JP2016075251A - Idling stop suppression device and idling stop suppression system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress idling stop in various places where quick start is preferred while suppressing waste of memory.SOLUTION: An idling stop suppression device includes an own vehicle position acquiring portion 171 for acquiring a present position of an own vehicle, a reception processing portion 174 receiving a suppression point information on a target point positioned within a target range restricted to a zone where it is estimated that the own vehicle has a high possibility of running, from an information center, a vehicle-side storing portion 12 for storing suppression point information received by the reception processing portion 174, an updating portion 175 for updating the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storing portion 12 by every reception of the suppression point information, and a suppressing portion 176 for suppressing idling stop in a case when the own vehicle position approaches the target point indicated by the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storing portion 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an idling stop suppression device that suppresses an idling stop and an idling stop suppression system including the idling stop suppression device.

  Conventionally, an engine control called an idling stop is known in which the engine is automatically stopped when the vehicle is stopped, and the engine is restarted when a start operation by the driver is detected, thereby reducing fuel consumption. . However, it is not preferable to perform an idling stop in a place where it is preferable to be able to start quickly even when the vehicle is stopped.

  Therefore, as a means for solving this problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for suppressing idling stop even when the vehicle stops when it is detected that the host vehicle is in a level crossing. Yes. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, road map information and own vehicle position information from a car navigation device and road surface inclination information from an inclination sensor are used to extend the road on which the own vehicle is traveling on the road map. When the road intersects the road and the road surface slope within a certain range including the road on the road map is less than the set threshold value, the vehicle is detected to be within the railroad crossing.

JP-A-2005-23839

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, even when a new road or track is created and a new level crossing is made, if the road map information of the car navigation device is not updated, the vehicle is stopped within the new level crossing. There was a problem that idling stop could not be suppressed.

  Further, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that an idling stop cannot be suppressed at a place other than a railroad crossing even in a place where it is preferable that a quick start is possible.

  Here, when trying to suppress the idling stop at a place other than the level crossing, a point of interest (POI) indicating that the idling stop is to be suppressed is set at the place where the idling stop is to be suppressed. It is possible to do. However, in this case, if the POI is set for a place where the host vehicle is unlikely to travel, there is a problem that the capacity of the memory is wasted as much as the useless POI setting is stored.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to suppress idling stop at various places where it is preferable to start quickly while suppressing wasteful use of memory. It is an object of the present invention to provide an idling stop deterring device and an idling stop deterring system.

  The idling stop suppression device of the present invention is used in a vehicle having an idling stop function that automatically stops the engine when a predetermined stop condition is satisfied, and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. When the vehicle is highly likely to travel from the vehicle position acquisition unit (171) that acquires the position and the information center (4) that holds the suppression point information that is information indicating the target point where the idling stop is suppressed. The deterrence point information acquisition unit (174) that acquires the deterrence point information for the target point located within the target range narrowed down to the estimated area, and the vehicle side that stores the deterrence point information acquired by the deterrence point information acquisition unit Each time the suppression point information is acquired from the information center by the storage unit (12) and the suppression point information acquisition unit, the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit is updated. Suppression that suppresses idling stop when the current position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit is close to the target point indicated by the update point (175) and the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit Part (176).

  According to this, the own vehicle position acquisition unit acquires the target point indicated by the information (hereinafter referred to as suppression point information) indicating the target point for suppressing the idling stop, which is stored in the vehicle-side storage unit. When the current position is close, the suppression unit suppresses idling stop. Therefore, it is possible to suppress idling stop at the target point. Since the target point is a place indicated by the inhibition point information, various points that are preferably capable of quick start can be set as the target point for suppressing the idling stop by the inhibition point information. In addition, whenever the suppression point information is acquired from the information center by the suppression point information acquisition unit, the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit is updated, so that a new target point for suppressing idling stop can be easily switched. Is possible.

