only needs to be a camera that includes a direction in which the other vehicle is desired to be detected when viewed from the host vehicle, and any of a front camera, a rear camera, and a side camera that captures the front, rear, and side of the host vehicle. Or a combination. Needless to say, other vehicles may be detected here, and other sensors such as a millimeter wave sensor and an ultrasonic sensor may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 communicates with the information management center that creates the travel caution point information by the processing of the navigation program 21, and the travel lane and the recommended lane are determined based on the travel caution point information acquired by the communication. Guidance indicating correspondence is performed. Therefore, the navigation program 21 includes a map information acquisition unit 21a, a host vehicle position information acquisition unit 21b, a travel caution point detection unit 21c, a recommended lane guide unit 21d, and an other vehicle detection unit 21e.

  Further, the storage medium 30 stores map information 30a for performing guidance by the navigation program 21. The map information 30a includes node data indicating nodes set on a road, shape interpolation point data for specifying the shape of a road between nodes, link data indicating connection between nodes and shape interpolation points, and data indicating a target. Are used for specifying the current position of the own vehicle, guiding to the destination, correcting the vehicle position based on the travel locus of the own vehicle (map matching), and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the link data is associated with the lane on the road indicated by the link data and the data indicating the traveling direction in each lane. Further, node data and shape interpolation point data constituting the end point of the link are associated with information indicating the position of each node and each shape interpolation point. In addition, the travel caution point information is created by a travel caution point information creation process described later, and when the intersection corresponding to each node is a travel caution point, information indicating that the node data is a travel caution point Also, information indicating the road deviation at the travel caution point is associated (travel caution point information 30b shown in FIG. 1).

The travel attention point in the present embodiment is an intersection where roads before and after passing are parallel and each road is shifted in a direction substantially perpendicular to each road. FIG. 2 shows an example of an intersection corresponding to the travel caution point. In FIG. 2, the intersection I is connected to a traveling road R _{1 on} which the host vehicle C travels and other roads R _{2 to} R _4. ing. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the direction in which the road R ₁ extends and the direction in which the road R ₃ extend are parallel to each other, but there is a difference between the roads R ₁ and R ₃ . Therefore, the intersection I is a travel caution point in which roads before and after passing through the intersection I are parallel and each road is shifted in a direction substantially perpendicular to the road. In FIG. 2, an intersection I is an intersection of a two-way road, and is an intersection that requires careful traveling when passing through the intersection I. Further, in the present embodiment, the number of lanes and the width of the lanes in each of the roads R ₁ and R ₃ are the same, so the deviation of the roads R ₁ and R ₃ matches the lane deviation Gl.

  That is, if the roads before and after passing through the point are parallel, the host vehicle travels in substantially the same direction before and after passing through the point, so that the general driver feels that the vehicle goes straight before and after passing through the point. On the other hand, when the extension line of one road does not coincide with the extension line of the other road in each road extending in parallel, the vehicle travels straight while changing the traveling direction of the vehicle in the same direction as the deviation of each road. Therefore, this point becomes a travel caution point that should be traveled straight ahead with caution. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the intersection is a travel caution point, information indicating that it is a travel caution point with respect to the above node data, information indicating the amount and direction of the above-described deviation Gl, and a travel caution point. Is associated with information indicating roads before and after passing through.

In FIG. 2, there are two straight lanes (including lanes that can go straight and turn left) running on the road R ₁ in the direction of entering the intersection I, and one right lane from the intersection I. An example is shown in which there is one lane that travels in the direction of exit. In addition, on the road R ₃ , an example is shown in which there is one straight lane traveling in the direction of entering the intersection I, one left lane, and two lanes traveling in the direction leaving the intersection I. Yes. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 2, straight number of lanes before and after passing through the intersection I in a route to be towards the road R ₁ on the road R ₃ is maintained in two lanes, directed from the road R ₃ in the road R ₁ The number of lanes is maintained at one lane before and after passing through the intersection I in the travel route.

