JP2019139299A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device for mitigating or preventing occurrence of a congestion on a change destination lane when a lane change vehicle exists.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: a first data acquisition section 101 for acquiring first vehicle position data in a vehicle line and vehicle distance data between a first vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling just before the first vehicle; a travel plan acquisition section 102 for acquiring a travel plan including a lane change schedule and lane change schedule time of a second vehicle traveling on a lane different from that of the first vehicle; a second data acquisition section 103 for acquiring second vehicle position data; a vehicle distance change determination section 104 for determining a vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle when a first vehicle traveling lane is the same as a change destination lane of the second vehicle; A vehicle distance determination section 106 for determining a temporary vehicle distance wider than a vehicle distance indicated by vehicle distance data when a vehicle distance change is determined; a secured time determination section 107 for determining vehicle distance securing time being time from a start of operation for widening a vehicle distance to be a temporary vehicle distance to a start of operation for restoring a vehicle distance; and an output section 108 for outputting a temporary vehicle distance and the vehicle distance securing time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus mounted on an autonomous driving vehicle.

  In recent years, development related to automatic driving of automobiles has been promoted. In particular, development of an autonomous driving vehicle in which an in-vehicle system automatically performs all of acceleration, steering, and braking of the vehicle is active. Such an autonomous driving vehicle can control the vehicle according to the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the situation of other vehicles traveling in the vicinity. Therefore, by appropriately controlling the autonomous driving vehicle, traffic congestion can be reduced. Is expected to do.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining the presence or absence of a traffic jam factor on a road, controlling the vehicle heading to a traffic jam factor occurrence point to decelerate, and controlling the deceleration amount according to the distance from the traffic jam factor occurrence point. Has been. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to alleviate traffic congestion by suppressing amplification of deceleration that propagates to the following vehicle in order from the first vehicle in the train.

JP 2009-151562 A

  By the way, the cause of the occurrence of traffic jams includes, for example, lowering the vehicle speed at places such as tunnel entrances and uphill entrances, as well as vehicle lane changes. When the vehicle changes lanes, the following vehicle that travels in the lane to be changed decelerates in order to secure a gap with the lane change vehicle. The deceleration further propagates to the following vehicle, resulting in traffic jams. Since the traffic jam caused by such a lane change does not occur at a specific point, the conventional technology cannot moderate the traffic jam appropriately.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to alleviate or prevent the occurrence of traffic congestion by appropriately securing the space between vehicles traveling in the lane to be changed even when there is a vehicle that executes the lane change. It is in.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus of the present invention provides:
1st position specific data which specifies the position of the 1st vehicle in a train, and 1st distance data which shows the distance between the 1st vehicle and the front vehicle which runs just before the 1st vehicle are acquired. A data acquisition unit (101);
A travel plan acquisition unit (102) for acquiring a travel plan including a lane change schedule of a second vehicle traveling in a lane different from the first vehicle and a scheduled time for executing the lane change;
A second data acquisition unit (103) for acquiring second position specifying data for specifying the position of the second vehicle;
Based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the lane change schedule, the lane where the first vehicle travels is compared with the lane to which the second vehicle is changed, An inter-vehicle change determining unit (104) for determining inter-vehicle change between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the lanes are the same;
An inter-vehicle distance determining unit (106) for determining a provisional inter-vehicle distance wider than the inter-vehicle distance indicated by the inter-vehicle data when the inter-vehicle distance determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change;
A secured time determination unit (107) for determining a secured time between vehicles, which is a time from the start of the operation of expanding the distance between the temporary vehicles to the start of the operation of returning from the temporary vehicles to the vehicle based on the scheduled time; ,
An output unit (108) for outputting the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time;
Is provided.

  According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce or prevent the occurrence of traffic jams even when there is a vehicle that executes lane change.

The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of this invention Explanatory drawing explaining Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure explaining operation | movement of the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement of the vehicle carrying the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the congestion mitigation effect by the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of the modification of Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure explaining the modification of Embodiment 1 of this invention The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 2 of this invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the congestion alleviation effect by the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 2 of this invention The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of the modification 1 of Embodiment 3 of this invention. The figure explaining the modification 2 of Embodiment 3 of this invention The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 4 of this invention. The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of the modification 1 of Embodiment 4 of this invention. The block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus of the modification 2 of Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention means the invention described in the term of the means for solving a claim or a subject, and is not limited to the following embodiment. Further, at least the words in the brackets mean the words described in the claims or the means for solving the problems, and are not limited to the following embodiments. Further, configurations and methods described in the dependent claims, configurations and methods of embodiments corresponding to the configurations and methods described in the dependent claims, and configurations described only in the embodiments that are not described in the claims. The method and method are arbitrary configurations and methods in the present invention.
Note that the configuration disclosed in each embodiment is not closed only by each embodiment, and can be combined across the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
The configuration of the “information processing apparatus” according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. An information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a host vehicle data acquisition unit 101 (corresponding to a “first data acquisition unit” of the present invention), a travel plan acquisition unit 102, a lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103 (“ A relative position determination unit 105, an inter-vehicle change determination unit 104, an inter-vehicle determination unit 106, a secured time determination unit 107, and an output unit 108.
The “information processing apparatus” of the present invention is not limited as long as it can execute the function of each element constituting the information processing apparatus. For example, in addition to the electronic control apparatus, a server or the like that performs the function of each element may be included. Including.

  FIG. 2 shows that a plurality of vehicles travel in the right lane of the road while forming a lane, and one vehicle X is traveling in the left lane, and the vehicle X is about to change lanes to the right lane. It shows a state. In the following description, such a vehicle X is referred to as a lane change vehicle.

  In the following embodiment, the description is centered on the information processing apparatus mounted on a vehicle (for example, the vehicle A) traveling in the vehicle train, but the information processing apparatus of the present invention is not necessarily mounted on the vehicle. For example, it may be mounted on a roadside machine. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus of the present invention may be a server that integrally manages road information and vehicle information and gives instructions to the vehicle.

The own vehicle data acquisition unit 101 obtains “position specifying data” (corresponding to “first position specifying data” in the present invention) for specifying the “position” of the own vehicle (vehicle A) traveling in the “vehicle train”. get. As the position specifying data, any data that can specify the position of the vehicle can be used in addition to the coordinate data obtained by the positioning device mounted on the vehicle. For example, using the image data around the vehicle acquired by the image sensor mounted on the vehicle and the road information recorded in the database, the “position” where the vehicle is traveling is the right lane or the left lane of the road You may specify that.
Here, the “vehicle train” in the present invention refers to a train of vehicles traveling in the same lane.
The “position” of the present invention is not limited to the absolute position (for example, latitude and longitude) of the vehicle, and may be a relative position with respect to a specific reference. In addition, the “position specifying data for specifying the position” of the present invention is data that can specify the position by itself, and does not include information on the position itself, but is combined with other data. It may be data that can be used to specify the position.

The own vehicle data acquisition unit 101 further uses the speed sensor, the distance measuring sensor, and the like mounted on the own vehicle to indicate the inter-vehicle data indicating the “inter-vehicle distance” between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle traveling immediately before the own vehicle. To get.
Here, the “inter-vehicle” of the present invention may be anything that indicates the interval between two vehicles, and includes, for example, inter-vehicle distance or inter-vehicle time that is the time required to travel the inter-vehicle distance.

