JP2012127845A - On-vehicle electronic device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly calculate a current position even when a road is branched in a tunnel.SOLUTION: A database 19 stores road position information to specify a road position in a tunnel and branch point information regarding the position of the branch point in the tunnel. A control unit 18 has a current position calculation function of calculating a vehicle traveling distance based on car speed information and elapsed time obtained from a vehicle and calculating current vehicle position based on the calculated traveling distance and the road position information, a route change detection function of detecting a vehicle route changing direction from the ON information of a winker obtained from the vehicle, and a determination function of determining that the route change is a route change at the branch point when the route change detection function detects the vehicle route changing direction, and the current position obtained by the current position calculation function and the position specified by the branch point information are nearer than a set distance. The current position calculation function calculates, when the determination function determines the route change at the branch point, a current position determining that the vehicle travels in a direction detected by the route change detection function.

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle electronic device and a program for obtaining a current position of a vehicle and performing processing such as notification based on the current position.

  For example, a simple type portable car navigation device called PND (Personal Navigation Device), and other vehicle navigation devices, search for a route to an input destination, and use GPS (Global Positioning System) etc. While sequentially detecting the current position of the own vehicle by using it and drawing map information representing a road or the like on a display device, route guidance to the destination is performed using images and sounds.

  Further, the position information of the notification target such as the vehicle speed measuring device is stored and held, and the positional relationship between the current position and the notification target is obtained based on the current position of the own vehicle detected by the GPS and the stored position information. There is also an in-vehicle electronic device such as a radar detector that issues a warning when a predetermined approaching relationship is established with respect to a notification target. These various vehicle speed measuring devices are installed at locations where traffic accidents occur frequently or at places where speeds are likely to occur and traffic accidents are likely to occur. Safe driving that complies with traffic rules can be encouraged in various places.

  By the way, although the current position is generally obtained using GPS, for example, when traveling in an area where GPS radio waves cannot be received such as in a tunnel, the position of the current position cannot be detected based on GPS. Therefore, since various types of information based on the current position information cannot be provided or notified as it is, the car navigation device obtains the current position by autonomous navigation using an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, etc. The position is displayed and the guidance to the destination is continued.

  Also, simply, the traveling speed when entering the tunnel is stored, and the traveling distance is calculated from the elapsed time from the entrance assuming that the traveling speed is constant in the tunnel. Some seek the position of. In addition, an acceleration sensor is provided to determine the increase / decrease in the travel speed of the vehicle, to correct the travel speed when entering the tunnel, to obtain the current travel speed, and from the travel speed that changes over time to the present Some ask for a position.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-010774

  The above algorithm for calculating the current position is based on the time when the vehicle entered the tunnel, and the current position is estimated by accumulating the distance traveled based on the elapsed time and travel speed from the tunnel entrance point. Based on. Then, by giving the road map data in the tunnel, the position on the road in the tunnel is determined from the moving distance, or the direction in which the vehicle is bent is detected by using the gyro sensor. Even if the vehicle is traveling on a curved road, the movement trajectory can be obtained.

  However, in any case, although there is a difference in accuracy, since the movement of the vehicle is added starting from the point at the entrance of the tunnel, the error is also integrated. Therefore, the longer the length of the tunnel is, the further away from the entrance of the tunnel, the larger the difference between the actual position of the actual vehicle and the current position obtained by calculation.

  Furthermore, in order to run autonomously, it is necessary to separately install sensors such as an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor in an in-vehicle electronic device, which increases the size of the device and increases the cost. Therefore, in addition to PNDs and inexpensive navigation systems, in-vehicle electronic devices such as radar detectors that are cheaper than car navigation devices, it is difficult to incorporate autonomous running functions including these sensors.

  In addition, when there is a road branch in the tunnel, at least an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor must be used, and the above problem becomes significant, and a detection system using such a gyro sensor or the like accurately obtains the branch position. It was difficult.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an in-vehicle electronic device according to the present invention (1) calculates a current position based on a radio signal that is flying, and executes a predetermined process based on the calculated current position. Road information storage means for storing branch point information regarding the position of a branch point in an area where the incoming radio wave signal cannot be received, and a vehicle travel distance after entering the area where the radio signal cannot be received Current position calculation means for obtaining the current position of the vehicle based on the above, and a course change detection means for detecting the direction of the course change of the vehicle, the course change detection means detects the direction of the course change of the vehicle, When the current position obtained by the position calculation means and the position specified by the branch point information are closer than the set distance, the course change is determined to be a course change at the branch point, and predetermined processing is performed. It was way. The road information storage means is realized by the database 19 in the embodiment, and other means are realized as functions of the control unit 18.

  In the embodiment, the function for calculating the current position based on the incoming radio signal is realized by obtaining the current position (absolute position of longitude / latitude) based on the GPS signal. It may be based on. An area where a flying radio signal cannot be received is an area where the incoming radio wave is obstructed by an obstacle and the signal cannot be received and the current position cannot be calculated.For example, tunnels, underpasses, and high-rise buildings in the city There are various areas such as many built-up areas and underground parking lots. In other words, when areas that cannot be received such as tunnels and underground parking lots are fixedly installed, and areas that cannot be received vary depending on the reception environment such as the strength of radio waves at that time, such as around a high-rise building. Both are included. Even if the area where reception is impossible varies depending on the reception environment, the approximate area is specified. If there is a branch point in the area, branch point information about the position of the branch point is stored.

