JP4585356B2 - Inter-vehicle communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inter-vehicle communication system in which vehicles communicate with each other.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device that outputs a road condition or the like to a display device or an audio output device provided in a vehicle using a car navigation system or the like is known.

  The intersection accident prevention apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 includes a camera and a display unit, and when the host vehicle enters the intersection, displays an image of the vicinity of the intersection taken by the camera of the host vehicle in the past on the display unit. Device.

  Moreover, the obstacle notification device described in Patent Document 2 includes an infrared camera and a spot lamp, detects an obstacle (moving body) from an image taken by the infrared camera of the host vehicle, and detects the spot lamp. It is a device that informs the driver of an obstacle by irradiating the obstacle with an electromagnetic wave marker.

The moving body approach notification device described in Patent Document 3 includes moving body detection means and notification means for detecting a moving body in the vicinity of the host vehicle, estimates the course of the host vehicle and the detected moving body, and When the vehicle approaches, the notification means notifies the driver of the approach.
JP 2004-51006 A (paragraphs 0015 to 0034, FIGS. 1 to 4) JP-A-2004-185015 (paragraphs 0010 to 0034, FIGS. 1 to 7) JP 2004-118418 A (paragraphs 0008 to 0029, FIGS. 1 to 6)

  However, the devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents are based on the premise that the own vehicle detects a moving body, and inform the driver of information on the moving body that the own vehicle could not detect. There was a problem that I could not.

  The present invention has been developed to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inter-vehicle communication system capable of notifying the driver of the presence of a moving body that the host vehicle cannot detect. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an inter-vehicle communication system in which vehicles communicate with each other, and is provided for each vehicle. The present invention relates to a moving body detecting unit that detects a moving body from an image picked up by means, a sounding means that emits sound provided for each vehicle, and a sound that is sounded by the sounding means of the vehicle provided for each vehicle. An audio data generation unit that generates audio data; and a transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives data provided for each vehicle. The audio data generation unit of one vehicle captures an image by the imaging unit of another vehicle. generates audio data for notifying the presence of the the mobile body and outputs to said sound generating means of the one vehicle, provided for each vehicle, the vehicle position to detect the vehicle position data relating to the position of the vehicle A vehicle position data generating unit that generates a moving body position data related to the position of the moving body from an image captured by the imaging unit, provided for each vehicle, The voice data generation unit of the vehicle is configured to determine the position of the moving body imaged by the imaging unit of another vehicle based on the moving body position data generated by the moving body position data generation unit of the other vehicle. An information sharing vehicle determining unit that generates voice data to be notified, outputs the sound data to the sound generation unit of one vehicle, and determines a combination of vehicles that share information on the moving body imaged by the imaging unit, and imaging of the imaging unit A storage unit in which an area is stored, and the information sharing vehicle determination unit includes the vehicle position data detected by the vehicle position data detection unit, Serial based on the imaging area of the storage unit to the stored the imaging means, a vehicle between said imaging region overlaps a predetermined ratio or more, and wherein the combining as one of the vehicle and other vehicles described above.

By doing in this way, the sounding means can be caused to pronounce the presence of the moving body that cannot be imaged by the imaging means of a certain vehicle, and the driver can be notified of the presence of the moving body.
Further, in this way, in addition to the presence of the moving body, the driver can be notified of the position of the moving body.
Moreover, the communication partner of each vehicle is suitably set by doing in this way.
In addition, communication related to the mobile object can be reduced by doing in this way.

The invention according to claim 2 is the inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 1 , further comprising a search start determination unit that determines whether or not to start searching for a vehicle that shares information, When the search start determination unit determines to start searching for a vehicle that shares information, the information sharing vehicle determination unit determines a combination of vehicles that share information.

  By doing in this way, since the combination of vehicles is determined only when necessary, the amount of information processing can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 3 is the inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 2 , wherein the search start determination unit is configured to detect the moving object when the moving object detection unit of the vehicle detects a moving object. It is determined whether or not to start a search for an information sharing vehicle for the vehicle, and the information sharing vehicle determination unit determines that the search start determination unit starts to search for the information sharing vehicle for the vehicle. The vehicle which shares information is determined.

  By doing in this way, it is possible to avoid communication when a moving object is not detected.

The invention according to claim 4 is the inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 3 , wherein map data is further stored in the storage unit, and the search start determination unit is the vehicle position Based on the data and the map data, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is approaching a node in the map data, and the information sharing vehicle determination unit is configured such that the search start determination unit and the vehicle are the node When it is determined that the vehicle is approaching the vehicle, a vehicle sharing information with the vehicle is determined.

By doing so, it is possible to inform the driver of the presence of the moving body at an intersection (node) where there are many blind spots and the frequency of encounter with the moving body is large.
Further, communication is performed only when a node (such as an intersection) is approaching, and the amount of communication can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 5 is the inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 4 , further comprising a nearby vehicle extracting unit that extracts a vehicle located in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the information sharing vehicle determining unit Determines a vehicle sharing information from among the vehicles extracted by the nearby vehicle extraction unit.

  By doing in this way, narrowing down of the vehicle which communicates is performed suitably.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inter-vehicle communication system capable of notifying a driver of the presence of a moving body that could not be detected by the host vehicle based on data detected by another vehicle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In the following description, “speed” is a scalar quantity. For convenience of explanation, a moving body detected by the host vehicle may be simply referred to as a “moving body”, and a moving body detected by another vehicle may be described as an “other moving body”.

(Vehicle communication system 1)
First, an outline of an inter-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an inter-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an inter-vehicle communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a system that can be shared with a car navigation system, and includes an in-vehicle device 2 that is individually provided in a plurality of vehicles C, and a vehicle management device. 3 is provided. The in-vehicle device 2 can bidirectionally communicate with the vehicle management device 3 via the base station 4 and the network 5, and can also bidirectionally communicate with the in-vehicle devices 2 of other vehicles C via the vehicle management device 3. Further, the in-vehicle device 2 can directly communicate with the in-vehicle device 2 of another vehicle C without using the vehicle management device 3. Hereinafter, when a plurality of vehicles C need to be distinguished, they are described as “vehicle C1, vehicle C2,...”, And when they are not necessary, they are described as “vehicle C”.