The travel plan acquisition unit 102 acquires a travel plan including a “lane change schedule” and “scheduled time for executing the lane change” of other vehicles traveling around the host vehicle. The travel plan is obtained by, for example, receiving data broadcast-transmitted from the other vehicle by the communication device of the host vehicle and inputting the data to the information processing device 10 of the present invention. For example, in FIG. 2, when the vehicle A receives the travel plan transmitted from the vehicle X, the vehicle A recognizes that the vehicle X is a lane change vehicle.
In the present embodiment, the lane change schedule and the scheduled time are listed as the data included in the travel plan, but the travel plan may naturally include other data related to the travel of the vehicle. For example, the travel plan may include data related to the vehicle speed and the steering angle when the lane is changed.
Here, the “lane change schedule” of the present invention means that a vehicle is scheduled to move from a running lane to a different lane. For example, on a road having a plurality of lanes, the vehicle moves from one lane to an adjacent lane. In addition to scheduled to move, it also includes the schedule to move from the entrance lane to the main line on the expressway.
The “scheduled time for executing the lane change” in the present invention is a time for starting a lane change operation (for example, turning of a steering wheel, blinking of a blinker, etc.), as well as a predetermined part of the vehicle (for example, the front side on the changed lane side). This may be the time when the vehicle portion such as the tire of the vehicle starts to enter the change destination lane. In addition, the “scheduled time” of the present invention may indicate the length of time from the current time until the vehicle executes lane change, in addition to a specific time at which the vehicle executes lane change.

  The lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103 acquires position specifying data (corresponding to “second position specifying data” in the present invention) for specifying the position of the lane changing vehicle. The position specifying data includes, for example, coordinate data received from a lane change vehicle or a roadside device by wireless communication, but is not limited to the coordinate data, like the position specifying data of the own vehicle.

  The inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 determines whether the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the lane to which the lane-change vehicle is changed are the same based on the position specifying data of the host vehicle and the lane-change vehicle and the lane change schedule included in the travel plan. Compare whether. When the lanes are the same, it is determined to change the distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead of the host vehicle. In the example of FIG. 2, since the lane to which the vehicle X is changed is the same as the lane in which the vehicle A is traveling, the inter-vehicle change determining unit of the vehicle A is the vehicle that travels immediately before the vehicle A and the vehicle A. Decide to change the distance between cars.

In the present embodiment, the inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 is further based on the relative position of the host vehicle determined by the relative position determination unit 105 in addition to the identity of the lane in which the host vehicle travels and the lane to which the other vehicle is changed. Then, it may be determined whether to change the distance between vehicles. For example, when the relative position of the own vehicle is behind the traveling direction of the lane change vehicle, the inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 determines to change the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle. On the other hand, even if the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the lane to which the lane change vehicle is changed are the same, if the relative position of the host vehicle is ahead of the lane change vehicle in the traveling direction, Decide not to change the distance between cars.
In the example of FIG. 2, since the vehicle A is located behind the traveling direction of the vehicle X, the relative position determination unit 105 of the vehicle A determines to change the distance between the vehicle A and the vehicle B.

When the inter-vehicle distance change determination unit 104 determines to change the inter-vehicle distance, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines a provisional inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead of the host vehicle. The provisional inter-vehicle distance is determined to be wider than the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle acquired by the host vehicle data acquisition unit 101.
For example, the inter-vehicle change determining unit 104 determines a value that is larger by a predetermined value than the inter-vehicle distance set during normal traveling as the temporary inter-vehicle distance. When setting the inter-vehicle time obtained by dividing the inter-vehicle distance between two vehicles by the vehicle speed as the inter-vehicle distance, for example, the inter-vehicle time is set to 1.5 seconds during normal driving, and the inter-vehicle time during normal driving is set. A value obtained by adding 0.3 seconds to the time, that is, 1.8 seconds is determined as the inter-vehicle distance. In addition, the specific numerical values, such as the calculation method between temporary vehicles, and between temporary vehicles, are not limited to the above example.

The reserved time determination unit 107 starts the operation of expanding the inter-vehicle space between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle based on the scheduled time included in the travel plan acquired by the travel plan acquisition unit 102, for example, the host vehicle The inter-vehicle securing time, which is the time from the start of the deceleration to the start of the operation for returning the inter-vehicle distance to the inter-vehicle distance during normal travel, for example, the start of acceleration of the host vehicle is determined. In this embodiment, the start time of the inter-vehicle securing time is determined to be the timing at which the inter-vehicle securing time and the provisional inter-vehicle distance are output from the output unit 108 described later. May be determined such that the vehicle starts decelerating after a certain period of time has elapsed. Further, in the present embodiment, the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time is determined so as to be the timing at which the lane change vehicle executes the lane change with reference to the scheduled time included in the travel plan, which will be described later. 2, the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time may be different from the timing at which the lane change vehicle executes the lane change.
In addition, it is desirable that the inter-vehicle securing time is determined to be equal to or longer than the time from the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle to the inter-provisional vehicle during normal travel. The time from the inter-vehicle distance to the inter-provisional vehicle can be calculated based on, for example, the deceleration control characteristics of the vehicle, a preset deceleration rate, or the like. However, when the time until the lane change vehicle executes the lane change is short, the inter-vehicle securing time may be determined to be shorter than the time from the inter-vehicle distance to the inter-provisional vehicle during normal driving. In this case, before the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle reaches the provisional vehicle, the operation of returning to the distance between the vehicles during normal travel is started again.

The output unit 108 outputs the provisional inter-vehicle time determined by the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 and the inter-vehicle reservation time determined by the reservation time determination unit 107. For example, the output unit 108 outputs the provisional time and the inter-vehicle securing time to an electronic control device that controls the operation of the vehicle. The electronic control device controls the operation of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle starts decelerating at the start time of the inter-vehicle securing time and starts accelerating at the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time. For example, the output unit 108 adjusts the speed of the own vehicle by outputting the inter-vehicle securing time and the provisional inter-vehicle distance to the engine control device shown in FIG. 1 or by outputting to the brake control device and braking the own vehicle. Adjust the distance between your vehicles.
The information processing apparatus 10 generates an instruction message instructing to start deceleration of the own vehicle at the start time of the inter-vehicle securing time and to start acceleration of the own vehicle at the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time, and the instruction message May be output to an engine control device or the like.

Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the travel plan acquisition unit 102 acquires a travel plan including a lane change schedule and a scheduled time for executing the lane change from the lane change vehicle (S101). Next, the host vehicle data acquisition unit 101 acquires the position specifying data of the host vehicle (S102). And the lane change vehicle data acquisition part 103 acquires the position specific data of a lane change vehicle (S103).

  The inter-vehicle change determining unit 104 determines whether or not the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling (hereinafter referred to as the host lane) and the lane to which the lane-change vehicle is changed are based on the data acquired in S101 to S103 ( S104). If it is determined that the own lane and the change destination lane are the same (S104: Y), the relative position determination unit 105 determines the relative position of the own vehicle with respect to the lane change vehicle (S105). If the relative position of the host vehicle is behind the lane change vehicle (S106: Y), the inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 determines to change the inter-vehicle distance.

When the inter-vehicle distance determining unit 104 determines to change the inter-vehicle distance, the inter-vehicle distance determining unit 106 determines the provisional inter-vehicle distance (S107). Next, the securing time determination unit 107 determines the inter-vehicle securing time (S108). Then, the output unit 108 outputs the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time determined in S107 and S108 (S109).
On the other hand, when the own lane and the change destination lane are not the same (S104: N), or when the relative position of the own vehicle is ahead of the lane changing vehicle (S106: N), the own vehicle changes the distance between the vehicles. Continue normal driving without

  The information processing apparatus 10 executes the above processing every time a travel plan is acquired from a lane change vehicle. Note that the order of the processes in FIG. 4 can be appropriately changed unless a certain process is a precondition for the next process.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, operation | movement of the vehicle carrying the information processing apparatus 10 is demonstrated. Here, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus of the present invention is mounted on the vehicles 1 to 20 in the train.