  In addition, from the information center, the deterrence point information about the target point located within the target range narrowed down to the area where the vehicle is likely to travel is acquired and stored in the vehicle-side storage unit. Eliminating the waste of storing wasteful deterrence point information estimated to be less likely to be used in the vehicle-side storage unit than storing deterrence point information for any target point in the vehicle-side storage unit Can do. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the waste of memory. As a result, it is possible to suppress idling stop at various places where it is preferable to start quickly while suppressing wasteful use of memory.

  In addition, since the idling stop suppression system of the present invention includes the idling stop suppression device described above, it is possible to suppress idling stop at various places where it is preferable to start quickly while suppressing wasteful use of memory. Is possible.

It is a figure which shows an example of a schematic structure of the idling stop suppression system. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information center 4. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle communication terminal 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle-side control unit 17. FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the flow of the process regarding acquisition of the suppression point information between the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 and the information center 4. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the suppression point information update process in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the idling stop suppression related process in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
<Schematic configuration of the idling stop suppression system 100>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an idling stop suppression system 100 to which the present invention is applied. The idling stop suppression system 100 includes an in-vehicle communication terminal 1 and an information center 4 used in a vehicle. Hereinafter, a vehicle using the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 is referred to as a host vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 is connected to a map database (hereinafter referred to as DB) 2 and an engine ECU 3 used in the own vehicle.

  The map DB 2 stores map data including road data composed of node data and link data. A link is a link between nodes when each road on the electronic map is divided by a plurality of nodes such as intersections, branches, and joining points.

  The link data includes link ID, link length, link direction, link shape information, node coordinates (latitude / longitude) at the start and end of the link, and road attribute data. The road attributes include road name, road type, road width, number of lanes, speed regulation value, and the like. The node data is composed of data such as node ID, node coordinates, node name, node type, presence / absence of temporary stop, presence / absence of traffic lights, and the like.

  The engine ECU 3 controls the operating state of the engine by adjusting the throttle valve opening, the fuel supply amount, and the like. The engine ECU 3 performs engine control (that is, idling stop) that automatically stops the engine when a predetermined stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied.

  As an example, a predetermined stop condition may be that the brake pedal is depressed and the own vehicle is stopped. Whether the brake pedal is stepped on may be determined, for example, by a stroke sensor of the brake pedal. If the host vehicle is stopped, for example, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor of the host vehicle is substantially zero. Judging from that. Further, the predetermined restart condition may be, for example, that the brake pedal is not depressed.

  Since the host vehicle uses the engine ECU 3 that performs idling stop, the host vehicle is a vehicle having an idling stop function.

  The information center 4 holds information indicating a target point (hereinafter simply referred to as “target point”) that is a POI that suppresses idling stop, and communicates with the in-vehicle communication terminal 1. The information center 4 distributes the inhibition point information to the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 in response to a request from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1.

  The in-vehicle communication terminal 1 communicates with the information center 4 and suppresses idling stop. The in-vehicle communication terminal 1 requests the information center 4 to receive the distribution of the restraint point information from the information center 4. Then, when the vehicle approaches the place indicated by the received suppression point information, the idling stop is suppressed. Therefore, this in-vehicle communication terminal 1 corresponds to the idling stop suppression device of the claims.

<Schematic configuration of information center 4>
Next, the detailed configuration of the information center 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The information center 4 is configured by a server device, and includes a center side communication unit 41, a center side storage unit 42, and a center side control unit 43 as shown in FIG. The information center 4 may be composed of a single server or may be composed of a plurality of servers.

  The center side communication part 41 communicates with the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 via communication networks, such as the internet and a mobile telephone network. Specifically, the information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 is received, or the suppression point information is distributed to the in-vehicle communication terminal 1.

  The center-side storage unit 42 stores a plurality of types of inhibition point information for a wide area. The wide area here is a range wider than the information acquisition range described later, and may be, for example, a unit of administrative district or the whole country. In addition, priority is set for the inhibition point information stored in the center-side storage unit 42.

