JP2020140653A - Travel support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a travel support device for identifying whether a road located around a travel support vehicle is a road that flows in or out of a travel route of a vehicle.SOLUTION: An information processing device 10 and a travel management device 20 as travel support devices that support a travel of a vehicle comprise: an acquisition unit 101 that acquires road information about a road within a predetermined range from the vehicle; a road identification unit 102 that identifies a planned travel road on which the vehicle is scheduled to travel; a road attribute specifying unit 103 that specifies an outflow road that is a road that flows out from the planned travel road and an inflow road that is a road that flows into the planned travel road among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information; an information giving unit 104 that adds inflow/outflow information indicating that the road is the inflow road or the outflow road; and a storage unit 105 that stores the road information to which the inflow/outflow information is added.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention mainly relates to a device that supports the traveling of a vehicle.

In recent years, the development of devices that support the running of automobiles has been promoted. Such a vehicle driving support device collects map information stored in a database and information transmitted from other vehicles or roadside units via wireless communication, and also operates an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) or the like. It provides assistance systems, automated driving systems, or drivers with the information they need to drive the vehicle.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle information processing device mounted on a traveling support vehicle. In the in-vehicle information processing device described in Patent Document 1, among the traffic information on the road connected to the travel route of the travel support vehicle, the traffic information regarding the event that may reach the travel route is used as the travel support information. It is described to be extracted.

WO2011 / 068070

By the way, information indicating whether the road located around the traveling support vehicle is a road that flows in or out of the traveling route of the vehicle is useful for supporting the traveling of the vehicle. The inventor found that. Patent Document 1 predicts the possibility that a vehicle traveling on a road connected to a traveling route will reach the traveling route, but specifies whether the road is an inflow road or an outflow road. It is not possible to provide sufficient driving support information to support the driving of the vehicle.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to identify whether the road located around the traveling support vehicle is a road that flows in or out of the traveling route of the vehicle, and also identifies the road. The purpose is to effectively support the running of the vehicle by using the information obtained.

In order to solve the above problems, the travel support device that supports the travel of the vehicle includes an acquisition unit (101) that acquires road information about a road within a predetermined range from the vehicle, and the vehicle is scheduled to travel. The road identification unit (102) that specifies the planned travel road, the outflow road that is the outflow road from the planned travel road, and the inflow into the planned travel road among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information. A road attribute specifying unit (103) for specifying an inflow road, which is a road to be used, an information giving unit (104) for adding inflow / outflow information indicating the inflow road or the outflow road to the road information, and the above. A storage unit (105) for storing the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is attached is provided.

The scope of claims and the numbers in parentheses attached to the constituent requirements of the invention described in this section indicate the correspondence between the present invention and the embodiments described later, and are intended to limit the present invention. Absent.

According to the travel support device of the present invention, an event occurring on these roads by identifying whether the travel support vehicle is an inflow road or an outflow road to the road to be traveled in the future. The impact on the driving support vehicle can be evaluated by considering the information indicating that the vehicle is approaching or moving away from the planned road.

The block diagram explaining the configuration of the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the operation of the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the operation of the road attribute specifying part of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 1. A block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 2. The figure explaining the traveling of the vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus of Embodiment 2. A block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing device according to a modification of the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The present invention means the invention described in the section of the scope of claims or the means for solving the problem, and is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, at least the words in brackets mean the words and phrases described in the section of claims or means for solving the problem, and are not limited to the following embodiments.
The configuration and method described in the dependent clause of the claims, the configuration and method of the embodiment corresponding to the configuration and method described in the dependent clause, and the configuration and method described only in the embodiment without description in the claims. Is any configuration and method in the present invention. In the present invention, any configuration and method may be used in the sense that the configuration and method described in the embodiment when the claims are broader than the description of the embodiment are also examples of the configuration and method of the present invention. is there. In either case, the description in the independent section of the claims provides an essential configuration and method of the present invention.
The effect described in the embodiment is an effect when the configuration of the embodiment as an example of the present invention is provided, and is not necessarily the effect of the present invention.
When there are a plurality of embodiments, the configuration disclosed in each embodiment is not closed only in each embodiment, but can be combined across the embodiments. For example, the configuration disclosed in one embodiment may be combined with another embodiment. Further, the disclosed configurations may be collected and combined in each of the plurality of embodiments.
The problems described in the problems to be solved by the invention are not known problems, but are independently discovered by the present inventor, and are facts that affirm the inventive step of the invention together with the structure and method of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the information processing device 10 of the first embodiment and devices such as a travel management device 20 connected to the information processing device 10 via a communication network. The communication network connecting the information processing device 10 and the travel management device 20 includes, for example, communication methods such as CAN (Controller Area Network) and LIN (Local Interconnect Network), as well as Ethernet (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered). Any communication method such as (trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. Further, in the present embodiment, an in-vehicle information processing device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile is described, and the vehicle on which the information processing device is mounted is a own vehicle. However, the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment is not limited to the in-vehicle information processing device, and executes the functions described below outside the vehicle to remotely support the driving of the vehicle. May be good.

