JP2010282508A - Driving support device and driving support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To impart higher versatility, and to estimate a speed limit of a road during traveling with higher accuracy even when specification of the speed limit of the road during the driving by image recognition of a road sign or a road marking cannot be performed. <P>SOLUTION: This driving support device includes: a speed limit database 27 storing correspondence relation data indicating correspondence relation between information about a speed limit and road condition information that is information wherein information about a road kind and at least one piece of information of information about the number of lanes and information about a width are combined at lowest; and a controller 26 acquiring the road condition information of the road during the traveling of a vehicle 3, obtaining the information about the speed limit corresponding to the road condition information in reference to the correspondence relation data stored in the speed limit database 27 based on the acquired road condition information, and estimating the speed limit of the road during the traveling based on the information about the speed limit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device and a driving support system that obtain information on a speed limit of a running road.

  Conventionally, techniques for preventing excessive speed due to carelessness of the driver have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, there is a restriction based on map information stored in a storage unit such as a CD-ROM used in a navigation system, and recognition results of road signs and road markings captured by a camera that images the front of the host vehicle. A technology is disclosed in which speed information is obtained, speed excess is determined based on the obtained speed limit information, and an alarm is issued when the speed is exceeded.

  Specifically, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, information on the speed limit (hereinafter referred to as speed limit a) of the road on which the host vehicle is running, which is read from the map information, and a road sign imaged by the camera described above. And the speed limit information obtained from the recognition result of the road marking (hereinafter referred to as speed limit b), and if the speed limit b matches the speed limit b, the speed limit is adopted and the speed limit i If the speed limit b and the speed limit b do not match, one of them is adopted as the speed limit, the speed excess is determined based on the information on the speed limit adopted, and an alarm is given if the speed is exceeded.

JP 2005-128790 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, map information including speed limit information needs to be stored in the storage unit. Since map information that includes speed limit information has started to be adopted in recent years, there are still many navigation systems that do not use map information that includes speed limit information, and this technology may not be applicable. Many. That is, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it lacks versatility.

  Although it is conceivable to newly add speed limit information to map information that does not include speed limit information, new speed limit information is added to map information that does not include speed limit information. This is not realistic because of the great cost.

  Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when traveling on a road where there is no speed limit information in the map information, and when image recognition of a road sign or a road marking taken with a camera fails, There is a problem that the speed limit of the running road cannot be specified. For image recognition, template matching is generally used. However, the recognition rate depends greatly on the template matching. For example, the sign is tilted and reflected on the camera, or the sign itself is faded and contoured by image processing. If the image cannot be extracted well, or if the imaging conditions are bad due to rain or the like, it is highly possible that image recognition will fail.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to have more versatility and to specify the speed limit of a road that is running by image recognition of road signs and road markings. An object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device and a driving support system that make it possible to estimate the speed limit of a running road more accurately even when the vehicle cannot travel.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the driving support device according to claim 1 is a driving support device mounted on a vehicle, and information on at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information. A correspondence relationship data storage unit storing correspondence relationship data indicating a correspondence relationship between road condition information and speed limit information, which is information that is a minimum combination of the information, and the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling A road condition information acquisition unit that acquires the road condition information, and the correspondence data stored in the correspondence data storage unit based on the road condition information acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit. A data reference unit that obtains information on the corresponding speed limit, and a speed limit estimation unit that estimates the speed limit of the road on the basis of the information on the speed limit obtained by the data reference unit. It is a symptom.

  According to this, as long as the information on the road type of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the information on the number of lanes, and / or the information on the width are acquired, the correspondence data is referred to. The speed limit information corresponding to the information can be obtained. Thus, for example, in the correspondence data, if the correspondence between the road condition information such as the actual road type, the number of lanes, the width, etc. and the actual speed limit is made accurately, the road type of the road on which the vehicle is traveling Based on at least one of the information, the information on the number of lanes, and the information on the width, it is possible to accurately estimate the speed limit of the running road with reference to the correspondence data. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to estimate the speed limit of the running road more accurately.

  Further, according to the above configuration, as long as the road type information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the information on the number of lanes and / or the information on the width of the road are acquired, Since it is possible to estimate the speed limit more accurately, use map information that includes speed limit information, or identify the speed limit of a road that is running by recognizing images of road signs and road markings. Even without this, it becomes possible to estimate the speed limit of the running road more accurately.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration, while having more versatility, even if it is not possible to specify the speed limit of the road on the road by the image recognition of the road sign or road marking, It becomes possible to estimate the speed more accurately.

  In the driving support device according to claim 2, a vehicle speed information acquisition unit that acquires information on the speed of the vehicle, a warning unit that issues a warning, and the speed limit estimated by the speed limit estimation unit are obtained by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit. And a warning determination unit that causes the warning unit to issue a warning when it is determined that the speed indicated by the acquired speed information is exceeded.

  According to this, a warning is issued when it is determined that the speed of the vehicle exceeds the speed limit estimated by the speed limit estimating unit, so that it is possible to further prevent the speed from being exceeded by the driver's carelessness.

  In the driving support device according to claim 3, the road sign is indicated by an imaging unit that captures at least one of the front and rear images of the vehicle, and image recognition based on the image captured by the imaging unit. An image recognition unit for recognizing at least one of the speed limit information of the speed limit information and the speed limit information indicated on the road marking, and recognizing the speed limit information by the image recognition unit The road condition information is obtained by repeating the process of associating the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit with the information on the speed limit, while collecting statistics. In addition to the information and the speed limit information, the correspondence data in which the number of statistics is also associated is created, and the created correspondence data is stored in the correspondence data storage unit. Is characterized by further comprising a correspondence data generating unit to correspondence data stored, the.

  The speed limit is set freely for each area, but the speed limit is set according to the regulation speed calculation procedure that determines the speed limit according to the number of lanes, whether there is a sidewalk, whether there is a median, etc. There are many areas. Moreover, in determining the speed limit, the influence of the number of lanes (and thus the width) is particularly large among the items of the regulation speed calculation procedure. Therefore, it can be said that there is a particularly strong correlation between the number of lanes and the width and the actual speed limit. Further, the speed limit can be roughly set in a range that can be set according to a road type such as an expressway, a car road, or a general road. Therefore, it can be said that there is a particularly strong correlation between the road type and the actual speed limit.

