JP2017142560A - Signal passing support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a signal passing support device for presenting appropriate information even in a case of succession of signal devices.SOLUTION: An ECU200 which functions as a main portion of a signal passing support device includes determination means 240 which determines whether or not a vehicle 10 can pass a signal device, presentation means 250 which presents information about passing the signal device based on a determination result of the determination means, and control means 260 which, when information about passing a first signal device is presented, controls the presentation means not to present information about passing a second signal device that follows the first signal device until a predetermined time has expired since passing the first signal device or until a predetermined distance is travelled.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a signal passing support device that supports driving of a driver of a vehicle when, for example, a traveling vehicle passes a traffic light.

  As this type of device, there is known a device that presents information regarding the passage of a traffic light to a vehicle driver. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique in which information regarding whether or not a traffic signal can pass is presented when the distance between the vehicle and the traffic signal to be supported is within a threshold, and information is not presented when the distance is not within the threshold. ing.

JP 2012-203785 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of traffic signals to be supported are continuous at a short distance, information on the next traffic signal is presented immediately after passing through the first traffic signal. Will be. Then, the information regarding the traffic signal is frequently presented, and there is a possibility that the driver feels uncomfortable. For example, if the lighting state of the traffic light is switched from red to blue and a deceleration instruction or a stop instruction is presented immediately after the vehicle transmits, it is considered that the driver of the vehicle feels bothersome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, for example, and provides a signal passing support device capable of appropriately presenting information even when traffic lights are continuous at a relatively short distance. Is an issue.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a signal passing support device according to the present invention determines whether or not a vehicle can pass a traffic signal, and passes the traffic signal based on a determination result by the determination unit. When the presentation means presents information related to the passage of the first traffic light and the presentation means travels a predetermined distance after passing through the first traffic light or until a predetermined time elapses. Control means for controlling the presenting means so as not to present information relating to the passage of the second traffic light that follows the first traffic light.

  According to the signal passing support device according to the present invention, when information related to the passing of the first traffic light is presented, until a predetermined time has passed after traveling through the first traffic light, or until traveling a predetermined distance Does not present information related to the passage of the second traffic light following the first traffic light. Thereby, the information presentation regarding the passage of the traffic light is frequently performed, and it is possible to prevent the driver of the vehicle from feeling uncomfortable.

  Such an operation and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle carrying the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the timing of the information presentation by the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the timing of the information presentation by the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the timing of the information presentation by the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  An embodiment according to a driving support device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, two embodiments, the first embodiment and the second embodiment, will be described respectively.

<First Embodiment>
The signal passing support device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the configuration of the vehicle on which the signal passing support device is mounted, the operation of the signal passing support device, and the effects of the embodiment will be described in order.

<Vehicle configuration>
First, the configuration of the vehicle 10 on which the signal passing support device according to the present embodiment is mounted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle equipped with the signal passing support device according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 according to this embodiment includes a wireless communication device 110, a navigation system 120, a vehicle speed sensor 130, an ECU 200, and an information presentation unit 300.

  The wireless communication device 110 is configured to be able to acquire information related to a traffic signal by wireless communication. For example, the wireless communication device 110 performs wireless communication with a roadside communication device provided in the traffic light, and acquires information regarding the lighting state of the traffic light.

  The navigation system 120 is a system that displays the traveling position of the vehicle 10 on a map using GPS (Global Positioning System). In particular, the navigation system 130 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to acquire not only the travel position of the host vehicle 10 but also the position of the traffic light from map data or the like.

  The vehicle speed sensor 130 is a sensor configured to be able to detect the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 10. The vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 based on, for example, the rotational speed of the drive shaft.

  Various types of information acquired by the wireless communication device 110, the navigation system 120, and the vehicle speed sensor 130 described above are output to the ECU 200.

  The ECU 200 is an electronic control unit configured to be able to control the entire operation of the vehicle 10. The ECU 200 according to the present embodiment particularly functions as a constituent part of a “signal passing support device”. The ECU 200 includes a traffic signal information acquisition unit 210, a current location information acquisition unit 220, a vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230, a traffic signal passage determination unit 240, an information presentation control unit 250, as logical or physical processing blocks implemented therein. And the information presentation cancellation part 260 is provided.

  The traffic signal information acquisition unit 210 acquires information on traffic signals from the wireless communication device 110 and the navigation system 120. Specifically, the traffic signal information acquisition unit 210 acquires information on the lighting state of the traffic signal acquired by the wireless communication device 110. Note that the information on the lighting state includes not only the information on the current lighting state but also information on the subsequent timing of changing the lighting state. The signal information acquisition unit 210 further acquires the traffic signal position information acquired by the navigation system 120. However, the position information of the traffic light may be acquired by the wireless communication device 110. Information regarding the traffic signal acquired by the traffic signal information acquisition unit 210 is output to the traffic signal passage determination unit 240.

  The current location information acquisition unit 220 acquires current location information of the vehicle 10 from the navigation system 120. The position information acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220 is configured to be output to the traffic light passage determination unit 240.