  The map information acquisition unit 21a is a module that acquires the map information 30a from the storage medium 30 in order to guide the planned travel route of the host vehicle, and the control unit 20 performs a process of the map information acquisition unit 21a in front of the host vehicle. Get information about roads. At this time, if the intersection existing in front of the host vehicle is a travel caution point, the node data corresponding to the intersection includes travel caution point information 30b indicating that the node is the travel caution point. The host vehicle position information acquisition unit 21b is a module that acquires host vehicle position information indicating the position of the host vehicle, and the control unit 20 acquires output signals of the GPS receiver 40, the vehicle speed sensor 41, and the gyro sensor 42, The latitude and longitude of the current position of the host vehicle are detected and used as the host vehicle position information.

  The travel caution point detection unit 21c is a module that detects that the host vehicle has approached the travel caution point based on the map information 30a and the host vehicle position information. That is, when the vehicle is traveling on a road connected to the intersection and the distance between the vehicle and the intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the map information 30a indicating the intersection is referred to and the intersection is When the information indicating that it is a travel caution point is associated, it is detected that the host vehicle has approached the travel caution point. The other vehicle detection unit 21e is a module that detects another vehicle that travels around the host vehicle based on an image output from the camera 45.

  The recommended lane guide 21d is a module that provides guidance on the recommended lane after passing the travel caution point, corresponding to the travel lane in which the host vehicle is traveling near the travel caution point. The guidance is provided when another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle is detected. That is, the control unit 20 refers to the map information 30a associated with the intersection that is the travel caution point when the own vehicle approaches the travel caution point and another vehicle travels around the own vehicle. Information indicating the lane of the road to be connected is acquired. Then, it is recommended that the information indicating the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is specified as the traveling lane, and after traveling on the traveling lane, after passing through the intersection without making a right or left turn, it is recommended to travel on the road after passing Identify the lane.

  When the travel lane and the recommended lane are specified, the control unit 20 performs advance guidance of the travel caution point and guidance during travel at the travel caution point (intersection) by the processing of the recommended lane guide unit 21d. In the present embodiment, as advance guidance of the travel caution point, guidance is provided that indicates a change in the traveling direction when traveling from the travel lane to the recommended lane and a deviation between the travel lane and the recommended lane, and further, from the travel lane to the recommended lane. Guiding the recommended travel path for traveling. In addition, as guidance during traveling at a travel caution point, guidance is given to warn when the trajectory of the host vehicle does not match the recommended travel trajectory.

  According to the above processing, the user can recognize the lane change and the state of the change before and after passing the travel caution point before arriving at the travel caution point. The recommended route can be clearly grasped when passing through a power point. In addition, it is possible to recognize a recommended travel locus after reaching the travel attention point and completing the passage, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the user when passing the travel attention point.

(2) Driving attention point information creation processing:
Next, a process for creating the travel attention point information will be described. When the navigation program 21 is being executed by the navigation device 10, the travel caution point information creation process shown in FIG. 3A is repeatedly performed at regular intervals (for example, 100 ms). Is accumulated. The own vehicle communicates with the management center at a predetermined timing, downloads the travel caution point information, and incorporates it in the map information 30a.

  In the process shown in FIG. 3A, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the own vehicle has entered the intersection based on the own vehicle position information and the map information 30a (step S100). In step S100, the own vehicle becomes an intersection. If it is not determined that the vehicle has entered, the processing after step S105 is skipped. When it is determined in step S100 that the host vehicle has entered the intersection, the control unit 20 acquires the steering angle of the steering based on the output of a steering sensor (not shown) (step S105). The process of step S105 is repeated until it is determined that the intersection has been exited. In other words, the steering angle of the steering is continuously acquired while traveling in the intersection.

  Next, the control unit 20 determines based on the steering angle of the steering whether or not it has been detected that the host vehicle has traveled straight and passed the intersection, and that steering corresponding to a road deviation has been made (step). S115). That is, it is determined whether or not the steering angle of the steering is straight ahead before and after passing through the intersection, and whether or not the steering for traveling according to the road deviation in the intersection is indicated. FIG. 3B is a graph showing an example of the steering, in which the horizontal axis represents the position and the vertical axis represents the steering angle. On the vertical axis, the steering angle of left rotation is above 0 °, and the steering angle of right rotation is below 0 °.