  For example, the travel distance of the vehicle after entering an area where radio signals cannot be received may be obtained by obtaining a vehicle speed pulse, particularly when using an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like. Exhibits excellent effects. The current position calculation means obtains the current position based on at least the travel distance, but the current position may be obtained more accurately by adding other information. As a method for obtaining the current position based on the travel distance, for example, the travel distance of the vehicle is obtained assuming that the vehicle is traveling from the position where the current position cannot be calculated based on the incoming radio signal to the branch point. Therefore, it is excellent when using a position calculation (estimation) method with insufficient accuracy, such as a configuration in which it is estimated that the vehicle is traveling along a predetermined trajectory such as a straight line toward the branch point and the current position is obtained. Demonstrate the effect. In addition, as shown in (2), by storing the road position information related to the road position of the road including the branch point in the area where the radio signal cannot be received, the current position can be more accurately taken into consideration with the road position information. You can ask for information. In particular, the more position information that indicates a point on the road, the more accurately the current road position can be reproduced because the road path from the point where the radio signal can no longer be received to the branch point, that is, the trajectory of the vehicle traveling can be accurately reproduced. Can be sought.

  The position specified by the branch point information may be the position of the branch point or a predetermined positional relationship (position on the road before a certain distance) from the branch point. The detection of the “direction of the vehicle's course change” performed by the course change detector means that the course is changed at a predetermined position before the branch point is reached, for example, the turn signal is turned on. Both the direction detection based on the notice (actually, the course has not been changed at that time) and the direction detection based on the fact that the steering angle of the steering wheel has exceeded a certain value and the course of the vehicle has actually been changed are both There is.

  The predetermined process performed by determining the course change at the branch point may be specified as, for example, the direction of the course change of the vehicle that has detected the course after passing through the branch point. Then, by determining the course at the branch point, the subsequent course can be predicted. In particular, by providing information regarding the position of the road after the branch point, the current position after passing the branch point can be calculated. Information on the position of the road after the branch point includes information for specifying in which direction the road after the branch point extends, position information indicating each position on the road after the branch point, and the like. As location information, if it is a point on the road where the radio signal can be received again, such as a tunnel exit (after passing through the branch point), it is assumed that the vehicle is going straight from the branch point to the point of the road. Assuming that the current position can be obtained. Furthermore, as the number of positions on the road that stipulate position information is set, the road path to the point where the radio signal can be received after passing through the branch point, that is, the trajectory on which the vehicle travels can be accurately reproduced. The current position can be obtained more accurately.

  In addition to these, the predetermined processing performed by determining the course change at the branch point may be determined that the branch point has been reached, that is, the vehicle is traveling toward the branch point, or the determination result is There are cases where further set processing is performed based on this. That is, for example, in the case where there are cases where the vehicle's route in an area where radio signals cannot be received is directed to the branch point or not to the branch point, it is determined that the route is changed at the branch point. You can confirm that you are heading, and if you have traveled more than a predetermined distance to reach the branch point and you cannot confirm the course change at the branch point, you can confirm that you are traveling in a direction that does not go to the branch point. . Furthermore, the predetermined process performed by determining the course change at the branch point includes a current position correction process and various other types as defined in the following (6).

  In addition, the calculation of the current position based on the travel distance may deviate from the actual position because errors are accumulated. However, according to the present invention, by setting the set distance appropriately, it is possible to detect the position near the branch point even if there is such an error. Of course, on a road with multiple lanes on one side, a change in the vehicle's course may be detected at a position unrelated to the branch point due to a lane change.In such a case, the point where the course direction is detected is the branch point. By setting the set distance so as to be away from the position specified by the information, the determination unit can prevent erroneous detection of a course change at a branch point.

  The in-vehicle electronic device performs predetermined processing based on the current position. For example, the position information of the alarm target (notification target) is stored and the current position and the position information of the alarm target are predetermined. There is an electronic device that notifies information about an alarm target using an image, text, voice, or the like when the positional relationship (approaching relationship) is reached. As another in-vehicle electronic device, there is a video recorder that captures and records a drive recorder or other scenery outside the vehicle or an indoor space. Also in this video recording apparatus, when recording a captured video and the captured position in association with each other, it is possible to record accurate position information in an area where GPS radio waves cannot be received such as in a tunnel. The present invention can also be applied to a system that obtains the current position of a vehicle and guides it to a destination, such as a car navigation device. In particular, in the case of a small and simple device such as a PND, appropriate guidance can be provided even in a tunnel or the like with a simple configuration. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a device that displays and notifies the current position of the vehicle as a part of the functions of various in-vehicle electronic devices.

  (2) The road information storage means stores road position information regarding the road position of the road including the branch point in the area where the incoming radio waves cannot be received, and the predetermined processing includes the current position calculation means, It is preferable to obtain the current position based on the road position information, assuming that the vehicle travels in the direction detected by the route change detection means at the branch point.