  The vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230 acquires the current vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 from the vehicle speed sensor 130. The vehicle speed information acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230 is output to the traffic light passage determination unit 240.

  The traffic light passage determination unit 240 includes information on the traffic signal acquired by the traffic signal information acquisition unit 210, position information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220, and vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass the traffic light. Specifically, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 calculates the distance between the traffic light and the vehicle 10 from the traffic signal position information and the vehicle 10 position information. Subsequently, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 predicts the time at which the vehicle 10 reaches the traffic light from the distance between the traffic light and the vehicle 10 and vehicle speed information. Finally, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass the traffic light from the lighting state of the traffic light at the time when the vehicle 10 reaches the traffic light. The determination result of the traffic light passage determination unit 240 is output to the information presentation control unit 250. The traffic light passage determination unit 240 is a specific example of “determination means”.

  The information presentation control unit 250 determines and outputs support information to be presented to the driver of the vehicle 10 based on the determination result of the traffic light passage determination unit 240. Specifically, the information presentation control unit 250 determines to present the information “maintain vehicle speed” to the driver of the vehicle 10 when it is determined that the traffic signal can be passed while maintaining the current vehicle speed. To do. On the other hand, when it is determined that the traffic signal cannot be passed while maintaining the current vehicle speed, the information presentation control unit 250 determines to present the information “deceleration is necessary” to the driver of the vehicle 10. The support information determined by the information presentation control unit 250 is output to the information presentation unit 300. The information presentation control unit 250 is a specific example of “presentation means”.

  The information presentation control unit 250 also determines the output timing of the support information (in other words, the timing at which the support information is actually presented to the driver). Specifically, the information presentation control unit 250 determines whether or not the distance between the traffic signal to be supported and the vehicle 10 is within a predetermined support distance, and outputs support information when the distance is within the support distance. However, when the distance is not within the support distance, the support information is not output. Here, the “support distance” is a distance set in advance according to an appropriate timing for outputting the support information. For example, although the distance to the traffic signal is very far, the support related to the traffic signal It is set to avoid presenting information.

  The information presentation cancellation unit 260 controls the information presentation control unit 250 so as not to present support information regarding the next traffic signal until a predetermined time has elapsed after the vehicle 10 passes the traffic signal. Specifically, the information presentation cancellation unit 260 starts counting when the vehicle 10 passes the traffic light, and cancels the output of support information by the information presentation control unit 250 until the counted period reaches a predetermined time. Here, the “predetermined time” is a time set to prevent the support information from being continuously presented at a very high frequency, for example, a display frequency that does not give the driver a sense of incongruity. It is preset based on The information presentation cancellation unit 260 is a specific example of “control means”.

  The information presentation unit 300 is configured as a display or the like that can display support information output from the information presentation control unit 250.

<Description of operation>
Next, the operation of the signal passing support apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the signal passing support apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, when the signal passing support apparatus according to the present embodiment is operating, first, information related to the lighting state of the traffic light is acquired by the traffic signal information acquisition unit 210 (step S101). Further, the location information of the vehicle 10 is acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220 (step S102). Furthermore, vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 is acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition means 230 (step S103). In addition, each process of these step S101 to step S103 may be performed before and after, or may be performed simultaneously in parallel.

  When the various types of information described above are acquired, the traffic light passage determining unit 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass the traffic light (step S104). Then, the information presentation control unit 250 determines the content of the support information to be presented (step S105).

  The information presentation control unit 250 further determines whether or not the distance to the traffic signal that is the target of the support information is within the support distance (step S106). If it is determined that the distance to the traffic signal is not within the support distance (step S106: NO), the support information is not presented (step S109), and the series of processes ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the distance to the traffic signal is within the support distance (step S106: YES), whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the information presentation cancellation unit 260 passed the previous traffic signal is determined. Determination is made (step S107). Here, the “traffic light immediately before” here does not include a traffic light for which support information has not been presented.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed since passing through the previous traffic light (step S107: YES), support information is output from the information presentation control unit 250 (step S108). As a result, the information presentation unit 300 presents support information for the driver.

  On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not passed since the signal passed immediately before (step S107: NO), the support information is not output from the information presentation control unit 250 (step S109). That is, the output of support information is canceled by the information presentation cancellation unit 260. Therefore, in this case, support information is not presented to the driver even though the distance to the traffic light is within the support distance.

<Effect of embodiment>
Next, with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the technical effect obtained by the signal passing assistance apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the timing of information presentation by the signal passing support device according to the comparative example. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the timing of information presentation by the signal passing support apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, consider a comparative example that does not have the information presentation cancellation unit 260. That is, consider an example in which support information is always presented if the distance to the traffic light is within the support distance. In the following example, a case where the vehicle 10 tries to pass through the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 that are continuously installed at a relatively short distance will be described.

  According to the signal passing support device according to the comparative example, when the vehicle 10 traveling toward the first traffic light 510 enters the support distance of the first traffic light 510, the support information related to the first traffic light 510 to the driver. Is presented. Thereby, the driver of the vehicle 10 can perform a driving operation for suitably passing through the first traffic light 510.