  As an example, for places where it is desirable to be able to start quickly, such as “points with frequent traffic accidents”, “points with poor visibility even if temporarily stopped on a temporary stop line”, “within an intersection” or “within a railroad crossing” The priority is set high. In addition, even within “intersection”, “intra-intersection”, which is a “traffic accident occurrence point”, has a higher priority than “intra-intersection”, which is not “traffic accident occurrence point”. It is preferable that the higher the degree of preference, the higher the priority.

  It should be noted that the priority need not be set for all of the deterrence point information stored in the center-side storage unit 42, and a configuration may be adopted in which no priority is set for a place with the lowest priority. In addition, it is assumed that the inhibition point information stored in the center-side storage unit 42 is sequentially and manually updated based on, for example, information on the traffic information center.

  The center-side control unit 43 executes various processes based on various information input from the center-side communication unit 41, the center-side storage unit 42, and the like.

<Schematic configuration of in-vehicle communication terminal 1>
Next, the detailed configuration of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 includes a vehicle side communication unit 11, a vehicle side storage unit 12, a position detector 13, an input unit 15, an output unit 16, and a vehicle side control unit 17.

  The vehicle side communication part 11 communicates with the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 via communication networks, such as the internet and a mobile telephone network. Specifically, the deterrence point information distributed from the information center 4 is received or information is transmitted to the information center 4. The vehicle-side storage unit 12 stores the suppression point information distributed from the information center 4.

  The position detector 13 uses a correction information from the quasi-zenith satellite in addition to a signal from the GPS satellite to detect the current position of the terminal with high accuracy, and a GNSS receiver 14 for a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Based on information obtained from such sensors, the current position of the terminal itself is sequentially detected. Note that a sensor other than the GNSS receiver 14 such as a wheel speed sensor or a gyroscope may be used to detect the current position of the terminal itself. In addition, the current position of the own terminal is, in other words, the current position of the own vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the own vehicle position), and is represented by, for example, latitude / longitude.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the GNSS receiver 14 for GNSS is used as the receiver of the satellite positioning system is shown, but the configuration is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, it is good also as a structure which uses the receiver of satellite positioning systems other than GNSS. Further, in order to detect the current position of the terminal with high accuracy, not only the method using correction information from the quasi-zenith satellite but also other methods such as DGPS (Differential Positioning) may be used.

  The input unit 15 and the output unit 16 are user interfaces of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1. The input unit 15 receives an operation from the user, and the output unit 16 transmits information to the user. As an example, the input unit 15 may be a switch, and the output unit 16 may be a display.

  The vehicle-side control unit 17 executes various processes based on various information input from the vehicle-side communication unit 11, the vehicle-side storage unit 12, the position detector 13, the input unit 15, and the like.

<Schematic configuration of vehicle-side control unit 17>
As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle-side control unit 17 includes a host vehicle position acquisition unit 171, an acquisition determination unit 172, a transmission processing unit 173, a reception processing unit 174, an update unit 175, a suppression unit 176, and a suppression release unit 177. Prepare.

  The own vehicle position acquisition unit 171 sequentially acquires the own vehicle position sequentially detected by the position detector 13. The acquisition determination unit 172 determines the timing for acquiring the suppression point information from the information center 4 (hereinafter, acquisition timing).

  As an example, the acquisition timing is determined when the ignition power of the host vehicle is turned on or when the timer for determining the timing for acquiring the suppression point information (hereinafter, timing determination timer) expires. The timer expiration time may be configured to be arbitrarily set via the input unit 15. The set timer expiration time may be confirmed by the user via the output unit 16.

  In addition, it is determined whether or not the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 is valid, and when it is determined that it is not valid, it is determined as the acquisition timing. Therefore, the acquisition determination unit 172 corresponds to the validity determination unit in the claims. As an example when the suppression point information memorize | stored in the vehicle side memory | storage part 12 is not effective, when the inhibition point information is not memorize | stored in the vehicle side memory | storage part 12, the inhibition point memorize | stored in the vehicle side memory | storage part 12 When the information is damaged, there are cases where the retention period of the restraint point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 exceeds the specified period. A further example of the case where the acquisition determination unit 172 determines the acquisition timing will be described later.