In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the position P ₁ is the entry position to the intersection, and the position P ₂ is the exit position from the intersection. In FIG. 3B, the steering angle when the vehicle travels straight before and after passing through the intersection and within the intersection is shown by a one-dot chain line. That is, when going straight in the intersection, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line, the steering angle changes at 0 ° between the positions P ₁ and P ₂ . On the other hand, even when the host vehicle is traveling straight on each road before and after passing through the intersection as shown in the intersection I shown in FIG. 2, a solid line is shown in FIG. As described above, steering is performed within the intersection I at a steering angle of a predetermined value or more. Therefore, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3B, when the vehicle swings up and down around 0 ° within the intersection (the steering wheel is rotated to the left and right) and changes at 0 ° before and after passing through the intersection, It can be considered that the vehicle travels straight and passes through the intersection, and the steering corresponding to the lane deviation Gl is performed. Further, the direction corresponding to the rotational direction steered first in the intersection I can be regarded as the direction of deviation. Furthermore, in the state where the steering angle is not 0 °, it is possible to specify the amount of deviation Gl in the traveling direction due to steering based on each steering angle and the vehicle speed.

  In step S115, when it is detected that the host vehicle travels straight and passes through the intersection and steering corresponding to the lane deviation is made, information indicating that the intersection is a travel caution point is created. Then, the information is uploaded by communicating with the management center (step S125). That is, the direction of the lane deviation Gl and the amount of deviation are acquired based on the transition of the rudder angle and the transition of the vehicle speed, and information indicating that it is a travel caution point and each road before and after passing the travel caution point Information indicating the direction of the lane deviation Gl and the amount of deviation is created together with the information shown to define the travel caution point information. In step S115, when it is not detected that the host vehicle travels straight and passes through the intersection and the steering corresponding to the lane deviation is made, step S120 is skipped. According to the above processing, travel caution point information is defined in which intersections where roads before and after passing are parallel and each road is shifted in a direction substantially perpendicular to each road are defined as travel caution points. be able to.

(3) Road information guidance processing:
Next, a road information guidance process performed by the navigation device 10 in the above configuration will be described. When the navigation program 10 is being executed by the navigation device 10 while the host vehicle is traveling, the road information guidance process shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly performed at regular intervals (for example, 100 ms).

  In this process, the control unit 20 acquires the map information 30a and the own vehicle position information through the processes of the map information acquisition unit 21a and the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 21b (step S200). And the control part 20 discriminate | determines whether a driving | running | working caution point exists ahead of the own vehicle based on the map information 30a and the own vehicle position information by the process of the driving caution point detection part 21c (step S210). That is, it is determined whether or not the travel caution point information is associated with the intersection ahead of the host vehicle, and the road before and after passing the travel caution point is included in the planned travel route of the host vehicle. Whether the road before and after passing the travel caution point is included in the planned travel route of the host vehicle is whether the road scheduled to travel before and after passing the intersection in front of the host vehicle is associated with the travel caution point information It can be determined by whether or not. The planned travel route may be determined in advance or may be determined during travel. In the latter case, when the scheduled travel route is determined during traveling, for example, a configuration in which the road when the own vehicle travels along the road that is currently traveling along the road can be used as the planned travel route can be employed.

  If it is not determined in step S210 that there is a travel caution point in front of the host vehicle, the processes in and after step S215 are skipped. In step S210, when it is determined that a travel caution point exists in front of the host vehicle, the control unit 20 performs advance guidance of the travel caution point. In the present embodiment, the advance guidance of the travel caution point is configured to perform two-step guidance according to the travel caution point and the distance of the host vehicle. That is, prior guidance 1 is performed at a point where the distance from the host vehicle to the travel attention point is X (m), and prior guidance 2 is performed at a point where the distance from the host vehicle to the travel attention point is Y (m) (X> Y). Is configured to do. For this purpose, first, the control unit 20 performs voice guidance at a point where the distance from the host vehicle to the travel caution point is X (m) by the process of the recommended lane guide unit 21d (step S215), Guidance 1 is performed (step S220).