1. 1. Configuration of Information Processing Device The information processing device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing device 10 includes an acquisition unit 101, a road identification unit 102, a road attribute identification unit 103, an information addition unit 104, a storage unit 105, and an output unit 106. The information processing device 10 of the present embodiment may be used alone as a "travel support device", or the vehicle travels using the information processing device 10 and the information processed by the information processing device 10. The travel management device 20 to be managed may be combined with the travel management device 20 to be configured as a “travel support device”.
Here, the "traveling support device" of the present invention is not only physically composed of one device, but also composed of a plurality of information processing devices that share the functions of the driving support device. Good.

The acquisition unit 101 acquires the position information of the own vehicle from the GPS mounted on the own vehicle, and also obtains the road information related to the "road" within the "predetermined" range from the current position of the own vehicle on the map mounted on the own vehicle. Obtained from the database (hereinafter, map DB). In the following embodiments, a road is represented by a node indicating the start and end points of the road, a branch point such as an intersection, or a specific point on the road, and a link indicating a road section existing between the two nodes. Road information includes identification information for these nodes and links. In addition to the identification information, the road information includes the latitude and longitude of the node or link, the identification number of the inflow destination node of the link, the identification number of the outflow source node of the link, whether the link is a one-way road, and the road type ( Information indicating the national road, prefectural road, etc.), road width, number of lanes, etc. may be included. Further, the road indicated by the road information may be represented by a method other than the node and the link. Further, the acquisition unit 101 may further acquire information other than the position information and the road information of the own vehicle.
The "predetermined" of the present invention includes not only a case where it is always constant but also a case where it is uniquely determined according to a condition.
The "road" of the present invention refers to an area through which a moving body such as a vehicle can pass, and includes not only a road specified by law but also private land connected to the road. For example, it includes a part where a vehicle can run in a parking lot on private land. Further, the "road" may be a part that constitutes a road through which a moving body can pass, and is of course a section having a certain length such as between two specific points such as between intersections. It also includes sections and section connections.

The range of the road acquired by the acquisition unit 101 is arbitrary. For example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires road information of a node connected to the link on which the own vehicle is currently traveling and all the links connected to the node as a predetermined range. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 101 acquires road information regarding roads located within a range of several meters to several kilometers from the current position of the own vehicle and all roads existing within the range from the current position of the own vehicle to the destination. To do.

The road identification unit 102 identifies the planned travel road on which the own vehicle is “planned to travel”. When the own vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, the route through which the autonomous vehicle travels to the destination is determined in advance by the autonomous driving system. Further, even if the own vehicle is a vehicle manually operated by a driver, a recommended route to the destination is obtained in advance by the car navigation system. Therefore, the road identification unit 102 acquires the information of the routes previously obtained by the automatic driving system or the car navigation system, and identifies the roads included in these routes as the planned traveling roads.
Even if the own vehicle is not equipped with an automatic driving system or a car navigation system, the road specifying unit 102 can specify the road to be traveled. For example, the road identification unit 102 may travel by the driver based on the position information of the own vehicle acquired by the acquisition unit 101, the driver's past driving history, and information that the road being driven is a main road. Estimates a high route and identifies the road included in this route as the planned driving road.
"Scheduled to travel" in the present invention means that the possibility of traveling on the target road is more than a certain level, and it is not always certain that the vehicle will travel in the future. For example, it may be a road recommended by a navigation system or a road estimated to be the most likely to travel.

Of the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information, the road attribute specifying unit 103 selects the outflow road, which is the road that "outflows" from the planned travel road, and the inflow road, which is the road that "inflows" into the planned travel road. Identify. Roads indicated by road information are classified into one of the attributes of inflow road, outflow road, or road that does not correspond to both inflow road and outflow road, depending on the positional relationship with the planned driving road and the traveling direction of the own vehicle. To. The road attribute specifying unit 103 identifies roads classified as inflow roads and outflow roads. The method by which the road attribute specifying unit 103 identifies the inflow road and the outflow road will be described later.
The term "outflow" of the present invention includes not only the case of directly outflowing from the planned travel road but also the case of indirectly outflow from the planned travel road via a road other than the planned travel road. Further, the "inflow" of the present invention includes not only the case of directly flowing into the planned travel road but also the case of indirectly flowing into the planned travel road via a road other than the planned travel road.

The information giving unit 104 adds inflow / outflow information indicating that the road indicated by the road information is an inflow road or an outflow road to the road information. In the following embodiment, inflow / outflow information is given to each link indicating the road section. For roads that do not fall under either inflow roads or outflow roads, it is not necessary to give special information, or information indicating that they do not fall under either inflow roads or outflow roads may be given. ..

The storage unit 105 is a random access memory that stores road information to which inflow / outflow information is added. The random access memory may be either a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, and includes various types of memory such as SRAM and DRAM. As a matter of course, the storage unit 105 may also store road information related to a road to which no inflow / outflow information is given, that is, a road that does not correspond to either an inflow road or an outflow road.

The output unit 106 outputs the road information stored in the storage unit 105 to the travel management device 20. The output unit 106 outputs the road information every time new road information is stored in the storage unit 105 or periodically. Further, the output unit 106 may continue to output the same road information for a predetermined time.

