JP2020067742A - Information provision system and on-vehicle device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for allowing an automobile to recognize, in advance, information of a railroad crossing and a traffic signal to be required in traveling of the automobile.SOLUTION: An information provision system 1 acquires railroad crossing time table information 62 being the time table of a railroad crossing warning prediction time based on a precise time of each railroad crossing RC from a railroad crossing control central device 12 of a railroad crossing control system 10, and acquires signal change timing information based on a precise time of each intersection IS from a traffic signal control central device 32 of a traffic signal control system 30. Then, the information provision system extracts a railroad crossing and an intersection which satisfy a predetermined information provision range condition based on a position of an automobile, generates travel support information 3 including: warning prediction time information 5 related to an extracted railroad crossing; and signal change prediction information 7 related to an extracted intersection, and transmits the information to an on-vehicle device 40 of an automobile.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system and the like that provides driving assistance information to an automobile.

  Currently, technological development of automatic driving of automobiles by computer control is being advanced worldwide. The automatic driving is divided into 6 levels, and the level at which the driver operates everything is set to level 0, and the operation of any one of acceleration (accelerator), steering (steering), and braking (brake) is automated. Level 1, the stage where multiple operations are automated is Level 2, all the operations are automated only in specific places such as expressways, but the stage where the driver operates only in an emergency is Level 3, limited to specific places It is defined that the stage where all the operations are automated is level 4, and the stage where all the operations are automated without limiting the location is level 5.

  In order to carry out automatic driving, it is important to capture various information around the vehicle such as the driving lane on the road and other vehicles, and as a means for that, image recognition of images captured by cameras mounted on vehicles is widely used. (See, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). However, in order to carry out safe autonomous driving, it is necessary to recognize the surroundings of the vehicle in real time and accurately. Therefore, it is required to further improve the reliability of image recognition performance and the recognition speed. The development is becoming more advanced every day.

JP, 2008-73275, A JP 2000-207563 A

  For example, as information necessary for realizing automatic driving of level 3 or higher, there are traffic signals (display colors of signal lamps) and crossings at intersections. In any case, since incorrect recognition or recognition delay may lead to an accident immediately, accurate and real-time recognition is necessary. Traffic signals at intersections and level crossing warnings change moment by moment, and there are traffic signals that suddenly appear in the field of view, such as a signal immediately after a curve or a signal immediately after a right or left turn. Therefore, advanced arithmetic processing technology is required to realize accurate and real-time recognition performance.

  However, even if accurate and real-time recognition can be realized only from the image picked up by the camera mounted on the vehicle, a sudden braking may occur due to a signal suddenly appearing in the field of view or a railroad crossing. This event can occur at level 2 and below as well. Further, even in the case of manual driving instead of automatic driving, it is still possible that sudden braking may be required due to a sudden signal or railroad crossing in the field of view.

  If the car can acquire information about railroad crossings and traffic signals in advance from images other than the images taken by the camera mounted on the car, whether it is level 3 or higher automatic driving or manual driving by the driver, It can be useful information when driving a car.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables a vehicle to recognize in advance information about railroad crossings and traffic signals that are necessary when the vehicle travels. ,.

The first invention for solving the above problems is
An information providing system that communicates with a railroad crossing control system and a traffic signal control system to provide driving assistance information to a vehicle,
Each of the railroad crossing control system and the traffic signal control system receives a satellite signal from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite, receives a standard radio wave, or communicates with an absolute time information providing system to obtain a highly accurate time. It is equipped with a high-precision timekeeping function that keeps time
The automobile is provided with a positioning function (for example, the GNSS receiving unit 510 in FIG. 16) that receives satellite signals from the GNSS satellites to perform positioning.
Level crossing time table information acquisition means (for example, level crossing time table information acquisition unit 202 in FIG. 12) that acquires level crossing time table information, which is a time table of the level crossing warning predicted time based on the high-accuracy time of each level crossing, from the level crossing control system. )When,
A signal change timing information acquisition unit (for example, a signal change timing information acquisition unit 206 in FIG. 12) that acquires signal change timing information based on the highly accurate time of each traffic light intersection from the traffic signal control system,
Storage means for storing level crossing position information of each level crossing capable of acquiring the level crossing timetable information from the level crossing control system and intersection position information of each traffic signal intersection capable of acquiring the signal change timing information from the traffic signal control system. (For example, the level crossing management information 310 and the traffic signal management information 320 in FIG. 12),
Running information receiving means (for example, running information receiving unit 210 in FIG. 12) for receiving running information including own vehicle position information from the automobile,
Extraction means (for example, the extraction unit in FIG. 12) that extracts the level crossings and traffic light intersections that satisfy the information provision range that provides the travel support information determined based on the travel information with reference to the storage content of the storage means. 214),
Generates warning predicted time information of the level crossing based on the level crossing time table information of the extracted level crossing, and signal change prediction information of the traffic light intersection based on the signal change timing information of the extracted traffic light intersection. And providing the driving assistance information including the alarm prediction time information and the signal change prediction information to the vehicle (for example, the information provision control unit 216 in FIG. 12),
It is an information providing system equipped with.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize an information providing system that provides a vehicle with driving assistance information including information about a level crossing and a traffic signal at a traffic light intersection necessary for traveling. Since the information about the railroad crossing is based on the information acquired from the railroad crossing control system, and the information about the traffic signal is based on the information acquired from the traffic signal control system, it is accurate traveling support information.

  Further, the information included in the driving support information is information about the level crossings and traffic light intersections that satisfy the information provision range based on the position of the vehicle. Information about railroad crossings and traffic signals, such as railroad crossings and traffic light intersections that are close to the position, that are needed at any time during driving can be captured.

  Further, since the information about the railroad crossings included in the driving support information is the predicted warning time information, and the information about the traffic light intersections is the signal change prediction information, for the automobile, the railroad crossings and traffic lights whose conditions change from moment to moment. With respect to traffic signals at intersections, it is possible to capture in advance information that is useful for driving a vehicle, such as predicted change order and change time, and recognize the information.

  Further, since the railroad crossing control system and the traffic signal control system both include a high-accuracy time clock, the time included in the information provided by each system is the time according to the high-accuracy time information. By providing the automobile with the high-precision timekeeping function as well, accurate time synchronization can be achieved between each system and each automobile, and safe driving of the automobile can be supported.

The second invention is the same as the first invention,
The information provision range condition includes at least a condition based on a distance based on a position indicated by the own vehicle position information,
It is an information provision system.

  According to the second aspect, the information provision range condition can include a condition that the distance from the position of the automobile is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. As a result, it is possible to provide the vehicle with the driving assistance information including the information about the level crossing and the traffic light intersection close to the position of the vehicle.

A third invention is the first or second invention,
The information providing control means, among the extracted level crossings and traffic signal intersections, regarding level crossings and traffic signal intersections that satisfy a predetermined short-distance condition based on the position indicated by the vehicle position information, those that do not satisfy the level crossing and traffic signal intersections. In comparison with the above, the alarm prediction time information and the signal change prediction information are provided with high frequency,
It is an information provision system.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, a crossing and a traffic light intersection closer to the position of the vehicle are more likely to arrive sooner. Therefore, a crossing and a traffic light intersection closer to the vehicle satisfying a predetermined short-distance condition are farther away. By providing information more frequently than at the traffic light intersection and the traffic light intersection, it is possible to provide driving assistance information that is more suitable for driving a vehicle.