  In addition, when the acquisition determination unit 172 determines the acquisition timing, the vehicle position acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 171 and a target range for requesting acquisition of suppression point information (hereinafter, information acquisition range), The transmission processing unit 173 transmits the maximum number of suppression point information that can be stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 (hereinafter, the maximum holding number) as an acquisition request for the suppression point information.

  The information acquisition range may be a target range narrowed down to an area where it is estimated that the vehicle is likely to travel. As an example, a predetermined range starting from the own vehicle position acquired by the own vehicle position acquisition unit 171 such as within a radius of 10 km from the own vehicle position may be set as the information acquisition range. In addition, when the destination and recommended route of the vehicle can be obtained from the car navigation device installed in the vehicle, the predetermined range starting from the destination of the vehicle and each of the recommended routes of the vehicle A predetermined range starting from a point may be used as the information acquisition range, or a combination thereof may be used as the information acquisition range. Further, the maximum holding number may be configured to be set via the input unit 15. The set maximum retention number may be confirmed by the user via the output unit 16.

  The transmission processing unit 173 transmits the own vehicle position, the information acquisition range, and the maximum retention number as the acquisition request for the suppression point information to the information center 4 via the vehicle side communication unit 11. The reception processing unit 174 acquires the suppression spot information distributed from the information center 4 via the vehicle side communication unit 11.

  The update unit 175 stores the suppression point information acquired by the reception processing unit 174 in the vehicle-side storage unit 12. When the suppression point information has already been stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, the update unit 175 deletes the suppression point information and then uses the vehicle-side storage unit to acquire the suppression point information acquired by the reception processing unit 174. 12 and update the deterrence point information. Details of the deterrence unit 176 and the deterrence release unit 177 will be described later.

<Process related to acquisition of restraint point information between in-vehicle communication terminal 1 and information center 4>
Here, an example of a flow of processing relating to acquisition of inhibition point information between the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 and the information center 4 will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. In FIG. 5, the case where the acquisition determination unit 172 of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 determines the acquisition timing will be described as an example.

  First, the acquisition determination unit 172 of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 determines the acquisition timing (t1). Then, the vehicle position, the information acquisition range, and the maximum holding number are transmitted from the transmission processing unit 173 to the information center 4 via the vehicle side communication unit 11 (t2). Therefore, the transmission processing unit 173 corresponds to the maximum number transmission unit in the claims.

  The center side communication unit 41 of the information center 4 receives the acquisition request transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 (t3). The center side control part 43 performs the selection process which selects the suppression spot information delivered to the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 based on the information contained in the received acquisition request (t4). Therefore, the center side control part 43 is equivalent to the selection part of a claim. An example of the selection process is as follows.

  In the selection process, among the suppression point information stored in the center-side storage unit 42, the suppression point information for the target point located within the range of the information acquisition range included in the acquisition request is set to a high priority. In order from the top, the selection is made so as to be within the maximum holding number included in the acquisition request. For example, only the maximum number of holdings may be selected.

  After the selection process is completed, the distribution of the suppression point information selected in the selection process is performed from the center side communication unit 41 to the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 (t5). Therefore, the center side communication part 41 is equivalent to the delivery part of a claim.

  The reception processing unit 174 of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 acquires the suppression spot information distributed from the information center 4 via the vehicle side communication unit 11 (t6). Since the suppression point information distributed from the information center 4 is the suppression point information about the target point located within the range of the information acquisition range transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 to the information center 4, the reception processing unit 174 It can be said that the deterrence point information about the target point located within the target range narrowed down to the area where it is estimated that the host vehicle is likely to travel is acquired. Therefore, the reception processing unit 174 corresponds to the suppression point information acquisition unit in the claims.

