JP2011060011A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a driver of a vehicle from having excessive expectation for given information. <P>SOLUTION: A driving support device (10) mounted on the vehicle (1) includes: a first communication means (104) which can communicate with roadside apparatuses (201, 202) installed on the street within a predetermined range; a second communication means (104) which can communicate with an onboard device mounted on another vehicle different from the above vehicle; notification means (106, 114) which can notify the driver of the vehicle of information obtained by the first communication means or the second communication means; and a control means (109) controlling the notification means to change a notification method to the driver on condition that the information is obtained by the second communication means during a predetermined period before acquisition of the information by the first communication means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a driving support apparatus that provides information to a driver in a safe driving support system, for example.

  In this type of device, for example, information is acquired by communicating with a spot communication type roadside device such as an optical beacon installed on the road, and information is obtained by communicating with a device mounted on another vehicle. It is possible to obtain.

  As this type of device, for example, immediately after passing through a communicable area with an optical beacon, it receives a signal from a transmitter installed on the road and transmits a predetermined signal, and artificially synchronizes the time with the transmitter. Then, an apparatus for specifying the vehicle position based on the received signal has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-031241 A

  By the way, for the driver, the information provided is information obtained by communicating with a spot communication type roadside device, or communicating with a continuous communication type roadside device (or a device mounted on another vehicle). It is difficult to recognize whether the information is obtained by. Then, there is a technical problem that the driver may overestimate the information provided. The technique described in Patent Document 1 has a technical problem that it is extremely difficult to solve the problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that can suppress the driver from expecting too much information provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, a driving support device of the present invention is mounted on a vehicle and communicates within a predetermined range from a roadside device installed on the road, and another vehicle different from the vehicle Second communication means capable of communicating with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle, notification means capable of notifying a driver of the vehicle of information acquired by the first communication means or the second communication means, and the first communication Control for controlling the notification means so as to change the notification method for the driver on condition that the information is acquired by the second communication means within a predetermined period before the time when the information is acquired by the means. Means.

  According to the driving support apparatus of the present invention, the driving support apparatus is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. The first communication means can communicate with a spot type roadside device installed on the road, for example, an optical beacon, within a predetermined range from the roadside device. The second communication means can communicate with a continuous communication type roadside device (or an on-vehicle device such as a radio wave medium mounted on another vehicle) different from the vehicle on which the driving support device is mounted.

  For example, a notification means such as a speaker or a monitor can notify the driver of the vehicle of information acquired by the first communication means or the second communication means. For example, the control means including a memory, a processor, etc. is provided to the driver on condition that the information is acquired by the second communication means within a predetermined period before the information is acquired by the first communication means. The notification means is controlled to change the notification method.

  Here, the “predetermined period” is a period for determining whether to control the notification means so as to change the notification method for the driver, and is previously determined as a fixed value or a variable value according to some parameter. Is the period. Such a predetermined period is obtained, for example, by obtaining a period during which an impression caused by one notification method remains in the driver, experimentally, empirically, or by simulation. What is necessary is just to set as a period longer or smaller than a given period.

  According to the inventor's research, the following matters have been found. The first communication means can communicate with the roadside unit within a predetermined area on the road. For this reason, for example, when a vehicle equipped with the driving support device is going to turn right at an intersection, information indicating that an oncoming vehicle exists is driven only when the oncoming vehicle exists while the vehicle is traveling in a predetermined area. The person is informed. On the other hand, the second communication means can communicate with the vehicle-mounted device, for example, within a range where radio waves reach from the vehicle-mounted device mounted on another vehicle. For this reason, when a vehicle equipped with the driving support device tries to turn right at an intersection, if the vehicle is traveling in a range where radio waves from an onboard device mounted on another vehicle reach, the vehicle The driver is notified that there is an oncoming vehicle until he turns right.