(In-vehicle device 2)
Next, the in-vehicle device 2 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the in-vehicle device of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle device 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes cameras 11 and 11, a geomagnetic sensor 12, a gyro sensor 13, a GPS receiver 14, a vehicle speed sensor 15, and a vehicle sensor 16. The operation switch 17, the map data input device 18, the transceiver 19, the display device 20, the speaker 21, the vehicle control device 22, the storage unit 23, and the main control unit 30 are provided.

(Camera 11, 11)
The cameras 11 and 11 are capable of capturing video as digital data. For example, a color CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera is used. The cameras 11 and 11 are arranged side by side in parallel on the left and right, and the captured image is output to the feature extraction unit 31 and the output data generation unit 41. The cameras 11 and 11 are provided on the vehicle C so as to be able to photograph the front.
The cameras 11 and 11 are an example of “imaging means”.

(Geomagnetic sensor 12)
The geomagnetic sensor 12 detects data related to the direction (hereinafter referred to as “direction data”) and outputs the data to the vehicle data generation unit 35.

(Gyro sensor 13)
The gyro sensor 13 detects data related to the direction of the vehicle C (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle direction data”) and outputs the data to the vehicle data generation unit 35.
The gyro sensor 13 is an example of “vehicle direction data detecting means”.

(GPS receiver 14)
The GPS receiver 14 detects data (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle position data”) relating to the position (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle C using GPS (Global Positioning System), and sends it to the vehicle data generation unit 35. Output.
The GPS receiver 14 is an example of “vehicle position data detecting means”.

(Vehicle speed sensor 15)
The vehicle speed sensor 15 detects the speed of the vehicle C (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle speed data”) and outputs it to the vehicle data generation unit 35.

(Vehicle sensor 16)
The vehicle sensor 16 detects various states of the vehicle C, and is a sensor group including sensors that detect an operation amount of a brake pedal, an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, an engine speed, an operation amount of a steering wheel, and the like.

(Operation switch 17)
The operation switch 17 is a group of switches for operating the driving state of the in-vehicle device 2 and includes, for example, a switch for switching ON / OFF of the display device 20 and a switch for adjusting the output volume of the speaker 21.

(Map data input machine 18)
The map data input machine 18 is for inputting map data and storing it in the storage unit 23.

(Transceiver 19)
The transceiver 19 transmits various data output from the main control unit 30 to the base station 4, and also outputs various data output from the control unit 50 (see FIG. 3) of the vehicle management device 3 and transmitted from the base station 4. And a wireless communication device that receives various data output from the main controller 30 of another vehicle C and transmitted from the transceiver 19.
The transceiver 19 is an example of “transmission / reception means”.

(Display device 20)
The display device 20 is a device for outputting an image around the vehicle C captured by the cameras 11 and 11 and an image based on map data stored in the storage unit 23 described later.
The display device 20 displays an image based on image data generated by the image data generation unit 41a described later, and displays characters based on character data generated by the character data generation unit 41b described later.
The display device 20 is provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle C, and is provided at a position where the driver can visually recognize the display device 20.
The display device 20 is an example of a “display unit”.

(Speaker 21)
The speaker 21 outputs sound based on the sound data generated by the sound data generating unit 41d described later.
The speaker 21 is provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle C and can transmit the output sound to the driver.
The speaker 21 is an example of “sound generation means”.

(Vehicle control device 22)
The vehicle control device (ECU: Electrical Control Unit) 22 is a device that controls the operation of the vehicle C. Based on the detection result of the vehicle sensor 16 and the output of the output data generation unit 41, the vehicle control device 22 controls the brake fluid pressure or generates an alarm sound for the horn.

(Storage unit 23)
The memory | storage part 23 has memorize | stored vehicle ID regarding the vehicle C by which the vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 is mounted, map data, etc.

(Main control unit 30)
The main control unit 30 includes a feature extraction unit 31, an object detection unit 32, an object data generation unit 33, an object data notification unit 34, a vehicle data generation unit 35, a vehicle data notification unit 36, data A receiving unit 37, another mobile body data estimation unit 38, a local map generation unit 39, an encounter determination unit 40, and an output data generation unit 41 are provided.

(Feature extraction unit 31)
The feature extraction unit 31 extracts an edge component of the image and obtains a distance image.

(Object detection unit 32)
The object detection unit 32 obtains a group cluster of the distance image using a snake method or the like based on the extraction result of the feature extraction unit 31, determines the identity with the previous cluster, and detects the object. Yes, it is an example of a “moving body detection unit”. Examples of the object detection method by the feature extraction unit 31 and the object detection unit 32 are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2004-46426 and 2004-103018 filed by the same applicant as the present invention. Can be used.
Examples of the object include moving objects including people, bicycles, vehicles (ordinary vehicles, buses, trucks, etc.), and intersections.
Further, the object detection unit 32 generates data related to the object (hereinafter referred to as “object relative data”) and outputs the data to the object data generation unit 33 and the local map generation unit 39 which will be described later.
The object relative data is data including object ID, object image data, object relative position data, object relative speed data, object relative direction data, and type data.
The object ID is given to each moving object detected by the object detection unit 32.
The object image data is image data for displaying the object.
The object relative position data is data relating to the position of the center of gravity of the detected object, and is data indicating the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle C.
The object relative speed data is data relating to the speed of the detected object, and is data indicating the relative speed of the object with respect to the vehicle C. The object detection unit 32 calculates object relative velocity data by comparing a new frame (image) with a past frame.
The object relative direction data is data relating to the direction (movement direction) of the detected object, and is data indicating the relative movement direction of the object with respect to the vehicle C. The object detection unit 32 calculates object relative direction data by comparing a new frame (image) with a past frame.
The type data is data relating to the type of the detected object. The object detection unit 32 identifies what the detected object is by referring to data that associates the type of object and the shape stored in advance, and generates type data.
The object detection unit 32 can also refer to the vehicle data generated by the vehicle data generation unit 35 when calculating / generating various data. This is to calculate and generate various data of the object in consideration of the moving direction of the vehicle C and the vehicle speed.