  The update unit 175 of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 stores the suppression point information acquired by the reception processing unit 174 in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 (t7). As described above, when the suppression point information has already been stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, the update unit 175 deletes this suppression point information and then acquires the suppression point information acquired by the reception processing unit 174. Is stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12.

<Repression point information update process>
Next, an example of the flow of the suppression point information update process related to the update of the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 in the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 6 may be configured to be started when, for example, the ignition power of the own vehicle is turned on.

  First, in step S1, when the flowchart of FIG. 6 is started and the first inhibition point information is acquired or when the timing determination timer expires (YES in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if the timer has not expired (NO in S1), the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S <b> 2, the acquisition determination unit 172 determines whether the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 is valid. If it is determined that it is not valid, it is determined that no valid deterrence point information is retained (YES in S2), and the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is valid, it is determined that the valid deterrence point information is retained (NO in S2), and the process proceeds to step S3.

  As described above, when the suppression point information is not stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, or when the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 is damaged, it is stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12. When the retention point information retention period exceeds the specified period, it is determined that the inhibition point information is not valid.

  In step S3, whether or not the vehicle position acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 171 has deviated from the information acquisition range targeted when the acquisition determination unit 172 acquired the suppression point information from the information center 4 last time. Determine. And when it determines with having remove | deviated (it is YES at S3), it moves to S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that it has not been removed (NO in S3), the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the acquisition determination unit 172 determines whether or not the vehicle has traveled more than a certain distance since the suppression point information was acquired from the information center 4 last time. The travel distance of the host vehicle may be specified from the host vehicle position sequentially acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit 171 or may be specified from the pulse signal of the wheel speed sensor. And when it determines with having drive | worked more than a fixed distance (it is YES at S4), it moves to S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling over a certain distance (NO in S4), the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S5, the acquisition determination unit 172 determines the acquisition timing, and causes the transmission processing unit 173 to transmit the above-described vehicle position, information acquisition range, and maximum holding number from the transmission processing unit 173 as an acquisition request for suppression point information.

  In step S6, when the reception processing unit 174 can acquire the inhibition point information distributed from the information center 4 via the vehicle side communication unit 11 (YES in S6), the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, when the inhibition point information has not been acquired (NO in S6), the process proceeds to step S8.

  In step S <b> 7, the update unit 175 deletes the suppression point information already stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 and stores the suppression point information acquired by the reception processing unit 174 in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, thereby suppressing the suppression point information. Update.

  In step S8 when the deterrence point information cannot be acquired in S6, if the number of retries for the process of transmitting the acquisition request to the information center 4 exceeds the maximum number of retries (YES in S8), the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, when the maximum number of retries has not been exceeded (NO in S8), the process returns to S5 and repeats the process of transmitting the acquisition request to the information center 4.

  In step S9, a timing determination timer is started. In step S10, when it is the end timing of the suppression spot information update process (YES in step S10), the suppression spot information update process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the inhibition point information update process (NO in step S10), the process returns to S1 and is repeated. An example of the end timing of the suppression point information update process is when the ignition power of the own vehicle is turned off.

<Processing related to idling stop suppression>
Next, an example of a flow of idling stop suppression related processing regarding suppression of idling stop and suppression cancellation at the target point indicated by the suppression point information in the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 7 may be configured to be started when, for example, the ignition power of the own vehicle is turned on.

  First, in step S <b> 21, the acquisition determination unit 172 determines whether the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 is valid. If it is determined to be valid, it is assumed that valid deterrence point information exists (YES in S21), and the process proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not valid, it is determined that there is no valid deterrence point information (NO in S21), and the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S <b> 22, the suppression unit 176 includes the own vehicle position acquired by the own vehicle position acquisition unit 171, map data stored in the map DB 2, and suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12. In addition, it is determined whether or not the vehicle position is close to the target point indicated by the suppression point information.