A fourth invention is the invention according to any one of the first to third inventions,
The traveling information includes traveling direction information of the automobile,
The information provision control means, of the traffic signals at the extracted traffic signal intersections, for the traffic signal intersection closest to the traveling direction indicated by the traveling direction information, provides the signal change prediction information related to the traffic signal on the route in the traveling direction. To do
It is an information provision system.

  Usually, a traffic signal is installed at an intersection for each approaching route, but the traffic signal to be followed by a car when approaching an intersection is a traffic signal for a traveling direction. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a travel support information providing form more suitable for traveling of the vehicle, such as selecting and providing information to the vehicle regarding the traffic signal in the direction of travel.

A fifth invention is the invention of any one of the first to fourth inventions,
The travel information receiving means receives the travel information including the planned travel route when the vehicle has already set the planned travel route,
The extraction means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, extracts a railroad crossing and a traffic light intersection on the planned traveling route.
It is an information provision system.

  When the planned traveling route is set, the vehicle is likely to travel along the planned traveling route. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the driving assistance information including the information about the level crossing and the traffic light intersection on the planned driving route can be used to select the information that is considered to be useful for driving and provide it to the vehicle.

A sixth invention is the fifth invention, wherein
The information provision control means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, among the traffic signals at the extracted traffic signal intersections, the traffic signal of the route traveling along the planned traveling route is selected. Providing such signal change prediction information,
It is an information provision system.

  Usually, a traffic signal is installed at an intersection for each approaching route, but the traffic signal to be followed by a car when approaching an intersection is a traffic signal for a traveling direction. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a driving assistance information providing form that is more suitable for traveling of a vehicle, such as selecting and providing information regarding traffic signals in a traveling direction.

A seventh invention is the fifth or sixth invention,
The information providing control means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, provides the information at a higher frequency than when the planned traveling route is not received,
It is an information provision system.

  When the planned traveling route is set, the vehicle is likely to travel along the planned traveling route. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by providing the driving assistance information to the vehicle for which the planned traveling route has been set more frequently than the vehicle for which the planned traveling route has not been set, the driving assistance more suitable for driving the vehicle. It can be a form of providing information.

An eighth invention is the invention according to any one of the first to seventh inventions,
The traveling information receiving means receives the traveling information including flag information indicating whether or not the vehicle is in automatic driving at a predetermined automatic driving level,
The information provision control means, when the flag information received by the travel information receiving means indicates that the automatic operation is being performed, performs the provision at a higher frequency than when the automatic operation is not being performed,
It is an information provision system.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the driving assistance information is more suitable for driving the vehicle by providing the driving assistance information to the vehicle that is automatically driving more frequently than the vehicle that is not automatically driving. Can be provided.

The ninth invention is
A high-accuracy timekeeping function and a positioning function for receiving the driving support information from the information providing system according to any one of the first to eighth inventions and receiving satellite signals from the GNSS satellite to measure the high-accuracy time. An in-vehicle device for an automobile, comprising:
On the navigation screen, a crossing state display based on the warning prediction time information included in the driving support information (for example, the driving support display E5 in FIG. 2) and a signal state based on the signal change prediction information included in the driving support information A display (for example, the driving support display E5 in FIG. 3) and a display control unit (for example, a display control unit 610 in FIG. 16) for performing display control of the display,
It is an in-vehicle device equipped with.

  According to the ninth invention, on the navigation screen of the automobile, based on the driving support information received from the information providing system, the level crossing state display such as the predicted start time of the level crossing and the predicted signal change at the traffic light intersection are displayed. A signal status display and can be displayed. As a result, it is predicted to the driver of the automobile that not only the current state of the railroad crossing and the traffic light intersection but also the next railroad crossing is not currently warned, but the warning will be started after X seconds. The state can also be presented, and information useful for driving operation can be presented. In addition, since the in-vehicle device has a high-accuracy timekeeping function, it means that the time is synchronized with the railroad crossing control system and the traffic signal control system. Does not occur, or if it does occur, it is minimal.

A tenth invention is the ninth invention, wherein
When the planned traveling route has already been set, the display control means displays the crossing state and the signal state at the predicted arrival time based on the predicted arrival time at the crossing and the traffic light intersection on the planned travel route (for example, , A prediction display control means (for example, a prediction display control unit 612 in FIG. 16) for performing the driving support display E5) in FIG.
It is an in-vehicle device.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, on the navigation screen of the automobile, based on the traveling support information received from the information providing system, the crossing on the planned traveling route and the traffic light intersection set on the automobile arrive at the planned traveling route. It is possible to display the estimated time and the level crossing state display or signal state display at that time. As a result, the driver of the vehicle can, for example, perform a driving operation at a reduced speed without rushing because the warning is issued when reaching the railroad crossing, and it is possible to present useful information to the driving operation. it can.

An eleventh invention is the ninth or tenth invention,
The display control means,
The display map of the navigation screen includes a railroad crossing related to the warning prediction time information included in the driving support information and / or a traffic light intersection related to the signal change prediction information included in the driving support information. In this case, an identification icon display control means for displaying a predetermined identification icon at the crossing and / or the traffic light intersection (for example, an identification icon display control unit 614 in FIG. 16),
Detailed display control means (for example, a detailed display control unit 616 in FIG. 16) that displays in detail the state of the selected crossing and / or traffic light intersection in response to the selection operation of the identification icon,
Has,
It is an in-vehicle device.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, on the navigation screen of the automobile, it is possible to display the identification icon in a selectable manner at the level crossing and the traffic light intersection where the display map includes the information about the driving support information received from the information providing system. it can. When the identification icon is selected, the state of the level crossing or traffic light intersection corresponding to the selected identification icon can be displayed in detail. Thereby, the driver of the automobile can freely select, for example, a railroad crossing or a traffic light intersection in the vicinity of his / her own vehicle and check the state thereof, so that information useful for driving operation can be provided.

Application example of information provision system. An example of a navigation screen in a car. An example of a navigation screen in a car. An example of a navigation screen in a car. An example of a navigation screen in a car. Explanatory drawing of generation of driving support information. An example of information provision range conditions. An example of information provision range conditions. Explanatory drawing of generation of signal change prediction information. Explanatory drawing of generation of signal change prediction information. Explanatory drawing of change of the provision frequency for every provision object. The functional block diagram of an information provision system. An example of railroad crossing management information. An example of traffic signal management information. An example of automobile management information. The functional block diagram of an in-vehicle apparatus. The flowchart of the process which an information provision system performs. The flowchart of the process which an in-vehicle device performs.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applicable are not limited to the following embodiments. Further, in the description of the drawings, the same symbols are attached to the same elements.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is an application example of the information providing system 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system 1 communicates with a railroad crossing control system 10 and a traffic signal control system 30 via a communication network N1 to an in-vehicle device 40 mounted on an automobile via a communication network N2. It is a system that provides driving support information. The communication network means a communication path capable of data communication, and a LAN (Local Area Network) such as a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection or Ethernet (registered trademark), a telephone communication network or a cable network, It is meant to include communication networks such as the Internet. Wired / wireless can be appropriately selected as the communication method related to the communication network. For example, wired can be used for the communication network N1 and wireless can be used for the communication networks N2 to N4.