(Object data generation unit 33)
The object data generation unit 33 converts the object data based on the detection result (object relative data) detected by the object detection unit 32 and vehicle data (described later) generated by the vehicle data generation unit 35. Generate. In other words, the object data generation unit 33 determines the data (object) for the road of the object based on the relative relationship between the object and the vehicle (object relative data) and the data for the road of the vehicle (vehicle data). Data).
The object data is data including object ID, object image data, object position data, object speed data, object direction data, and type data.
That is, the object data generation unit 33 is an object position data generation unit (moving body data generation unit), an object speed data generation unit (moving body speed data generation unit), and an object direction data generation unit ( Mobile object data generation unit). The object position data, the object speed data, and the object direction data may be data representing physical quantities equivalent to these. For example, as the object position data, the position data of the vehicle C that detected the object The relative position data of the object relative to the vehicle C can also be used. In such a case, the combination of the GPS receiver 14 and the object detection unit 32 corresponds to the object position data generation unit. The same applies to other data.

(Subject data notification unit 34)
The target object data notification unit 34 assigns and outputs the vehicle ID of the vehicle C to the target object moving body data generated by the target object data generation unit 33. The output object data is notified to the vehicle management device 3 and the in-vehicle device 2 of another vehicle C via the transceiver 19.
In addition, the object data notification unit 34 outputs a signal for connecting / disconnecting the communication state with respect to the vehicle management device 3 and the in-vehicle device 2 of another vehicle C.

(Vehicle data generation unit 35)
The vehicle data generation unit 35 generates vehicle data based on the detection results of the geomagnetic sensor 12, the gyro sensor 13, the GPS receiver 14, and the vehicle speed sensor 15. This vehicle data is data including the vehicle ID of the host vehicle, vehicle orientation data, vehicle position data, and vehicle speed data. The generated vehicle data is output to the vehicle data notification unit 36 and the local map generation unit 39. In addition, the vehicle data generation unit 35 estimates the current vehicle orientation data, vehicle position data, and vehicle speed data by the Kalman filter, and adopts these estimated data as vehicle data.

(Vehicle data notification unit 36)
The vehicle data notification unit 36 outputs the vehicle data generated by the vehicle data generation unit 35. The output vehicle data is notified to the vehicle management device 3 via the transceiver 19.

(Data receiver 37)
The data receiving unit 37 receives data transmitted from the vehicle management device 3 and the in-vehicle device 2 of another vehicle C. Other mobile body data, which is a type of received data, is output to the object data notification section 34 and the other mobile body data estimation section 38.

(Other mobile data estimation unit 38)
The other mobile body data estimation unit 38 estimates other mobile body data at the present time (hereinafter referred to as “other mobile body estimation data”) from the input other mobile body data. Such estimation is performed by a Kalman filter. Further, the other mobile body data estimation unit 38, as a part of the mobile body estimation data, based on the other mobile body data and the vehicle data, data related to the relative position of the other mobile body to the host vehicle C (hereinafter referred to as “other mobile body Relative position data ”).

(Local map generator 39)
The local map generation unit 39 includes the vehicle data generated by the vehicle data generation unit 35, the moving body data generated by the object data generation unit 33, and the other moving body estimation estimated by the other moving body data estimation unit 38. Based on the data, a local map relating to the situation around the vehicle C is generated. This local map temporally manages the position, speed, etc. of the mobile body around the vehicle C, and estimates the current position, speed, etc. of the mobile body from these past histories. The encounter determination unit 40 determines whether or not the host vehicle C and the moving body meet based on the estimated data.
Here, the local map generation unit 39 includes the vehicle data generated by the vehicle data generation unit 35 and the object data generated by the object data generation unit 33, and the other movement estimated by the other moving body data estimation unit 38. The identity with the body estimation data is determined. And the local map production | generation part 39 integrates other moving body estimation data into a local map, only when these identity is denied.
This is because duplication of data occurs by integrating the other moving body that is the same as the own vehicle C and the other moving body that is the same as the moving body from which the own vehicle C has acquired data into the local map. It is for preventing it.

(Meeting determination unit 40)
The encounter determination unit 40 determines whether or not the host vehicle C and a moving body (another moving body) detected by the other vehicle meet. The determination result is output to the output data generation unit 41. Details of the determination method by the encounter determination unit 40 will be described later.

(Output data generation unit 41)
The output data generation unit 41 generates output data for transmitting the existence determination result of the other mobile body and the encounter determination result with the other mobile body to the driver based on the determination result by the local map and the encounter determination unit 40. The image data generation unit 41a, the character data generation unit 41b, the display data generation unit 41c, the voice data generation unit 41d, and the control data generation unit 41e are provided.

(Image data generation unit 41a)
The image data generation unit 41a generates image data that displays the presence of another moving body and causes the display device 20 to display the image data via the display data generation unit 41c.

(Character data generation unit 41b)
The character data generation unit 41b generates character data representing the presence of another moving body and the result of an encounter determination between the other moving body and the host vehicle C, and displays the character data on the display device 20 via the display data generation unit 41c.
The image data generation unit 41a and the character data generation unit 41b are examples of the “image / character data generation unit”.

(Display data generation unit 41c)
The display data generation unit 41c generates display data based on the image data generated by the image data generation unit 41a and the character data generated by the character data generation unit 41b, and causes the display device 20 to display the display data.

(Audio data generation unit 41d)
The sound data generation unit 41d generates sound data for notifying the presence of another moving body and the result of an encounter determination between the other moving body and the host vehicle C, and causes the speaker 21 to speak.
For the generation of voice data, a correspondence relationship between character information stored in advance and voice data is used.

(Control data generator 41e)
The control data generation unit 41e generates control data for controlling the operation of the host vehicle C based on an encounter determination result between the other moving body and the host vehicle C, and causes the vehicle control device 22 to control the host vehicle C.