  More specifically, in step S <b> 215, the control unit 20 causes the speaker 44 to output voice guidance indicating that there is a travel caution point in front of the host vehicle. Of course, at this time, guidance for calling attention to other vehicles, guidance indicating road deviation, or the like may be performed. In step S220, the control unit 20 provides guidance indicating a change in the traveling direction and a shift between the travel lane and the recommended lane when traveling from the travel lane to the recommended lane.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 43 as the advance guidance 1, and in FIG. 5A, on the left side of the screen, a planned travel route that goes straight before and after passing the travel caution point is displayed on a map. Has been. In addition, a guide map 43a indicating an intersection that is a travel caution point is displayed on the right side of the screen. The guide map 43a is an example of a guide map displayed when the host vehicle C approaches a point of a distance X (m) with respect to the intersection I shown in FIG. 2, and the guide map 43a is an intersection as in FIG. and it has a view illustrating a state as viewed the I and the road R ₁ to R ₄ from above.

That is, in this guide map 43a, it is assumed that a shift in each road before and after passing the travel caution point (a shift Gl in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which each road extends) is a shift between the travel lane and the recommended lane. Reproduced above. That is, the control unit 20 calculates the amount of deviation of each road on the screen so as to have a common scale with the width of each lane on the screen, and the directions in which the road R ₁ and the road R ₃ extend are parallel to each other. road R ₃ is to display the information map 43a so as to shift in the direction perpendicular to the road by an amount of the deviation with respect to the road R ₁ performs the screen display so that the.

The control unit 20, in the pre-guide 1, the arrows Aa corresponding from the road R ₁ containing the traffic lane in the traveling direction when driving the vehicle on the road R ₃ is displayed on the road. The starting point of the arrow Aa exists on the lane of the road R ₁ , the end point of the arrow Aa exists on the lane of the road R ₃ , and becomes a curved arrow corresponding to the road shift between the starting point and the ending point. Yes. Therefore, the user who has visually the information map 43a passes through the intersection I and straight road R ₁ that driving lane is present, in order to travel the road R ₃ is present more recommended lane, the traveling direction It is very easy to recognize that it is necessary to change to the left side. Further, it is possible to recognize the amount of deviation generated between the road R ₁ and the road R ₃ from the arrangement of the road around the intersection and the bending state of the arrow Aa. Further, in the guide map 43a, an arrow Aa is displayed on all straight lanes. For this reason, it is possible to make the user recognize the number of lanes entering the driving caution point (the number of lanes that can be an approach lane to the intersection) and the number of lanes leaving the driving caution point (the number of lanes that can exit from the intersection). it can. Of course, when the number of approach lanes and the number of exit lanes are different, an arrow that associates two exit lanes with one approach lane and an arrow that associates one exit lane with two approach lanes are displayed. It is preferable.

  Next, the control unit 20 performs processing by the recommended lane guide unit 21d and the other vehicle detection unit 21e so that the distance from the host vehicle to the travel caution point is equal to or less than Y (m) and the other vehicle is around the host vehicle. Is determined (step S225). In step S225, when it is not determined that the distance from the host vehicle to the travel caution point is Y (m) or less and there is another vehicle around the host vehicle, the processes after step S230 are skipped.

  In step S225, when it is determined that the distance from the host vehicle to the travel caution point is equal to or less than Y (m) and there are other vehicles around the host vehicle, the control unit 20 sets the recommended lane guide unit 21d. Through the processing, other vehicles are guided (step S230), and preliminary guidance 2 regarding the travel warning point is performed (step S235). The guidance of the other vehicle may be any guidance that allows the user to recognize the presence of the other vehicle. For example, display on the display unit 43, voice guidance using the speaker 44, or the like can be employed.

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of the screen displayed on the display unit 43 as the advance guidance 2. In the advance guidance 2 shown in FIG. The travel schedule route that goes straight is shown. Also, on the right side of the screen, there is displayed a guide map 43b showing a state where an intersection, which is a travel caution point, is viewed from above along with the surrounding roads. That is, the amount of the even information map 43 b, the control unit 20, the deviation road R ₁ and the road R ₃ together with the road R ₃ and the direction extending to perform the screen display so that the parallel relative to the road R ₁ The guide map 43b is displayed so as to be shifted in a direction perpendicular to the road only.