  The railroad crossing control system 10 is a system for centrally controlling the warning of each railroad crossing RC based on the traveling position and traveling speed of each train, and for railroad crossing control that is communicably connected to the information providing system 1 via the communication network N1. A railroad crossing controller 14 installed for each railroad crossing RC and an on-board device 20 of each train are communicably connected to the central device 12 via a communication network N3.

  The central device 12 for railroad crossing control calculates a predicted arrival time at the railroad crossing RC based on the traveling position and the traveling speed acquired from the on-board device 20 of each train, and for each railroad crossing RC, the railroad crossing RC of each train is reached. The level crossing control information including the alarm start time calculated based on the predicted arrival time is transmitted to the corresponding level crossing controller 14. The railroad crossing controller 14 is, for example, built in an equipment box installed near the railroad crossing, and according to the railroad crossing control information received from the central device 12 for railroad crossing control, such as a railroad crossing alarm device 16 and a railroad crossing breaker 18 provided in the railroad crossing RC. Control crossing security equipment. That is, when the railroad crossing alarm start time comes, alarms such as the sounding of the railroad crossing alarm 16 and the descent of the railroad crossing breaker 18 are started, and the passage of the train is detected by the railroad crossing controller provided on the advancing side of the railroad crossing RC. The alarms such as the sounding of the level crossing alarm 16 and the rise of the level crossing breaker 18 are stopped.

  The traffic signal control system 30 is a system for centrally controlling traffic signals of each intersection (in this embodiment, referred to as “traffic signal intersection”, which is an intersection where traffic signals are installed) IS, and is controlled via the communication network N1. A traffic signal control central device 32 communicatively connected to the providing system 1 is configured to be communicatively connected to a signal controller 34 installed at each intersection IS via a communication network N4.

  The central device 32 for traffic signal control, for example, interlocks a number of adjacent intersections with each other based on the traffic volume of a passing vehicle detected by a vehicle detector to control signal control parameters (cycle length, split). , Or offset) is performed to perform route system control or plane control, and traffic signal control information including signal control parameters is transmitted to the corresponding signal controller 34 for each intersection. The signal controller 34 is built in, for example, an equipment box installed near the intersection, and controls the traffic signal 36 installed at the intersection IS according to the traffic signal control information received from the traffic signal control central unit 32. That is, according to the signal control parameter, the display seconds of each step (tier) in the current ladder set at the intersection IS are calculated, and the display of each traffic signal 36 is changed at the timing when the display seconds have elapsed. .

  The information providing system 1 acquires some or all of the crossing control information for each crossing RC from the central device 12 for crossing control, and the traffic signal control information for each intersection IS from the central device 32 for traffic signal control. Get some or all information. Then, based on the acquired information, driving support information is generated for each vehicle and transmitted to the corresponding in-vehicle device 40.

  The in-vehicle device 40 uses the travel support information received from the information providing system 1 to support the travel of the mounted vehicle. Further, the vehicle-mounted device 40 has a GNSS receiver that receives a satellite signal from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite G, and has a positioning function based on the received GNSS satellite signal. Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle on which the in-vehicle device 40 is mounted is assumed to be equipped with the automatic driving device, and the driving modes are the automatic driving mode by the automatic driving device and the manual operation in which the driver manually operates. The driving mode can be switched by the driver.

  In addition, the information providing system 1, the central device 12 for level crossing control, the level crossing controller 14, the on-board device 20 for the train, the central device 32 for traffic signal control, the signal controller 34, and the on-vehicle device 40 are the GNSS satellite G. It has a GNSS receiver for receiving a satellite signal from the GNSS and has a high precision timekeeping function for timing a high precision time based on the received GNSS satellite signal. As a result, the time synchronization between the devices is realized by the autonomous control of each device without performing special communication for time synchronization between the devices. The GNSS satellite G is a global positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System), GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GALILEO, and BeiDou (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System). It is a satellite used in the positioning satellite system (GNSS).

[Characteristic]
(A) Driving support In a vehicle, as one of driving support based on the driving support information received from the information providing system 1 by the vehicle-mounted device 40, a screen display based on the driving support information is displayed on the display screen (navigation screen) of the car navigation device. Is displayed.

  FIG. 2 (1), FIG. 2 (2), and FIG. 3 are display examples of navigation screens in automobiles. As shown in FIGS. 2 (1), 2 (2), and 3, on the navigation screen W (W1 to W5), along with the current time display E1 and the map display E3, the travel support display based on the travel support information is displayed. E5 is displayed. The current time display E1 is a high-accuracy time measured by the high-accuracy time measuring function of the vehicle-mounted device 40. The map display E3 displays, on the display map, an arrow icon D1 indicating the current position and traveling direction of the automobile, and a planned travel route 44 indicated by a thick line to the set destination. The current position and traveling direction of the automobile are acquired by the positioning function of the in-vehicle device 40.

  As the driving support display E5, a level crossing state display regarding a level crossing as shown in FIGS. 2 (1) and 2 (2), or a signal state display regarding a traffic signal at an intersection as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed. It Which of the crossing state display and the signal state display is displayed as the driving support display E5 depends on the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle. That is, if the railroad crossing RC is the closest to the traveling direction along the planned travel route, the crossing state display relating to the railroad crossing RC is displayed, and if the intersection IS is the signal state display relating to the crossing IS is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the level crossing state display displays a name C1 of the corresponding level crossing RC, a current state C3 indicating whether or not an alarm is being issued, and a predicted state C5 which is a predicted next state. . That is, as shown in FIG. 2 (1), if the current state C3 of the relevant level crossing is "warning", the warning end time at which the current warning is stopped is displayed as the predicted state C5. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (2), if the current state C3 is “not in alarm”, the alarm start time at which the next alarm is started is displayed as the predicted state C5. As the alarm end time or alarm start time, the remaining time until that time is displayed in a countdown format.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the traffic light status display includes the name C2 of the corresponding intersection, the current status C3 indicating the display of the traffic light 36 such as "red, blue, yellow", and the predicted next status. The state C5 is displayed. As the predicted state C5, the next display and the time of change to that display are displayed. As for the change time, the remaining time up to that time is displayed in a countdown format. The traffic signal 36 whose state is displayed in the signal state display is the traffic signal 36 of the route that runs along the planned travel route 44, that is, the automobile, among the traffic signals 36 installed at the corresponding intersection IS. This is a traffic signal 36 that should be followed when traveling along the planned traveling route 44 to enter the intersection IS.