Although the travel management device 20 is shown as an output destination of the information output from the output unit 106 in FIG. 1, instead of the travel management device 20, a server provided outside the own vehicle or a vehicle is remotely controlled. Information may be output to the control center to be operated.

2. 2. Operation Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
In S101, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the position information of the own vehicle from GPS.
In S102, the acquisition unit 101 acquires road information regarding a road within a predetermined range from the current position of the own vehicle, which is calculated based on the position information acquired in S101, from the map DB.
In S103, the road identification unit 102 identifies the planned travel road on which the own vehicle is scheduled to travel.

FIG. 3 simply represents the own vehicle, the destination of the own vehicle, and the road indicated by the road information. In FIG. 3, roads are represented by circled nodes (11-13, 21-23, 31-32) and lined links (101-104, 111-114, 201-204, 211-). 214) and are illustrated. The direction of the arrow indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle on the link. That is, FIG. 3 illustrates the case of left-hand traffic.
In the example of FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 101 acquires road information within the range from the current position of the own vehicle to the destination. Further, since the destination is set ahead of the link 104, the road identification unit 102 may specify the node 11, the link 102, the node 12, the link 103, the node 13, and the link 104 as the planned roads. it can.

Next, in S104, among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information acquired in S102, the outflow road that flows out from the planned travel road and the inflow road that flows into the planned travel road are specified. To do. The contents of the process of S104 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the road attribute specifying unit 103.
First, in S201 of FIG. 4, among the nodes included in the planned traveling road specified by the road specifying unit 102, the node through which the own vehicle first passes is set as the target node. In the example of FIG. 3, the node 11 connected to the end of the link 101 in which the own vehicle is traveling is set as the target node.

In S202, the links 1 to N connected to the target node are set as the target link. At this time, if there is a link that has been determined in the past that the attribute described later is an outflow road among the links connected to the target node, the link is not set as the target link. In the case of FIG. 3, among the links connected to the target node 11, the links 201, 102, and 202 are set as the target links. The link 101 on which the own vehicle is currently traveling is set as the target link before the state shown in FIG. 3, and is determined to be an outflow road. Therefore, the link 101 is not set as the target link in this process.

In S203, it is determined whether the target link has an attribute of an outflow road that flows out to the target node or an inflow road that flows in to the target node. For example, among the road information indicating the target link, the identification number of the outflow source node of the link or the identification number of the inflow destination node of the target link is compared with the identification number of the target node. Then, when the identification number of the target node matches the identification number of the outflow source node, the target link determines that the outflow road is for the target node. The same applies to the inflow road. The road attribute specifying unit 103 may first determine whether or not the target link is an outflow road, and then, if it is determined that it is not an outflow road, it may determine that the outflow link is an inflow road. .. Further, the process of S203 is repeated until the attributes of all the target links set in S202 are determined (S204).
In the case of FIG. 3, the link 201 is a road through which vehicles flow out from the node 11. Therefore, the link 201 is determined to be an outflow road. Similarly, the link 102 is also determined to be an outflow road. On the other hand, the link 202 is a road through which vehicles flow into the node 11. Therefore, the link 202 is determined to be an inflow road. In this way, the road attribute specifying unit 103 determines the attributes of all the links 201, 102, and 202. FIG. 5 shows a state in which it is determined whether the attributes of the target links 201, 102, and 202 are the outflow road or the inflow road.

In the present embodiment, the attribute of the target link is determined by using the identification number of the outflow source node or the identification number of the inflow destination node of the link included in the road information. However, the above example is only an example of a method for identifying the attributes of the inflow road and the outflow road, and these attributes may be determined using arbitrary information included in the road information.

Next, in S205, it is determined whether or not the target links 1 to N are links within the intersection. Then, when the target link is a link within an intersection (S205: Yes), it is determined whether or not the link is a road determined to be an outflow road in S203 (S206). Then, when it is determined that the link is an outflow road (S206: Yes), among the nodes connected to the target link, the node that has not been set as the target node in the past is replaced with a new target node. Is set to (S207).

In the following embodiments, the intra-intersection link refers to four links connected in a ring via four nodes. In the case of FIG. 5, four links (102, 112, 202, 212) are cyclically connected via four nodes (11, 12, 21, 22). Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 5, links 102, 112, 202, and 212 form an in-intersection link.

In addition, it is desirable that the road information includes information indicating that the link is a link constituting the link in the intersection. However, even if the road information does not include information indicating the intra-intersection link, these links constitute the intra-intersection link, for example, depending on the length of the link or the distance or position of the nodes to which the links are connected. You may specify that.

In the case of FIG. 5, it is determined that the links 102 and 202 among the target links set in S202 are links within the intersection (S205: Yes). Here, since the link 202 is an inflow road and not an outflow road (S206: No), the process shown in FIG. 4 is terminated. On the other hand, the link 102 is an outflow road (S06: Yes). Therefore, a node 12 that is connected to the link 102 and is not the node 11 set as the target node in S201 is newly set as the target node (S207).