(Vehicle management device 3)
Next, the vehicle management device 3 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the vehicle management apparatus of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle management device 3 includes a control unit 50, an input device 61, and a storage unit 62.

(Control unit 50)
The control unit 50 includes a vehicle data reception unit 51, a map matching unit 52, an object data reception unit 53, a search start determination unit 54, a nearby vehicle extraction unit 55, a visual field overlap determination unit 56, and an information sharing vehicle. The determination part 57, the information sharing vehicle notification part 58, and the other mobile body data notification part 59 are provided.

(Vehicle data receiver 51)
The vehicle data receiving unit 51 receives vehicle data transmitted from the in-vehicle device 2 of each vehicle C. The received vehicle data is output to the map matching unit 52.

(Map matching unit 52)
The map matching unit 52 matches the vehicle data with the map data stored in the storage unit 62. By such matching, a road (arc) on which the vehicle C is traveling and an intersection (node) on which the vehicle C is heading are set.

(Object data receiving unit 53)
The object data receiving unit 53 receives object data to which a vehicle ID is assigned from the vehicle C that has detected the moving object. The received vehicle ID and object data are matched by the map matching unit 52 and then output to the search start determination unit 54.

(Search start determination unit 54)
The search start determination unit 54 determines whether or not to search for a vehicle (information sharing vehicle) that shares information with the vehicle C with respect to the vehicle C that has transmitted the object data. Details of this search method will be described later.

(Nearby vehicle extraction unit 55)
The nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 selects a vehicle C located in the vicinity of the vehicle related to the vehicle ID given to the object data received by the object data receiving unit 53 based on the vehicle data matched by the map matching unit 52. Extract. Details of this extraction method will be described later.

(View overlap determination unit 56)
The field-of-view overlap determination unit (imaging region overlap determination unit) 56 includes the vehicle C that has transmitted the object data from the vehicle C extracted by the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55, and the respective fields of view, that is, cameras C1, C1. It is determined whether and how much the imaging regions by overlap overlap. Details of the field overlap determination method will be described later.

(Information sharing vehicle determination unit 57)
The information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 selects a vehicle that shares information with the vehicle C that has transmitted the object data from the vehicles C extracted by the neighboring vehicle extraction unit 55, and selects a combination of these information sharing vehicles. decide. In this determination, the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 can use the determination result by the visual field overlap determination unit 56.

(Information Sharing Vehicle Notification Unit 58)
The information sharing vehicle notification unit 58 notifies the vehicle determined by the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 to that effect. In the example of FIG. 6, the information sharing vehicle notification unit 58 notifies the vehicle C1 that the vehicle C2 is an information sharing vehicle, and notifies the vehicle C2 that the vehicle C1 is an information sharing vehicle. In addition, the information sharing vehicle notification unit 58 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the vehicle data of the vehicle C1 that detected the moving body.

(Other mobile data notification unit 59)
The other moving body data notifying unit 59 notifies the object data (other moving body data) to the other vehicle C that has not detected the object among the information sharing vehicles determined by the information sharing vehicle determining unit 57. To do.

(Input device 61)
The input device 61 is a device for inputting various data (such as map data) stored in the storage unit 62.

(Storage unit 62)
The storage unit 62 stores map data, vehicle data transmitted from each vehicle C, camera information of each vehicle C (attachment direction of the cameras 11 and 11 to the vehicle body, imaging region, etc.), and the like. Among these, the map data is data set by setting intersections as nodes and roads connecting the intersections as arcs.

(First operation example of inter-vehicle communication system)
Next, a first operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described in the order of the in-vehicle device 2 and the vehicle management device 3.

(First operation example of in-vehicle device)
First, an operation example of the in-vehicle device 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a first operation example of the in-vehicle device.
First, the in-vehicle device 2 and the vehicle management device 3 are connected so as to be communicable (step S1).
Subsequently, the cameras 11 and 11 acquire images (step S2).
Subsequently, the feature extraction unit 31 extracts the features of the image, and the target object detection unit 32 detects a moving body that is a kind of target object (step S3).
Subsequently, the vehicle data notification unit 36 notifies the vehicle management device 3 of vehicle data (step S4).
When there is a moving object detected by the object detection unit 32 (Yes in step S5), the object data generation unit 33 generates moving object data that is a kind of object data (step S6), and the object The data notification unit 34 notifies the vehicle management apparatus 3 of the moving body data (step S7).
Subsequently, the local map generation unit 39 integrates the moving body data into the local map (step S8).
If no moving object is detected in step S5 (No in step S5), the process proceeds to step S9.

Subsequently, the data receiving unit 37 receives other moving body data from the vehicle management device 3 (step S9).
When there is other mobile object data (Yes in step S10), the other mobile object data estimation unit 38 estimates the other mobile object data (generates other mobile object estimation data) (step S11), and the local map generation unit 39 integrates the other mobile object estimation data into the local map (step S12).
And the output data generation part 41 produces | generates output data (step S13), outputs the produced | generated output data, and notifies a driver | operator of presence of another moving body (step S14). Then, it transfers to step S2 and repeats a series of processes.
If No in step S10, the process proceeds to step S2 to repeat a series of processes.
In addition, when the other moving body integrated with the local map in step S12 is the same as the moving body detected by the own vehicle C and the own vehicle C, the processes of step S12 and step S14 are omitted.

(First operation example of vehicle management device)
Then, the 1st operation example of the vehicle management apparatus 3 is demonstrated. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a first operation example of the vehicle management device.
First, the vehicle data receiving unit 51 receives the vehicle data notified by the vehicle data notifying unit 36 of each vehicle C in step S4 described above (step S21).
Subsequently, the object data receiving unit 52 receives the moving body data notified by the object data notifying unit 34 of the vehicle C in the above-described step S7 (step S22).
If there is mobile data received (Yes in step S23), the search start determination unit 54 is activated to determine whether the search can be started (step S24).
When the search is started (Yes in step S25), the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 extracts a vehicle located in the vicinity of the vehicle C that has notified the object data (step 26).
When there is a vehicle in the vicinity (Yes in step S27), the visual field overlap determination unit 56 determines the degree of visual field overlap between the vehicle C and the nearby vehicle, and the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 determines the determination result. Based on this, a vehicle sharing information with the vehicle C that has notified the moving body data is determined from nearby vehicles (step S28).
When there is a vehicle that shares information with the vehicle C (Yes in step S29), the information sharing vehicle notification unit 58 notifies each vehicle determined to be the information sharing vehicle (step S30), and so on. The moving body data notifying unit 59 notifies the vehicle that shares information as this moving object data as other moving body data (step S31). Then, it transfers to step S21 and repeats a series of processes.
In addition, when it is No in steps S23, S25, S27, and S29, the process proceeds to step S21 and a series of processes is repeated.