  Incidentally, as described above, the information acquired by the first communication unit and the information acquired by the second communication unit are similar. For this reason, it is difficult for the driver to recognize whether the notified information is acquired by the first communication unit or the second communication unit. Then, for example, the driver accustomed to being notified of the information acquired by the second communication means is excessive in the notified information even if the information acquired by the first communication means is notified. There is a possibility of expecting

  However, in the present invention, the control method changes the notification method for the driver on the condition that the information is acquired by the second communication means within a predetermined period before the time when the information is acquired by the first communication means. Thus, the notification means is controlled. That is, in the present invention, by changing the notification method, the acquisition route of the notified information (that is, whether the information is acquired by the first communication unit or the information acquired by the second communication unit). The driver is made aware of the difference. Therefore, according to the driving support apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the driver from expecting too much information provided.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the running state of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the alerting | reporting process which ECU which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a driving support device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  First, the configuration of a vehicle on which the driving support apparatus according to the present embodiment is mounted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, only members that are directly related to the present embodiment are shown, and other members are not shown.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) 101, a front camera 102, a millimeter wave radar 103, an infrastructure communication device 104, a vehicle speed sensor 105, a display 106, an ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) switch 107, a PCS (Pre- The system includes a crash safety (switch) switch 108, an electronic control unit (ECU) 109, a map information database (DB) 110, a car navigation system 111, a brake actuator 112, an accelerator actuator 113, and a speaker 114.

  The GPS 101 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and specifies the current position of the vehicle 1. The millimeter wave radar 103 emits a millimeter wave and receives a radio wave reflected by an object (for example, a vehicle ahead). Based on a frequency difference caused by a propagation time or a Doppler effect, the object And the relative speed with respect to the vehicle 1 are measured. The ACC switch 107 and the PCS switch 108 enable the ACC function and the PCS function by being turned on by the driver of the vehicle 1.

  The driving support device 10 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1 and can be communicated with an optical beacon (not shown) installed on the road, and is mounted on another vehicle different from the vehicle 1. An infrastructure communication device 104 capable of communicating with an on-vehicle device (not shown), a display 106 and a speaker 114 capable of notifying a driver of the vehicle 1 of information acquired from an optical beacon or an on-vehicle device mounted on another vehicle, The display 106 changes the notification method to the driver on the condition that the information is acquired from the vehicle-mounted device mounted on another vehicle within a predetermined period before the time when the information is acquired from the optical beacon. And an ECU 109 that controls the speaker 114.

  The “infrastructure communication apparatus 104” according to the present embodiment is an example of the “first communication unit” and the “second communication unit” according to the present invention. The “display 106” and “speaker 114” according to the present embodiment are examples of the “notification unit” according to the present invention. The “ECU 109” and the “optical beacon” according to the present embodiment are examples of the “control unit” and the “roadside unit” according to the present invention, respectively. In the present embodiment, a part of the electronic control ECU 109 is used as a part of the driving support device 10.

  Note that “communication with an in-vehicle device mounted on another vehicle different from the vehicle 1” means “inter-vehicle communication”. Here, “vehicle-to-vehicle communication” according to the present embodiment is communication using radio waves in the 770 MHz band.

  Next, operation | movement of the driving assistance device 10 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a running state of the vehicle according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 is traveling from the lower side to the upper side in the figure.

  After the vehicle 1 receives the right turn support using the inter-vehicle communication with the vehicle 2 that is the oncoming vehicle at the time t1, the vehicle 1 turns right at the intersection c1, and at the time t2, the vehicle 1 is connected to the optical beacon 201 installed on the road. Assume that the vehicle turns right at intersection c2 with support for turning right using communication between the vehicles (ie, road-to-vehicle communication).

  In this case, when the vehicle 1 makes a right turn at the intersection c1, the driver of the vehicle 1 is provided with information as needed until the vehicle 1 passes through the intersection c1. On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 turns right at the intersection c <b> 2, the driver of the vehicle 1 is provided with information only when the vehicle 1 passes through a predetermined area where the vehicle 1 can communicate with the optical beacon 201.

  Here, when the time between the time t1 and the time t2 is relatively short (for example, when the impression is due to one notification method is a period that is short enough for the driver), the driver of the vehicle 1 At the intersection c2, there is a possibility that information is provided until the vehicle 1 passes through the intersection c2.

  Therefore, in the driving support device 10 according to the present embodiment, the vehicle is provided on the condition that the information is provided via the inter-vehicle communication within a predetermined period before the time when the information is provided via the optical beacon 201. The notification method for the driver 1 is changed. Specifically, for example, when information is provided via inter-vehicle communication, the driving support device 10 notifies the driver of the vehicle 1 with a warning sound, and the information is provided via the optical beacon 201. At this time, for example, the driver of the vehicle 1 is notified by a voice such as “Please be careful about oncoming vehicles”.