The processes of S202 to S205 are repeated for the node 12 newly set as the target node. Specifically, among the links connected to the target node 12, the links 211, 103, and 212 excluding the link 102 that has already been determined to be the outflow road are set as the target links (S202). Then, the attributes of each of these links are determined (S203). FIG. 6 shows a state in which the process of S204 is performed on the node 12 newly set as the target node. From FIG. 6, it can be seen that the links 103 and 212 are outflow roads and the link 211 is an inflow road.

When the determination of the attributes of all the links connected to the target node 12 is completed (S204), it is determined again whether or not these target links are links within the intersection (S205). According to FIG. 6, the link 212 is an intra-intersection link (S205: Yes). Further, the link 212 constituting the link in the intersection is an outflow road (S206: Yes). Therefore, among the nodes connected to the link 212 determined to be the outflow road, the node 22 that has not been set as the target node in the past is newly set as the target node (S207).

Similarly, for the node 22 newly set as the target node, the processes of S202 to S205 are repeated. That is, the link connected to the target node 22 is set as the target link (S202), and the attribute is determined for each of these links (S203). For node 22, links 112, 113, and 213 are set as target links.
FIG. 7 shows a state in which the processing of S204 is performed on the target node 22. It is determined that the link 113 is an inflow road and the links 112 and 213 are outflow roads. Then, in S205, it is determined again whether or not the target link is an intra-intersection link. In the case of FIG. 7, it is determined that the target link 112 is an intra-intersection link (S205: Yes) and the links 113 and 213 are not intra-intersection links (S205: No). Further, the link 112 is determined to be an outflow road (S206: Yes). Therefore, among the nodes connected to the link 112, the node 21 that has not been targeted in the past is newly set as the target node (S207).

Further, also for the node 21, the above-mentioned processes of S202 to S205 are repeated. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the processing of S204 is performed on the target node 21. It is determined that the link 203 is an inflow road and the links 111 and 202 are outflow roads. When the node 21 is set as the target node, the link 202 is determined to be an outflow road. However, as described above, the link 202 has already been determined to be an inflow road when the node 11 is set as the target node. In such a case, it is determined that the link 202 has the attributes of both the inflow road and the outflow road. Alternatively, if the attributes are prioritized and the link has both inflow road and outflow road attributes, the link may be determined as a high priority attribute. For example, the attribute determined first may be an attribute with a high priority.
Note that the node that was set as the target node in the past is not set as the target node again. Therefore, even if the target node 21 is processed in S204 and the link 202 is determined to be the outflow road, the node 11 connected to the link 202 is not set as the target node. As a result, for example, it is possible to prevent the process shown in FIG. 4 from being repeatedly executed at the link in the intersection.

If it is determined that the target link is not an in-intersection link, among the links connected to the node connected to the target link, the link having the same road information as the target link has the same attribute as the target link, that is, , It is determined that the outflow road or the inflow road is the same as the target link (S208). Here, a link having the same road information as the target link is, for example, a link extending in the same direction as the target link, a link having the same road type (national road, prefectural road, etc.), road width, and number of lanes as the target link. Point to.

For example, consider the case where the link 203 is the target link in the above-mentioned process. It is determined that the link 203 is not an intra-intersection link (S205: No). Therefore, among the other links connected to the node 31 connected to the link 203, the link extending in the same direction as the link 203, that is, the link 204 is determined to be an inflow road like the link 203. Similarly, when link 213 is the target link, among other links connected to the node 32 connected to link 213, the link extending in the same direction as link 213, that is, link 214 leaks out like link 213. Judge that it is a road.

Further, a case where the links 103 and 113 are the target links will be examined. Of the other links connected to the node 13 connected to the link 103, the link 104 extending in the same direction as the link 103 is determined to be an outflow road like the link 103. Further, among the other links connected to the node 23 connected to the link 113, the link 114 extending in the same direction as the link 113 is determined to be an inflow road like the link 113.

In the example of FIG. 9, the processing of links prior to links 204, 214, 104, and 114 is not described. However, even for links that exist farther than these links, it may be specified that they have the same attributes as the target link. In this case, the number and range of links to be determined to have the same attributes as the target links are set in advance.
In the above embodiment, an example of determining that a link extending in the same direction as the target link has the same attributes as the target link is described, but as a matter of course, a plurality of road information is compounded. By judging, it may be judged whether or not it is judged to have the same attribute as the target link.

When the series of processes shown in FIG. 4 is completed, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.
In S105, the road attribute specifying unit 103 determines whether or not all the nodes included in the planned travel road are set as the target nodes in S201 of FIG. In S105, when the road attribute specifying unit 103 determines that all the nodes included in the planned travel road are not set as the target nodes (S105: No), the road attribute specifying unit 103 is then set as the target node. Specify the node to be used (S106). Next, the node set as the target node is a node included in the planned travel road that has a high possibility that the own vehicle will travel next to the node set as the target node in S201. Next, when the node to be set as the target node is specified, S104, that is, the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed again. At this time, the node specified in S106 is set as the target node in S201.