  FIG. 4A shows a situation in which the vehicle X travels in the left lane of the road, and the vehicles 1 to 20 forming the vehicle train travel in the right lane. Then, the vehicle X broadcasts a travel plan including a lane change schedule and a scheduled time for executing the lane change to vehicles traveling around. For example, the scheduled lane change schedule to the right lane and the scheduled time that the execution of the lane change is 10 seconds later are transmitted.

In FIG.4 (b), the information processing apparatus 10 mounted in the vehicles 1-20 in a vehicle train respectively performs the process shown in FIG. Since the relative position of the vehicle 1 is in front of the vehicle X that is a lane change vehicle (S106: N), the inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 of the information processing apparatus 10 mounted on the vehicle 1 determines not to change the inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle. To do. On the other hand, since the relative positions of the vehicles 2 to 20 are behind the vehicle X (S106: Y), the inter-vehicle change determination unit 104 of the information processing apparatus 10 mounted on the vehicles 2 to 20 changes the inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle. Then decide. The vehicles 2 to 20 are controlled so as to change the inter-vehicle distance based on the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time output from the output unit 108.
In FIG. 4A, when the inter-vehicle time between the vehicles 1 to 20 is 1.5 seconds, the information processing apparatus 10 of the vehicles 2 to 20 determines the inter-vehicle time as 1.8 seconds as a temporary inter-vehicle. To do. Furthermore, since the scheduled time for the vehicle X to execute the lane change is 10 seconds later, the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time is determined to be 10 seconds later. Then, after 10 seconds at the latest, the vehicles 2 to 20 are decelerated so that the time between the vehicles 2 to 20 increases from 1.5 seconds to 1.8 seconds, which is the provisional vehicle.

  FIG. 4C shows a situation where the vehicle X is changing the lane to the right lane, that is, 10 seconds after the travel plan is transmitted from the vehicle X. At this time, the inter-vehicle time of the vehicles 2 to 20 is changed to 1.8 seconds, which is the inter-vehicle interval. And since the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time has elapsed, the vehicles 2 to 20 change the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle from the inter-vehicle (inter-vehicle time: 1.8 seconds) to the normal inter-vehicle (inter-vehicle time: 1.5 seconds). Start the return operation.

  FIG. 4D shows a state where the vehicle X has completed the lane change to the right lane and joined the vehicle lane. When the vehicle X joins the vehicle train, the space between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle X and the space between the vehicle X and the vehicle 2 are narrowed. Therefore, the vehicle X and the vehicle 2 have the set inter-vehicle distance (inter-vehicle time: 1.5 seconds) to slow down. As the vehicle X and the vehicle 2 are decelerated, the subsequent vehicles 3 to 20 are similarly decelerated in order to secure the inter-vehicle distance (inter-vehicle time: 1.5 seconds).

FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes in the speed of the vehicle X and the vehicles in the train when the vehicle X changes lanes and joins the train. FIG. 5A shows a case where the distance between the vehicles in the lane is not changed before the vehicle X executes the lane change, that is, when the lane change is executed so that the vehicle X interrupts the lane. (B) has shown the case where the information processing apparatus by this invention is mounted in the vehicle, and the process mentioned above is implemented. In FIG. 5, only the speeds of the vehicles X and a part of the vehicles in the vehicle train are extracted from the vehicles shown in FIG. 4, but the vehicles in the vehicle train omitted in FIG. 5. Of course, the same speed characteristics are shown.
In the example shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle X and the vehicles in the train are both traveling at a speed of 45 km / h, and the vehicle X executes a lane change at t = 10 seconds. In addition, it is assumed that the inter-vehicle time of each vehicle in the vehicle train is set to be 1.5 seconds.

  In FIG. 5A, the speed of the vehicle in the train is constant at 45 km / h until the vehicle X executes lane change (t = 0 to 10 seconds). That is, the distance between the vehicles in the train is not changed. Therefore, when the vehicle X changes lanes and merges into the vehicle train (t = 10 seconds), the vehicle 2 that travels after the vehicle train X starts to decelerate in order to secure a space between the vehicle train X and the vehicle 2. . According to Fig.5 (a), the vehicle 2 is decelerating rapidly from 45 km / h to 34 km / h. Then, when the vehicle 2 decelerates, the vehicle 3 traveling behind the vehicle train 2 starts decelerating behind the vehicle 2. Similarly, the following vehicles after the vehicle 3 also decelerate in a chain manner, and the deceleration propagates. At this time, the succeeding vehicle decelerates behind the preceding vehicle, so the deceleration rate increases as the succeeding vehicle becomes. That is, the deceleration of the vehicle is amplified toward the following vehicle. In the example of FIG. 5A as well, the deceleration rate increases as the number of subsequent vehicles increases. Finally, the vehicle 20 decelerates at a speed of 13.8 km per hour as compared with the vehicle X before the lane change.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5B, when the travel plan is received from the vehicle X (t = 0 second), the vehicles 2 to 20 that are the following vehicles of the vehicle X are changed until the vehicle X executes the lane change. Deceleration is started all at once in order to secure a provisional space between each vehicle in the train. For example, when the vehicle 20 is decelerated so as to increase the inter-vehicle time from 1.5 seconds to 1.8 seconds, the vehicle 20 is decelerated at a speed of 5.3 km / h at t = 10 seconds. Then, at the timing (t = 10 seconds) when the vehicle X executes the lane change, the distance between the vehicle ahead and the preceding vehicle is returned from the temporary distance (1.8 seconds) to the normal distance (1.5 seconds). Thereafter, the vehicle 2 that travels after the vehicle X starts to decelerate in order to secure a space (1.5 seconds) between the vehicle X and the vehicle train X. Since the distance between the vehicle 2 and the preceding vehicle is previously increased to a provisional vehicle of 1.8 seconds, the deceleration rate is smaller than that in FIG. Similarly, the succeeding vehicles after the vehicle 3 also decelerate in a chain manner following the vehicle 2. However, since the space between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle is expanded in advance to the provisional vehicle, the amplification factor of the deceleration is as shown in FIG. Small compared. In the example of FIG. 5B, the vehicle 20 is decelerated at a speed of 5.7 km / h with respect to the vehicle X before the lane change. However, the vehicle 20 is decelerated compared with FIG. The rate is small.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a vehicle joins a lane by changing the lane, the distance between the vehicles in the lane is widened in advance, so that the lane-changing vehicle moves toward the succeeding vehicle after joining the lane. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the amplification of deceleration that occurs and reduce or prevent traffic congestion.

(Modification)
In the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that the distance between the vehicles in the train is constant. However, the distance between the vehicles in the train is not constant, and there may be a case where some of the vehicles in the train are wide open between the vehicles ahead. In this way, when a lane change vehicle joins a train line in which vehicles with a wide clearance are present, the subsequent vehicle of the lane change vehicle after merging decelerates to ensure the clearance and heads toward the subsequent vehicle. Even if deceleration propagates, the propagation of deceleration is absorbed at a location where the distance between the vehicles is wide, and there is a case where it is not necessary to decelerate in subsequent vehicles.
Therefore, the information processing apparatus of the present invention is based on the information about the distance between the other vehicle in the train that travels between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. It may be determined whether or not to widen the distance between the vehicles.

  FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the information processing apparatus 20 according to this modification. The information processing apparatus 20 has basically the same configuration as the information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, but other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 (corresponding to the “third data acquisition unit” of the present invention), etc. The information processing apparatus 10 is different from the information processing apparatus 10 in that the vehicle determination unit 202 and the other vehicle inter-vehicle determination unit 203 are included. In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  The other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 acquires other vehicle position specifying data (corresponding to “third position specifying data” of the present invention) that specifies the position of another vehicle in the train. The position specifying data is, for example, coordinate data acquired by wireless communication from another vehicle, as with the position specifying data of the lane change vehicle.

  The other vehicle determination unit 202 determines whether the lane change vehicle joins the lane change vehicle after the lane change vehicle joins the lane based on the position specifying data of the own vehicle, the lane change vehicle, and the other vehicle in the lane. The other vehicle (corresponding to the “third vehicle” of the present invention) in the vehicle train that will be located at is determined.

  The other vehicle inter-vehicle determining unit 203 determines the inter-vehicle distance between the other vehicle determined by the other vehicle determining unit 202 to be positioned between the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle and the preceding vehicle traveling immediately before (hereinafter, Acquire between other vehicles). The distance between the other vehicles may be obtained, for example, by calculating from the distance between the positions indicated by the position specifying data of the other vehicles, or measured by a distance measuring sensor mounted on the vehicle in the train. You may acquire by receiving distance data etc.

The inter-vehicle change determining unit 104 according to the present modification includes an inter-vehicle inter-vehicle determining unit 203 in addition to the identity between the lane in which the host vehicle travels and the lane to which the lane-change vehicle is changed, and the relative position of the host vehicle with respect to the lane-change vehicle. It is determined whether to change the distance between the own vehicles based on the distance between the other vehicles acquired in (1).
Specifically, the inter-vehicle change determining unit 104 compares the inter-vehicle distance acquired by the inter-vehicle inter-vehicle determining unit 203 with a predetermined value, and when the inter-vehicle inter-vehicle distance is smaller than “predetermined value” and “less than”. Then, decide to change the distance between the vehicles.
Here, the “predetermined value” of the present invention may be a value that is uniquely determined when a condition is given, and is not necessarily a constant value. The “more” of the present invention includes both the case where the same value as the comparison target is included and the case where the same value is not included.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, another vehicle (vehicle 3) located between the host vehicle (vehicle 4) and the lane change vehicle (vehicle X) is a front vehicle (vehicle 2). When the vehicle X joins the vehicle train, the vehicle 2 traveling behind the vehicle X decelerates to secure the space between the vehicle X and the vehicle X. However, since the space between the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3 is set widely, the vehicle 3 can ensure a sufficient space between the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3 without decelerating. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, since the propagation of deceleration is absorbed by the space between the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3, it is not necessary to change the space between the following vehicles after the vehicle 4.

  Therefore, the inter-vehicle distance change determining unit 104 determines to change the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle only when the inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles positioned between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle is smaller than “predetermined value”. When “predetermined value” is larger than “greater than”, it is determined not to change the distance between the own vehicles.

  In the above example, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 203 acquires the inter-vehicle distance for each of the other vehicles positioned between the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle, and the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 104 determines that the inter-vehicle distance of all other vehicles is When it is smaller than the predetermined value, the distance between the own vehicles is changed. However, the inter-vehicle inter-vehicle determining unit 203 calculates the total value between all the other vehicles located between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle, and when the total value between the vehicles is smaller than a predetermined value, You may decide to change the distance between vehicles.

  According to the modification of the first embodiment, it is possible to appropriately execute the inter-vehicle change of the own vehicle by determining whether to change the inter-vehicle distance based on the inter-vehicle distance between other vehicles between the own vehicle and the inter-vehicle change vehicle. Therefore, unnecessary deceleration propagation can be prevented and occurrence of traffic jam can be suppressed.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the reserved time determination unit 107 simply determines the inter-vehicle reserved time based on the scheduled time for the lane change vehicle to execute the lane change. In the second embodiment, a case where the secured time determination unit 107 determines the inter-vehicle secured time based on specific parameters will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the information processing apparatus 30 according to the second embodiment. The information processing apparatus 30 has basically the same configuration as the information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, but the information processing apparatus 10 includes the other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 and the other vehicle number determination unit 301. Is different. In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.
As in the modification of the first embodiment, the other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 acquires other vehicle position specifying data for specifying the position of the other vehicle in the train.

  The other vehicle number determination unit 301 determines the number of other vehicles in the vehicle train located between the lane change vehicle and the host vehicle. For example, the other vehicle number determination unit 301 may determine between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle based on the position of the vehicle indicated by the position specifying data of the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle and the position of the vehicle indicated by the position specification data of the other vehicle. It is possible to count the number of other vehicles located at and determine the number of other vehicles. Alternatively, the other vehicle number determination unit 301 assumes that the distance between the vehicles in the train is substantially constant, and determines the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle obtained based on the position specifying data of the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle. The number of other vehicles may be determined by estimating the number of other vehicles existing between the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle from the distance between the host vehicle and the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

Then, the securing time determination unit 107 determines the inter-vehicle securing time so that the inter-vehicle securing time becomes longer as the number of other vehicles determined by the other vehicle number determining unit 301 increases.
In the first embodiment, the end time of the inter-vehicle reservation time is determined to be the same as the timing at which the inter-vehicle change vehicle executes the inter-vehicle change. However, in the present embodiment, the inter-vehicle reservation time increases as the lane change vehicle becomes a subsequent vehicle. The time is determined to be long.

For example, when the scheduled time included in the travel plan, that is, the time until the lane change vehicle executes the lane change is T ₀ and the number of other vehicles determined by the other vehicle number determination unit is N, the secured time is determined. The unit 107 calculates the inter-vehicle securing time by adding a predetermined time (t _x ) per other vehicle to the scheduled time (T ₀ ) (T = T ₀ + N · t _x ).

FIG. 9 is a graph showing changes in the speed of the lane change vehicle and the vehicle in the vehicle train according to the present embodiment.
Compared with the speed change of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, in the first embodiment, the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time is set to the timing at which the vehicle X executes the lane change. = 10 seconds, the vehicles in the train have finished decelerating and have started to accelerate again. For example, the vehicle 20 decelerates from 45 km / h to 40 km / h at t = 0 to 10 seconds, and then accelerates again to 45 km / h at t = 10 to 40 seconds. After that, when deceleration propagates from the vehicle 2 that is the succeeding vehicle of the inter-vehicle change vehicle, the deceleration starts again at t = about 50 seconds.
That is, since the vehicle starts to accelerate again after decelerating, the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle ahead becomes narrower again until the deceleration is transmitted. In particular, it takes time for the deceleration to propagate as the vehicle becomes a subsequent vehicle, and the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle returns from the interim vehicle to the original vehicle.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the inter-vehicle securing time can be set longer as the vehicle is succeeding the vehicle train, for example, in the vehicle 20 shown in FIG. 9, the inter-vehicle securing time continues from t = 0 to 19 seconds. . Note that the speed of the vehicle 20 at t = 19 seconds is about 38 km / h, which is 6.8 km / h lower than the speed before deceleration (45 km / h), which is slower than in the case of FIG. 5 (b). The rate is great. However, the speed of the vehicle 20 after the propagation of the deceleration is about 43.2 km / h, and is only decelerated by 1.8 km / h, and the amplification of the deceleration is higher than in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Can be suppressed.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 simply determines an inter-vehicle space that is wider than the inter-vehicle space before the lane change vehicle is generated as a temporary inter-vehicle space. In the third embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines the inter-vehicle distance based on specific parameters. The information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described using the configuration of the information processing apparatus in FIG.