  Therefore, as in the above configuration, information on the speed limit of road signs and road markings that can be recognized by image recognition based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and road condition information on the running road (that is, road type) In the correspondence data obtained by repeating the correspondence between the information on the information and the information on the number of lanes and the information on at least one of the information on the width) There is a high possibility that the correspondence between the road condition information such as the road type, the number of lanes, and the width of the road and the actual speed limit is made more accurately.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration, the correspondence between the road condition information such as the road type, the number of lanes, and the width of the actual road and the actual speed limit in the correspondence data is more likely to be made with higher accuracy. Based on the road type information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the information on the number of lanes, and the width information, the correspondence speed data is referred to and the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling Can be estimated with higher accuracy.

  Further, in the driving support device according to claim 4, when the data reference unit obtains information on a plurality of types of speed limit for the same road condition information, the speed limit estimation unit is configured to output the plurality of types of speed limit estimation units. Of the speed limit information, the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information with the first largest number of statistics is compared with the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information with the second largest number of statistics, and the value is low. The speed limit of the vehicle is estimated as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  According to this, when information on a plurality of types of speed limit is obtained in the data reference unit for the same road condition information, the speed limit information with the largest number of statistics and the number of statistics are the second. Even if the credibility of the speed limit information with the largest number of statistics is lower, such as when the statistical difference between the speed limit information and Since the speed limit is estimated as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the possibility of estimating the speed limit higher than the actual speed limit can be reduced even if the estimation is incorrect. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a situation in which no warning is issued even when the vehicle speed exceeds the actual speed limit, and it is possible to further prevent the driver from inadvertently exceeding the speed. become.

  In the driving support device according to claim 5, the speed limit estimation unit includes a statistical number of information on the speed limit with the largest number of statistics and a statistical number of information on the speed limit with the second largest number of statistics. When the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information having the largest number of statistics is preferentially estimated as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. And

  When multiple types of speed limit information are obtained in the data reference section for the same road condition information, the information on the speed limit with the first statistical number and the speed limit with the second largest number of statistics When the credibility of the speed limit information with the largest number of statistics is higher, such as when there is a large difference in the number of statistics between the information and the information, the speed limit of the road that is running is higher than the actual speed limit. Is highly unlikely to be estimated. Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the credibility of the information on the speed limit with the largest number of statistics is higher, the speed limit indicated by the information on the speed limit with the first number of statistics is the traveling speed of the vehicle. It is possible to preferentially estimate the speed limit of the road, and it is possible to more accurately estimate the speed limit of the running road.

  Further, in the driving support device according to claim 6, the driving support device stores map data including at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information at least. The road condition information acquisition unit acquires at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information among the road condition information at a minimum. Information is obtained from map data stored in the storage device.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the driving support device stores the map data from the storage device that stores the map data including at least one of the road type information, the lane number information, and the width information. The road condition information acquisition unit stores at least one of the road type information, the lane number information, and the width information of the road condition information at least as a storage device. It is good also as an aspect acquired from the map data memorize | stored in.

  In the driving support device according to claim 7, the driving support device acquires the map data from a storage device that stores map data including at least road type information, and the road condition information acquisition unit includes: At least information on the road type in the road condition information is acquired from the map data stored in the storage device, and at least one of the information on the number of lanes and the information on the width Is acquired by image recognition based on an image captured by the imaging unit.

  As in claim 7, the driving support device acquires the map data from a storage device that stores map data including at least road type information, and the road condition information acquisition unit is at least a road The road type information in the condition information is acquired from the map data stored in the storage device, and at least one of the lane number information and the width information is an image captured by the imaging unit. It is good also as an aspect acquired by the image recognition based on.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the driving support system according to claim 8 includes a plurality of vehicles including any one of the above driving support devices, and an information center. An image capturing unit that captures an image of at least one of the front and rear of the vehicle, and image recognition based on the image captured by the image capturing unit, the speed limit information indicated on the road sign and the road marking are indicated. An image recognition unit for recognizing at least one of the speed limit information, and a communication unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the information center, wherein the image recognition unit When the information on the speed limit can be recognized, the road condition information on the road on which the vehicle is traveling acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit is combined with the information on the speed limit. Is transmitted to the information center by the communication unit, and the information center integrates the combination information respectively transmitted from the communication unit of each of the driving support devices mounted on a plurality of vehicles. New correspondence data is created, the created new correspondence data is transmitted to the driving support device, and the new correspondence data created at the information center is used as the correspondence data of the driving support device. It is characterized in that it is stored as the correspondence data in a storage unit.

  According to this, when it is possible to recognize the information on the speed limit recognized by the image recognition in each driving support device mounted on each vehicle and the information on the speed limit, the road condition information on the road that is running Information is integrated at the information center to create new correspondence data, so the total number of statistics increases compared to creating correspondence data with only one driving support device, and the road type of the actual road There is a high possibility that the correspondence between the road condition information such as the number of lanes and the width and the actual speed limit will be made with higher accuracy. Then, this new correspondence data is stored as correspondence data in the correspondence data storage unit of the driving support device, and the speed limit of the running road is estimated with reference to the new correspondence data. Therefore, it becomes possible to estimate the speed limit of the road that is running more accurately.

  In addition, when assuming a configuration in which the information center side checks the information on the speed limit of the road at the current position based on the information on the current position of each vehicle and distributes the information to each vehicle, Since individual processing is performed, there arises a problem that the load on the information center increases.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the eighth aspect, it is possible to limit the road on which each driving support device is traveling only by uniformly transmitting (distributing) the above-described new correspondence data to the driving support device of each vehicle. Since the speed can be estimated more accurately, the processing load on the information center side can be suppressed.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the driving support system according to claim 9 includes a plurality of vehicles including any one of the driving support devices described above, and an information center. A communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the information center; and the correspondence data created by the correspondence data creation unit is transmitted to the information center by the communication unit. The correspondence relationship data respectively transmitted from the communication unit of each of the driving support devices mounted on the vehicle is integrated to create new correspondence data, and the created new correspondence data is used as the driving support device. And storing the new correspondence data created in the information center as the correspondence data in the correspondence data storage unit of the driving support device. It is a symptom.