In the example of FIG. 8, among the nodes included in the planned travel road, the node through which the own vehicle passes next to the node 11 is the node 12. However, as described above, the node that has been set as the target node in the past is not set as the target node again. Therefore, instead of the node 12 through which the own vehicle passes next to the node 11, the node 13 having a high possibility of traveling next to the node 12 is set as the next target node, and a series of processes shown in FIG. 4 is performed. ..

In FIG. 2, in S105, the process of S104 is repeated until it is determined that all the nodes included in the planned travel road are set as the target nodes. However, in S105, it may be determined whether or not to repeat the process of S104 based on a criterion different from that of FIG. For example, it is determined whether or not to repeat the process of S104 based on whether or not a predetermined number of preset nodes or nodes located at a predetermined distance from the current position of the own vehicle are set as the target nodes. May be good.

Next, in S107, inflow / outflow information indicating that the road is an outflow road or an inflow road specified in S104 is added to the road information.
In S108, the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is given in S107 is stored in the storage unit 105. In S107, each time the process shown in FIG. 2 is executed, the road information may be overwritten and saved in the storage unit 105, or the road information already stored in the storage unit 105 and the road information in S107. It may be configured to compare with the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added and newly store only the road information that is not stored in the storage unit 105.

The timing at which the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment executes the process shown in FIG. 2 is arbitrary. For example, the information processing device 10 executes processing at the timing when the own vehicle enters a new link. By executing the process when entering a new link, even if the vehicle travels on a road different from the planned road, the inflow road or the inflow road to the latest planned road can be selected. Can be identified.
Alternatively, the information processing device 10 executes the process at the timing when the own vehicle enters the new link and travels a predetermined distance from the start point of the link. When the road information is overwritten and saved in the storage unit 105 every time the inflow / outflow information is added to the road information, if the process shown in FIG. 2 is executed at the timing of entering the new link, the own vehicle immediately before The road information indicating the link on which the vehicle was traveling and the inflow / outflow information attached to the link connected to the node that the own vehicle passed immediately before are lost. In such a case, the travel management device 20 is connected to the node to which the own vehicle has passed immediately before by executing the process at the timing when the own vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance from the start point of the new link. You can continue to use the information of.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to identify whether the road located around the own vehicle is an inflow road or an outflow road with respect to the planned travel road of the own vehicle. Considering that the above events approach the planned driving road or that the events on the outflow road move away from the planned driving road, the effects of these events on the own vehicle are evaluated, and the own vehicle It can be used for control.

(Modification example)
In this modification, in addition to the outflow road and the inflow road with respect to the planned travel road, a configuration for specifying an oncoming road corresponding to the opposite lane of the planned travel road will be described.

The road attribute specifying unit 102 of this modification identifies an oncoming road which is a road facing the planned traveling road among the roads within a predetermined range indicated by the road information.

For example, when the latitude and longitude of both ends of the target link are substantially the same as the link included in the planned travel road, the road attribute specifying unit 102 specifies that the target link is a road facing the planned travel road. Alternatively, the road attribute specifying unit 102 calculates the road shape of the target link from the latitude and longitude of a plurality of points of the target link, and also calculates the traveling direction of the target link from the outflow source node to the inflow destination node, and these road shapes. Is almost the same as the links included in the planned driving road, the traveling direction of the target link has a difference of about 180 degrees from the planned driving road, and the distance of these links is within a predetermined range (for example, number). If it is within m), the target link is specified to be a road facing the planned road.

Among the roads indicated by the road information acquired by the acquisition unit 101, the information giving unit 104 provides oncoming information indicating that the road is an oncoming road to the road specified by the oncoming road specifying unit 102 as an oncoming road. Give.

When the links 101, 102, 103, 104 shown in FIG. 3 are planned roads, the road attribute specifying unit 102 identifies that the links 111, 112, 113, 114, which are roads facing these links, are oncoming roads. To do. Then, the information giving unit 104 gives the opposite information to the links 111, 112, 113, 114.

When the inflow / outflow information is added to the road information, the information giving unit 104 may add the oncoming information in addition to the inflow / outflow information, or delete the inflow / outflow information and newly add the oncoming information. It may be a configuration to be given.

According to this modification, the road located around the own vehicle can identify the road facing the planned road on which the own vehicle travels. Therefore, the information processed by this modification can be used on the oncoming road. Considering that the above-mentioned events approach the own vehicle, the influence of these events on the own vehicle can be evaluated and used for controlling the own vehicle.

(Embodiment 2)
In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the acquisition unit 101 acquires information other than the position information and the road information of the own vehicle will be described. The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

1. 1. Configuration of Information Processing Device FIG. 10 shows the information processing device 11 of the second embodiment. The information processing device 11 of the present embodiment further includes a position specifying unit 111 in addition to the information processing device 10 shown in FIG. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In addition to the position information and road information of the own vehicle, the acquisition unit 101 of the second embodiment acquires "peripheral information" regarding an event occurring within a predetermined range from the own vehicle from the communication device. Peripheral information acquired from the communication device includes, for example, position information of another vehicle received by vehicle-to-vehicle communication from another vehicle traveling around the own vehicle, congestion information and traffic light information received from a roadside unit by road-to-vehicle communication, and cellular. Includes information on weather and road regulations received via communication, and pedestrian location information received from mobile phones and the like.
Here, the "peripheral information" of the present invention is information indicating the state of an object existing in the vicinity of the vehicle, for example, information indicating the state of a peripheral vehicle traveling around the vehicle, traffic congestion, road regulation, a traffic light, and the like. In addition, it includes information on the environment around the vehicle, such as weather and temperature outside the vehicle.