  In the third embodiment, the own vehicle data acquisition unit 101 acquires speed data of the own vehicle in addition to the own vehicle position specifying data and the inter-vehicle data between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103 acquires speed data of the lane change vehicle.

The inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines the provisional inter-vehicle distance based on the inter-vehicle data acquired by the own vehicle data acquisition unit 101, the speed data of the own vehicle, and the speed data of the lane change vehicle acquired by the lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103. To do.
Specifically, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 compares the “vehicle speed” indicated by the speed data of the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle, and the host vehicle is faster than the lane change vehicle, and the host vehicle and the lane When the speed difference between the changed vehicles is larger than a predetermined value, a wider provisional vehicle is determined than when the speed difference between the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle is smaller than a predetermined value.
Here, the “vehicle speed” of the present invention may be data indicating the average speed of the vehicle over a certain period in addition to the speed of the vehicle at a specific time.

  For example, if the host vehicle in the lane is traveling at 45 km / h and the lane change vehicle is traveling at 40 km / h, when the lane change vehicle joins the lane, the following vehicle matches the speed of the lane change vehicle. Need to slow down. Therefore, when the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle are traveling at the same speed, or when the speed of the lane change vehicle is faster than the own vehicle, the deceleration rate of the following vehicle becomes larger, and as a result The amplification factor of deceleration propagating toward the vehicle also increases.

Therefore, when the own vehicle is faster than the lane change vehicle and the own vehicle has a speed difference between the lane change vehicle larger than a predetermined value, the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is more than normal. By setting the distance between the wide provisional vehicles, it is possible to suppress the amplification of deceleration that occurs toward the rear after the lane change vehicle changes lanes.
Moreover, you may change between temporary vehicles according to the magnitude | size of a speed difference. For example, when the speed difference between the host vehicle and the lane change vehicle is 5 km / h, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines a time that is 0.45 seconds longer than the inter-vehicle time during normal travel as a temporary inter-vehicle, and the speed difference is In the case of 10 km, a time that is 0.6 seconds longer than the inter-vehicle time during normal traveling may be determined as the temporary inter-vehicle. In addition, the value between the temporary vehicles with respect to the speed difference is recorded in advance in a memory, for example, a table storing the speed difference range and the corresponding value between the temporary vehicles, and is based on the speed difference between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle. Alternatively, it may be determined by reading the value between the temporary vehicles from the table.

(Modification 1)
The inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 may determine the inter-vehicle distance based on parameters other than the vehicle speed, for example, the number of lane change vehicles.

  FIG. 10 shows an information processing apparatus 40 according to this modification. The information processing apparatus 40 is different from the information processing apparatus 10 in that it includes an other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 and a time difference calculation unit 401. In FIG. 10, the relative position determination unit 105 is omitted because it has an arbitrary configuration.

When the lane change schedule included in the plurality of travel plans indicates that the lanes to which the plurality of lane change vehicles are changed are the same, the time difference calculation unit 401 includes a plurality of scheduled times included in the plurality of travel plans. The time difference is calculated.
When the time difference calculated by the time difference calculation unit 401 is smaller than the predetermined value, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 calculates the temporary inter-vehicle distance based on the number of lane change vehicles.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, the vehicle X and the vehicle Y are traveling in the left lane, and the scheduled time for the vehicle X to change the lane and the scheduled time for the vehicle Y to change the lane are substantially the same time. In this case, after the lane change of the vehicle X or the vehicle Y is completed and merged into the vehicle lane, the two vehicles in the vehicle lane change within the inter-vehicle reservation time than the other vehicle executes the lane change. It is more efficient to ensure that the two lane-changing vehicles can join the vehicle train simultaneously or successively.
Therefore, in such a case, the inter-vehicle distance determining unit 106 determines a wide inter-vehicle space as a provisional inter-vehicle space compared to the case where there is one lane changing vehicle. In addition, the value between temporary vehicles with respect to the number of lane change vehicles, for example, a table storing the number of lane change vehicles and the corresponding inter-vehicle value or coefficient corresponding thereto is recorded in advance in the memory, and the number of lane change vehicles May be determined by reading the value between the provisional vehicles from the table.
For example, in FIG. 11B, the vehicle 2 determines the provisional distance based on the first embodiment so that one vehicle (vehicle X) can join the train. On the other hand, the following vehicles after the vehicle 3 determine a wider provisional vehicle space as compared with the case of the first embodiment so that two vehicles (vehicle X, vehicle Y) can join the vehicle train. Alternatively, the succeeding vehicles after the vehicle 3 may be switched from one provisional vehicle to two provisional vehicles at the time of acquiring a travel plan for a vehicle that will execute a lane change later.

In the present modification, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines the inter-proximity vehicle interval based on the number of lane change vehicles only when the time difference between the lane change scheduled times is smaller than a predetermined value. This is because when the time difference of the scheduled time for lane change is large, that is, when the vehicle Y executes lane change after a lane change of the vehicle X, the vehicle in the train is acquired from the vehicle X. Based on the above, it is highly probable that the inter-vehicle space has already been determined, or the inter-vehicle reservation time is high, and after the lane change of the vehicle X is completed and the inter-vehicle space in the train is stabilized, the next This is because it is preferable to change the lane of the vehicle.
In this modified example, the case where there are two lane change vehicles is illustrated, but the same processing may be performed when there are two or more lane change vehicles. However, when the number of lane change vehicles is large, it may happen that the following vehicles in the train cannot sufficiently secure the provisional space. In such a case, an upper limit is set between the provisional vehicles so that the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 cannot determine between the provisional vehicles exceeding the upper limit, or the vehicle travels to the lane change vehicle as described later in the fourth embodiment. It is desirable to generate a message indicating a plan change.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described example, all the vehicles in the vehicle train have been described as being vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “equipped vehicles”) equipped with the information processing apparatus of the present invention. On the other hand, when a vehicle not equipped with the information processing apparatus of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as a non-mounted vehicle) exists in the lane, the non-mounted vehicle is moved forward before the lane change vehicle executes the lane change. A provisional vehicle cannot be secured between the vehicle and the vehicle. For this reason, when a lane change vehicle joins a train and a vehicle ahead of a non-mounted vehicle starts to decelerate, the non-mounted vehicle decelerates suddenly. Amplification will occur. Therefore, when there is a non-mounted vehicle between the lane change vehicle and the host vehicle, it is desirable to predict that the non-mounted vehicle will decelerate rapidly and to ensure a wide provisional space.

  Therefore, when there is a non-mounted vehicle in the lane, the inter-vehicle distance determining unit 106 determines the position of the non-mounted vehicle in the lane and the number of non-mounted vehicles existing between the lane change vehicle and the host vehicle. Accordingly, the provisional vehicle distance may be determined.

  The information processing apparatus according to this modification includes a non-mounted vehicle determination unit (not shown) instead of the time difference calculation unit 401 of the information processing apparatus 40 shown in FIG.