  In an area where radio signals (such as GPS radio waves) flying from outside such as tunnels cannot be received, the current position cannot be calculated using such radio signals. Therefore, the current position calculation means obtains the travel distance of the vehicle and estimates that it has moved on the road by the travel distance from the point where the radio signal such as the entrance of the tunnel cannot be received or other reference points. The position can be determined. However, some of the roads in the tunnel are branched along the way, and it is not possible to know where to travel at the branch point only by the travel distance, and the current position can be obtained after passing the branch point. Can not. On the other hand, when the direction of the course change of the vehicle is detected and the current position and the position specified by the branch point information are close (closer than the set distance), the direction of the course change is branched. It can be estimated that the vehicle is traveling in a point. Therefore, since the direction of travel at the branch point can be known, the current position calculation means can determine the current position even after passing through the branch point. As described in (1) above, the number of road positions to be stored is preferable as the number of road positions can be more accurately reproduced. This increases the accuracy of calculating the current position, but the number is arbitrary.

  (3) The position specified by the branch point information can be the position of the branch point or a reference position set on the near side of the branch point. For example, when the position of the branch point is used as a reference, it is not necessary to register a point different from the branch point, and the memory capacity can be reduced. On the other hand, when the direction of the course change is not actually changed as in the turn signal ON information, but based on the notice operation, the direction of the course change is detected from the actual branch point. Will also be in the predetermined position. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a reference point at a predetermined position before the branch point (a position where many drivers turn on the turn signal).

  (4) The course change detecting means may detect the direction of the course change of the vehicle from a signal based on a driver's operation state of the vehicle. (5) As a specific example, the signal based on the operation state of the vehicle may be turn signal ON / OFF information acquired from the vehicle and / or information on the steering angle of the steering wheel. In this way, since determination can be made based on vehicle information acquired from the vehicle, it is not necessary to separately prepare a special sensor such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor.

  (6) When the predetermined process is determined to be a course change at the branch point, the predetermined process may be a correction process for correcting the current position based on the branch point information regarding the branch point. When the current position is obtained based on the travel distance, a deviation may occur between the actual position and the obtained current position as the travel distance increases due to accumulation of errors. Therefore, by correcting the current position based on the branch point information, the current position can be corrected according to the actual position, so that the accuracy of the current position obtained thereafter is improved.

  (7) The set distance may be set to a unique value at each branch point. For example, the timing when the turn signal is turned on differs depending on the road condition (straight line / curve / good / bad view) on the near side of the branch point. Therefore, an appropriate determination can be made by changing the set distance according to the road conditions. In other words, if the set distance is made longer than necessary, the course change accompanying a lane change at a point unrelated to the branch point will be erroneously determined to be caused by the branch point. Conversely, if the set distance is too short, the course at the branch point will be Even if the change is made, it may be erroneously determined as a simple lane change, but the possibility of erroneous determination can be suppressed as much as possible by setting the distance so as not to be excessive or insufficient.

  (8) The area where the incoming radio signal cannot be received can be a tunnel. There are other areas other than tunnels, such as underpasses, areas where many high-rise buildings are built in close proximity, and underground parking lots. However, such tunnels are long and cannot receive radio signals over a long period of time. The effect when applying is great.

  (9) The program of this invention is a program for making a computer implement | achieve the function in the vehicle-mounted electronic device as described in any of said (1)-(8).

  According to the present invention, even if there is a road branch in the tunnel, the current position can be appropriately obtained.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the radar detector which is preferable one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a radar detector. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a standby screen, a radar scope, and a GPS alarm. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the alarm screen in a radar wave alarm function. It is a figure which shows an example of a display screen. It is a figure explaining a function.

  1 and 2 show a configuration of a radar detector which is a preferred embodiment as an in-vehicle electronic device of the present invention. The radar detector is usually mounted on the dashboard. As shown in FIG. 1, the radar detector has a solar panel 2 and a switch unit 3 disposed on the upper surface of the case body 1, and microwaves in a frequency band emitted by the speed measurement device are placed inside the front surface of the case body 1. A microwave receiver 4 to be detected is arranged. On the other hand, the display unit 5, the alarm lamp 6, the infrared communication device 7, and the remote control receiver 16 are arranged on the rear side of the case main body 1 (the side arranged behind the vehicle (driver side). A GPS receiver 8 is disposed on the upper surface side inside the main body 1. Further, an adapter jack 9 is disposed on one side surface of the case main body 1, and a power switch 10 and a DC (not shown) are disposed on the other side surface. In addition, a speaker 20 is built in the case body 1.

  In the present embodiment, the display unit 5 is a 2.4 inch small liquid crystal display, and the rear surface side of the case body 1 (side disposed on the vehicle rear side (driver side)) is used as the display surface. The height H on the rear side of the case body 1 on which the display unit 5 is mounted is larger than the height H0 of other parts.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the infrared communication device 7 transmits and receives data to and from a communication device incorporating an infrared communication device such as a mobile phone 12. The adapter jack 9 is a terminal for connecting the memory card reader 13. By connecting the memory card reader 13 to the adapter jack 9, the data stored in the memory card 14 attached to the memory card reader 13 can be taken inside, or the contents of the memory of the database 19 and the control unit 18 can be transferred to the memory card 14. Can be written on. More specifically, when the data stored in the memory card 14 includes update information such as alarm target information that is information related to a new target or other alarm target, the control unit 18 incorporates the update information in the apparatus. The database 19 is stored (downloaded) and the data in the database 19 is updated. The function of the memory card reader 13 may be configured to be built in the main body case 1.