  As an example, if a target point within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position exists on a route ahead of the vehicle in the road map, it may be determined that the vehicle position is close to the target point. According to this, although the straight line distance with the own vehicle position is short, it is possible to exclude a target point that is out of the route in front of the course of the own vehicle. Therefore, the idling stop can be suppressed only when the vehicle is actually approaching the target point, and the idling stop is erroneously suppressed at a place where it is not necessary to suppress the idling stop. It becomes difficult to produce the malfunction which ends.

  In addition, the predetermined distance said here is a distance which can be said that the own vehicle approached, Comprising: It shall be set short, so that the positioning accuracy of the own vehicle position is high. The course of the host vehicle may be specified from the change in the host vehicle position sequentially acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit 171.

  And when it determines with the own vehicle position having approached the target point which inhibition point information shows (it is YES at S22), it moves to step S23. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle position is not close to the target point indicated by the suppression point information (NO in S22), the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S23, the suppression unit 176 sends an instruction to the engine ECU 3 to suppress idling stop (hereinafter referred to as idling stop suppression instruction). The engine ECU 3 that has received the idling stop suppression instruction suppresses the idling stop spontaneously in the engine ECU 3 so that the idling stop is not performed even if a predetermined stop condition is satisfied.

  In step S <b> 24, the inhibition release unit 177 obtains the own vehicle position acquired by the own vehicle position acquisition unit 171, the map data stored in the map DB 2, and the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle side storage unit 12. First, it is determined whether or not the vehicle position has left the target point indicated by the suppression point information. As an example, when the distance between the target point determined to be close to the vehicle position in S22 and the vehicle position is more than a specified value, it may be determined that the vehicle position has left the target point.

  And when it determines with the own vehicle position having left | separated from the target point which inhibition point information shows (it is YES at S24), it moves to S25. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle position has not left the target point indicated by the suppression point information (NO in S24), the process of S24 is repeated.

  In step S <b> 25, the inhibition release unit 177 sends an instruction to release the idling stop inhibition (hereinafter referred to as idling stop inhibition release instruction) to the engine ECU 3. The engine ECU 3 that has received the idling stop deterrence cancellation instruction cancels the idling stop deterrence in the engine ECU 3 so that the idling stop is performed when a predetermined stop condition is satisfied.

  In step S26, when it is the end timing of the idling stop suppression related process (YES in step S26), the idling stop suppression related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the idling stop suppression related process (NO in step S26), the process returns to S21 and is repeated. As an end timing of the idling stop suppression related processing, for example, when the ignition power of the own vehicle is turned off.

  Even if there is no valid deterrence point information in S21, the above-described deterrence point information update process is performed while the flowchart of FIG. 7 is repeated until the end timing of the idling stop inhibition related process is reached. Done. Thus, effective deterrence point information is stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, and idling stop is deterred when close to the deterrence point information.

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
According to the configuration of the first embodiment, when the suppression unit 176 determines that the vehicle position is close to the target point indicated by the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12, the suppression unit 176 performs an idling stop. Deter. Since the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 can be acquired and updated from the information center 4, various places where it is preferable to be able to start quickly according to the acquired inhibition point information. Can be set as a target point for suppressing idling stop. Moreover, since the target point which suppresses idling stop can be switched only by updating the suppression point information memorize | stored in the vehicle side memory | storage part 12, it is possible to easily switch the target point which suppresses idling stop newly. become.

  Furthermore, since the information center 4 obtains the restriction point information for the target points located within the information acquisition range transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1, it acquires the restriction point information for every target point. Compared to the case, it is possible to eliminate waste of storing useless deterrence point information estimated to be less likely to be used in the vehicle-side storage unit 12. Therefore, it is possible to suppress idling stop at various places where it is preferable to start quickly while suppressing wasteful use of memory.

  Moreover, in Embodiment 1, the own vehicle position detected using the GNSS receiver 14 which detects the present position of the own terminal with high accuracy by using correction information from the quasi-zenith satellite is used. Although it depends on the moving speed of the own vehicle, the position of the own vehicle can be detected with a positioning accuracy of several centimeters to several tens of centimeters by using correction information from the quasi-zenith satellite. Therefore, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, it is possible to accurately determine whether the vehicle position is close to the target point where idling stop is suppressed. As a result, the idling stop can be accurately suppressed at a place where the idling stop should be suppressed.