  According to this, since the correspondence data created by each driving support device mounted on each vehicle is integrated at the information center to create new correspondence data, it was created by only one driving support device. The total number of statistics increases compared to the correspondence relationship data, and there is a high possibility that correspondence between the road condition information such as the actual road type, the number of lanes, and the width and the actual speed limit will be made more accurately. Then, this new correspondence data is stored as correspondence data in the correspondence data storage unit of the driving support device, and the speed limit of the running road is estimated with reference to the new correspondence data. Therefore, it becomes possible to estimate the speed limit of the road that is running more accurately.

  In addition, when assuming a configuration in which the information center side checks the information on the speed limit of the road at the current position based on the information on the current position of each vehicle and distributes the information to each vehicle, Since individual processing is performed, there arises a problem that the load on the information center increases. In addition, since the information on the speed limit of the road on which each vehicle is traveling must be distributed individually as the vehicle progresses, communication between the information center and each vehicle is not possible. There is also a problem that the traffic is crowded and the load on the communication network increases.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of claim 9, it is possible to limit the road on which each driving support device is traveling only by uniformly transmitting (distributing) the above-described new correspondence data to the driving support device of each vehicle. Since the speed can be estimated more accurately, the processing load on the information center side can be suppressed. According to the configuration of claim 9, the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is accurately estimated according to the progress of the vehicle autonomously by the driving support device of each vehicle based on the new correspondence data described above. Therefore, there is no possibility that the load on the communication network will increase too much.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an overspeed warning system 100. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an overspeed warning device 1. FIG. It is an example which shows the road condition in the case of one side 2 lanes. It is an example which shows the road condition in the case of one side 2 lanes. It is a figure which shows an example of correspondence data. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation flow of the overspeed warning device 1. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of a speed limit estimation process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an overspeed warning system 100 to which the present invention is applied. An overspeed warning system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 3 and an information center 2 equipped with an overspeed warning device 1.

  The information center 2 is composed of a server, for example, and is a communication device capable of communicating with the overspeed warning device 1 of a plurality of vehicles 3 via a network (that is, a communication network), and the overspeed warning device of the vehicle 3. 1 is provided with a storage device that stores information obtained by integrating correspondence data, which will be described later, transmitted from 1, and a control device that controls communication, integration processing of correspondence data, and the like. The information center 2 may be composed of one server or may be composed of a plurality of servers.

  The overspeed warning device 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and in this embodiment, is assumed to be mounted on a vehicle 3 as an automobile. The overspeed warning device 1 uses, for example, a function of communicating with the information center 2 via a network and information on the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling by using image recognition to be described later and correspondence data to be described later. It has the function etc. which are obtained by. In FIG. 1, the configuration including the three vehicles 3 in which the overspeed warning device 1 is mounted in the overspeed warning system 100 is shown, but the configuration is not necessarily limited thereto. The vehicle 3 equipped with the overspeed warning device 1 only needs to be included in a plurality of overspeed warning systems 100, and may include a plurality of vehicles 3 other than three.

  Here, a schematic configuration of the overspeed warning device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the overspeed warning device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the overspeed warning device 1 includes a position detector 11, a map data input device 16, a front camera 18, a rear camera 19, an image recognition device 20, a voice output device 24, a center communication unit 25, a speed limit database. 27 and a control device 26 connected thereto.

  The position detector 11 has a known acceleration sensor 12, a gyroscope 13, a vehicle speed sensor 14, and a GPS receiver 15 for GPS (Global Positioning System) that detects the current position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. The current position of the vehicle 3 is calculated by hybrid navigation. Since these sensors 12-15 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Further, the position detector 11 may be constituted by a part of the above-described components depending on accuracy, and may further include a steering rotation sensor, a vehicle sensor for each rolling wheel, a geomagnetic sensor, and the like.

  The map data input device 16 is loaded with a storage medium 17 and inputs various data including so-called map matching data, map data, and landmark data for improving the accuracy of position detection stored in the storage medium 17. It is a device for. Therefore, the storage medium 17 functions as a storage device according to the claims. The map data includes link data indicating roads and node data. A link is a link between nodes when the roads on the map are divided by a plurality of nodes such as intersections, branches, and merge points, and roads are configured by connecting the links. . Link data includes a unique number (link ID) that identifies the link, a link length that indicates the length of the link, coordinates of the start and end nodes of the link (latitude / longitude), road name, road type (highway, general road, etc.) , Road width (that is, width), number of lanes, presence / absence of right / left turn dedicated lanes, and the number of dedicated lanes.

  On the other hand, the node data includes a node ID, a node coordinate, a node name, and a link ID of a link connected to the node, each node having a unique number for each node where roads on the map intersect, merge and branch. It consists of each data such as ID and intersection type. As the storage medium 17, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, a memory card, an HDD, or the like is used.

  The front camera 18 is a camera that images the front of the vehicle 3, and the rear camera 19 is a camera that images the rear of the vehicle 3. For example, a CCD camera can be used as the front camera 18 and the rear camera 19. Therefore, the front camera 18 and the rear camera 19 function as an imaging unit.

  The image recognition device 20 includes a front recognition unit 21, a lane marking recognition unit 22, and a rear recognition unit 23. Then, the image recognition device 20 performs image recognition based on the images captured by the front camera 18 and the rear camera 19, and recognizes information on the speed limit indicated on the road sign or road marking, The number of lanes and the width are recognized by recognizing lane markings (white solid line, white dashed line, yellow solid line, etc.) indicating the belt boundary line and lane markings (white solid line, etc.) indicating the roadway outer line. Therefore, the image recognition device 20 functions as an image recognition unit in the claims.