(Detailed explanation of each method)
Subsequently, taking the case where the vehicles C1, C2, C3 and the moving body M are in the arrangement state shown in FIG. 6 as an example, the search start determination unit 54 performs the search start determination of the information sharing vehicle, and the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 The method of extraction and visual field overlap determination by the visual field overlap determination unit 56 will be described in more detail. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for determining a search start for an information sharing vehicle, extracting a nearby vehicle, and determining a field overlap.

(Search start judgment)
First, an example of a method for determining the search start of the information sharing vehicle by the search start determination unit 54 of the vehicle management device 3 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, a road intersection (signal) is set as a node N in the map data stored in the storage unit 62 of the vehicle management device 3.
The search start determination unit 54, for the vehicle C1 that has detected the moving body M, based on the position data and vehicle speed data included in the vehicle data transmitted from the vehicle C1, and the position data of the node N in the map data, A margin stop distance L related to the vehicle C1 is calculated.

L = (Tc + Ti) × V _C1 + Ls (1)

here,
Tc: Time required for establishment of communication + acquisition of other vehicle information Ti: Image processing time V _C1 : Current vehicle speed of the vehicle C1 (the direction approaching the node N is “positive” and the direction away from the node N is “negative”)
Ls: a stopping distance based on the current vehicle speed of the vehicle C1.

The marginal stop distance L is a distance that allows the vehicle C1 to stop before the node N in consideration of the time required for the communication of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 and the like.
The search start determination unit 54 determines to search for an information sharing vehicle for the vehicle C1 when the distance L _C1 between the vehicle C1 and the node N is less than the margin stop distance L. That is, the search start determination unit 54 determines that it is necessary to start searching for an information sharing vehicle when the vehicle C1 that has detected the moving body M is approaching the node N (intersection) under a predetermined condition.
The stop distance Ls varies depending on the travel environment such as weather conditions (dry road surface, wet road surface), vehicle conditions (with or without ABS), tire conditions (summer tires, studless), and the like. Is stored in the storage unit 23 in advance. The traveling environment is input to the main control unit 30 of each vehicle C from the vehicle sensor 16 or an input device (not shown), and is transmitted to the vehicle management device 3 as a part of the vehicle data.
The main control unit 30 includes a driving environment data acquisition unit that acquires data related to the driving environment (driving environment data) and a driving environment data notification unit that notifies the vehicle management device 3 of the driving environment data. The data and vehicle data may be processed separately.

FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining the margin stop distance.
FIG. 7A is a graph showing the stop distance Ls and the marginal stop distance L for each vehicle condition and tire condition when the weather condition is “dry road surface”. FIG. 7B is a graph showing the stop distance Ls and the marginal stop distance L for each vehicle condition and tire condition when the road surface condition is “wet road surface”.
Here, the condition settings of the stop distances Ls1 to Ls4 and the margin stop distances L1 to L4 are as follows.
Ls1, L1: Tire condition “Summer tires”, Vehicle condition “With ABS”
Ls2, L2: Tire condition “Summer tire wearing”, Vehicle condition “No ABS”
Ls3, L3: Tire condition “Studless tire wearing”, Vehicle condition “With ABS”
Ls4, L4: Tire condition “Studless tire wearing”, Vehicle condition “No ABS”
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the stop distance Ls varies depending on the weather conditions (road surface conditions). Accordingly, the marginal stop distance L varies depending on the weather conditions. Further, the stop distance Ls varies depending not only on weather conditions but also on vehicle conditions (with or without ABS), tire conditions (summer tires, studless tires), etc., and the storage unit 23 stores these correspondences. Yes.
And since the memory | storage part 23 has memorize | stored the stop distance Ls based on a weather condition, a vehicle condition, a tire condition, etc. and time Tc and Ti are set, the search start determination part 54 carries out these and vehicle speed. based on the V _C1, it can be calculated margin stop distance L that the vehicle speed V _C1 and the brake initial velocity.
The in-vehicle device 2 can acquire the weather condition from the detection result of the car navigation system connected to the inter-vehicle communication system 1 or the raindrop sensor mounted on the vehicle C.
Further, when the vehicle C is an ABS-equipped vehicle, the in-vehicle device 2 can also determine the weather condition based on the slip detection.
The in-vehicle device 2 can also determine the weather condition based on the operation status of the wiper of the vehicle C.
The in-vehicle device 2 can input vehicle conditions and tire conditions from an input device (not shown).

(Nearby vehicle extraction)
Next, an example of a method for extracting a nearby vehicle by the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 of the vehicle management device 3 will be described.
The nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 extracts a vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle C1 when the search start determination unit 54 determines that the search for the information sharing vehicle needs to be started.
The neighboring vehicle extraction unit 55 is within a predetermined distance from the vehicle C1, that is, the neighboring vehicle extraction shown in FIG. 6 based on the vehicle position data of each vehicle C received by the vehicle data receiving unit 51 and stored in the storage unit 62. Another vehicle C located in the area EA is extracted. Here, the vehicle C2 and the vehicle C3 are extracted.
As described above, as the preprocessing for determining the information sharing vehicle, the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 extracts the vehicles C2 and C3 located in the vicinity of the vehicle C1, so that the distant vehicle C can be ignored, and the information sharing vehicle Processing in the determination can be simplified.