The other vehicle data acquisition unit 201 of the present modified example is equipped with, for example, the information processing device of the present invention so that it can be determined whether another vehicle in the train is equipped with the information processing device of the present invention. Data indicating that the vehicle is moving or data indicating the distance between the other vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Then, the non-mounted vehicle determination unit determines the position of the non-mounted vehicle and the number of the non-mounted vehicles existing between the own vehicle and the lane change vehicle based on the data acquired by the other vehicle data acquisition unit 201. To do.
For example, the non-mounted vehicle determination unit determines that the vehicle that transmits the inter-vehicle data indicating the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is the mounted vehicle. On the other hand, when the data indicating the distance between vehicles or the position specifying data cannot be obtained from the vehicle traveling at the position indicated by the distance data transmitted from such a mounted vehicle, the non-mounted vehicle determination unit This vehicle is determined to be a non-mounted vehicle. Alternatively, the non-equipped vehicle determination unit is based on data such as a flag indicating whether the information processing apparatus of the present invention is installed or version information included in the data acquired by the other vehicle data acquisition unit 201. It is determined whether the transmission source vehicle is a mounted vehicle or a non-mounted vehicle. Note that the method of determining the non-mounted vehicle by the non-mounted vehicle determining unit and the data used for determining the non-mounted vehicle are not limited to the above example.

Then, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines the inter-vehicle distance based on the inter-vehicle data acquired by the own vehicle data acquisition unit 101 and the position of the non-mounted vehicle and the number of non-mounted vehicles determined by the non-mounted vehicle determination unit. To do.
Specifically, when the position of the non-mounted vehicle is close to the own vehicle, for example, when there is a non-mounted vehicle immediately in front of the own vehicle, a sufficient clearance can be secured even if the non-mounted vehicle suddenly decelerates. As the position of the non-mounted vehicle is closer to the host vehicle, a wider inter-vehicle distance is determined. On the other hand, when the position of the non-mounted vehicle is far from the own vehicle, that is, when there are several other vehicles between the own vehicle and the non-mounted vehicle, the propagation of deceleration is absorbed between the other vehicles. The tentative inter-vehicle distance is determined as compared with the case where the non-equipped vehicle travels immediately before the own vehicle. Furthermore, the larger the number of non-mounted vehicles, the wider the provisional distance between vehicles.

  According to the second modification, there is a non-mounted vehicle in the vehicle train that does not have the information processing apparatus of the present invention and cannot secure a provisional space before the lane change vehicle executes the lane change. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the deceleration from being amplified toward the following vehicle by setting an appropriate provisional vehicle distance.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first to third embodiments, the own vehicle traveling in the vehicle train controls the operation of the vehicle so as to secure the provisional space between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle based on the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time. did. However, for example, if the scheduled time for the lane change vehicle to change lanes is remarkably short, it may happen that the provisional inter-vehicle distance cannot be secured between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle within the inter-vehicle reservation time.

  Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, when the lane change vehicle cannot secure the provisional lane within the inter-lane reservation time, the vehicle in the lane changes the travel plan with respect to the lane change vehicle, specifically, the lane Send a message requesting a change in the scheduled change time.

  FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the information processing apparatus 50 according to the fourth embodiment. The information processing apparatus 50 has basically the same configuration as the information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, but includes a maximum inter-vehicle distance determination unit 501, an inter-vehicle difference calculation unit 502, and a message generation unit 503. It is different from the information processing apparatus 10. In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

The maximum inter-vehicle distance determining unit 501 determines the maximum inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead thereof that the host vehicle can secure within the inter-vehicle securing time determined by the securing time determining unit 107.
In addition, when the own vehicle implements rapid deceleration, the maximum distance between vehicles obtained becomes larger than when the vehicle does not perform rapid deceleration. However, when the host vehicle decelerates suddenly, deceleration of the subsequent vehicle is amplified, so the problem in the present invention cannot be solved. Therefore, the maximum inter-vehicle distance determination unit 501 stores in advance or calculates the maximum deceleration rate that does not cause deceleration amplification in the following vehicle of the host vehicle, and calculates the inter-vehicle distance obtained when the vehicle is decelerated over the inter-vehicle securing time at the deceleration rate. It is desirable to have the maximum distance between vehicles.

  The inter-vehicle difference calculation unit 502 compares the temporary inter-vehicle determined by the inter-vehicle determining unit 106 with the maximum inter-vehicle determined by the maximum inter-vehicle determining unit 501, and calculates the inter-vehicle difference when the inter-proximity inter-vehicle is larger. To do.

  When the inter-vehicle difference calculated by the inter-vehicle difference calculating unit 502 is greater than a predetermined value, the message generating unit 503 generates a message that instructs the lane change vehicle to change the travel plan. For example, a message for instructing to delay the scheduled time for lane change is generated.

  Then, the output unit 108 outputs the message generated by the message generation unit 503 instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle X travels in the left lane, the vehicles 1 to 20 in the train are traveling in the left lane, and the inter-vehicle time of each vehicle in the train is 1.5 seconds. A case is assumed where a predetermined value serving as a threshold for the inter-vehicle difference is set to 0.1 second. Here, when the vehicle X transmits a travel plan including a lane change schedule in which the lane change is performed in the right lane and a scheduled time that the execution of the lane change is 5 seconds later to the vehicles 1 to 20 The vehicles 2 to 20 located behind the vehicle X decide to change the distance between the host vehicle and the vehicle ahead.

Here, the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106 determines the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles 2 to 20 as 1.8 seconds. Furthermore, since the time until the vehicle X executes the lane change is 5 seconds, the securing time determination unit 107 determines the inter-vehicle securing time as 5 seconds.
Next, the maximum inter-vehicle distance determination unit 501 determines the maximum inter-vehicle distance that can be secured by the host vehicle in five seconds until the end time of the inter-vehicle securing time. For example, when the maximum inter-vehicle distance determination unit 501 determines that the maximum inter-vehicle distance is 1.62 seconds, the inter-vehicle difference calculation unit 502 is 1.62 seconds that is the maximum inter-vehicle distance and the provisional inter-vehicle distance determined by the inter-vehicle distance determination unit 106. The inter-vehicle difference of 1.8 seconds (0.18 seconds) is calculated. The inter-vehicle difference calculated by the inter-vehicle difference calculating unit 502 is greater than a predetermined value of 0.1 seconds. In this way, if the vehicle X joins the vehicle train in a state where the provisional vehicle space is not sufficiently secured, the vehicle following the vehicle X will suddenly decelerate in order to secure the vehicle space with the preceding vehicle. Thus, amplification of deceleration occurs toward the rear of the vehicle train.

  Therefore, the message generation unit 503 generates a message for instructing the vehicle X to delay the scheduled time for the vehicle X to execute the lane change, for example, to delay the scheduled time for the lane change after 10 seconds. Is transmitted to the vehicle X via the output unit 108.

  Note that the message generated by the message generation unit 503 may be transmitted by broadcast, or may be transmitted by unicast so that only the vehicle X can be received.

  According to the fourth embodiment, since the lane change vehicle can execute the lane change after a sufficient inter-vehicle space is secured for the vehicles in the lane, the deceleration is amplified toward the rear of the lane. Thus, it becomes possible to prevent the occurrence of traffic jams.

(Modification 1)
In the embodiment described above, a message for instructing the lane change vehicle to change the travel plan is generated based on the inter-vehicle difference between the maximum inter-vehicle distance and the inter-provisional vehicle that can be secured in the inter-vehicle securing time. In the present modification, a case will be described in which a message for instructing a lane change vehicle to change a travel plan is generated based on parameters other than the inter-vehicle difference between the maximum inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle distance.