  Specifically, the front recognition unit 21 performs image recognition based on the image captured by the front camera 18 and recognizes information on the speed limit indicated on the road sign or road marking of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. Then, information on the recognized speed limit is sent to the control device 26. The lane marking recognition unit 22 performs image recognition based on the image captured by the front camera 18, recognizes a lane marking indicating a vehicle lane boundary line and a lane marking indicating a roadway outer line, and Calculate the number of road lanes and width. Then, the calculated number of lanes and width information are sent to the control device 26. Further, the rear recognition unit 21 recognizes the image based on the image captured by the rear camera 19 and recognizes and recognizes the information on the speed limit indicated on the road marking of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. Information on the speed limit is sent to the control device 26. The image recognition performed by the front recognition unit 21, the lane marking recognition unit 22, and the rear recognition unit 23 is performed using a known method such as a method using template matching. The speed limit mentioned here indicates the maximum speed specified by the road sign etc. of Article 22 of the Road Traffic Law, and can be restated as a regulated speed.

  Here, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, based on a specific example of recognizing speed limit information by performing image recognition based on an image captured by the front camera 18 and an image captured by the rear camera 19. A specific example for recognizing speed limit information by performing image recognition is shown below. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are examples showing road conditions in the case of two lanes on one side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the road sign A standing on the side of the road or the road marking B painted on the road is captured by the front camera 18, the road sign A or the road marking B is recognized by image recognition. The information on the speed limit of the road being traveled (50 km / h in the example of FIG. 3) is recognized. Further, when the information on the speed limit of the road marking B cannot be recognized from the image captured by the front camera 18, the road marking B is captured by the rear camera 19 as shown in FIG. The information on the speed limit of the running road shown in B is recognized. In the imaging by the rear camera 19, the road sign can only image the back side where the speed limit information is not shown, and the speed limit information cannot be recognized. Therefore, image recognition is performed based on the image obtained by imaging the road marking. Shall.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the audio output device 24 is configured by a speaker or the like, and outputs a warning audio or the like that notifies the excess of speed based on an instruction from the control device 26. Therefore, the audio output device 24 functions as a warning unit in the claims.

  The center communication unit 25 communicates with the information center 2 via, for example, a network, and transmits / receives data to / from the information center 2. Therefore, the center communication unit 25 functions as a communication unit in claims. The center communication unit 25 may be configured to be connected to a network through an in-vehicle communication module used for telematics communication such as DCM (data communication module) mounted on a vehicle, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like. The mobile phone may be connected to the network through the mobile phone. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which communicates between the information centers 2 through the road-to-vehicle communication with the roadside machine which can communicate with the information center 2. FIG.

  The control device 26 is mainly composed of a microcomputer composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, backup RAM, I / O, etc. (all not shown), and executes various control programs stored in the ROM. The process is executed.

  When the speed limit information can be recognized by the image recognition by the image recognition device 20, the control device 26 is information on the road type, the number of lanes, and the width of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling (hereinafter referred to as road condition information). Is obtained from the map data in the storage medium 17 via the map data input device 16 and the data indicating the correspondence between the recognized speed limit information and the acquired road condition information is stored in the speed limit database 27. Execute. Therefore, the control device 26 functions as a road condition information acquisition unit in the claims. The speed limit database 27 is a storage unit such as a memory capable of storing data, and can be configured by, for example, an electrically rewritable EEPROM. If the map data in the storage medium 17 does not include lane number information and width information, the lane line recognition unit 22 is instructed to calculate the lane number and width by image recognition in the lane line recognition unit 22. The lane line recognition unit 22 acquires information on the number of lanes and the width of the lane line, and stores the data indicating the correspondence between the recognized speed limit information and the acquired road condition information in the speed limit database 27. .

  Then, the control device 26 sequentially repeats these processes while passing through various roads, thereby collecting statistics on the correspondence relationship between the recognized speed limit information and the acquired road condition information. Correspondence that creates data (hereinafter referred to as correspondence data) in which the number of statistics for each type of combination of road condition information and speed limit information in addition to condition information and speed limit information is also associated. Execute data creation processing. Therefore, the control device 26 also functions as a claim correspondence data creation unit, and the speed limit database 27 functions as a claim correspondence data storage unit.

  Here, a specific example of the correspondence data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence data. FIG. 5 shows an example in which there are two types of roads, a highway and a general road.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the correspondence relationship data obtained by the correspondence relationship data creation processing is the above-mentioned image for each type of road condition information (specifically, the type of combination of road type, number of lanes, and width information). The information on the speed limit recognized by the recognition is associated with the number of statistics corresponding to the combination of the road condition information and the information on the speed limit. For example, in the correspondence relationship data shown in FIG. 5, for the combination of road type information “highway”, lane number information “3”, and width information “20 m”, speed limit information “100 kn”. / H ", the statistical number" 55 ", the speed limit information" 80 km / h ", and the statistical number" 2 "are associated with each other.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, only two types of highway and general road are shown as road types. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the road type may include a road for exclusive use of automobiles. Further, the information on the number of lanes, the width, and the speed limit in the correspondence relationship data is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 5 and may include values other than the example illustrated in FIG.

  Further, when the control device 26 can recognize the speed limit information by the image recognition by the image recognition device 20, the control device 26 obtains the vehicle speed information of the vehicle 3 based on the sensor signal of the vehicle speed sensor 14 of the position detector 11. The vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 acquired based on the speed limit indicated by the information on the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling recognized by the front recognition unit 21 and the rear recognition unit 23 and the sensor signal of the vehicle speed sensor 14. A first speed excess determination process is performed to determine whether the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. Therefore, the control device 26 also functions as a vehicle speed information acquisition unit.

  In the first speed excess determination process, when it is determined that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling, the control device 26 instructs the audio output device 24. Then, the voice output device 24 outputs a warning voice or the like notifying the excessive speed, and issues an excessive speed warning.