  In addition, what is necessary is just to determine the information acquisition range, the maximum number of holding | maintenance, and the re-acquisition interval of suppression point information in consideration of the balance of the storage capacity of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1, the ease of connection of communication infrastructure, communication speed, and communication cost. For example, in the case of a low-cost built-in application where the storage capacity that can be used is severely limited, the maximum number that can be held by the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 is reduced, and the re-acquisition interval of the suppression point information is shortened. Can be supported.

(Modification 1)
In the first embodiment, the timing determination timer has expired, the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit 12 is not valid, and when the suppression point information is acquired from the information center 4 last time, A condition for requesting acquisition of the suppression point information that the vehicle position has deviated from the information acquisition range and that the vehicle has traveled more than a certain distance since the acquisition of the suppression point information from the information center 4 last time However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, only a part of these may be used as a condition for making a request for obtaining restraint point information.

(Modification 2)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the map data stored in the map DB 2 is used to determine whether or not the vehicle position is close to the target point indicated by the suppression point information is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, without using the map data stored in the map DB 2 to determine whether or not the vehicle position is close to the target point indicated by the suppression point information, the vehicle position and the target point indicated by the suppression point information It may be configured to determine whether or not the vehicle position is close to the target point depending on whether or not the linear distance between the coordinates is within a predetermined distance.

(Modification 3)
In the first embodiment, the configuration is shown in which the information acquisition range is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 to the information center 4 so that the suppression point information about the target point located in the information acquisition range can be acquired. Not limited to this. For example, the information acquisition range may be specified on the information center 4 side without transmitting the information acquisition range from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 to the information center 4.

  For example, the center side control unit 43 of the information center 4 starts from the received vehicle position such as within a radius of 10 km from the vehicle position based on the vehicle position transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1. The predetermined range may be used as the information acquisition range.

  In addition, it is configured to transmit the destination and recommended route of the host vehicle from the in-vehicle communication terminal 1, and the center side control unit 43 has a predetermined range starting from the destination of the host vehicle and the recommended route of the host vehicle. A predetermined range starting from each point may be specified as the information acquisition range.

(Modification 4)
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the engine ECU 3 performs the idling stop is shown, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, an electronic control device other than the engine ECU 3 may have a function of performing idling stop. In this case, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 may be configured to send an idling stop inhibition instruction and an idling stop inhibition release instruction to the electronic control device that has the function of performing idling stop.

(Modification 5)
In Embodiment 1, although the structure which does not provide map DB2 in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 was shown, it does not necessarily restrict to this. For example, it is good also as a structure provided with map DB2 in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1. FIG.

(Modification 6)
In Embodiment 1, although the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 1 showed the structure provided with the position detector 13, it does not necessarily restrict to this. For example, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 may be configured not to include the position detector 13. In this case, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 may acquire and process the vehicle position detected by the position detector of the car navigation device mounted on the vehicle.

(Modification 7)
In the first embodiment, the timer expiration time and the maximum hold number can be arbitrarily set via the input unit 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the timer expiration time and the maximum number of held values may be fixed values, and the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 may not include the input unit 15 and the output unit 16. The fixed value may be written in the nonvolatile memory of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 at the time of manufacture, for example.

(Modification 8)
In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle communication terminal 1 including the vehicle-side communication unit 11 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the present invention may be applied to a combination of a communication module such as a DCM (Data Communication Module) and an ECU. In this case, among the functions of the in-vehicle communication terminal 1, the communication module 11 may be responsible for the function of the vehicle-side communication unit 11, and the ECU may be responsible for other functions. Here, this ECU corresponds to the idling stop suppressing device of the claims.

(Modification 9)
Moreover, it is good also as a structure which applies this invention to a car navigation apparatus. In this case, the position detector and the map DB may be configured to use those of the car navigation device.