The position specifying unit 111 identifies the road on which the event indicated by the peripheral information occurs among the roads indicated by the road information.

The storage unit 105 stores peripheral information in association with the road information corresponding to the road specified by the position identification unit 111. For example, the identification number of the link in which the event indicated by the peripheral information is occurring is stored in association with the peripheral information. Then, the output unit 106 outputs peripheral information associated with the road information.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the acquisition unit 101 acquires traffic congestion information 1 to 3 from the roadside machine as peripheral information. This traffic jam information includes location information where the traffic jam is occurring. Further, as peripheral information, the acquisition unit 101 generates other vehicle information 1 and 2 including the position information of the other vehicle from the other vehicle, and weather information 1 and 2 indicating bad weather via cellular communication, and the bad weather occurs. Get location information.

In the position identification unit 111, traffic jams 1 to 3 occur at links 201, 213 and 211, respectively, other vehicles 1 and 2 are traveling on links 203 and 213, respectively, and bad weather 1, 2 Is generated at the links 201 and 211, respectively. Then, the traffic jam information 1 to 3, the other vehicle information 1 and 2, and the weather information 1 and 2 are stored in association with the road information indicating the link in which these events occur.

Further, FIG. 12 shows an example in which the acquisition unit 101 acquires signal information from a traffic light as peripheral information. The acquisition unit 101 acquires signal information 1 to 4 from traffic lights 1 to 4 as peripheral information, respectively. This signal information includes the position information of the traffic light and the instruction information of the traffic light. Therefore, the position specifying unit 111 identifies that the traffic lights 1 to 4 are installed at the links 101, 103, 213, and 204, respectively. Then, road information indicating a link in which a traffic light is installed is associated and stored in the signal information 1 to 4. The signal information may further include information indicating the number of seconds until the instruction information is changed.

2. 2. Example of Utilization of Peripheral Information to which Road Information is Attached Next, an example of utilization of peripheral information associated with road information will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 using the second embodiment.

For example, the travel management device 20 receives the traffic jam information 1 to 3 to which the road information is added and the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added from the output unit 106 of the information processing device 11. Congestion 1 occurs at link 201, which is an outflow road. When the traffic jam occurs on the outflow road, it is conceivable that the traffic jam extends to the link 101 on which the own vehicle is traveling, and the traffic jam also occurs in the left lane of the link 101. In the example of FIG. 11, the own vehicle goes straight on the links 102 and 103 toward the destination, but may be caught in a traffic jam when traveling in the left lane. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so as to travel in the right lane.
On the other hand, the traffic jam 2 occurs at the link 213, which is an outflow road like the traffic jam 1. However, while congestion 1 occurs on the outflow road in the left turn direction, congestion 2 occurs on the outflow road in the right turn direction. In this case, if the vehicle is traveling in the right turn lane on the right side, it may get caught in a traffic jam. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so as to travel in the left lane.
Further, in FIG. 11, the traffic jam 3 occurs at the link 211 which is the inflow road. When traffic congestion occurs on the inflow road, there is a high possibility that another vehicle traveling on the link 211 will flow into the planned travel road of the own vehicle. In addition, other vehicles traveling on the link 211 may flow into the central lane as well as the left lane. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle decelerates in order to avoid a collision with another vehicle flowing into the planned travel road from the link 211.

As another example, the travel management device 20 receives the other vehicle information of the other vehicles 1 and 2 to which the road information is added and the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added from the output unit 106 of the information processing device 11. To do. Another vehicle 1 traveling on the link 203, which is an inflow road, may enter the planned road on which the own vehicle travels after passing through the link 202. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle decelerates in order to avoid a collision with the other vehicle 1.
On the other hand, the other vehicle 2 is traveling on the link 213, which is an outflow road. Since the other vehicle 2 is moving in a direction away from the own vehicle, it is unlikely that the other vehicle 2 will affect the running of the own vehicle. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle continues the traveling so far.

As yet another example, the travel management device 20 receives weather information 1 and 2 indicating bad weather to which road information is added and road information to which inflow / outflow information is added from the output unit 106 of the information processing device 11. To do. Bad weather 1 occurs at link 201, which is an outflow road. If the own vehicle travels on the link 201, it may be involved in bad weather. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so as to avoid the link 201 even if the destination or the travel route is changed.
On the other hand, bad weather 2 occurs at the link 211, which is an inflow road. It is unlikely that the own vehicle will move to the link 211, which is the inflow road, and it is unlikely that bad weather 2 will affect the running of the own vehicle. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle continues the traveling so far.