  The database 19 is a nonvolatile memory (for example, EEPROM) in the microcomputer of the control unit 18 or externally attached to the microcomputer. In the database 19, alarm target information, which is information related to a certain alarm target at the time of shipment, is registered, and data and the like regarding the alarm target added thereafter can be updated as described above. Data update can also be performed via the infrared communication device 7.

  The DC jack is for connecting a cigar plug cord (not shown), and is connected to a cigar socket of the vehicle via the cigar plug cord so that power can be supplied. The wireless receiver 15 receives incoming radio waves having a predetermined frequency. The remote control receiver 16 performs data communication with a remote control (portable device: handset) 17 by infrared rays and performs various settings for the device. The switch unit 3 is also connected to the control unit 18 (not shown) so that the same setting as the remote controller 17 can be performed. The remote controller 17 includes a play button, a standby switching button, a setting button, a selection button, a cancel button, an enter button, and up / down / left / right cross buttons.

  The control unit 18 is a microcomputer including a main CPU, a sub CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a nonvolatile memory, an I / O, and the like, and is connected to the above-described units as shown in FIG. 2 and is input from the above-described units. A predetermined process is executed based on the information, and the above-described units are controlled to output a predetermined alarm / message and information. Note that these basic configurations can be basically the same as the conventional ones. In the present embodiment, processing that is not particularly described is performed by the main CPU.

  The functions of the radar detector of the present embodiment are stored on the EEPROM of the control unit 18 as a program executed by the computer included in the control unit 18 and are realized by being executed by the computer included in the control unit 18. Functions realized by the computer by the program of the control unit 18 include a GPS log function, a standby screen display function, a radar scope display function, a GPS alarm function, a radar wave alarm function, a wireless alarm function, and the like.

The GPS log function is a function of storing the current position detected by the control unit 18 by the GPS receiver 8 every second in the memory card 14 as a position history in association with the detected time and speed (vehicle speed). This position history is a function of recording in the NMEA format, for example.
The standby screen display function is a function for displaying the speed, latitude, longitude, and altitude of the host vehicle detected by the GPS receiver 8 on the display unit 5 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the radar scope display function is also referred to as an alarm target (target, target, etc.) within a predetermined range (for example, within a range of about 1 km) from the current position detected by the GPS receiver 8. ) Is retrieved from the position information stored in the database 19 and the relative positional relationship between the vehicle position and the position of the alarm target is displayed on the display unit 5. In FIG. 3B, “W” on the left side indicates the west, “E” on the right side indicates the east, and “N” on the upper side indicates the north direction, and the horizontal line connecting “W” and “E” and “N” The icon at the intersection of the vertical line extending downward from "" indicates the vehicle position. Also, icons having characters such as “L”, “RD”, “P”, and “N” indicate the type and position (existing location) of the alarm target.

  When pressing of a standby switching button provided on the remote controller 17 is detected during execution of the standby screen display function as shown in FIG. 3A, the radar scope display function is switched to as shown in FIG.

  The control unit 18 performs a GPS alarm function, a radar wave alarm function, a radar wave alarm function according to an event that occurs during execution of the standby screen display function or the radar scope display function (hereinafter, these functions are collectively referred to as a standby function). Processing for realizing each function such as a wireless alarm function is executed.

  The radar wave warning function is displayed when the microwave receiver 4 detects a signal corresponding to a microwave in a frequency band emitted from a speed measurement device (mobile radar or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as “radar”)). This is an alarm function for displaying an alarm screen on the unit 5 and outputting an alarm sound from the speaker 20. For example, when the microwave receiver 4 detects microwaves in the microwave frequency band emitted by the radar, as shown in FIG. 4, a schematic diagram or a photograph of the radar stored in the database 19 is displayed on the display unit 5 as an alarm screen. In addition to the display, the voice data stored in the database 19 is read out, and a voice “Radar. Speed attention” is output from the speaker 20. During sound output, the alarm lamp 6 is turned on.

  The wireless alarm function is a function for issuing an alarm so that the wireless receiver 15 does not interfere with traveling or the like when a radio wave emitted by an emergency vehicle or the like is received. In the radio alarm function, the control radio, car radio, digital radio, special radio, police radio, police phone, police activity radio, wrecker radio, heli tele radio, fire helicopter radio, fire fight radio, emergency radio, expressway radio , Scans the frequency of security radio, etc., and when the radio is received at the scanned frequency, a schematic diagram showing that the radio corresponding to the frequency stored for each radio type is received in the database 19 is displayed as an alarm screen The voice data stored in the database 19 for each wireless type is read out, and an alarm sound indicating the wireless type is output from the speaker 20. For example, when a control radio is received, a voice is output like “control radio. Speed attention”. During sound output, the alarm lamp 6 is turned on.

  The GPS alarm function is executed at predetermined time intervals (1 second intervals) by an event from a timer included in the control unit 18 during execution of the standby screen display function of FIG. 3A or the radar scope display function of FIG. It is a process to be executed, and it is determined whether or not the alarm condition (predetermined access relation) is satisfied using the current position detected by the GPS receiver 8 and the alarm target information stored in the database 19, and an alarm is issued if the alarm condition is satisfied It is a function that emits.