  The driving assistance display E5 on the navigation screen W (W1 to W5) shown in FIG. 2 (1), FIG. 2 (2), and FIG. 3 is the railroad crossing closest to the traveling direction of the automobile (in the case of FIG. 2, “ΔΔ railroad crossing”). Alternatively, it shows the current state of the intersection (in FIG. 3, “XX intersection”). By selecting the identification icon D7 (D7a, D7b) of the map display E3 on this display screen, the driving assistance display E5 shows the state of the level crossing RC or the intersection IS corresponding to the selected identification icon D7 (D7a, D7b). Is switched to the detailed display.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a navigation screen in which the driving support display E5 is switched to the detailed display of another railroad crossing RC or intersection IS. In FIG. 4, in the map display E3, the identification icon D7a is located at the "XX intersection" closest to the traveling direction of the vehicle along the planned travel route 44, and the identification icon D7b is located at the next "XX intersection". As the driving support display E5, a detailed display of the level crossing RC or the intersection IS (“XX intersection” in FIG. 4) corresponding to the identification icon selected from these is displayed. Similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, this detailed display displays the name C1 of the railroad crossing RC or the intersection IS, the current state C3, and the predicted state C5. Similarly, the traffic signal 36 displayed in the detailed display is also the traffic signal 36 of the route traveling along the planned travel route 44 among the traffic signals 36 installed at the corresponding intersection IS.

  The driving assistance display E5 on the navigation screen W (W1 to W7) shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is a current state display showing the current state of the railroad crossing RC and the intersection IS. On this display screen, by selecting the prediction display icon D3 provided at the lower part of the screen, the driving support display E5 is switched to a prediction display showing the state at the time of reaching the crossing or intersection at which the vehicle is expected to arrive. .

  FIG. 5 is an example of a navigation screen in which the driving support display E5 is switched to the prediction display. As shown in FIG. 5, on the navigation screen W9, the current time display E1 and the map display E3 as well as the travel support display E5 are expected to be reached when the vehicle travels along the planned travel route 44 indicated by the map display E3. For each of a plurality of (“3” in FIG. 5) railroad crossings RC and intersections IS, the name C7, expected arrival time C9, and expected state C11 at the expected arrival time C9 are displayed in the order of arrival. . The predicted state C11 is "passable" or "passable" if the railroad crossing is RC, and "red", "blue", or "yellow" if the traffic light is an intersection IS. Similarly, the traffic signal 36 displayed in the forecast display is the traffic signal 36 of the route traveling along the planned travel route 44 among the traffic signals 36 installed at the corresponding intersection IS. Note that, on this display screen, by selecting the current status display icon D5 provided at the lower part of the screen, the driving support display E5 is switched to the current status display as shown in FIGS.

(B) Generation of Driving Support Information Generation of driving support information in the information providing system 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an outline of generation of driving support information in the information providing system 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the information providing system 1 acquires the level crossing time table information 62 for each level crossing, which is a time table of the level crossing warning predicted time based on the high-accuracy time, from the level control central device 12 of the level control system 10. To do. The railroad crossing time table information 62 includes the current time 62a of the railroad crossing RC acquired from the corresponding railroad crossing controller 14 and a future alarm calculated for alarm control of the railroad crossing RC, together with the update time of the information based on the highly accurate time. The start time 62b and the alarm end time 62c are included. The current state 62a includes whether or not an alarm is in progress, the latest alarm stop time, and the like. The alarm start time 62b and the alarm end time 62c are the scheduled times (also referred to as predicted times) of all alarm controls within a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) from the current time, or alarms up to a predetermined number of times (for example, 3 times). It can be set as the scheduled time.

  Further, the signal change timing information 64 for each intersection based on the highly accurate time is acquired from the traffic signal control central unit 32 of the traffic signal control system 30. The signal change timing information 64 includes the update time of the information based on the high-accuracy time, the current state of the intersection IS acquired from the corresponding signal controller 34 (the step number in the current ladder, and the change to that step). 64a (including time) and signal control parameters (cycle length, split, offset) 64b generated for signal control of the intersection IS.

  Further, the travel information 66 is acquired from the vehicle-mounted device 40 of the automobile that provides the travel support information. The traveling information 66 includes a traveling position 66a, which is the vehicle position information, a traveling speed 66b, a traveling direction 66c, which is the traveling direction information, a planned traveling route 66d, an automobile, along with an update time of the information based on the highly accurate time. Is flag information indicating whether or not the automatic operation is being performed at a predetermined automatic operation level, and specifically, an automatic operation flag 66e indicating whether the operation mode is the "automatic operation mode" or the "manual operation mode". ,including.

  Then, the information providing system 1 generates the driving support information 3 to be provided to the vehicle based on the acquired information and transmits it to the in-vehicle device 40. When generating the driving support information 3, first, based on the driving position 66a included in the driving information 66, the level crossing RC and the intersection IS satisfying a given information provision range are extracted as provision targets.

  The information provision range condition is a condition based on the position of the vehicle. FIG. 7 shows an example of a specific information provision range condition. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the information provision range condition is “being on the planned route of the automobile”. That is, in the example of FIG. 7, one level crossing RC1 on the planned travel route 44 of the automobile 42 and six intersections IS1 to IS6 satisfy the information provision range condition and are extracted as provision targets. Information based on the distance based on the position of the automobile 42, such as "not being the entire planned route 44", but a part thereof, for example, "being within a predetermined distance from the position of the vehicle along the planned route". It may be provided range condition.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of another information provision range condition. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the information provision range condition is “the distance from the automobile is equal to or less than a predetermined distance”. That is, a circular range in which the radius centered on the position of the automobile 42 is a predetermined distance is determined, and the position within this range is set as the information provision range condition. In FIG. 8, two railroad crossings RC11 and RC12 and seven intersections IS11 to IS17 satisfy the information provision range condition and are extracted as provision targets.

  Further, the information provision range condition may be "the distance from the vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined distance and the vehicle is on a planned route". In FIG. 8, the “distance from the car” is a straight line distance, but it is of course possible to set the distance along the road.

  Further, when the information providing range condition based on the distance based on the position of the automobile 42 is set, the information providing range condition is changed depending on whether or not the automobile 42 is in the automatic driving. May be. Further, when the automatic driving is being performed, the distance as the information providing range condition may be changed according to the automatic driving level.

  In this way, when the level crossing RC and the intersection IS satisfying the information provision range are extracted as the target of the driving support information, subsequently, the driving support information 3 including the information about each of the level crossing RC and the intersection IS extracted as the target of the provision is provided. It is generated based on the obtained railroad crossing time table information 62 and signal change timing information 64. That is, for the railroad crossing RC, the railroad crossing time table information 62 regarding the railroad crossing RC is generated as the predicted alarm time information 5 in association with the railroad crossing ID of the railroad crossing RC. Regarding the intersection IS, based on the signal change timing information 64 regarding the intersection IS, among the traffic signals 36 installed at the intersection IS, the traffic signal of the route where the automobile 42 travels along the planned travel route 44. The signal change time information 329 for 36 is generated and associated with the traffic signal ID of the traffic signal 36 to generate the signal change prediction information 7.

  9 and 10 are diagrams for explaining generation of the signal change time information 329. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the information providing system 1 has a signal obtained from the current-floor ladder table 326 defined in the target intersection IS stored in the storage unit 300 and the traffic signal control central unit 32. From the current state 64a and the signal control parameter 64b included in the change timing information 64, the display seconds of each subsequent step are calculated. Then, the signal change time information 329 is generated by predictively calculating the change time of each subsequent step. Further, as the signal change time information 329, the signal display such as “red, blue, yellow” and the change time thereof are calculated for each traffic signal 36 installed at the intersection IS.

  Then, the warning prediction time information 5 of each railroad crossing RC and the signal change prediction information 7 of each intersection IS generated in this way are updated together with the update time of the information based on the high-precision time measured by the information providing system 1. The driving support information 3 is also generated.