As described in the paragraph 0056, when a lane change vehicle having a slower speed than the vehicle in the lane joins the lane, the following vehicle of the lane change vehicle needs to decelerate according to the speed of the lane change vehicle. Therefore, deceleration is amplified toward the following vehicle. In particular, when the speed difference between the vehicle speed in the train and the speed of the lane change vehicle is large, the deceleration amplification factor increases.
As described in the third embodiment, when there is a speed difference between the vehicle in the lane and the lane change vehicle, it is possible to suppress the amplification of the deceleration by setting the provisional inter-vehicle distance wide. If the difference is large, it is difficult to avoid an increase in deceleration toward the following vehicle.
Therefore, when the speed difference between the vehicle speeds of the vehicles in the lane and the lane change vehicle is larger than a predetermined value, a message for instructing the lane change vehicle to change the travel plan is generated.

FIG. 13 shows an information processing apparatus 60 according to the first modification. The information processing apparatus 60 of this modification includes a speed difference calculation unit 601 instead of the maximum inter-vehicle distance determination unit 501 and the inter-vehicle difference calculation unit 502 of the information processing apparatus 50.
In the present modification, the host vehicle data acquisition unit 101 acquires speed data of the host vehicle in addition to the position specifying data of the host vehicle. In the present modification, the lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103 acquires speed data of the lane change vehicle.

  The speed difference calculation unit 601 is a vehicle speed indicated by the speed data of the own vehicle acquired by the host vehicle data acquisition unit 101 and a vehicle speed indicated by the speed data of the lane change vehicle acquired by the lane change vehicle data acquisition unit 103. Calculate the speed difference.

  When the speed difference calculated by the speed difference calculation unit 601 is larger than a predetermined value, the message generation unit 503 generates a message that instructs the lane change vehicle to change the travel plan. For example, a message for instructing to change the vehicle speed at the time of lane change to the same speed as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is generated.

  Then, the output unit 108 outputs the message generated by the message generation unit 503 instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time.

For example, it is assumed that the vehicle X shown in FIG. 2 travels in the left lane at 30 km / h, and the vehicles 1 to 20 in the train are traveling in the left lane at 45 km / h. In this case, the speed difference calculation unit 601 of the information processing device mounted on the vehicle in the vehicle row calculates that the speed difference between the own vehicle (for example, the vehicle 2) and the vehicle X is 15 km / h.
When the speed difference between the vehicle X and the vehicle 2 is 15 km / h, when the vehicle X joins the vehicle train, the vehicle 2 avoids a collision with the vehicle X, which is significantly slower than the host vehicle, and In order to ensure sufficient clearance between the two cars, sudden deceleration is implemented. As a result, the deceleration is amplified and propagated to subsequent vehicles after the vehicle 2.

  Therefore, the message generation unit 503 generates a message for instructing the vehicle X to change the travel plan so that the vehicle X is accelerated to 45 km / h and the lane change is executed, and the message is output to the output unit 108. To the vehicle X.

  In the above example, an example of generating a message instructing a change in the speed of the lane change vehicle at the time of the lane change among the travel plans of the lane change vehicle has been described, but the travel plan other than the vehicle speed is changed. A message may be generated. For example, an instruction is given to delay the scheduled time for lane change so that a sufficient inter-vehicle space can be secured so that deceleration will not be amplified in the following vehicle even if a lane change vehicle with a slower speed than the host vehicle joins the train A message may be generated.

(Modification 2)
As another example, when a plurality of vehicles are scheduled to change lanes, a message that instructs the lane change vehicle that plans to change lanes later to change the travel plan so as to delay execution of the lane change. May be generated.

As described in the modification of the third embodiment, when the time difference between the lane change scheduled times in the plurality of lane change vehicles is small, it is more efficient to collectively secure the provisional vehicles for the plurality of lane change vehicles. However, if the time difference between the scheduled lane changes is large, the lane change of the lane change vehicle is completed first, and the lane change of the next vehicle is executed after the lane change of the vehicles in the train is stabilized. Is preferable.
Therefore, if the time difference between the scheduled lane change time of the vehicle that executes the lane change first and the next vehicle that executes the lane change is greater than a predetermined value, the estimated lane change time of the lane change vehicle Generate a message indicating the change.

FIG. 14 shows an information processing apparatus 70 according to the second modification. The information processing apparatus 70 according to the present modification includes a time difference calculation unit 701 instead of the maximum inter-vehicle determination unit 501 and the inter-vehicle difference calculation unit 502 of the information processing apparatus 50.
In this modification, the travel plan acquisition unit 102 acquires a travel plan from a plurality of lane change vehicles.

  The time difference calculation unit 701 calculates a time difference between scheduled times of lane change acquired from a plurality of lane change vehicles.

  When the time difference calculated by the time difference calculation unit 701 is larger than a predetermined value, the message generation unit 503 instructs the vehicle that executes the lane change for the second and subsequent times to change the scheduled time of the lane change. Is generated. For example, the scheduled lane change time is delayed until the lane change of the previous lane change vehicle is completed and the deceleration of the vehicle in the lane caused by the previous lane change vehicle joining the lane is stable. Generate a message to indicate.

  Then, the output unit 108 outputs the message generated by the message generation unit 503 instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time.

(Summary)
The characteristics of the information processing device in each embodiment of the present invention have been described above. In addition, although the features of the plurality of embodiments and the modifications thereof have been described, two or more features of the embodiments and the modifications thereof may be included.

In each embodiment, the information processing apparatus that is an in-vehicle device is taken as an example, but the information processing apparatus may be mounted on a roadside device. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus of the present invention may be, for example, a server that integrally manages vehicles and gives instructions to the vehicles.
When the information processing apparatus of the present invention is an on-vehicle device, the data processing device such as a sensor mounted on a vehicle or another information processing device that acquires data from a message transmitted / received by inter-vehicle communication and is also an on-vehicle device Output the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time. On the other hand, when the information processing apparatus of the present invention is mounted on a roadside machine or is a server, the information processing apparatus acquires these data by receiving data from each vehicle via the communication apparatus. In addition, the inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time for each vehicle is determined. Then, by outputting the determined inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time to the communication device, it is transmitted to the vehicle traveling on the road to give an instruction to each vehicle.

  Further, each embodiment has been described on the assumption that the distance between the vehicles in the train is the same, and that the size and acceleration / deceleration performance of each vehicle are the same in principle. However, the distance between the vehicles is set by the vehicle dealer, manufacturer, vehicle owner or driver, and may be different for each vehicle. Further, the data acquisition unit may indicate the size and acceleration / deceleration performance of each vehicle, and the provisional inter-vehicle distance may be determined in consideration of these data.

In each embodiment, the operation in each block has been described with reference to the drawings in which block diagrams are described. Needless to say, each embodiment can be grasped as a feature of the method. That is, this specification also discloses the present invention as a method invention.
In addition, such a method can be realized not only by the above-mentioned thing but also as a combination of a program recorded on a recording medium such as a memory or a hard disk, and a microcomputer having a dedicated or general-purpose CPU and a memory for executing the program. . The program can also be provided from a server via a communication line without going through a recording medium. As a result, the latest functions can always be provided through program upgrades.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is mainly used for controlling the running of an automobile, but may be used for controlling the running of a vehicle other than an automobile, for example, a motorcycle, an electrically assisted bicycle, and the like. . Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to these applications.