  First, examples of types of alarms include a snooze driving accident point, vehicle speed measurement device (radar type / H system / loop coil / LH system), mobile vehicle speed measurement area, speed limit switching point, control area, Inspection area, parking monitoring area, N system, traffic monitoring system, intersection monitoring point, signal ignorance suppression system, police station, accident-prone area, on-vehicle frequent occurrence area, sudden / continuous curve (highway), branch / joining point ( Expressway), ETC lane advance guidance (expressway), service area (expressway), parking area (expressway), highway oasis (expressway), smart interchange (expressway), PA / SA petrol station (expressway) ), Tunnel (highway), highway radio reception area (highway), prefectural border notice, roadside station, view point There are various types such as parking.

  The alarm target information stored in the database 19 is information related to each alarm target, and includes position information including longitude and latitude for specifying the position of the alarm target, and an alarm target useful for the driver to specify the alarm target. There is specific information. In the present embodiment, the position information is absolute position information using longitude / latitude. This is preferable because the relative positional relationship with the current position detected by the GPS receiver 8 can be easily obtained.

  The alarm target specifying information includes type information indicating the type of the alarm target, character information indicating the position of the alarm target, audio information indicating the alarm target, image information indicating the alarm target, and the like. Audio information, image information, and the like indicating an alarm target are not stored as alarm target information for individual alarm targets, but are stored in a predetermined storage area as common information separately, if corresponding to the type information of the alarm target. You can also. When the alarm is issued, the control unit 18 can read out the type information stored as the alarm target information, acquire corresponding image information, audio information, and the like from the type target, and output an alarm.

  As common image information, there is image data such as a schematic diagram in which the type of alarm target can be easily understood. The schematic diagram is also a mark for enabling the type of the alarm target to be intuitively understood from the visual sense. For example, there is a vehicle speed device, a police car, a policeman, or the like created as an image in 3D or the like. These schematic diagrams are drawn and output on the display unit 5 at the time of notification, so that the type and content of the alarm target currently notified by the driver can be understood intuitively. Then, as will be described later, by drawing the vehicle icon at the vehicle position on the display area of the display unit 5 and drawing the schematic diagram at the position of the location to be alarmed, what position at what position It is more preferable because there is an intuitive understanding of whether there is an alarm target.

  For example, the audio information is output from the speaker 20 as audio information such as the relative positional relationship such as “Left direction 1 km ahead Expressway H system”, “Immediately ahead general road N system” and the type of alarm target. It is data for. In the above example, “Left direction”, “1 km ahead”, “immediately ahead” and other audio data indicating the relative positional relationship between the current position of the vehicle and the alarm target, The voice data for specifying the type and content of the alarm target as in the “Expressway H system” is separately managed and stored, and the control unit 18 outputs a combination of the respective voice data when informing.

  By separately managing fixed audio information (audio data) according to the type of alarm target, it is not necessary to register the same information as alarm target information for each alarm target, and it consumes memory space. The amount can be reduced.

  Then, for example, during the execution of the standby screen display function of FIG. 3A or the radar scope function of FIG. 3B, the database is periodically accessed based on the current position, and the loop coil that is the target of the alarm is automatically When the distance to the vehicle is one of the approach warning distances 2 km, 1 km, and 500 m stored in the database 19, the schematic diagram or photo data of the loop coil that is the alarm target is read from the database 19. While being displayed on the display unit 5, the audio data stored in the database 19 is read out, and an approach notification is output by outputting an alarm sound from the speaker 20. For example, when approaching 500 m, as shown in FIG. 3C, a radar scope screen similar to that in FIG. 3B is displayed on the right side of the screen, and the position of the loop coil that is the alarm target and the vehicle position. In addition to displaying the relationship, a schematic diagram or photo data of the loop coil that is the alarm target indicating the loop coil is read from the database 19 and displayed on the display unit 5, and voice data “500m ahead loop coil, speed attention” is displayed. Read from the database 19 and output from the speaker 20. Further, the alarm lamp 6 is turned on during the output of the alarm sound.

  In the present embodiment, the alarm target information is registered in advance in the database 19 at the time of shipment or afterward by traveling, and the GPS alarm function accesses the data registered in the database 19 in advance. The presence or absence of an alarm target requiring an alarm is determined and the necessary alarm is issued. However, the alarm target is stored in a server, and the GPS alarm function accesses the server to obtain information about the current location. May be obtained, cached in the RAM of the control unit 18, etc., and the presence or absence of an alarm target requiring an alarm may be determined from the cached information to provide the necessary alarm.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the database 19 includes road information regarding roads in the tunnel. This road information is used to specify the current position of the vehicle when traveling on a road in a tunnel where GSP radio waves cannot be received. Road position information (predetermined intervals) for specifying a road route (road network) is used. Each of which indicates the position of the road (for example, a central portion such as a center line) and the branch point information regarding the branch point when the road branches in the tunnel. Since the road position information is information indicating the position (longitude / latitude, etc.) of each place on the road, the road layout (road network) can be specified by connecting the road position information. Therefore, for example, when the moving distance of the vehicle from the tunnel entrance is obtained, it is possible to guess where on the road in the tunnel even if GPS radio waves cannot be received (in the case of a single road). The branch point information includes at least branch point position information for specifying the position of the branch point. In addition, when there is information specific to a branch point, the specific information may be included.