  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 In-vehicle communication terminal (idling stop suppression apparatus), 4 Information center, 12 Vehicle side memory | storage part, 41 Center side communication part (distribution part), 42 Center side memory | storage part, 43 Center side control part (selection part), 100 Idling stop Deterrence system, 171 own vehicle position acquisition unit, 172 acquisition determination unit (validity determination unit), 173 transmission processing unit (maximum number transmission unit), 174 reception processing unit (suppression point information acquisition unit), 175 update unit, 176 suppression unit 177 Deterrence cancellation part

Claims (8)

When the predetermined stop condition is satisfied, the engine is automatically stopped, and when the predetermined restart condition is satisfied, the engine is used in a vehicle having an idling stop function.
A vehicle position acquisition unit (171) for acquiring a current position of the vehicle;
Positioned within a target range narrowed to an area where it is estimated that the vehicle is likely to travel from the information center (4) that holds the suppression point information that is information indicating the target point where the idling stop is suppressed. A deterrence point information acquisition unit (174) for acquiring the deterrence point information for the target point to be;
A vehicle-side storage unit (12) that stores the inhibition point information acquired by the inhibition point information acquisition unit;
An update unit (175) that updates the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit every time the suppression point information acquisition unit acquires the suppression point information from the information center;
A suppression unit (176) that suppresses the idling stop when the current position of the host vehicle acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit approaches a target point indicated by the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit. And an idling stop deterring device. In claim 1,
When the current position of the host vehicle acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit leaves from the target point indicated by the suppression point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit after suppressing the idling stop by the suppression unit. In addition, an idling stop deterring device comprising a deterring release unit (177) for deactivating the idling stop. In claim 1 or 2,
A validity determination unit (172) for determining whether or not the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit is valid;
The inhibition point information acquisition unit newly acquires the inhibition point information from the information center when the validity determination unit determines that the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit is not valid,
The update unit updates the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit to the inhibition point information newly acquired from the information center by the inhibition point information acquisition unit. Suppressor. In any one of Claims 1-3,
When the current position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit is out of the target range targeted when the suppression point information was acquired last time, Obtain new deterrence point information from the center,
The update unit updates the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit to the inhibition point information newly acquired from the information center by the inhibition point information acquisition unit. Suppressor. In any one of Claims 1-4,
The deterrence point information acquisition unit newly acquires the deterrence point information from the information center when the vehicle has traveled more than a certain distance after acquiring the deterrence point information,
The update unit updates the inhibition point information stored in the vehicle-side storage unit to the inhibition point information newly acquired from the information center by the inhibition point information acquisition unit. Suppressor. In any one of Claims 1-5,
The host vehicle position acquisition unit acquires the current position of the host vehicle measured by a satellite positioning system using correction information from the quasi-zenith satellite, and an idling stop suppression device characterized in that An information center (4) that holds suppression point information that is information indicating a target point for suppressing idling stop that automatically stops the engine when a predetermined stop condition is satisfied and restarts the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied When,
An idling stop deterrent system comprising the idling stop deterring device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is used in a vehicle having the idling stop function. In claim 7,
The idling stop suppression device is
A maximum number transmission unit (173) for transmitting the maximum number of the suppression point information that can be stored in the vehicle-side storage unit to the information center;
The information center
A center-side storage unit (42) that stores the deterrence point information for which priority is set;
Of the inhibition point information stored in the center-side storage unit, the inhibition point information for the target point located within a target range narrowed down to an area where it is estimated that the vehicle is likely to travel. A selection unit (43) that selects the maximum number transmitted from the maximum number transmission unit in order from the set higher priority,
A distribution unit (41) for distributing the suppression point information selected by the selection unit to the idling stop suppression device;
The idling stop deterrent system, wherein the deterrence point information acquisition unit of the idling stop deterrence device acquires the deterrence point information distributed from the distribution unit of the information center.

Images