  In addition, in the preliminary guide 2, the control unit 20 displays an arrow Ab extending from the travel lane toward the recommended lane and an icon Ic indicating the host vehicle on the road. The start point of the arrow Ab is on the travel lane, the end point of the arrow Ab is on the recommended lane, and the arrow is bent in accordance with the road shift between the start point and the end point. Therefore, the user who visually recognizes the guide map 43b recognizes that the traveling direction needs to be changed to the left side in order to travel straight on the traveling lane, pass through the intersection I, and further travel on the recommended lane. can do. In addition, it is possible to recognize the amount of deviation generated between the travel lane and the recommended lane from the positional relationship between the travel lane and the recommended lane and the bending of the arrow Ab. Furthermore, since the arrow Ab corresponds to a preferable recommended travel path when traveling from the travel lane to the recommended lane, the user can intuitively recognize the preferable recommended travel path when passing the travel caution point. It is.

The travel lane may be specified before displaying the advance guide 2, and may be specified by, for example, analyzing the white line of the image output from the camera 45 mounted on the host vehicle. You may specify using communication and road-to-vehicle communication. In addition, the recommended lane may be identified from the planned travel route of the host vehicle before displaying the advance guide 2, and for example, it can be identified based on the order in which the straight lanes are arranged on the road before and after passing the travel caution point. It is. That is, at the intersection I shown in FIG. 2, the number of straight lanes is two on both the road R ₁ and the road R ₃ before and after passing the travel caution point, so the lanes are arranged in order, for example, from the right straight lane By associating in order, the lanes before and after passing the travel caution point can be associated. Therefore, referring to the correspondence relationship, the lane associated with the travel lane can be specified as the recommended lane.

  When the number of straight lanes on each of the roads before and after passing the travel caution point is different, the correspondence relationship between the straight lanes can be defined by sequentially associating from the center or the end of the road. When it is impossible to associate the straight lanes one-on-one on the road before and after passing the travel caution point, two straight lanes may be associated with one straight lane. When the straight lanes that are associated with each other in this way are travel lanes or recommended lanes, it is often difficult for the user to recognize the recommended lanes at a glance while traveling. For this reason, a configuration for performing guidance indicating that the number of lanes changes, a configuration for paying attention to whether or not other vehicles exist in the surrounding lane, a configuration for detecting and warning other vehicles around the own vehicle, etc. It is preferable to adopt.

Further, in this embodiment, since it is assumed that the vehicle travels straight through the driving caution point, if there is a lane other than the straight lane on the road before and after passing the driving caution point, the lane is excluded. It is preferable to perform association. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 2, there is a right turn dedicated lane on the road R _1, and therefore this lane is not associated with the lane existing on the road R ₃ . Of course, since there is left a dedicated lane on the road R _1, also when there is a dedicated lane for entering the road R ₂ and road R ₄ in the road R _3, these lanes are not straight lane, It is preferable to exclude the road R ₁ and the road R ₃ when the lanes are associated with each other.

  Next, the control unit 20 waits until it is determined that the host vehicle has entered the travel caution point (intersection) in order to perform guidance during traveling at the travel caution point (step S240). That is, the advance guidance 2 is continued until it is determined that the vehicle has entered the travel warning point. When it is determined in step S240 that the host vehicle has entered the travel caution point, the control unit 20 provides a recommended travel locus during travel at the travel caution point (that is, recommended from the travel lane) as guidance during travel at the travel caution point. A process for guiding a recommended travel locus for traveling in a lane) is performed.