  In this embodiment, for example, road link information of the navigation device (for example, information including nodes provided at inflection points of roads or connection points of a plurality of roads and links connecting the nodes) is used as roads. It may be used as information including position information and branch point information. In other words, information on the inside of the tunnel is added to the road link information from the entrance to the exit of the tunnel as a road attribute, and a node at the intersection of three or more roads (links) is used as branch point information. It may be.

  Further, the database 19 may store map data. This map data is for showing a rough layout of a road as shown in an overhead view, for example, when the positional relationship between the vehicle position and the alarm target is shown. Therefore, it is not detailed data including facilities and houses as in car navigation, but simple data such as a road network (and a railway network as necessary). And when it has map data in this way, it can be combined with the road information in said tunnel.

  Further, the radar detector of the present embodiment is an ODB-II (II is a Roman numeral “2”, hereinafter “ODB-II” is referred to as “ODB2”) as shown in FIG. A connection cable 22 connected to the connector is provided, and a connector terminal 23 that can be detachably attached to the ODB2 connector of the vehicle is attached to the tip of the connection cable 22. The ODB2 connector is also called a failure diagnosis connector, and is connected to the ECU of the vehicle to output various vehicle information. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the connector terminal 25 for connecting with the socket port 24 provided in the side surface of the case main body 1 of the radar detector is provided at the other end of the connection cable 22. The connection cable 22 can be attached and detached. Of course, the connection cable 22 may be directly connected to the radar detector.

  Therefore, by connecting the connector terminal 23 attached to the connection cable 22 and the ODB2 connector on the vehicle main body side, the control unit 18 can periodically acquire various types of vehicle information. The vehicle information includes vehicle speed information, turn signal information (left and right turn signal operations (ON / OFF)), steering wheel rotation steering angle information, and the like.

  The connection cable 22 may be integrally attached to the case of the radar detector, or may be detachable by providing a connection terminal on the case. In the case of detachable, a user who does not use the fuel consumption meter function can remove the connection cable 22 to prevent the wiring from being scattered on the dashboard or the like, and to make the surroundings of the radar detector clear.

  Next, the function of the control unit 18 when traveling in the tunnel will be described. When entering the tunnel at least, the control unit 18 periodically acquires vehicle speed information and turn signal information of the vehicle from the ODB2 connector on the vehicle side via the connection cable 22 for ODB2. Since the current position can be obtained based on GPS radio waves before entering the tunnel, the control unit 18 detects that the vehicle has entered the tunnel from the comparison with the position information of the entrance of the tunnel.

  And the control part 18 calculates | requires the moving distance of a vehicle from the acquired vehicle speed information and the elapsed time after acquiring the last vehicle speed information. For example, the sampling time for acquiring the vehicle speed is t, and the vehicle speed acquired this time is V. Then, the elapsed time from the acquisition of the previous vehicle speed to the acquisition of the current vehicle speed is the sampling time t, and it is estimated that the vehicle traveled at a constant speed (speed V) throughout the elapsed time. 18 obtains the movement distance moved during the elapsed time by V × t. By setting the sampling time t to be short, the speed change during the sampling time is reduced, and even if it is estimated that the vehicle traveled at the same speed and the travel distance is obtained, the deviation from the actual travel distance of the vehicle does not occur. Less.

  The control unit 18 accumulates the obtained movement distances at the respective sampling times, obtains the total movement distance after entering the tunnel, and is located on the road in the tunnel reproduced by the road position information. Find the current position of. The control unit 18 executes the above-described functions (those that use current position information) based on the current position thus obtained. For example, the GPS alarm function issues an alarm when the current position obtained based on GPS radio waves and the position information of the alarm target are in an approach relationship. When executing the GPS alarm function, the control unit 18 determines whether the current position obtained as described above and the position of the alarm target are in a predetermined approach relationship while traveling in a tunnel that cannot receive GPS radio waves. If the alarm condition is satisfied, a corresponding alarm is output. As a result, even if there is an alarm target in the tunnel, the alarm can be reliably issued, and even if there is an alarm target immediately after exiting the tunnel or at a relatively close position after exiting the tunnel, An alarm can be issued while traveling inside.

  In addition to this, as one of the standby screen display functions, the traveling state (existing position) in the tunnel can be displayed on the display unit 5. That is, the control unit 18 draws the layout of the road in the tunnel as a two-dimensional or overhead view based on the road position information, and draws the vehicle icon on the vehicle existing position on the drawn road. . FIG. 5A shows an example in which the road 51 is drawn in two dimensions. In this example, the road 51 is bifurcated, and a vehicle icon 52 indicating the vehicle is drawn at a position corresponding to the current position on the road 51 displayed on the display unit 5. As a result, the driver can know how the road in the tunnel is (straight line / curve), how far ahead there is a branch, and the like. The control unit 18 obtains the remaining distance to each point from the current position obtained as described above, the branch point stored in the database 19 and the position information of the tunnel exit, and displays it on the display unit 5. . As a result, the user can understand the specific remaining distance to each point, so it is possible to safely change the lane toward the branch point in advance, and how long it takes to travel out of the tunnel. You can drive in a state where you know if you can.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the entire length in the tunnel can be indicated by a straight line, and how far it has advanced can be drawn like an indicator 53. As a result, you can intuitively understand how much of the total has progressed and how much later you will reach the exit. Further, by indicating the position 54 of the branch point over the indicator 53, it is possible to know how long the branch point will be reached later.