  In the present embodiment, the information on the speed limit cannot be recognized by the front recognition unit 21 based on the image picked up by the front camera 18, so that the information picked up by the rear camera 19 is used. The rear recognition unit 23 is also configured to recognize speed limit information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the front camera 18 and the front recognition unit 21 may not be provided in the overspeed warning device 1, and the speed limit information may be recognized only by the rear recognition unit 23 based on the image captured by the rear camera 19. However, the rear camera 19 and the rear recognition unit 23 may not be provided in the overspeed warning device 1, and the speed limit information may be recognized only by the front recognition unit 21 based on the image captured by the front camera 18. . Further, when the front camera 18 is not provided in the overspeed warning device 1, the information on the number of lanes and the width is obtained from the map data in the storage medium 17 without the image recognition by the image recognition device 20. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure to acquire.

  Further, when the control device 26 cannot recognize the information on the speed limit by the image recognition by the image recognition device 20, the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling is obtained via the map data input device 16. Information on the speed limit and the number of statistics corresponding to the road condition information obtained from the map data in the storage medium 17 and referring to the correspondence data stored in the speed limit database 27 based on the acquired road condition information The data reference process for obtaining the information is executed. In addition, the control device 26 executes speed limit estimation processing for estimating the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling based on the speed limit information and the statistical number information obtained by the data reference process. Therefore, the control device 26 also functions as a data reference unit and a speed limit estimation unit. Details of the data reference process and the speed limit estimation process will be described later.

  Subsequently, the control device 26 acquires information on the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 based on the sensor signal of the vehicle speed sensor 14 of the position detector 11 and also determines the speed limit estimated by the speed limit estimation process (hereinafter referred to as an estimated speed limit). A second speed for determining whether or not the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the estimated speed limit by comparing the vehicle speed indicated by the vehicle speed information of the vehicle 3 acquired based on the sensor signal of the vehicle speed sensor 14 Execute excess determination processing. Then, in the second speed excess determination process, when it is determined that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the estimated speed limit, the control device 26 instructs the voice output device 24 to transmit the speed from the voice output device 24. A warning sound is output to notify the excess, and a warning of overspeed is issued. Therefore, the control device 26 also functions as a warning determination unit in the claims.

  In addition, about the position detector 11, the map data input device 16, and the audio | voice output apparatus 24, it is good also as a structure using what is provided in the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus.

  In the overspeed warning system 100, the overspeed warning device 1 of each vehicle 3 transmits the correspondence data created by the correspondence data creation processing and stored in the speed limit database 27 to the center communication for each predetermined period. The information is transmitted from the unit 25 to the information center 2. Further, in the information center 2, new correspondence data is created by collecting and integrating the correspondence data transmitted from each vehicle 3, and the new correspondence data is used as an overspeed warning for each vehicle 3. Delivered to the device 1. Then, the overspeed warning device 1 of each vehicle 3 overwrites the new correspondence data distributed from the information center 2 on the speed limit database 27, and thereafter, the new correspondence data is used for data reference processing. Shall be used.

  The term “predetermined period” as used herein may be an arbitrary time unit such as every day or every week, or every time an IG (ignition) switch of the vehicle 3 is turned on or the vehicle 3. It may be a unit of state change such as every time an ACC (accessory) switch is turned on.

  Next, the operation flow of the overspeed warning device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the overspeed warning device 1. This flow is started when, for example, the ACC switch of the host vehicle is turned on. Further, in the flow of FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, processing related to data transmission / reception with the information center 2 is omitted.

  First, in step S1, the control device 26 specifies the current position of the vehicle 3 (that is, specifies the current position). If the current position can be specified (Yes in step S1), the process proceeds to step S2. . If the current position cannot be specified (No in step S1), the flow in step S1 is repeated. Note that the control device 26 specifies the current position of the vehicle 3 by acquiring information on the current position of the vehicle 3 calculated by the position detector 11.

  In step S <b> 2, the front recognition unit 21 performs image recognition based on an image of the road ahead of the vehicle 3 captured by the front camera 18, and a road sign present ahead of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. If the information on the speed limit indicated on the road marking is recognized (that is, the front sign is recognized) (Yes in step S2), the information on the recognized speed limit is sent to the control device 26, and step S4 is performed. Move on. Further, when the forward sign indication cannot be recognized (No in step S2), the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, the rear recognition unit 23 performs image recognition based on an image behind the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling, which is captured by the rear camera 19, and a road marking present behind the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. If the information on the speed limit shown in (2) is recognized (that is, the rear sign recognition) (Yes in step S3), the information on the recognized speed limit is sent to the control device 26, and the process proceeds to step S4. If the rear sign cannot be recognized (No in step S3), the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S4, the control device 26 determines the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information recognized by the image recognition device 20 as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling, and proceeds to step S5. In step S <b> 5, the control device 26 tries to acquire the road type, the number of lanes, and the width information of the identified current position from the map data in the storage medium 17 via the map data input device 16. If the road type, the number of lanes, and the width information (that is, all road condition information) can be acquired (Yes in step S5), the process proceeds to step S7. If all road condition information cannot be acquired (that is, any of the number of lanes and the width information among the road type, the number of lanes, and the width information cannot be acquired) (No in step S5). The process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S <b> 6, the control device 26 instructs the lane line recognition unit 22 to recognize a lane line existing ahead of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling by image recognition in the lane line recognition unit 22. Calculate the number of lanes and width of the road inside. Then, when the number of lanes and the width of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling can be calculated (that is, calculated by the lane line recognition) by the lane line recognition by the lane line recognition unit 22 (Yes in step S6), step Move on to S7. If the lane marking cannot be calculated (No in step S6), the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S7, the control device 26 executes correspondence data creation processing, and proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the control device 26 executes a first speed excess determination process. If it is determined in the first speed excess determination process that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling (Yes in step S8), the process proceeds to step S9. If it is not determined that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling (No in step S8), the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S9, the control device 26 instructs the audio output device 24 to issue an overspeed warning by the audio output device 24, and the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S10, a data reference process is executed, and the process proceeds to step S11. In the data reference process, as described above, the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling is acquired from the map data in the storage medium 17 via the map data input device 16, and based on the acquired road condition information. , Reference is made to the correspondence data stored in the speed limit database 27, and speed limit information and statistical number information corresponding to the road condition information are obtained. Here, to give a specific example using the example of FIG. 5, road condition information of a road on which the vehicle 3 is running includes road type information “general road”, lane number information “2”, width information “ In the case of a combination of “10 m”, speed limit information “50 km / h” and statistical number information “12” are obtained. If the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling is a combination of road type information “general road”, lane number information “2”, and width information “15 m”, information on speed limit Two sets of “60 km / h” and statistical number information “32”, speed limit information “50 km / h” and statistical number information “8” are obtained.