(C) Frequency of Provision of Driving Assistance Information 3 Provision of driving assistance information 3 to the automobile from the information providing system 1 (extraction of the provision target based on the position of the automobile, generation of the driving assistance information 3 including information on each provision target, traveling A series of processes such as transmission of the support information 3 to the vehicle-mounted device 40) is intermittently and repeatedly performed at a predetermined time interval (provision frequency), and the provision frequency of the driving support information 3 is variable. You can also For example, when the planned traveling route is set for the vehicle, the driving support information 3 may be provided more frequently than when the planned traveling route is not set. Alternatively, when the driving mode of the automobile is the “automatic driving mode”, the driving support information 3 may be provided more frequently than when the driving mode is the “manual driving mode”. Further, in the automatic driving mode, the providing frequency may be changed according to the automatic driving level.

  Further, the driving support information 3 includes information regarding each of the plurality of level crossings RC and the intersections IS extracted as the provision targets, but the frequency of providing the information regarding the provision to the vehicle (the provision frequency) should be changed for each provision target. You can also The frequency of providing information about a certain object to be provided to a car is determined according to the position of the car.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the providing frequency according to the position of the automobile. In FIG. 11 (1), the distance from the position of the automobile 42 to a certain target (railroad crossing or intersection) (a straight line distance, a shortest distance along the road, or a distance along a planned traveling route) Is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the distance L and the frequency (providing frequency) F of providing information on the object to be provided to the vehicle, with L being the horizontal axis.

  As shown in FIG. 11 (1), the provision frequency F for providing information on the provision target in the automobile 42 is higher (higher frequency) as the distance L between the position of the automobile 42 and the provision target is shorter (closer). On the contrary, the longer (farther), the lower (lower frequency) the lower. That is, regarding a railroad crossing RC and an intersection IS that satisfy the “short-distance condition” indicating that the distance from the position of the automobile 42 is close to the automobile, compared to a crossing and an intersection that do not satisfy the “short-distance condition”, It is stipulated to provide the service frequently.

  The relationship between the distance L and the providing frequency F may be a relationship in which the providing frequency F decreases in proportion to the distance L as shown in the graph y1, or as shown in the graph y2. Accordingly, the providing frequency F may be reduced stepwise. The relationship between the distance L and the provision frequency F is graph y1 if the provision target is the intersection IS and graph y3 if the crossing RC is the crossing RC. It may be different depending on whether there is it. Alternatively, the relationship between the distance L and the providing frequency F may be different depending on whether or not the planned travel route 44 is set for the automobile 42.

Then, at a certain time T ₀ , it can be determined as shown in FIG. 11 (2) whether or not to provide the information about the provision target as the driving support information 3 to the automobile 42. That is, the distance L between the position of the automobile 42 and the object to be provided at the time T ₀ is calculated, and the providing frequency F corresponding to the distance L is calculated according to the relational expression defined as an example shown in FIG. Ask. In addition, the provision time T _n of the latest travel assistance information 3 in the past is determined from the provision history 338 of the travel assistance information for the automobile 42, and the elapsed time t _n from the provision time T _n to the time T _{0 is} calculated. The time t _n is compared with the provision interval D (= 1 / F) which is the reciprocal of the provision frequency F. Then, if the elapsed time t _n has reached the provision interval D (t _n ≧ D), it is determined that the information regarding the provision target is provided to the automobile 42, and if it has not reached it (t _n <D). , Judge that it will not be provided.

[Function configuration]
(A) Information providing system 1
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the information providing system 1. According to FIG. 12, the information providing system 1 includes an operation unit 102, a display unit 104, a sound output unit 106, a communication unit 108, a GNSS receiving unit 110, a processing unit 200, and a storage unit 300. , Can be configured as a kind of computer system.

  The operation unit 102 is realized by an input device such as a button switch, a touch panel, a keyboard, etc., and outputs an operation signal according to an operation performed to the processing unit 200. The display unit 104 is realized by a display device such as an LCD or a touch panel, and performs various displays according to the display signal from the processing unit 200. The sound output unit 106 is realized by an audio output device such as a speaker, and outputs various sounds according to the audio signal from the processing unit 200. The communication unit 108 is realized by, for example, a wired or wireless communication device, is connected to the communication networks N1 and N2, and is connected to various external devices such as the central device 12 for level crossing control, the central device 32 for traffic signal control, and the vehicle-mounted device 40. To communicate.

  The GNSS receiver 110 is a GNSS receiver that receives a GNSS satellite signal from the GNSS satellite G, performs positioning calculation based on the received GNSS satellite signal, and a position represented by latitude and longitude altitude, and a clock unit 220. Calculate the error (time difference) from the clocked time of.

  The processing unit 200 is realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example, and based on a program, data, etc. stored in the storage unit 300, sends an instruction and data to each unit configuring the information providing system 1. The information providing system 1 is entirely controlled. In addition, the processing unit 200 executes the information providing program 302 stored in the storage unit 300, whereby the railroad crossing time table information acquisition unit 202, the railroad crossing information management unit 204, the signal change timing information acquisition unit 206, and the traffic. The signal information management unit 208, the traveling information reception unit 210, the vehicle information management unit 212, the extraction unit 214, the information provision control unit 216, and the clock unit 220 function as respective functional blocks. However, these functional blocks can also be configured as independent arithmetic circuits by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like.

  The railroad crossing time table information acquisition unit 202 acquires the railroad crossing time table information 62 for each railroad crossing from the central device 12 for railroad crossing control of the railroad crossing control system 10. This acquisition may be realized by the central device 12 for level crossing control voluntarily transmitting at a predetermined transmission interval, or in response to a request from the level crossing time table information acquisition unit 202. It may be realized by transmitting by the control central unit 12.

  The level crossing information management unit 204 manages each level crossing using the level crossing management information 310 based on the level crossing time table information 62 acquired by the level crossing time table information acquisition unit 202. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the level crossing management information 310. According to FIG. 13, the level crossing management information 310 is generated for each level crossing, and along with the generated / updated update time, the level crossing ID 311 identifying the corresponding level crossing, the installation position 312 represented by latitude and longitude, and the current time. A status 313, an alarm start time 314, and an alarm end time 315 are included. The current situation 313, the warning start time 314, and the warning end time 315 are updated to the latest values at any time by the acquired level crossing time table information 62.

  The signal change timing information acquisition unit 206 acquires the signal change timing information 64 for each intersection from the traffic signal control central device 32 of the traffic signal control system 30. This acquisition may be realized by the central device 32 for traffic signal control voluntarily transmitting at a predetermined transmission interval, or in response to a request from the signal change timing information acquisition unit 206. It may be realized by transmitting by the central device 32 for traffic signal control.