As yet another example, the travel management device 20 receives signal information 1 to 4 to which road information is added and road information to which inflow / outflow information is added from the output unit 106 of the information processing device 11. Traffic lights 1, 2, and 3 are installed on links 101, 103, and 213, which are outflow roads, respectively. When the own vehicle travels on these outflow roads, it is necessary to manage the traveling of the own vehicle according to the instruction of the traffic light. For example, when the traffic lights 1, 2, and 3 indicate a stop instruction, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle decelerates. On the other hand, when the traffic lights 1, 2 and 3 are not stop instructions, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle continues the previous travel.
Further, the traffic light 4 is installed at the link 204, which is an inflow road. If the traffic light 4 on the inflow road does not indicate a stop instruction, another vehicle may enter the planned travel road from the inflow road. Therefore, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle decelerates. On the other hand, when the traffic light 4 indicates a stop instruction, the travel management device 20 manages the travel of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle continues the previous travel.

According to the second embodiment, by associating the inflow / outflow information with the surrounding information via the road information, the information indicating that the event indicated by the peripheral information approaches or moves away from the planned road. In consideration of the above, it is possible to evaluate the influence of surrounding information on the own vehicle and control the running of the own vehicle.

(Modification example 1)
In the second embodiment, the information processing device 11 has described a configuration in which the information processing device 11 associates the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added with the peripheral information and uses it as the traveling support information of the vehicle. In this modification, a configuration for selecting and extracting a part of the peripheral information obtained by the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 13 shows the information processing device 11 and the travel management device 20 of this modification. The travel management device 20 of this modification includes a selection unit 201.
The selection unit 201 of the travel management device 20 selects and extracts peripheral information based on whether the inflow / outflow information added to the road information associated with the peripheral information indicates an inflow road or an outflow road.

As described in the second embodiment, the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added is associated with the peripheral information such as the traffic jam information, the other vehicle information, and the signal information. Depending on the event indicated by the peripheral information, the importance of the peripheral information may differ depending on whether it occurs on the inflow road or on the outflow road.

For example, as described above, another vehicle traveling on the inflow road may enter the planned road on which the own vehicle travels. Therefore, the information of other vehicles traveling on the inflow road is highly important information in the traveling support of the own vehicle. On the other hand, it can be said that the information of such other vehicles is less important because it is unlikely that other vehicles traveling on the outflow road will enter the road on which the own vehicle is scheduled to travel.
Therefore, the selection unit 201 selects and extracts from the other vehicle information output from the output unit 106 that the inflow / outflow information added to the road information associated with the other vehicle information indicates the inflow road. To do.

In another example, if bad weather is occurring on the outflow road, or if the own vehicle changes the destination or travel route and travels on the outflow road, the own vehicle may be affected. On the other hand, if bad weather is occurring on the inflow road, it is unlikely that the vehicle will travel on the inflow road, so it is possible that the bad weather occurring on the inflow road will affect the vehicle in the future. Low.
Therefore, the selection unit 201 selects and extracts from the weather information output from the output unit 106 that the inflow / outflow information added to the road information associated with the weather information indicates an outflow road.

The combination of the type of peripheral information and the inflow / outflow information selected by the selection unit 201 is arbitrary, and these combinations are preset by, for example, the vehicle manufacturer or the dealer.

Note that FIG. 13 describes a configuration in which the travel management device 20 has the selection unit 201. However, the selection unit 201 may be provided in the travel support device, and the information processing device 11 may be provided with the selection unit 201 instead of the travel management device 20. In this case, only the peripheral information selected by the selection unit 201 may be stored in the storage unit 105, or when all the peripheral information is stored in the storage unit 105 and output from the output unit 106. , The selection unit 201 may be configured to select peripheral information.

According to this modification, it is possible to select and extract information necessary for vehicle driving support from the surrounding information associated with the road information according to the inflow / outflow information given to the road information. It becomes.

(Modification 2)
In this modified example, a configuration for classifying the surrounding information according to the inflow / outflow information given to the road information associated with the surrounding information will be described.

A plurality of areas are provided in the storage unit 105 of this modification, and peripheral information is classified and stored in each area. For example, when the event indicated by the peripheral information occurs on the inflow road, that is, when the inflow / outflow information given to the road information associated with the peripheral information indicates that the inflow road is the inflow road, this peripheral information Is stored in the first area of the storage unit 105. On the other hand, when the event indicated by the peripheral information occurs on the outflow road, the peripheral information is stored in the second area of the storage unit 105.

Peripheral information may be further subdivided according to the expiration date for which the information can be effectively used, and stored in different areas. For example, information on other vehicles, pedestrians, and traffic lights changes every few seconds, and the expiration date of the information is short. On the other hand, traffic congestion information changes every few minutes, and road regulation and weather information changes every few hours. Therefore, peripheral information with a short expiration date of several seconds is stored in the first area of the storage unit 105, peripheral information with an expiration date of several minutes is stored in the second area, and peripheral information with an expiration date of several hours is stored in the third area. To do. The road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added is also stored in the storage unit 105. Since such road information does not change over time, it may be stored in an area different from the surrounding information (for example, a fourth area).