  In the data reference process, the number of lanes and the width information in the road condition information may be obtained by recognizing the lane line by the lane line recognition unit 22.

  In step S11, speed limit estimation processing is performed and the process proceeds to step S12. Here, an outline of the speed limit estimation process will be described using the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the speed limit estimation process.

  First, in step S111, the control device 26 determines whether or not a plurality of sets of speed limit information and statistical number information are obtained by the data reference process. If it is determined that a plurality of sets of speed limit information and statistical number information are obtained by the data reference process (that is, a plurality of estimated speed limit candidates) (Yes in step S111), the process proceeds to step S113. If it is not determined that there are a plurality of estimated speed limit candidates (No in step S111), the process proceeds to step S112.

  In step S112, the first estimated speed limit determining process is performed to determine the estimated speed limit, and the process proceeds to step S12. In the first estimated speed limit determining process, the control device 26 uses the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information of the set of speed limit information and statistical number information obtained by the data reference process as the estimated speed limit. decide.

  In step S113, the control device 26 performs statistical number difference calculation processing, and proceeds to step S114. In the statistical number difference calculation process, the group having the first largest number of statistics and the group having the second largest number of statistics among the sets of speed limit information and statistical number information obtained by the data reference process select. Then, the difference between the statistical number of information on the speed limit with the largest number of statistics and the statistical number of information on the speed limit with the second largest number of statistics is calculated.

  In step S114, the control device 26 determines whether or not the difference between the statistical number of the speed limit information having the largest statistical number and the statistical number of the speed limit information having the second largest statistical number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Judgment. And when it determines with a difference being more than a predetermined threshold value (it is Yes at step S114), it moves to step S115. If it is not determined that the difference is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (No in step S114), the process proceeds to step S116. Note that the predetermined threshold here is that the number of statistics of the speed limit information having the largest number of statistics reaches several times the number of statistics of the speed limit information having the second largest number of statistics, etc. It is a value corresponding to a large statistical number opening that is considered to be sufficiently high in the reliability of the speed limit information having the largest number of statistics, and can be arbitrarily set.

  In step S115, the second estimated speed limit determining process is performed to determine the estimated speed limit, and the process proceeds to step S12. In the second estimated speed limit determination process, the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information of the group having the largest number of statistics out of the sets of speed limit information and statistical number information obtained by the data reference process Is determined as the estimated speed limit.

  In step S116, a third estimated speed limit determining process is performed to determine the estimated speed limit, and the process proceeds to step S12. In the third estimated speed limit determining process, the limit indicated by the speed limit information of the group having the largest number of statistics among the sets of speed limit information and statistics number information obtained by the data reference process Of the speed and the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information of the group having the second largest number of statistics, the control device 26 determines the speed limit with the lower value as the estimated speed limit.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in step S <b> 12, the control device 26 executes the second speed excess determination process. If it is determined in the second speed excess determination process that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the estimated speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling (Yes in step S12), the process proceeds to step S9. When it is not determined that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the estimated speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling (No in step S12), the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, when the ACC switch of the host vehicle is turned off (Yes in step S13), the flow ends. If the ACC switch of the host vehicle is not turned off (No in step S13), the process returns to step S1 and the flow is repeated.

  In addition, although this flow showed the structure which a flow is started when an ACC switch is turned on and a flow is complete | finished when an ACC switch is turned off, it does not necessarily restrict to this. For example, the flow may be started when the IG switch is turned on, and the flow may be ended when the IG switch is turned off.

  The speed limit is set freely for each area, but the speed limit is set according to the regulation speed calculation procedure that determines the speed limit according to the number of lanes, whether there is a sidewalk, whether there is a median, etc. There are many areas. Moreover, in determining the speed limit, the influence of the number of lanes (and thus the width) is particularly large among the items of the regulation speed calculation procedure. Therefore, it can be said that there is a particularly strong correlation between the number of lanes and the width and the actual speed limit. Further, the speed limit can be roughly set in a range that can be set according to a road type such as an expressway, a car road, or a general road. Therefore, it can be said that there is a particularly strong correlation between the road type and the actual speed limit.

  Therefore, as described above, information on the speed limit of road signs and road markings that can be recognized by image recognition based on images captured by the front camera 18 and the rear camera 19 and the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. In the correspondence data obtained by repeating the association of road condition information (information combining road type information, lane number information and width information) with statistics, the actual road condition information There is a high possibility that the actual speed limit is more accurately matched. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the speed limit speed of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling is estimated with higher accuracy by referring to the correspondence data based on the road condition information on the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling. It becomes possible.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling can be estimated with higher accuracy as long as the road type, the number of lanes, and the width of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling are acquired. If the map data that includes the information on the speed limit is not available, or if the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling cannot be identified by the image recognition of the road sign or road marking. Even if it exists, it becomes possible to estimate the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling more accurately. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the road is more versatile, and even if it is not possible to specify the speed limit of the road on the road by image recognition of road signs and road markings, The speed limit can be estimated with higher accuracy. Therefore, the overspeed warning device 1 functions as the driving support device of the claims.