(View overlap determination)
Next, an example of a method for determining the overlap of visual fields by the visual field overlap determination unit 56 of the vehicle management device 3 will be described.
When the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 extracts the vehicle C (C2, C3) in the vicinity of the vehicle C1, the field overlap determination unit 56 and the field of view DA2 of the vehicle C1 and the nearby vehicle C (C2, C3). Calculate the overlap ratio with DA3.
Then, based on the data (camera imaging area or moving object detection area) of each vehicle C stored in the storage unit 62, the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 acquires 50% or more of the imaging area DA1 of the vehicle C1. The vehicle C that overlaps as the imaging area (here, the imaging area DA2 of the vehicle C2 corresponds to the imaging area DA3 of the vehicle C3) is determined as a vehicle that shares information with the vehicle C1. Here, the vehicle C2 is an information sharing vehicle for the vehicle C1, and the vehicle C3 is not an information sharing vehicle.
The ratio of overlapping of the imaging regions can be changed as appropriate.
In addition, the setting of the tip of the imaging region can be changed as appropriate. The selection result of the information sharing vehicle can be adjusted by setting the tip of the imaging region. Note that the relationship between the size of the imaging area and the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 6 and subsequent figures is deformed for the purpose of explaining the invention, and does not accurately represent the actual relationship.

(Meeting determination)
Subsequently, an encounter determination between the vehicle C and another moving body by the encounter determination unit 40 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an encounter determination between a vehicle and a moving object.
As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle C1 and the vehicle C2 are traveling toward a common node (intersection) N. The vehicle C1 is shooting the moving object M.
The encounter determination unit 40 of the vehicle C2 calculates a time difference Ts (hereinafter referred to as “margin time Ts”) when the host vehicle C2 and the other moving body M pass through the node N based on the local map. .
The margin time Ts is calculated by the following equation (2).

_{Ts = | L M / V M} -L C2 / V C2 | ··· (2)

here,
L _M: distance to the node N of the other mobile body M V _M: other speed towards the node N of the moving object M L _C2: distance V to the node N of the vehicle C2 _C2: a vehicle speed of the vehicle C2.

  That is, the encounter determination unit 40 includes the moving body position data, the moving body direction data, and the moving body speed data of the other moving body M, the vehicle position data, the vehicle orientation data, the vehicle speed data of the host vehicle C2, and the nodes in the map data. Based on the position data of N, the encounter between the other moving body M and the host vehicle C2 is determined.

When the legal speed of the road on which the vehicle C2 is traveling is V0 and V1 = V0 + ΔV0 (ΔV0 is 20% of V0), the vehicle of the host vehicle C2 is calculated in the calculation of the margin time Ts and the margin stop distance L described above. V0 or V1 can be substituted for the speed V _C2 . This may be the case where the actual measured value of the vehicle speed at that time deviates from V1 for some reason (for example, passing through a curve, etc.). In such a case, V0 or V1 This is because the calculation is considered preferable.
When the vehicle speed V C2 of the vehicle _C2 is greater than V1, the character data generation unit 41b can generate character data that indicates this and display the character data on the display device 20.
An example of the display is, for example, “Too much speed”. In addition, the voice data generation unit 41d can generate voice data that conveys the same content as the character data and cause the speaker 21 to speak.

The encounter determination unit 40 determines the possibility of encounter between the moving body M and the vehicle C2 in four stages based on the value of the margin time Ts.
(1) When Ts ≧ 30 sec, the encounter determination unit 40 determines that the possibility of encounter between the moving body M and the vehicle C2 is “none”.
(2) When 20 sec ≦ Ts <30 sec, the encounter determination unit 40 determines that the possibility of encounter between the moving body M and the vehicle C2 is “low”.
(3) When 10 sec ≦ Ts <20 sec, the encounter determination unit 40 determines that the possibility of encounter between the moving body M and the vehicle C2 is “medium”.
(4) When Ts <10 sec, the encounter determination unit 40 determines that the possibility of encounter between the moving body M and the vehicle C2 is “high”.
Then, the character data generation unit 41b and the voice data generation unit 41d generate character data and voice data based on the value of the allowance time Ts, and output them to the display device 20 and the speaker 21. The information shown in Table 1 is output to the driver. Notify

An example of a deceleration instruction is “Please reduce the speed”.
An example of the slowing instruction is “Please slow down”.
An example of a stop instruction is “Please stop”.

An example of other moving body direction guidance is “a bicycle is approaching from the left”.
As an example of other mobile body traffic situation guidance, “A bicycle enters the front intersection from the left after ○ second”.
These instructions to the driver and guidance of the other moving body M are examples of data that informs the determination result by the encounter determination unit 40. In addition, the voice data generation unit 41d may generate voice data including instructions to the driver, and the character data generation unit 41b generates character data including guidance of the moving body M (passage direction guidance, traffic situation guidance). You may do it.

  Further, when the margin time Ts is 5 seconds or less, it is desirable that the control data generation unit 41e drives the vehicle control device 22 to apply the brake and stop the host vehicle C.

Even if the margin time Ts is within the range shown in Table 1, it is desirable not to generate the alarm shown in Table 1 if the distances L _M and L _C2 are outside the range shown in FIG. . The distance L _M is used when the moving body M is a vehicle, and is not used for bicycles, people, and the like.
This is because if the distances L _M and L _C2 are too short (smaller than the first predetermined value), there is no room for the driver to respond even if an alarm is issued, which may cause confusion. It is. Further, when the distances L _M and L _C2 are too long (larger than the second predetermined value), it is considered that the driver can respond without generating an alarm. Whether or not to consider the ranges of the distances L _M and L _C2 depends on the traveling road of the vehicle C2 and the other moving body M, and the relationship is shown in Table 2.

  Moreover, the structure which changes these 1st predetermined values and 2nd predetermined values with driving | running | working environment may be sufficient. In this case, it is desirable that the relationship between the first predetermined value and the second predetermined value and the travel environment is stored in the storage unit 23 in advance.