  In the present embodiment, the recommended traveling locus is guided by outputting a warning sound when the own vehicle's locus does not coincide with the recommended traveling locus. Then, through the process of the recommended lane guide unit 21d, it is determined whether or not the trajectory of the host vehicle and the recommended travel trajectory do not match (step S245). When it is determined in step S245 that the trajectory of the host vehicle does not match the recommended travel trajectory, the control unit 20 causes the speaker 44 to output a warning sound in step S250, and in step S245, the host vehicle. When it is not determined that the locus and the recommended traveling locus are inconsistent, step S250 is skipped. And the control part 20 repeats the process after step S245 until it determines with the own vehicle having left | separated from the driving attention point (intersection) (step S255). When it is determined in step S255 that the host vehicle has left the travel caution point, the control unit 20 ends the road information guidance process assuming that the vehicle has passed the travel caution point.

  The recommended travel locus described above may be determined in advance, and the recommended travel locus can be defined by a curve on the road that smoothly connects the reference positions set in the travel lane and the recommended lane. For example, when the travel caution point information is created by the travel caution point information creation process shown in FIG. 3, the surroundings of the host vehicle are photographed by the camera 45 or the like, and marks (for example, crossings in the lane) are displayed on the travel lane and the recommended lane. A sidewalk is set as a reference point, and information indicating the position is acquired and included in the travel caution point information. Then, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a travel locus that travels so that the traveling direction of the host vehicle substantially coincides with the reference point on the recommended lane after passing through the reference point on the travel lane is used as the recommended travel locus. Of course, when determining whether the trajectory of the host vehicle matches the recommended travel trajectory, various configurations such as a configuration for comparing the position change of the host vehicle with the recommended travel trajectory can be employed.

(4) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention. When there is a deviation in each road before and after passing the travel caution point, guidance on a recommended lane corresponding to the travel lane when traveling straight on each road. Various other embodiments can be adopted as long as the operation can be performed. For example, if the map information includes information indicating the direction in which each lane of the road connected to the intersection extends and the reference position set on each lane, the travel caution point information is created based on the map information. It is good also as a structure. Of course, it is good also as a structure which creates a driving attention point beforehand and includes the created driving attention point in map information.

  The vehicle position information may be a configuration that uses all of the GPS receiver 40, the vehicle speed sensor 41, and the gyro sensor 42, or may be a configuration that uses a part thereof, and is based on image information acquired by the camera 45. The own vehicle position information may be acquired. Moreover, the structure etc. which acquire own vehicle position information by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, etc. are employable. In addition to the camera 45, various sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and the like can be used for the configuration for detecting other vehicles.

  In the above-described embodiment, the roads before and after passing the travel caution point are parallel. However, if the roads are parallel, the present invention is applicable. That is, the parallelism of each road should just be set so that the advancing direction of the vehicle on each road can be considered straight ahead. Accordingly, a predetermined reference may be set for the parallelism, and it may be specified whether or not it can be a travel caution point from the road direction indicated by the map information. The travel caution point is not limited to an intersection, and may be a single straight road. However, there are many cases where there is no road marking such as a white line indicating a lane in the intersection. It is particularly preferable to apply the invention.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a two-way road. However, even if the road is a one-way road, it is necessary to pay attention to other vehicles when there is a shift in the road. Therefore, the present invention may be applied to the one-way road.

  Furthermore, when guiding another vehicle, the mode of guidance may be determined according to the positional relationship between the other vehicle and the host vehicle. For example, since each road before and after passing the travel caution point is shifted in a direction substantially perpendicular to the road, a configuration that performs guidance indicating the other vehicle when the other vehicle is detected in the direction of the shift. It can be adopted. That is, when passing through the travel attention point, the vehicle is often driven while changing the direction of the host vehicle in the same direction as the deviation of each road before and after the passage. In this case, if another vehicle exists in the same direction as the shift, the other vehicle exists in the direction in which the host vehicle travels. Thus, by guiding the other vehicle, it is possible to prompt the user of the own vehicle to drive safely. Of course, when guiding other vehicles, in addition to guidance indicating the presence of other vehicles, the direction and distance of other vehicles viewed from the own vehicle may be guided.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which guides the said other vehicle when another vehicle exists in the reverse direction to the said shift | offset | difference. That is, when the other vehicle is traveling while changing its direction in the same direction as the deviation, there is a possibility that the other vehicle may approach the own vehicle. It becomes possible to call attention. Further, when another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle is detected, the detection may be used as a trigger to guide the recommended lane. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform guidance when it is necessary to travel at a travel caution point while actually paying attention.