  Furthermore, according to the above configuration, when the control device 26 determines that the speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the speed limit or the estimated speed limit, a warning is given to notify that the speed has been exceeded. Can be prevented.

  Further, according to the above configuration, when the information of a plurality of types of speed limit is obtained by the data reference process with respect to the same road condition information, the speed limit information and the statistics having the largest number of statistics are obtained. Even if the credibility of the speed limit information with the first number of statistics is lower, such as when the difference in the number of statistics from the speed limit information with the second number is small, the value is Since the lower speed limit is determined as the estimated speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling, the possibility of estimating the estimated speed limit higher than the actual speed limit is reduced even if the estimation is incorrect can do. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a situation in which no warning is issued even when the speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the actual speed limit, and to further prevent the speed from being exceeded by the driver's carelessness. It becomes possible.

  Furthermore, according to the above configuration, when information on a plurality of types of speed limit is obtained in the data reference process for the same road condition information, the speed limit information and statistics with the largest number of statistics are obtained. If the credibility of the speed limit information with the first number of statistics is higher, such as when the difference in the number of statistics from the speed limit information with the second number is large, the number of statistics is 1 Since the speed limit indicated by the second largest speed limit information can be preferentially estimated as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling, the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling can be estimated as the actual speed limit. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the speed limit of the road that is running more accurately.

  Further, according to the overspeed warning system 100 to which the present invention is applied, the correspondence data created in each overspeed warning device 1 mounted on each vehicle 3 is integrated in the information center 2 to create a new correspondence. Since the data is created, the total number of statistics increases compared to the correspondence data created by only one overspeed warning device 1, and the correspondence between the road condition information of the actual road and the actual speed limit is made more accurate. Is more likely. Then, this new correspondence data is stored as correspondence data in the speed limit database 27 of the overspeed warning device 1, and the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 3 is traveling can be estimated by referring to the new correspondence data. Since this is done, it becomes possible to estimate the speed limit of the running road more accurately.

  If the information center 2 side checks the information on the speed limit of the road at the current position based on the information on the current position of each vehicle 3 and distributes the information to each vehicle 3, the information center 2 side Thus, since each vehicle is individually processed, there arises a problem that the load on the information center 2 increases. In addition, since information on the speed limit of the road on which each vehicle 3 is traveling must be individually distributed frequently as each vehicle 3 progresses, the information center 2 and each vehicle 3 are There is also a problem that the communication on the network is crowded and the load on the communication network increases.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the overspeed warning system 100 to which the present invention is applied, the above-described new correspondence data is simply transmitted (distributed) to the overspeed warning device 1 of each vehicle 3. Since each speed excess warning device 1 can estimate the speed limit of the road that is running more accurately, it is possible to suppress the processing load on the information center 2 side and increase the load on the communication network. It becomes possible to suppress. Therefore, the overspeed warning system 100 functions as the driving support system of the claims.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the correspondence relationship data is created by the control device 26 of the overspeed warning device 1 is shown, but the configuration is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, a combination of speed limit information recognized by the image recognition device 20 and road condition information of a point where the speed limit information acquired from the map data in the storage medium 17 via the map data input device 16 can be recognized. (Hereinafter referred to as combination information) is sequentially transmitted from the control device 26 to the information center 2 via the center communication unit 25, and the information center 2 has a correspondence relationship while collecting statistics based on the combination information sequentially transmitted. It is good also as composition which creates data. In this case, the correspondence relationship data created in the information center 2 is acquired by the overspeed warning device 1 via the center communication unit 25 and stored in the speed limit database 27, and the correspondence relationship data derived from the information center 2 is stored. What is necessary is just to use the structure used for a data reference process.

  According to the above configuration, the road that is running when the overspeed warning device 1 mounted on each vehicle 3 can recognize the information on the speed limit recognized by the image recognition and the information on the speed limit, respectively. Since the combination information with the road condition information is integrated in the information center 2 to create new correspondence data, the total number of statistics is increased compared to the case where the correspondence data is created by only one overspeed warning device 1. There is a high possibility that the correspondence between the road condition information of the actual road and the actual speed limit will be made with higher accuracy. Therefore, even with the above configuration, it is possible to estimate the speed limit of the running road more accurately. Further, according to the above configuration, the above-described new correspondence data is simply transmitted (distributed) to the overspeed warning device 1 of each vehicle 3, and the restriction of the road on which the overspeed warning device 1 is running is limited. Since the speed can be estimated more accurately, the processing load on the information center 2 side can be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the overspeed warning device 1 receives (acquires) correspondence data from the information center 2 by communicating with the information center 2 via the center communication unit 25. Not limited to this. For example, the overspeed warning device 1 may not include the center communication unit 25 and may not receive (acquire) correspondence data from the information center 2.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the information on the speed limit recognized by the image recognition device 20 of the overspeed warning device 1 and the information on the speed limit obtained from the map data in the storage medium 17 via the map data input device 16. Although the configuration in which the correspondence data created based on the road condition information of the point where can be recognized is used for the data reference process is shown, it is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, a correspondence database created by associating road condition information with information on speed limit often set in the road condition information by means other than the overspeed warning device 1 (for example, manually) A configuration may be adopted in which the correspondence relationship data created in advance is stored in the speed limit database 27 and used in the data reference process. In this case, it is good also as a structure which does not perform a correspondence data creation process in the overspeed warning apparatus 1. FIG. Note that when the correspondence data creation process is not performed in the overspeed warning device 1 and the above-described correspondence data created in advance is used for the data reference process, the speed limit database 27 is a read-only ROM or the like. You may comprise with memory.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second estimated speed limit determining process and the third estimated speed limit determining process are performed when information on a plurality of types of speed limit is obtained in the data reference process for the same road condition information. Although the configuration for determining the estimated speed limit is shown, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, when multiple types of speed limit information are obtained by the data reference process for the same road condition information, the speed limit indicated by the speed limit information of the group with the largest number of statistics is always the estimated speed limit. It is good also as a structure determined as. In addition, when multiple types of speed limit information are obtained by the data reference process for the same road condition information, the speed limit and the number of statistics indicated by the speed limit information of the group having the largest number of statistics are 2 Of the speed limits indicated by the information on the speed limit of the second largest group, the speed limit with the lower value may always be determined as the estimated speed limit.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration is described in which the warning that notifies the overspeed is performed by the audio output device 24. However, the configuration is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, a warning may be provided by displaying a warning indicating that the speed has been exceeded on a display such as a liquid crystal display, or a warning may be provided that indicates that the speed has been exceeded by turning on an LED or the like. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which performs the warning which notifies an overspeed by the audio | voice output apparatus, a display apparatus, etc. which are not included in the overspeed warning apparatus 1. FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the road condition information includes a road type information, a lane number information, and a width information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As described above, the road condition information has a particularly strong correlation with the actual speed limit because it is road type information and / or lane number information and / or width information. May be information that is a combination of at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information. Further, the road condition information may include information other than road type information, lane number information, and width information. For example, whether there is a sidewalk with a strong correlation with the actual speed limit. Information, information on the presence / absence of a median, information on the number of intersections, and the like may be further included.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the technical means disclosed in different embodiments can be appropriately combined. Such embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Overspeed warning device (driving support device), 2 Information center, 3 Vehicle, 11 Position detector, 12 Acceleration sensor, 13 Gyroscope, 14 Vehicle speed sensor, 15 GPS receiver, 16 Map data input device, 17 Storage medium ( Storage device), 18 front camera (imaging unit), 19 rear camera (imaging unit), 20 image recognition device (image recognition unit), 21 front recognition unit, 22 lane marking recognition unit, 23 rear recognition unit, 24 audio output device (Warning unit), 25 center communication unit (communication unit), 26 control device (road condition information acquisition unit, correspondence data creation unit, vehicle speed information acquisition unit, data reference unit, speed limit estimation unit, warning determination unit), 27 Speed limit database (corresponding data storage unit), 100 speed excess warning system (driving support system)