10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Information processing apparatus, 101 Own vehicle data acquisition unit, 102 Travel plan acquisition unit, 103 Lane change vehicle data acquisition unit, 104 Inter-vehicle change determination unit, 105 Relative position determination unit, 106 Inter-vehicle determination unit , 107 Securing time determination unit, 108 output unit, 201 Other vehicle data acquisition unit, 202 Other vehicle determination unit, 203 Other vehicle inter-vehicle determination unit, 301 Other vehicle number determination unit, 401 Time difference calculation unit, 501 Maximum inter-vehicle determination unit, 502 Inter-vehicle difference determination unit, 503 message generation unit

Claims (16)

1st position specific data which specifies the position of the 1st vehicle in a train, and 1st distance data which shows the distance between the 1st vehicle and the front vehicle which runs just before the 1st vehicle are acquired. A data acquisition unit (101);
A travel plan acquisition unit (102) for acquiring a travel plan including a lane change schedule of a second vehicle traveling in a lane different from the first vehicle and a scheduled time for executing the lane change;
A second data acquisition unit (103) for acquiring second position specifying data for specifying the position of the second vehicle;
Based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the lane change schedule, the lane where the first vehicle travels is compared with the lane to which the second vehicle is changed, An inter-vehicle change determining unit (104) for determining inter-vehicle change between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle when the lanes are the same;
An inter-vehicle distance determining unit (106) for determining a provisional inter-vehicle distance wider than the inter-vehicle distance indicated by the inter-vehicle data when the inter-vehicle distance determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change;
A secured time determination unit (107) for determining a secured time between vehicles, which is a time from the start of the operation of expanding the distance between the temporary vehicles to the start of the operation of returning from the temporary vehicles to the vehicle based on the scheduled time; ,
An output unit (108) for outputting the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time;
An information processing apparatus (10) comprising: The information processing apparatus further includes
A relative position determining unit (105) for determining a relative position of the first vehicle with respect to the second vehicle based on the first position specifying data and the second position specifying data;
The inter-vehicle change determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change when the relative position determining unit determines that the relative position of the first vehicle is behind the traveling direction of the second vehicle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus further includes
A third data acquisition unit (201) for acquiring third position specifying data for specifying the position of another vehicle in the vehicle train;
The other vehicle in the vehicle train located between the first vehicle and the second vehicle based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the third position specifying data. An other vehicle determination unit (202) for determining a third vehicle that is
An inter-vehicle distance determination unit (203) that acquires an inter-vehicle distance between the third vehicle and a preceding vehicle that travels immediately before the third vehicle;
With
The inter-vehicle change determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change when the inter-vehicle distance between the third vehicle and the inter-front vehicle of the third vehicle is smaller than a predetermined value.
The information processing apparatus (20) according to claim 1. The end time of the inter-vehicle securing time is equal to the time for the second vehicle to execute the lane change.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus further includes
A third data acquisition unit (201) for acquiring third position specifying data for specifying the position of another vehicle in the vehicle train;
The number of other vehicles in the train that are located between the first vehicle and the second vehicle based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the third position specifying data. Another vehicle number determination unit (301) for determining
With
The securing time determination unit determines the inter-vehicle securing time based on the number of the other vehicles;
The information processing apparatus (30) according to claim 1. The first data acquisition unit further acquires speed data of the first vehicle,
The second data acquisition unit further acquires speed data of the second vehicle,
The inter-vehicle distance determining unit determines a temporary inter-vehicle distance based on a vehicle speed indicated by speed data of the first vehicle and the second vehicle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The travel plan acquisition unit acquires a plurality of travel plans from a plurality of second vehicles having the same lane to be changed,
The information processing apparatus further includes
A time difference calculating unit (401) for calculating a time difference between the plurality of scheduled times included in the plurality of travel plans;
The inter-vehicle distance determining unit determines the inter-intermediate inter-vehicle distance based on the number of the second vehicles when the time difference is smaller than a predetermined value.
The information processing apparatus (40) according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus further includes a non-mounted vehicle determining unit that determines a non-mounted vehicle that is a vehicle that does not include the information processing apparatus among the other vehicles in the train.
The inter-vehicle distance determination unit determines the inter-vehicle distance based on the presence or absence of the non-mounted vehicle;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A maximum inter-vehicle determining unit (501) that determines a maximum inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle that can be secured in the inter-vehicle securing time;
An inter-vehicle difference calculating unit (502) for calculating an inter-vehicle difference between the provisional vehicle and the maximum inter-vehicle;
A message generator (503) for generating a message for instructing the second vehicle to change the scheduled time when the inter-vehicle difference is greater than a predetermined value;
Further comprising
The output unit outputs the message instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time,
The information processing apparatus (50) according to claim 1. The first data acquisition unit acquires speed data of the first vehicle,
The second data acquisition unit further acquires speed data of the second vehicle,
The information processing apparatus further includes
A speed difference calculation unit (601) for calculating a speed difference between vehicle speeds indicated by the speed data of the first vehicle and the second vehicle;
A message generator for generating a message for instructing the second vehicle to change the travel plan when the speed difference is greater than a predetermined value;
Further comprising
The output unit outputs the message instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The message indicates a change of at least one of the scheduled time or the vehicle speed of the second vehicle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 10. The travel plan acquisition unit acquires a plurality of travel plans from a plurality of second vehicles having the same lane to be changed,
The information processing apparatus further includes
A time difference calculating unit (701) for calculating a time difference between the plurality of scheduled times included in the plurality of travel plans;
A message generator for generating a message for instructing at least one of the second vehicles to change the scheduled time when the time difference is greater than a predetermined value;
With
The output unit outputs the message instead of the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time,
The information processing apparatus (70) according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus is mounted on the first vehicle,
The output unit outputs the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time to a control device that controls the operation of the first vehicle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The information processing device is mounted on a roadside machine or a server on the network,
The output unit outputs the provisional inter-vehicle and inter-vehicle securing time to the first vehicle.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Obtaining first position specifying data for specifying a position of the first vehicle in a train, and inter-vehicle data indicating an inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling immediately before the first vehicle;
Obtaining a travel plan including a lane change schedule of a second vehicle traveling in a lane different from the first vehicle and a scheduled time for executing the lane change;
Obtaining second position specifying data for specifying the position of the second vehicle;
Based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the lane change schedule, the lane where the first vehicle travels is compared with the lane to which the second vehicle is changed, Determining the inter-vehicle change between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle if the lanes are the same;
When the inter-vehicle change determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change, determining a provisional inter-vehicle width wider than the inter-vehicle distance indicated by the inter-vehicle data;
Determining an inter-vehicle securing time, which is a time from the start of an operation of expanding the inter-vehicle space between the interim vehicles based on the scheduled time to the start of an operation of returning the inter-vehicle space between the inter-vehicles;
Outputting the provisional inter-vehicle and the inter-vehicle securing time;
A vehicle control method. Obtaining first position specifying data for specifying a position of the first vehicle in a train, and inter-vehicle data indicating an inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling immediately before the first vehicle;
Obtaining a travel plan including a lane change schedule of a second vehicle traveling in a lane different from the first vehicle and a scheduled time for executing the lane change;
Obtaining second position specifying data for specifying the position of the second vehicle;
Based on the first position specifying data, the second position specifying data, and the lane change schedule, the lane where the first vehicle travels is compared with the lane to which the second vehicle is changed, Determining the inter-vehicle change between the first vehicle and the preceding vehicle if the lanes are the same;
When the inter-vehicle change determining unit determines the inter-vehicle change, determining a provisional inter-vehicle width wider than the inter-vehicle distance indicated by the inter-vehicle data;
Determining an inter-vehicle securing time, which is a time from the start of an operation of expanding the inter-vehicle space between the interim vehicles based on the scheduled time to the start of an operation of returning the inter-vehicle space between the inter-vehicles;
Outputting the provisional inter-vehicle and the inter-vehicle securing time;
A vehicle control program that causes a computer to execute.