Subsequently, image display of the moving body M in the vehicle C2 will be described by taking as an example the case where the vehicle C1 and the vehicle C2 are set as information sharing vehicles.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation based on the first operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and for explaining the arrangement state of the vehicle C1, the vehicle C2, and the moving body M. FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an image captured by the camera of the vehicle C1. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an image captured by the camera of the vehicle C2. FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining correction of an image of a moving body, in which FIG. 13A is a diagram showing before correction, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing after correction. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a moving body image displayed on the display device of the vehicle C2.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the vehicle C <b> 1 is traveling toward the node N. Further, the vehicle C2 travels toward the node N on a road (arc) different from the vehicle C2. In addition, the moving body M is traveling toward the node N on the same road (arc) as the vehicle C1.
As shown in FIG. 11, the cameras 11 and 11 of the vehicle C <b> 1 photograph the moving object M, and the object detection unit 32 detects the moving object image MI related to the moving object M.
Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the cameras 11 and 11 of the vehicle C <b> 2 cannot capture the moving body M because the building B becomes an obstacle.
Therefore, the moving body image MI photographed by the object detection unit 32 of the vehicle C1 is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 via the vehicle management device 3. The image data generation unit 41a of the vehicle C2 is based on the vehicle position data of the vehicle C1, the vehicle position data of the vehicle C2, and the relative position data of the moving body (another moving body) M in FIG. A corrected other moving body image MI ′ is generated. Here, the reason why the vehicle position data of the vehicle C1 is used is that the correction method (presence / absence of inversion, etc.) changes depending on the positional relationship between the vehicles C1 and C2. Then, the image data generation unit 41a of the vehicle C2 generates image data obtained by synthesizing the image captured by the cameras 11 and 11 and the other moving body image MI ′, and displays it on the display device 20 as shown in FIG. Let Here, the image data generation unit 41a determines the synthesis position of the other moving body image MI ′ based on the other moving body estimation data, and assumes that there is no building B, the cameras 11 and 11 of the vehicle C2. Generates image data similar to the direct imaging of the moving object M.
By doing in this way, the moving body M which the vehicle C2 was not able to detect can be displayed on the display device 20 of the vehicle C2, and the driver of the vehicle C2 can be notified.

In addition, the sound data generation unit 41d of the vehicle C2 generates sound data for notifying the presence of the other moving body M by sound and causes the speaker 21 to speak.
An example of an utterance is “There is a bicycle in the left front”.
By doing in this way, the moving body M which the vehicle C2 was not able to detect can be notified to the driver of the vehicle C2 by voice.

Moreover, the character data generation part 41b displays the determination result of the encounter determination part 40 on the display apparatus 20 as a character.
In addition, the voice data generation unit 41d causes the speaker 21 to speak the determination result of the encounter determination unit 40 as a voice.

(Timing chart)
FIG. 15 is a timing chart illustrating a communication example based on the first operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system.
First, the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C1 performs feature extraction and object detection on the front image. And the vehicle-mounted apparatus of the vehicle C1 transmits the mobile body data which is a kind of object data to the vehicle management apparatus 3.
The vehicle management apparatus 3 that has received the moving body data sequentially performs a search start determination, a neighboring vehicle extraction, a visual field overlap determination, and an information sharing vehicle determination, and the vehicle C determined as an information sharing vehicle (here, the vehicles C2 and C3). Other mobile data and information sharing contact signal are transmitted.
The in-vehicle devices 2 of the vehicles C2 and C3 that have received the other moving body data sequentially perform local map integration, image correction, and image display with respect to the other moving body data.
And once it determines as an information sharing vehicle, the vehicle management apparatus 3 can also abbreviate | omit search start determination, adjacent vehicle extraction, and information sharing vehicle determination after that. A configuration in which these are not omitted is also possible.
The in-vehicle devices 2 of the vehicles C2 and C3 transmit a communication disconnection signal to the vehicle management device 3 when their own cameras 11 and 11 come to pick up other moving bodies. The communication disconnection signal is generated and output by the object data notification unit 34.
Further, the vehicle management device 3 may be configured to transmit a communication disconnection signal to the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicles C1, C2, and C3 when there is no overlap of the imaging areas of the vehicle C1 and the vehicles C2 and C3. .

As described above, in the inter-vehicle communication system 1, the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C <b> 2 receives data about the moving body M that could not be detected by itself from the vehicle C <b> 1, so that the display device 20 of the vehicle C <b> 2 displays the moving body. M can be displayed, and the presence and location of the moving object M can be uttered by the speaker 21 of the vehicle C2.
Further, the inter-vehicle communication system 1 can perform an encounter determination between the vehicle C2 and the moving object M and output the determination result to the display device 20 and the speaker 21 of the vehicle C2.
Therefore, the inter-vehicle communication system 1 informs the driver of the vehicle C2 of the presence and position of the moving body M that could not be captured by the cameras 11 and 11 of the vehicle C2, using at least one of images, characters, and voices. be able to.
Further, the inter-vehicle communication system 1 can notify the driver of the vehicle C2 of the possibility that the moving body M and the vehicle C2 meet using at least one of an image, text, and voice.

(Second operation example of inter-vehicle communication system)
Next, a second operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. In addition, since the operation example of the vehicle management apparatus 3 is the same as what was shown in FIG. 5, only the operation example of the vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 is demonstrated.

(Second operation example of in-vehicle device)
A second operation example of the in-vehicle device 2 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining a second operation example of the in-vehicle device.
First, the object data notification unit 34 sets a flag to “0” (step S41).
This flag determines the communication partner of the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C. When the flag is “0”, the in-vehicle device 2 and the vehicle management device 3 are connected. When the flag is “1”, the in-vehicle device 2 and the vehicle management device 3 are disconnected, and the in-vehicle device 2 of the host vehicle C and the in-vehicle device 2 of another vehicle C are connected. These communication connections / disconnections are performed by a known technique.

  Steps S42 to S48 are the same as steps S2 to S8 in FIG.