  Thereafter, when the vehicle 10 passes through the first traffic light 510, support information related to the second traffic light 520 is presented immediately after the passage. This is because the vehicle 10 is already within the support distance of the second traffic light 520 when the vehicle 10 passes the first traffic light 510.

  Thus, when support information is presented continuously at a high frequency, the driver of the vehicle 10 may feel uncomfortable depending on the content of the presented information. For example, if the vehicle 10 that has been stopped because the lighting state of the first traffic light 510 is red and the lighting state turns blue after a while and starts running, the support information related to the second traffic signal 520 immediately after the start of traveling is obtained. Will be presented. In this case, if a “deceleration instruction” or a “stop instruction” is presented as support information regarding the second traffic light 520, the driver feels very annoyed.

  In FIG. 4, according to the signal passing support apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the troublesomeness described above. Specifically, in the signal passing support device according to the present embodiment, even if the vehicle 10 passes through the first traffic light 510 and enters the support distance of the second traffic light 520, the first traffic light 510 is The support information is not presented to the driver until a predetermined time has elapsed after passing. For this reason, the support information is not continuously presented at a high frequency, but is presented at least after a predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to suitably avoid the annoyance caused by continuous information presentation as described above.

Second Embodiment
Next, a signal passing support device according to the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above only in part of the operation, and the apparatus configuration and other operations are generally the same. For this reason, below, a different part from 1st Embodiment is demonstrated in detail, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably about another overlapping part.

<Description of operation>
First, with reference to FIG. 5, operation | movement of the signal passage assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated in detail. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the signal passing support apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, during operation of the signal passing support device according to the second embodiment, first, information on the lighting state of the traffic light is acquired by the traffic signal information acquisition unit 210 (step S201), and the current location information acquisition unit 220 of the vehicle 10 Position information is acquired (step S202), and vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 is acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition means 230 (step S203).

  When the various information described above is acquired, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass through the traffic light (step S204). Then, the information presentation control unit 250 determines the content of the support information to be presented (step S205). The information presentation control unit 250 further determines whether or not the distance to the traffic signal that is the target of the support information is within the support distance (step S206). If it is determined that the distance to the traffic signal is not within the support distance (step S206: NO), the support information is not presented (step S209), and the series of processes ends.

  Each process from step S201 to step S206 so far is the same process as each process from step S101 to step S106 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2). In the second embodiment, the determination process executed by the subsequent information presentation cancellation unit 260 is significantly different from the first embodiment.

  When it is determined that the distance to the traffic signal is within the support distance (step S206: YES), the information presentation cancel unit 260 determines whether or not the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance after passing the previous traffic signal ( Step S207). That is, in the second embodiment, the determination is made based on the distance traveled after passing the traffic light, not the time after passing the traffic light as in the first embodiment. Here, the “predetermined distance” is a distance corresponding to a time (that is, “predetermined time”) set to prevent the support information from being continuously presented at a very high frequency. For example, it is set in advance based on a display frequency that does not give the driver a sense of incongruity.

  If the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance after passing the previous traffic light (step S207: YES), support information is output from the information presentation control unit 250 (step S208). As a result, the information presentation unit 300 presents support information for the driver.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle has not traveled the predetermined distance after passing the previous traffic signal (step S207: NO), the support information is not output from the information presentation control unit 250 (step S209). That is, the output of support information is canceled by the information presentation cancellation unit 260. Therefore, in this case, support information is not presented to the driver even though the distance to the traffic light is within the support distance.

<Effect of embodiment>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the technical effect obtained by the signal passing assistance apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the timing of information presentation by the signal passing support apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, according to the signal passing support apparatus according to the second embodiment, it is possible to avoid the troublesomeness as described in the comparative example shown in FIG. 3 as in the first embodiment. Specifically, in the signal passing assistance apparatus according to the second embodiment, even when the vehicle 10 passes through the first traffic light 510 and enters the assistance distance of the second traffic light 520, the first traffic light 510 The support information is not presented to the driver until the vehicle travels a predetermined distance after passing through. For this reason, the support information is not continuously presented at a high frequency, but is presented at least after a period required to travel a predetermined distance. Therefore, it is possible to suitably avoid the annoyance caused by continuous information presentation as described above.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 110 Wireless communication device 120 Navigation system 130 Vehicle speed sensor 200 ECU
210 traffic light information acquisition unit 220 current location information acquisition unit 230 vehicle speed information acquisition unit 240 traffic signal passage determination unit 250 information presentation control unit 300 information presentation unit 510 first traffic light 520 second traffic light

Claims (1)

Determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle can pass through the traffic light;
Presenting means for presenting information related to passage of the traffic light based on the determination result by the determining means;
When the presenting means presents information related to the passage of the first traffic light, the first traffic light is displayed until a predetermined time has passed after the first traffic light has passed or until a predetermined distance has passed. And a control means for controlling the presenting means so as not to present information relating to the passage of the subsequent second traffic light.