  The traffic signal information management unit 208 manages each intersection using the traffic signal management information 320 based on the signal change timing information 64 acquired by the signal change timing information acquisition unit 206. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the traffic signal management information 320. According to FIG. 14, the traffic signal management information 320 is generated for each intersection, and together with the generated / updated update time, an intersection ID 321 for identifying the corresponding intersection, an intersection name 322, and an installation represented by latitude and longitude. It includes a position 323, traffic signal installation information 324, a current ladder table 326, a current state 327, a signal control parameter 328, and signal change time information 329. The traffic signal installation information 324 is information about traffic signals installed at the corresponding intersections, and for each traffic signal, a traffic signal ID for identifying each traffic signal, an installation position represented by latitude and longitude, an approach route of a target traffic flow, Includes displayable light colors, etc. The current state 327 and the signal control parameter 328 are updated to the latest values at any time by the acquired signal change timing information 64. The signal change time information 329 is data in which the change time of the signal display and the signal display after the change are associated with each other for each traffic signal 36 installed at the corresponding intersection IS. It is calculated based on the control parameter 328 (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

  The traveling information receiving unit 210 receives the traveling information 66 from the vehicle-mounted device 40. This reception may be realized by the in-vehicle device 40 voluntarily transmitting at a predetermined transmission interval, or may be transmitted by the in-vehicle device 40 in response to a request from the traveling information receiving section 210. You may make it implement | achieve by that.

  The vehicle information management unit 212 manages each vehicle using the vehicle management information 330 based on the traveling information acquired by the traveling information receiving unit 210. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the vehicle management information 330. According to FIG. 15, the automobile management information 330 is generated for each automobile, and the automobile ID 331 for identifying the automobile and the in-vehicle device ID 332 for identifying the in-vehicle device 40, which is generated and updated, together with the updated time. A travel position 333, a travel speed 334, a traveling direction 335, a planned travel route 336, an automatic driving flag 337, and a travel support information provision history 338. The travel position 333, the travel speed 334, the traveling direction 335, the planned travel route 336, and the automatic operation flag 337 are updated to the latest values at any time by the acquired travel information 66.

  The extraction unit 214 extracts, on the basis of the travel information 66 acquired from the in-vehicle device 40, the level crossing RC and the intersection IS that satisfy the information provision range as the target of the provision of the travel support information 3 to the relevant vehicle. The information provision range condition is a condition based on the position of the vehicle, and is, for example, “being on the planned traveling route of the vehicle”, “being within a predetermined distance from the position of the vehicle along the planned traveling route”, “ "The distance from the position of the vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined distance", "the distance from the position of the vehicle is less than or equal to the predetermined distance, and the vehicle is on the planned route" (FIG. 7). , See FIG. 8).

  The extraction unit 214 can change the frequency of providing the vehicle with the driving support information 3 for each of the level crossing RC and the intersection IS. In that case, for each of the level crossing RC and the intersection IS satisfying the information provision range, it is determined whether or not the frequency of provision F determined according to the distance L from the vehicle to the level crossing RC or the intersection IS is satisfied, It may be extracted as a provision target (see FIG. 11).

  The information provision control unit 216 generates the driving assistance information 3 including the warning prediction time information 5 regarding the railroad crossing RC extracted by the extraction unit 214 and the signal change prediction information 7 regarding the intersection IS, and applies this to the in-vehicle device 40 corresponding thereto. Send to. Specifically, regarding the railroad crossing RC, by referring to the corresponding railroad crossing management information 310, alarm predicted time information including the railroad crossing ID, the current situation, the alarm start time and the alarm end time is generated, and regarding the intersection IS. Generates the signal change prediction information 7 including the signal ID and the signal change time information with reference to the corresponding traffic signal management information 320.

  Further, the information provision control unit 216 provides (including generation) the driving support information 3 to each vehicle at a predetermined providing frequency, but this can be changed. In that case, for example, when the planned traveling route is set in the vehicle, whether the planned traveling route is set in the vehicle is higher than that in the case where the planned traveling route is not set. Accordingly, the predetermined providing frequency may be increased or decreased and changed. Alternatively, when the driving mode of the vehicle is the “automatic driving mode”, the predetermined providing frequency is set according to the driving mode of the vehicle so that the frequency is higher than that in the “manual driving mode”. You can increase or decrease and change.

  The clock unit 220 is configured to have an oscillation circuit having a crystal oscillator, and measures the current time and the elapsed time from the designated timing. Further, the clock unit 220 realizes a high-accuracy time counting function for measuring a high-accuracy time by correcting the measured current time using the time error calculated by the GNSS receiving unit 110. Note that the high-precision timekeeping function of the clock unit 220 may not be realized by using a GNSS satellite signal, but may further include a standard radio wave receiver and use the standard radio wave received by this receiver. Alternatively, the absolute time acquired from the absolute time information providing system which is an external system via the communication unit 108 may be used.

  The storage unit 300 is realized by a storage device such as a hard disk, a ROM, or a RAM. The processing unit 200 stores programs and data for integrally controlling the information providing system 1, and the operation of the processing unit 200. Used as an area, the calculation result executed by the processing unit 200 according to various programs, the input data via the operation unit 102 and the communication unit 108, and the like are temporarily stored. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 300 stores an information providing program 302, railroad crossing management information 310, traffic signal management information 320, and vehicle management information 330.

(B) In-vehicle device 40
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 40. According to FIG. 16, the in-vehicle device 40 includes an operation unit 502, a display unit 504, a sound output unit 506, a communication unit 508, a GNSS receiving unit 510, a processing unit 600, and a storage unit 700. It can be configured as a kind of computer system.

  The operation unit 502 is realized by, for example, an input device such as a button switch, a touch panel, and a keyboard, and outputs an operation signal according to an operation performed to the processing unit 600. The display unit 504 is realized by a display device such as an LCD or a touch panel, and performs various displays according to the display signal from the processing unit 600. The sound output unit 506 is realized by an audio output device such as a speaker, and outputs various sounds according to the audio signal from the processing unit 600. The communication unit 508 is realized by, for example, a wired or wireless communication device, connects to the communication network N1, and communicates with various external devices such as the information providing system 1.

  The GNSS receiving unit 510 is a GNSS receiver that receives a GNSS satellite signal from the GNSS satellite G, performs positioning calculation based on the received GNSS satellite signal, and displays the position represented by latitude and longitude altitude and the clock unit 620. A positioning function that calculates the error (time difference) from the measured time of is realized.

  The processing unit 600 is realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and performs an instruction and data transfer to each unit configuring the vehicle-mounted device 40 based on a program, data, and the like stored in the storage unit 700. , Performs overall control of the in-vehicle device 40. In addition, the processing unit 600 executes the vehicle-mounted program 702 stored in the storage unit 700, and thereby the traveling route setting unit 602, the traveling information transmitting unit 604, the traveling support information receiving unit 606, and the display control unit 610. , Clock unit 620, and each function block. However, these functional blocks can also be configured as independent arithmetic circuits by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like.

  The travel route setting unit 602 sets a planned travel route from the current position of the vehicle to the instructed destination according to an instruction operation via the operation unit 502. Data about the set planned traveling route is stored in the storage unit 700 as traveling planned route information 720.

  The travel information transmission unit 604 travels including the travel position 712, the travel speed 714, the traveling direction 716, the planned travel route indicated by the planned travel route information 720, and the automatic driving flag indicated by the operation mode 718 stored in the storage unit 700. The information 66 is generated and transmitted to the information providing system 1.