Claims (9)

A driving support device mounted on a vehicle,
Stores correspondence data indicating the correspondence between road condition information and speed limit information, which is a combination of at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information. A correspondence data storage unit,
A road condition information acquisition unit for acquiring the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling;
Data reference for obtaining speed limit information corresponding to the road condition information by referring to the correspondence data stored in the correspondence data storage based on the road condition information acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit And
A driving assistance apparatus comprising: a speed limit estimating unit that estimates a speed limit of a road that is running based on information on the speed limit obtained by the data reference unit. A vehicle speed information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the speed of the vehicle;
A warning section for warning, and
A warning determination unit that issues a warning in the warning unit when it is determined that the speed indicated by the speed information acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit exceeds the speed limit estimated by the speed limit estimation unit; The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: An imaging unit that captures an image of at least one of the front and rear of the vehicle;
Recognize at least one of the speed limit information shown on the road sign and the speed limit information shown on the road marking by image recognition based on the image captured by the imaging unit. An image recognition unit;
A process of associating the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit with the information on the speed limit when the image recognition unit can recognize the information on the speed limit. The correspondence data in which the number of statistics is associated with the road condition information and the speed limit information in addition to the road condition information and the speed limit information is created by repeating the statistics, and the created correspondence data is used as the correspondence data. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a correspondence data creating unit configured as correspondence data stored in the storage unit.   When the data reference unit obtains information on a plurality of types of speed limit with respect to the same road condition information, the speed limit estimation unit includes the statistics among the information on the plurality of types of speed limit information. The speed limit indicated by the information on the speed limit with the largest number is compared with the speed limit indicated by the information on the speed limit with the second largest number of statistics. The driving support device according to claim 3, wherein the driving support device is estimated as a road speed limit.   The speed limit estimation unit is configured such that a difference between a statistical number of information on the speed limit with the first largest number of statistics and a statistical number of information on the speed limit with the second largest number of statistics is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. 5. The driving support device according to claim 4, wherein the speed limit indicated by the information on the speed limit with the largest number of statistics is preferentially estimated as the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. . The driving support device acquires the map data from a storage device that stores map data including at least one of road type information, lane number information, and width information. ,
The road condition information acquisition unit stores, at a minimum, at least one of road type information and lane number information and width information in the road condition information in the storage device. It acquires from map data, The driving assistance apparatus of any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The driving support device acquires the map data from a storage device that stores map data including at least road type information,
The road condition information acquisition unit acquires the information of the road type in the road condition information from the map data stored in the storage device at least.
The information of at least one of the information on the number of lanes and the information on the width is acquired by image recognition based on an image captured by the imaging unit. The driving support device according to 1. A plurality of vehicles comprising the driving support device according to claim 1;
An information center,
The driving support device includes:
An imaging unit that captures an image of at least one of the front and rear of the vehicle;
Recognize at least one of the speed limit information shown on the road sign and the speed limit information shown on the road marking by image recognition based on the image captured by the imaging unit. An image recognition unit;
A communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the information center,
When the information on the speed limit can be recognized by the image recognition unit, the road condition information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling acquired by the road condition information acquisition unit is combined with the information on the speed limit While transmitting the combination information which is information to the information center by the communication unit,
The information center
The combination information transmitted from the communication unit of each of the driving support devices mounted on a plurality of vehicles is integrated to create new correspondence data, and the created new correspondence data is Sent to the driving assistance device,
The driving support system characterized in that the new correspondence data created in the information center is stored as the correspondence data in the correspondence data storage unit of the driving support device. A plurality of vehicles provided with the driving support device according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
An information center,
The driving support device includes:
A communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the information center;
The correspondence data created by the correspondence data creation unit is transmitted to the information center by the communication unit, and
The information center
The correspondence data transmitted from the communication unit of each of the driving support apparatuses mounted on a plurality of vehicles is integrated to create new correspondence data, and the created new correspondence data is Sent to the driving assistance device,
The driving support system, wherein the new correspondence data created in the information center is stored as the correspondence data in the correspondence data storage unit of the driving support device.

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