  Further, the control unit 18 periodically acquires the turn signal information, and when detecting that the turn signal is turned on, the control unit 18 compares and sets the obtained current position and the position information of the branch point stored in the database 19. Determine if it exists within the distance. When the distance is within the set distance, the traveling route is determined depending on whether the turn signal indicates the right or left (which turn signal is ON). That is, when the left turn signal is ON, the control unit 18 calculates the current position based on the travel distance, assuming that the vehicle is traveling on the left road when passing the branch point. Do. Similarly, when the right turn signal is ON, the control unit 18 determines that the road branched to the right side when the current position obtained by integrating the travel distance along the road from the entrance of the tunnel exceeds the branch point. As the vehicle is traveling, the current position is obtained by integrating the movement distance.

  Further, the “set distance” when compared with the position of the branch point described above may be a fixed value, or an appropriate value may be set for each branch point. In other words, when the current position is obtained by integrating the movement distance, the accuracy is lower than the calculation of the position information based on the GPS radio wave due to factors such as error accumulation. Furthermore, the driver turns on the blinker before (immediately before) reaching the branch point, and the timing of turning on varies depending on the driver. Therefore, the current position obtained temporarily is the presence of the actual vehicle. Even if it coincides with the position, the position where the turn signal is turned on is in front of the branch point (does not coincide with the position of the branch point).

  In view of this, a certain margin is taken with respect to the position of the branch point (branch point position information) registered in the database 19 and it is determined that the branch point is in front of the branch point even if it is a predetermined distance away. . The deviation between the calculated current position and the actual vehicle position accompanying the accumulation of errors increases as the moving distance after entering the tunnel increases. For this reason, the longer the distance from the tunnel entrance to the branch point, the longer the “set distance”. The “set distance” is based on the position of the branch point, but the turn-on timing is on the near side of the branch point, so the “set distance” in the near side area is longer. The “set distance” in the area after passing through the branch point (rear side) may be shortened. Further, even when the “set distance” is made equal as in the range of the radius r centered on a certain position, as shown in FIG. 6, within the range A of the radius r centered on the position Q of the branch point. The center position may be a predetermined position Q1 on the near side of the branch point, and may be within the range B of the radius r1 centered on Q1. r1 may be the same as r or different. When different, it is preferable that r1 <r since Q1 comes to the near side. These “set distances” are registered as specific information of branch points.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 18 has a function of correcting the current position as the branch point passes. That is, as described above, since the estimation of the current position based on the movement distance includes an error, the difference between the actual vehicle position and the current position obtained by the control unit 18 increases as the movement distance increases. Therefore, when various controls are performed based on the current position where such a shift has occurred, the reliability of the result is lowered. Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the blinker information, the current position is corrected to a position based on the position information of the branch point at a predetermined timing, and thereafter, the current position is integrated based on the movement distance based on the corrected position. Calculate the position. As a result, the error is eliminated when passing through the branch point, and the current position can be detected with relatively high accuracy up to the end even for a long tunnel.

  For the replacement correction of the current position, the following various algorithms can be used. When the driver can directly recognize the branch point or recognizes its presence with a sign or the like, the driver turns on the turn signal in the direction of traveling a predetermined distance before the branch point. Of course, the point at which the turn signal is turned on varies depending on the driver, but one of the specific information of the branch point with the point uniquely identified as XXm before the branch point as the correction position of the branch point Register as When the control unit 18 detects that the turn signal is turned on at a position having a predetermined positional relationship (within a set distance) with a certain branch point, the control unit 18 reads the correction position registered as specific information about the branch point, Replace the position with the read correction position.

  As another algorithm, there is an algorithm that corrects the current position when the turn signal is switched from ON to OFF. In other words, turning on the turn signal is performed by the driver's manual operation, and thus varies depending on the driver's habit and the driving situation at that time. Normally, turning the turn signal is based on the steering angle of the steering wheel. In many cases, it is automatically performed on the vehicle side with the return to the state. Therefore, it can be said that there is less variation in the position where the winker is turned off after passing through the branch point than the variation in the position where the turn signal is turned on before the branch point. In view of this, the point that is turned OFF is stored as one of the specific information of the branch point as the correction position of the branch point. Of course, since the correction position in this case is after passing through the branch point, it is registered for each road after branching. In addition, the corrected position after passing is not unique as a predetermined distance elapsed point behind the branch point, but is a point corresponding to a position where the vehicle automatically turns off the turn signal based on the road curve condition. Should be registered individually.

  Then, the control unit 18 detects which of the right / left turn signals is ON, obtains the correction position of the road in the traveling direction (right or left), and if the turn signal is turned OFF The current position is replaced with the corrected position that has been acquired.