  Thereby, it is possible to recognize whether the driver of the vehicle 1 is information via inter-vehicle communication or information via the optical beacon 201. As a result, it is possible to suppress the driver of the vehicle 1 from excessively expecting the provided information.

  Next, a notification process executed by the ECU 109 during the traveling of the vehicle 1 equipped with the driving support device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the ECU 109 first receives information from the optical beacon 201 via the infrastructure communication device 104 (step S101). Subsequently, the ECU 109 determines whether or not the right turn support system can be implemented (step S102). Here, whether or not the right turn support system can be executed is, for example, acquiring position information of another vehicle, a distance to the stop line being a certain value or more, or a vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 being a certain value or less. Or the like.

  When it is determined that the right turn support system cannot be implemented (step S102: No), the process is temporarily terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the right turn support system can be implemented (step S102: Yes), the ECU 109 uses radio wave media within a certain period (or within a certain area) (that is, uses inter-vehicle communication). ) It is determined whether right turn support is provided (step S103). When determining whether right turn support using radio wave media has been provided, it may be considered whether right turn support has actually been provided (that is, right turn support using radio wave media can be provided). You may be excluded if you simply pass through the area).

  When it is determined that the right turn support using the radio wave media is provided within a certain period (step S103: Yes), the ECU 109 determines whether there is an oncoming vehicle (step S104). Here, whether or not there is an oncoming straight vehicle is determined by determining whether or not the information received in step S101 includes information indicating that the oncoming vehicle 3 is detected by the optical beacon 202, for example. Can be determined.

  If it is determined that there is an oncoming vehicle (step S104: Yes), the ECU 109 outputs, for example, a voice “Please be careful with oncoming vehicles” via the speaker 114 (step S105). The ECU 109 may further display, for example, the service provision section and time, the infrastructure information being used, and the like on the display 106. Alternatively, the ECU 109 may control the car navigation 111 so that the screen related to the car navigation is a still image.

  When it is determined that there is no oncoming vehicle (step S104: No), the ECU 109 determines whether or not a service end condition for the right turn support system is satisfied (step S108). When it is determined that the service end condition is satisfied (step S108: Yes), the ECU 109 notifies the driver of the vehicle 1 through the speaker 114 or the display 106 that the service has ended (step S109). . On the other hand, when it is determined that the service termination condition is not satisfied (step S108: No), the ECU 109 executes the process of step S104.

  In the process of step S103, when it is determined that the right turn support using the radio wave medium is not provided within a certain period (step S103: No), the ECU 109 determines whether or not there is an oncoming straight vehicle (step S103). S106). When it is determined that there is an oncoming vehicle (step S106: Yes), the ECU 109 outputs a warning sound through the speaker 114 (step S107). On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no oncoming vehicle (step S106: No), the process is temporarily ended.

  In addition, the change of the notification method for the driver described above is limited to a similar road environment (for example, when the number of intrusion lanes, intrusion road width, exit lane number, exit road width, etc. at the target intersection is similar). You may implement.

  The driving support device 10 according to the present invention uses optical beacons and radio wave media (that is, vehicle-to-vehicle communication) such as a red light oversight prevention support system and a transmission delay prevention support system in addition to the right turn support system described above. It can be applied to the system. Here, the “red signal oversight prevention support system” is a system that alerts a driver of a vehicle that is supposed to enter the red signal. In addition, the “transmission delay prevention support system” is a system for notifying a driver of a vehicle stopped at a red signal of an approximate waiting time.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and is accompanied by such a change. The driving support device is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  1, 2, 3, ..., vehicle, 10 ... driving support device, 104 ... infrastructure communication device, 106 ... display, 109 ... ECU, 114 ... speaker

Claims (1)

Mounted on the vehicle,
A first communication means capable of communicating within a predetermined range from a roadside device installed on the road;
Second communication means capable of communicating with a vehicle-mounted device mounted on another vehicle different from the vehicle;
A notification means capable of notifying a driver of the vehicle of the information acquired by the first communication means or the second communication means;
The notification means so as to change a notification method for the driver on condition that the information is acquired by the second communication means within a predetermined period before the time when the information is acquired by the first communication means. And a control means for controlling the driving support device.

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