  The driving support information receiving unit 606 receives the driving support information 3 from the information providing system 1. The received driving support information 3 is stored in the storage unit 700 as the latest driving support information 722, and the driving support information 3 received before that is stored and stored in the storage unit 700 as a reception history 724 in the order of reception, for example. . When the driving mode of the host vehicle is the “automatic driving mode”, the received driving support information 3 is output to the automatic driving device 800 mounted on the host vehicle. The current state of the railroad crossing included in the estimated warning time information 5 of the driving support information 3 includes the stop time of the alarm immediately before the railroad crossing (see FIG. 6). Therefore, in the automatic driving mode, the automatic driving device 800 can know that the warning of the railroad crossing has been stopped, and safely start the own vehicle stopped before the railroad crossing to cross the railroad crossing. You can

  The display control unit 610 displays the travel support display E5 based on the latest travel support information 722 on the navigation screen W displayed on the display unit 504 together with the current time display E1 and the map display E3. Specifically, as the driving support display E5, if the latest crossing in the traveling direction along the planned travel route is a crossing, a crossing state display based on the predicted warning time information 5 is displayed (see FIG. 2), and the planned travel route is displayed. If the intersection is the closest to the traveling direction, the signal state display based on the signal change prediction information 7 is displayed (see FIG. 3). The map display E3 can be displayed by referring to the map DB 710 including the level crossings and the intersections.

  The display control unit 610 also includes a prediction display control unit 612, an identification icon display control unit 614, and a detailed display control unit 616.

  The prediction display control unit 612, when the prediction display icon D3 provided on the navigation screen W displaying the driving support display E5 is selected, displays the driving support display E5 at a railroad crossing or an intersection at which the vehicle is expected to reach. Is switched to the prediction display showing the state at the time of arrival (see FIG. 5). That is, a predetermined number of railroad crossings and intersections on the planned traveling route are selected in the order of arrival from the current position of the vehicle, and the estimated arrival time is calculated for each of the selected railroad crossings and intersections based on the distance along the planned traveling route. Next, with respect to the railroad crossing, the warning predicted time information 5 is referred to determine the state at the predicted arrival time (whether or not a warning is occurring), and regarding the crossing, the signal change prediction information 7 is referenced to predict the arrival time. Determine the status (signal display).

  The identification icon display control unit 614 predicts that the information regarding the railroad crossing or the intersection among the railroad crossings and the intersections included in the map (map) displayed on the map display E3 of the navigation screen W is the warning prediction of the latest travel support information 722. The railroad crossing and intersection included in the time information 5 or the signal change prediction information 7 are selected, and the identification icon D7 is displayed at the selected railroad crossing and intersection (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  When the identification icon D7 displayed by the identification icon display control unit 614 is selected, the detailed display control unit 616 switches the driving support display E5 to the detailed display of the level crossing or the intersection corresponding to the selected identification icon D7. (See Figure 4).

  The clock unit 620 is configured to include an oscillation circuit having a crystal oscillator, and measures the current time and the elapsed time from the designated timing. In addition, the clock unit 620 realizes a high-accuracy time-measuring function of measuring a high-accuracy time by correcting the measured current time using the time error calculated by the GNSS receiving unit 510. Note that the high-accuracy timekeeping function of the clock unit 620 may not be realized by using a GNSS satellite signal, but may further include a standard radio wave receiver and use the standard radio wave received by this receiver. Alternatively, the absolute time acquired from the absolute time information providing system, which is an external system, via the communication unit 508 may be used.

  The storage unit 700 is realized by a storage device such as a hard disk, a ROM, or a RAM. The processing unit 600 stores programs and data for the integrated control of the vehicle-mounted device 40, and a work area of the processing unit 600. The calculation result executed by the processing unit 600 according to various programs, the input data via the operation unit 502 and the communication unit 508, and the like are temporarily stored. In the present embodiment, in the storage unit 700, the in-vehicle program 702, the map DB 710, the traveling position 712, the traveling speed 714, the traveling direction 716, and the operation mode of the vehicle are the manual operation mode or the automatic operation mode. A driving mode 718 indicating whether there is any, planned traveling route information 720, latest traveling support information 722, and a reception history 724 of the traveling support information 3 are stored.

  The traveling position 712, the traveling speed 714, and the traveling direction 715 can be calculated from the positioning calculation by the GNSS receiving unit 510, for example.

[Process flow]
(A) Information providing system 1
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing in the information providing system 1. First, when the railroad crossing time table information acquisition unit 202 receives the railroad crossing time table information 62 from the central device 12 for railroad crossing control (step S1: YES), the railroad crossing information management unit 204 sets the received railroad crossing time table information 62. Based on this, the traffic signal management information 320 of the corresponding level crossing is updated (step S3). If the signal change timing information acquisition unit 206 receives the signal change timing information 64 from the traffic signal control central device 32 (step S5: YES), the traffic signal information management unit 208 receives the received signal change timing information. Based on 64, the signal change time information 329 for the corresponding intersection is generated, and the traffic signal management information 320 for the corresponding intersection is updated (step S7). Further, when the traveling information receiving unit 210 receives the traveling information 66 from the vehicle-mounted device 40 (step S9: YES), the vehicle information management unit 212 performs vehicle management on the corresponding vehicle based on the received traveling information 66. The information 330 is updated (step S11).

  Then, the iterative process (loop A) for each vehicle is performed. That is, first, it is determined whether the elapsed time from the provision time of the latest travel support information to the target automobile to the current time has reached a predetermined provision time interval. If the provision time interval has been reached (step S13: YES), the extraction unit 214 extracts the level crossings and intersections that satisfy the information provision target range range based on the position of the target vehicle as the provision targets of the driving support information ( Step S15). Next, the information provision control unit 216 generates the driving support information 3 including the extracted information about each of the level crossing and the intersection based on the latest driving support information 722 (step 17), and the generated driving support information 3 is set to the target vehicle. To the in-vehicle device 40 (step S19). The loop A is repeatedly processed in this way. When the loop A iteration process for all vehicles is completed, the process returns to step S1 and the same process is performed.

(B) In-vehicle device 40
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing in the vehicle-mounted device 40. First, the traveling information transmitting unit 604 generates traveling information 66 including the current traveling position and traveling speed of the vehicle, traveling direction, planned traveling route, and automatic driving flag (step S31), and generates the traveling information 66. , To the information providing system 1 (step S33).

  Then, when the driving support information receiving unit 606 receives the driving support information 3 from the information providing system 1 (step S35: YES), the received driving support information 3 is updated and stored as the latest driving support information 722 (step S37). ). Next, the display control unit 610 updates the display of the driving support display E5 on the navigation screen W based on the received driving support information 3 (step S39). If the driving mode of the host vehicle is the "automatic driving mode" (step S41: YES), the received driving support information 3 is output to the automatic driving device 800 mounted on the host vehicle (step S43).

  Then, if the prediction display icon D3 is selected when the driving support display E5 on the navigation screen W is the current status display (step S45: YES), the prediction display control unit 612 determines that the latest driving support information 722 is used. The driving support display E5 is switched to a predicted display showing the state at the time of reaching the crossing or intersection at which the vehicle is expected to arrive (step S47).

  Further, if the current state display icon D5 is selected when the driving support display E5 on the navigation screen W is the expected display (step S49: YES), the display control unit 610 causes the driving support based on the latest driving support information 722. The display E5 is switched to the current state display showing the state at the crossing at the current time and the arrival time of the intersection (step S51).