  As yet another algorithm, there is a method of using branch point position information. That is, the control unit 18 acquires the steering wheel rotation angle information as information from the ODB 2 and indicates that the steering wheel has rotated a predetermined angle or more in a predetermined direction (direction in which the turn signal is turned on (right / left)). If detected, the current position is replaced with the branch point position. Since the steering wheel is turned by a predetermined angle or more when passing through the branch point, it can be estimated that the branch point has been passed when the rotational steering angle exceeds the predetermined angle, so the current position is corrected. Note that the rotational steering angle when passing through a bifurcation point varies depending on the curve of each road when traveling on a right / left road, so a “predetermined angle” is registered for each course. Compare with each.

  If the current position when the turn signal is turned on is far from the position of the branch point, it can be said that the operation is a lane change operation or an erroneous operation, and thus the above-described processes are not performed.

  In the embodiment described above, the direction of travel is specified using the blinker information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotational steering angle information of the steering wheel is acquired and obtained based on the rotational steering angle information. When the rotation angle of the handle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it can be determined that the course has been changed in the direction in which the handle is turned. Therefore, when the current position is near the branch point position and the rotation angle of the handle is equal to or greater than the predetermined value as described above, the control unit 18 determines that the vehicle has passed the branch point and has advanced in the direction in which the handle is turned. At this time, the current position may be corrected based on the branch point position information.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain the current position in the tunnel based on the information from the ODB 2 and to determine which one has advanced at the branch point, so it is necessary to provide an additional sensor such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor. Therefore, the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost can be reduced. However, in the present invention, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like is provided to determine the current position in the tunnel, and the current position can be corrected using the above-described branch point information or the like.

  In this embodiment, the database 19 is provided with road information relating to roads in the tunnel. However, such road information is updated at the time of shipment or afterwards, and is registered in advance before traveling. ing. By doing so, road information such as branch point information and road position information stored in the database 19 is acquired even when predetermined radio waves in the tunnel or the like cannot be received, and calculation of the current position and other various types Can be processed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, the road information is stored in the server, and the vehicle-mounted electronic device accesses the server at an appropriate timing to acquire the road information around the current position from the server. It may be cached in a RAM or the like of the control unit 18 and a predetermined process may be executed with reference to the cache.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a radar detector as an in-vehicle electronic device, and when the GPS signal cannot be received as a function of the radar detector, the current position is calculated based on the travel distance or the like. Although an example in which a function for executing a predetermined process is implemented is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. As an example, the area where the current position is calculated is to find the GPS signal and other current positions, such as underground parking lots, areas under the overpass, where many high-rise buildings are built in close proximity, other than tunnels It is good also as an area which cannot receive the radio signal. Further, when the current position is obtained, the travel distance and road position information are used. However, the current position may be simply estimated based on the travel distance without using the road position information.

Further, the winker information may be acquired by directly detecting the state of the winker switch or the like, or may be acquired by sensing with a sensor or the like. The steering wheel rotation steering angle information may also be obtained by sensing with a sensor or the like.
The in-vehicle electronic device to be applied is not limited to the radar detector, but may be incorporated as a function of a car navigation device or other in-vehicle electronic device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case main body 2 Solar panel 4 Microwave receiver 5 Display part 6 Lamp 7 Infrared communication device 8 GPS receiver 9 Adapter jack 10 Power switch 11 Mobile phone 12 Memory card reader 14 Memory card 15 Wireless receiver 16 Remote control receiver 17 Remote control 18 Control unit 19 Database 20 Speaker 22 Connection cable 23 Connector terminal (vehicle side)
24 Socket port 25 Connector terminal (radar detector side)

Claims (9)

A vehicle-mounted electronic device that calculates a current position based on a radio signal that comes in, and executes a predetermined process based on the calculated current position,
Road information storage means for storing branch point information regarding the position of a branch point in an area where the flying radio signal cannot be received;
A current position calculating means for obtaining a current position of the vehicle based on a travel distance of the vehicle after entering an area where radio signals cannot be received;
A course change detecting means for detecting a direction of a course change of the vehicle;
With
The course change detection means detects the direction of the course change of the vehicle, and when the current position calculated by the current position calculation means and the position specified by the branch point information are closer than the set distance, the course change is the branch. An in-vehicle electronic device characterized by determining a course change at a point and executing a predetermined process. The road information storage means stores road position information related to the road position of the road including the branch point in the area where the incoming radio waves cannot be received,
The predetermined processing is characterized in that the current position calculation means obtains a current position based on the road position information on the assumption that the vehicle travels in the direction detected by the route change detection means at the branch point. The vehicle-mounted electronic device according to 1.   The in-vehicle electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the position specified by the branch point information is a position of the branch point or a reference position set in front of the branch point.   The in-vehicle use according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the course change detection means detects a course change direction of the vehicle from a signal based on a driver's operation state of the vehicle. Electronics.   5. The vehicle-mounted electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the signal based on the operation state of the vehicle is turn signal ON / OFF information acquired from the vehicle and / or information on a steering angle of the steering wheel.   The said predetermined process is a correction process which correct | amends a present position based on the said branch point information about the branch point, when it determines with the course change at the said branch point. The vehicle-mounted electronic device in any one of.   The in-vehicle electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the set distance is set to a value unique to each branch point.   The in-vehicle electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the area where the flying radio signal cannot be received is a tunnel.   The program for making a computer implement | achieve the function in the vehicle-mounted electronic device in any one of Claims 1-8.

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