By storing the peripheral information in different areas of the storage unit 105, the output unit 106 can output each peripheral information stored in each area.
For example, the output unit 106 changes the period for outputting information for each area of the storage unit 105. In this configuration, for example, it is possible to reduce the number of times of output of information having a long expiration date, and eventually to reduce the load on the communication network.
In another example, the output unit 106 changes the output destination of information for each area of the storage unit 105. For example, the output unit 106 outputs the information stored in the predetermined area to a server provided outside the own vehicle, or outputs the information to a specific in-vehicle ECU. In this case, it is possible to output the saved peripheral information to each output destination for each area of the storage unit.

(Summary)
The features of each information processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention and the travel management device used in combination with each information processing device have been described above.
In each of the above embodiments, it is assumed that the vehicle travels on the left side. However, the present invention can also be applied when the vehicle travels on the right side.

Since the terms used in the above embodiments are examples, they may be replaced with synonymous terms or terms including synonymous functions.

The block diagram used in the description of the embodiment is a classification and arrangement of the configurations of the devices and the like for each function. These functional blocks are realized by any combination of hardware or software. Further, since the block diagram shows the function, the block diagram can be grasped as the disclosure of the invention of the method and the invention of the program that realizes the method.

The order of the functional blocks that can be grasped as the processes, flows, and methods described in each embodiment may be changed as long as there are no restrictions such as using the results of other steps in one step.

The terms "first" and "second" used in each embodiment and the present invention are used to distinguish two or more configurations and methods of the same type, and do not limit the order or superiority or inferiority.

The present invention can be realized not only by the dedicated hardware having the configuration and the function described in each embodiment, but also a program for realizing the present invention stored in a storage medium such as a memory or a hard disk, and an executable program thereof. It can also be realized as a combination with a dedicated or general-purpose hardware having a general-purpose CPU and memory.

Programs stored in dedicated or general-purpose hardware storage media (external storage devices (hard disks, USB memory, CD / BD, etc.), internal storage devices (RAM, ROM, etc.)) can be stored via the storage medium or stored. It can also be provided to dedicated or general-purpose hardware from the server via a communication line without using a medium. This ensures that you always have the latest features through program upgrades.

Although the information processing device of the present invention has been described as an information processing device mainly used for traveling support of an automobile, it can be applied to all moving moving objects such as motorcycles, ships, railways, and aircraft.

10, 11 Information processing device, 20 Travel management device, 101 Acquisition unit, 102 Road identification unit, 103 Road attribute identification unit, 104 Information addition unit, 105 Storage unit, 111 Position identification unit, 201 Selection unit

Claims (8)

It is a running support device that supports the running of vehicles.
The acquisition unit (101) that acquires road information about roads within a predetermined range from the vehicle, and
A road identification unit (102) that identifies a planned road on which the vehicle is scheduled to travel, and
Among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information, a road attribute specifying unit that specifies an outflow road that is a road that flows out from the planned travel road and an inflow road that is a road that flows into the planned travel road ( 103) and
An information giving unit (104) that adds inflow / outflow information indicating that the road information is the inflow road or the outflow road, and
A storage unit (105) for storing the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is attached, and
A traveling support device (10, 11, 20). The road attribute specifying unit further identifies an oncoming road that is a road facing the planned travel road among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information.
The information giving unit adds oncoming information indicating that the road is an oncoming road to the road information.
The traveling support device according to claim 1. The travel support device further includes a position identification unit (201).
The acquisition unit further acquires peripheral information regarding an event occurring within the predetermined range, and obtains peripheral information.
The position specifying unit identifies the road on which the event is occurring among the roads.
The storage unit stores the peripheral information in association with the road information corresponding to the road specified by the position identification unit.
The traveling support device (11, 20) according to claim 1 or 2. The traveling support device further includes a selection unit (201).
The selection unit selects, among the peripheral information, peripheral information associated with the road information to which the specific type of inflow / outflow information is attached.
The traveling support device according to claim 3. The peripheral information is other vehicle information regarding another vehicle traveling within the predetermined range.
Among the other vehicle information, the selection unit selects other vehicle information associated with the road information to which the inflow / outflow information indicating the inflow road is added.
The traveling support device according to claim 4. The road information includes information on a plurality of road sections that divide the road.
When the vehicle travels a predetermined distance from the start point of one of the plurality of road sections, the road attribute specifying unit identifies the inflow road and the outflow road.
The storage unit overwrites and stores the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is added.
The traveling support device according to claim 1. It is a method executed by a driving support device that supports the driving of a vehicle.
Acquire road information about roads within a predetermined range from the vehicle.
Identify the road on which the vehicle is scheduled to travel,
Among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information, the outflow road which is the road flowing out from the planned travel road and the inflow road which is the road flowing into the planned travel road are specified.
Inflow / outflow information indicating that the road is the inflow road or the outflow road is added to the road information.
A method for storing the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is attached. A program executed by a driving support device that supports the driving of a vehicle.
Acquire road information about roads within a predetermined range from the vehicle.
Identify the road on which the vehicle is scheduled to travel,
Among the roads within the predetermined range indicated by the road information, the outflow road which is the road flowing out from the planned travel road and the inflow road which is the road flowing into the planned travel road are specified.
Inflow / outflow information indicating that the road is the inflow road or the outflow road is added to the road information.
A program for storing the road information to which the inflow / outflow information is attached.