  Further, when the driving assistance display E5 on the navigation screen W is the current state display and the identification icon D7 of the map display E3 is selected (step S53: YES), the detailed display control unit 616 causes the latest driving assistance information 722 to be displayed. Based on, the driving support display E5 is switched to the detailed display of the level crossing or the intersection corresponding to the selected identification icon D7 (step S55). When the above processing is performed, the process returns to step S31 and the same processing is performed.

[Effect]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize the information providing system 1 that provides the vehicle with the driving assistance information 3 including the information about the traffic signals at the level crossings and the intersections necessary for driving. Since the information regarding the railroad crossing is based on the information acquired from the railroad crossing control system 10, and the information regarding the traffic signal is based on the information acquired from the traffic signal control system 30, it becomes the accurate traveling support information 3. .

  The alarm start time included in the information acquired from the railroad crossing control system 10 can be appropriately changed according to the traveling position of the train. However, since the train is in regular operation in principle, even if it is changed, In principle, changes are slow changes. That is, the alarm start time calculated for a certain one-time level crossing alarm may be changed to be late but may be changed to be early. Therefore, for example, when some kind of communication interruption or communication delay occurs in the communication network N1 between the information providing system 1 and the railroad crossing control system 10 or the communication network N2 between the information providing system 1 and the vehicle-mounted device 40. However, it is safer to use the information that has already been acquired, and it does not hinder the safe driving of the vehicle.

  Further, since the information included in the driving support information 3 is information regarding the level crossings and intersections that satisfy the information provision range based on the position of the vehicle, for the vehicle, not all the level crossings and intersections but the current position, for example, Information about railroad crossings and traffic signals that are needed at any time during driving, such as railroad crossings and intersections that are close to, can be captured.

  Further, since the information about the railroad crossings included in the driving support information 3 is the predicted warning time information and the information about the intersections is the signal change prediction information, for the automobile, the railroad crossings and the intersections where the situation changes moment by moment. It is possible to capture and recognize, in advance, information useful for driving a vehicle, such as the predicted change order and change time of the traffic signal of.

  Further, since the railroad crossing control system 10 and the traffic signal control system 30 both include a high-accuracy time clock, the time included in the information provided by each system is the time according to the high-accuracy time information. Since the vehicle-mounted device 40 of the automobile is also provided with the high-precision timekeeping function, accurate time synchronization can be achieved between each system and each automobile, and safe automatic driving of the automobile can be realized. You can

  Note that the applicable embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 ... Information providing system 3 ... Driving support information 10 ... Level crossing control system 12 ... Level crossing control central unit 14 ... Level crossing controller, 16 ... Level crossing alarm, 18 ... Crossing breaker RC ... Level crossing 30 ... Traffic signal control system 32 ... Central device for traffic signal control 34 ... Signal controller, 36 ... Traffic signal IS ... Intersection 40 ... In-vehicle device 42 ... Vehicle 44 ... Scheduled route 62 ... Level crossing timetable information 64 ... Signal change timing information 66 ... Travel information N1 to N4 ... Communication network G ... GNSS satellites W1-W9 ... Navigation screen

Claims (11)

An information providing system that communicates with a railroad crossing control system and a traffic signal control system to provide driving assistance information to a vehicle,
Each of the railroad crossing control system and the traffic signal control system receives a satellite signal from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite, receives a standard radio wave, or communicates with an absolute time information providing system to obtain a highly accurate time. It is equipped with a high-precision timekeeping function that keeps time
The vehicle has a positioning function of receiving satellite signals from the GNSS satellites and performing positioning.
From the railroad crossing control system, a railroad crossing time table information acquisition unit that acquires railroad crossing timetable information that is a timetable of railroad crossing warning predicted times based on the high-accuracy time of each railroad crossing,
From the traffic signal control system, signal change timing information acquisition means for acquiring signal change timing information based on the highly accurate time of each traffic light intersection,
Storage means for storing level crossing position information of each level crossing capable of acquiring the level crossing timetable information from the level crossing control system and intersection position information of each traffic light intersection capable of acquiring the signal change timing information from the traffic signal control system. When,
Travel information receiving means for receiving travel information including own vehicle position information from the automobile,
Extraction means for extracting a level crossing and a traffic light intersection satisfying an information provision range condition for providing the traveling support information determined based on the traveling information, by referring to the stored contents of the storage means,
Generates warning predicted time information of the level crossing based on the level crossing time table information of the extracted level crossing, and signal change prediction information of the traffic light intersection based on the signal change timing information of the extracted traffic light intersection. And providing the driving assistance information including the alarm prediction time information and the signal change prediction information to the vehicle, information provision control means,
Information provision system equipped with. The information provision range condition includes at least a condition based on a distance based on a position indicated by the own vehicle position information,
The information providing system according to claim 1. The information providing control means, among the extracted level crossings and traffic signal intersections, regarding level crossings and traffic signal intersections that satisfy a predetermined short-distance condition based on the position indicated by the vehicle position information, those that do not satisfy the level crossing and traffic signal intersections. In comparison with the above, the alarm prediction time information and the signal change prediction information are provided with high frequency,
The information providing system according to claim 1. The traveling information includes traveling direction information of the automobile,
The information provision control means, of the traffic signals at the extracted traffic signal intersections, for the traffic signal intersection closest to the traveling direction indicated by the traveling direction information, provides the signal change prediction information related to the traffic signal on the route in the traveling direction. To do
The information providing system according to claim 1. The travel information receiving means receives the travel information including the planned travel route when the vehicle has already set the planned travel route,
The extraction means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, extracts a railroad crossing and a traffic light intersection on the planned traveling route.
The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The information provision control means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, among the traffic signals at the extracted traffic signal intersections, the traffic signal of the route traveling along the planned traveling route is selected. Providing such signal change prediction information,
The information providing system according to claim 5. The information providing control means, when the planned traveling route is received by the traveling information receiving means, provides the information at a higher frequency than when the planned traveling route is not received,
The information providing system according to claim 5. The traveling information receiving means receives the traveling information including flag information indicating whether or not the vehicle is in automatic driving at a predetermined automatic driving level,
The information provision control means, when the flag information received by the travel information receiving means indicates that the automatic operation is being performed, performs the provision at a higher frequency than when the automatic operation is not being performed,
The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A high-precision timekeeping function for receiving the driving support information from the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and receiving a satellite signal from the GNSS satellite to measure the high-precision time, An in-vehicle device for a vehicle having a positioning function,
On the navigation screen, display control means for performing display control of a level crossing state display based on the warning prediction time information included in the driving support information and a signal state display based on the signal change prediction information included in the driving support information. ,
In-vehicle device equipped with. When the planned travel route has been set, the display control means displays the crossing state and the signal status at the predicted arrival time based on the predicted arrival time at the crossing and the traffic light intersection on the planned travel route. Having anticipation display control means,
The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 9. The display control means,
The display map of the navigation screen includes a railroad crossing related to the warning prediction time information included in the driving support information and / or a traffic light intersection related to the signal change prediction information included in the driving support information. In this case, an identification icon display control means for displaying a predetermined identification icon at the crossing and / or the traffic light intersection,
Detailed display control means for displaying in detail the state of the selected crossing and / or traffic light intersection in response to the selection operation of the identification icon,
Has,
The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 9.

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