  Furthermore, the trigger for performing the guidance is not limited to the distance to the travel caution point, and when the lane change of the host vehicle is detected, any one of the preliminary guidance 1, the preliminary guidance 2, and the warning sound is triggered by the detection. Or it is good also as a structure which performs guidance of a combination. Even in this configuration, it is possible to provide guidance when it is necessary to travel around the travel attention point while actually paying attention. The detection of the lane change may be performed based on the own vehicle position information, or may be performed based on the operation of the equipment in the vehicle. For example, an operation corresponding to an initial operation (movement of the lane in the vertical direction) of the lane change may be detected based on the own vehicle position information, or the intention to change the lane may be detected based on a turn signal operation or the like. Also good.

It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a road information guidance apparatus. It is a figure which shows the state which looked at the own vehicle which drive | works a road from the top. (3A) is a flowchart of a travel caution point information creation process, and (3B) is a diagram showing a change in steering angle at an intersection. It is a flowchart of a road information guidance process. It is a figure which shows the example of the guidance displayed on a display part.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Navigation program, 21a ... Map information acquisition part, 21b ... Own vehicle position information acquisition part, 21c ... Traveling caution point detection part, 21d ... Recommended lane guidance part, 21e ... Other vehicle Detection unit, 30 ... storage medium, 30a ... map information, 30b ... travel caution point information, 40 ... reception unit, 41 ... vehicle speed sensor, 42 ... gyro sensor, 43 ... display unit, 43a ... guide map, 43b ... guide map, 44 ... Speaker, 45 ... Camera

Claims (7)

Map information acquisition means for acquiring map information;
Own vehicle position information acquisition means for acquiring own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle;
Based on the map information and the vehicle position information, the vehicle has approached a travel caution point where the roads before and after passing are parallel and the road after passing is not on the extension line of the road before passing. A travel caution point detection means for detecting;
Recommended lane guidance means for providing guidance on a recommended lane after passing the travel caution point corresponding to the travel lane on which the host vehicle is traveling based on the map information when the host vehicle approaches the travel caution point. When,
A road information guidance device comprising: The recommended lane guide means performs guidance indicating a deviation between the travel lane and the recommended lane.
The road information guidance device according to claim 1. The recommended lane guide means performs guidance indicating a change in a traveling direction when the host vehicle travels from the travel lane to the recommended lane.
The road information guidance device according to claim 1 or 2. Other vehicle detection means for detecting another vehicle traveling on an adjacent lane of the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling;
When the other vehicle is detected, other vehicle guidance means for performing guidance indicating the other vehicle;
The road information guidance device according to claim 1, comprising: The recommended lane guidance means determines whether or not the travel caution point is included in the planned travel route of the host vehicle, and if the travel caution point is included, the planned travel route indicates, When the road before passing the travel caution point is parallel to the road before passing the travel caution point, and the road after passing the travel caution point is not on the extension line of the road before passing the travel caution point , Provide guidance on the recommended lane,
The road information guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A map information acquisition process for acquiring map information;
A host vehicle position information acquisition step for acquiring host vehicle position information indicating the position of the host vehicle;
Based on the map information and the vehicle position information, the vehicle has approached a travel caution point where the roads before and after passing are parallel and the road after passing is not on the extension line of the road before passing. A driving attention point detection process to detect,
A recommended lane guidance process for providing guidance on the recommended lane after passing the travel caution point corresponding to the travel lane on which the host vehicle is traveling based on the map information when the host vehicle approaches the travel caution point. When,
Road information guidance method including A map information acquisition function for acquiring map information;
Own vehicle position information acquisition function for acquiring own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle;
Based on the map information and the vehicle position information, the vehicle has approached a travel caution point where the roads before and after passing are parallel and the road after passing is not on the extension line of the road before passing. A function to detect a driving caution point to detect,
A recommended lane guidance function for providing guidance on a recommended lane after passing the travel caution point corresponding to a travel lane on which the host vehicle is traveling based on the map information when the host vehicle approaches the travel caution point. When,
A road information guide program that makes a computer realize.

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