If the flag is “0” after the processing up to step S48 is completed (No in step S49), the data receiving unit 37 receives the other mobile body data and the information sharing vehicle notification signal from the vehicle management device 3 ( Step S50).
If there is an information sharing vehicle (Yes in step S51), the object data notification unit 34 sets the flag to “1” (step S52).
Further, in the case of Yes in step S49, the data receiving unit 37 receives other moving body data from the information sharing vehicle (step S53).
And after step S52 or step S53, when there exists other mobile body data (it is Yes at step S54), step S55-step S58 are performed. Steps S55 to S58 are the same as steps S11 to S14 in FIG.
In the case of No in step S54, the object data notification unit 34 sets the flag to “0” (step S59). In the case of No in step S51, after the process of step S58 and the process of step S59, the process proceeds to step S42 and a series of processes is repeated.

  By doing in this way, vehicles once set as information sharing vehicles can communicate without going through vehicle management device 3 after that. Therefore, the time required for communication of other mobile data can be shortened.

(Third operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system)
Subsequently, a third operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining a third operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. The third operation example is applied to the situations shown in FIGS.
When the vehicle C2 is approaching the node (intersection) N, the search start determination unit 54 determines to perform a search based on the vehicle data transmitted from each vehicle C (Yes in step S61), and the vicinity The vehicle extraction unit 55 determines whether there is a vehicle approaching the same node N (step S62).
When the nearby vehicle extraction unit 55 extracts the vehicle C1 (Yes in step S62), the information sharing vehicle determination unit 56 determines the vehicles C1 and C2 as information sharing vehicles, and the information sharing vehicle notification unit 58 sends an information sharing communication signal. The vehicle C1, C2 is notified.
And when the moving body M exists in the vicinity of the vehicle C1 (it is Yes at step S63), the target object detection part 32 of the vehicle C1 detects the moving body M (step S64), and the target object data notification part of the vehicle C1 34 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the moving body data regarding the moving body M (step S65).
And the display apparatus 20 of the vehicle C2 displays the mobile body M (step S66).

  In the operation examples after the third operation example, the position of the moving body M can be notified by voice, and the encounter determination result can be notified by any of voice, image, and characters.

(Fourth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system)
Next, a fourth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a situation of the fourth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a fourth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system.
As shown in FIG. 18, the fourth operation example is applied when a vehicle C4 that is a large vehicle such as a truck enters an intersection. The in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C4 includes cameras for photographing the front, rear, left side, and right side of the vehicle C4, and can photograph the imaging areas DA41, DA42, DA43, DA44.
First, when the search start determination unit 54 determines that the vehicle C2 is approaching the node (Yes in step S81), the neighboring vehicle extraction unit 55 determines whether there is a vehicle in front of the vehicle C2 ( Step S82).
When the vehicle C4 is in the vicinity of the vehicle C2 (Yes in step S82), the information sharing vehicle determination unit 56 determines the vehicles C2 and C4 as information sharing vehicles, and the information sharing vehicle notification unit 57 performs information sharing. A communication signal is notified to the vehicles C2 and C4.
And when the moving body M exists in the vicinity of the vehicle C4 (it is Yes at step S83), the target object detection part 32 of the vehicle C4 detects the moving body M (step S84), and the target object data notification part of the vehicle C4 34 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the moving body data regarding the moving body M (step S85).
And the display apparatus 20 of the vehicle C2 displays the mobile body M (step S86).

In addition, you may perform the approach determination to a pedestrian crossing instead of the approach determination to an intersection in step S81.
Moreover, you may utilize the detection result of the target object detection part 32 in the vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 of the vehicle C2 for determination of step S81 and step S82.
Further, in the operation examples after the fourth operation example, the information sharing vehicle determination unit 56 can determine the information sharing vehicle without determining the overlap of the imaging regions.

(Fifth operation example of inter-vehicle communication system)
Next, a fifth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a situation of the fifth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining a fifth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system.
As shown in FIG. 20, the fifth operation example is applied when the vehicle C5, which is a bus, stops at the bus stop BS on the opposite lane side of the vehicle C2. The in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C5 includes a camera for photographing the front and rear of the vehicle C5, and can photograph the imaging areas DA51 and DA52.
First, when the search start determination unit 54 determines that the vehicle C2 is about to pass the vehicle C5 (Yes in step S101) and determines that the vehicle C5 is stopped (Yes in step S101), the information The shared vehicle determination unit 56 determines the vehicles C2 and C5 as information sharing vehicles.
When the moving body M is in the vicinity of the vehicle C5 (Yes in step S103), the object detection unit 32 of the vehicle C5 detects the moving body M (step S104), and the object data notification unit of the vehicle C5. 34 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the moving body data relating to the moving body M (step S106).
And the display apparatus 20 of the vehicle C2 displays the mobile body M (step S106).

(Sixth operation example of inter-vehicle communication system)
Subsequently, a sixth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a situation of the sixth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining a seventh operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 22, the sixth operation example is applied when the vehicle C2 tries to pass the vehicle C5 that is a bus stopped at the bus stop BS.
First, when the search start determination unit 54 determines that the vehicle C2 is about to pass the vehicle C5 (Yes in step S121), the information sharing vehicle determination unit 56 determines the vehicles C2 and C5 to be information sharing vehicles.
And when the moving body M exists in the vicinity of the vehicle C5 (Yes in step S122), the target object detection part 32 of the vehicle C5 detects the moving body M (step S123), and the target object data notification part of the vehicle C5 34 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the moving body data related to the moving body M (step S124).
And the display apparatus 20 of the vehicle C2 displays the mobile body M (step S125).

(Seventh operation example of inter-vehicle communication system)
Subsequently, a seventh operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the situation of the seventh operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining a seventh operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system.
As shown in FIG. 24, the seventh operation example is applied when a vehicle C4, which is a large vehicle such as a truck, is traveling in front of the same lane of the vehicle C2.
First, when the search start determination unit 54 determines that the vehicle C4 is traveling ahead of the vehicle C2 (Yes in step S141), the information sharing vehicle determination unit 56 determines the vehicles C2 and C4 to be information sharing vehicles.
If the moving object M is in the vicinity of the vehicle C4 (Yes in step S142), the object detection unit 32 of the vehicle C4 detects the moving object M (step S143), and the object data notification unit of the vehicle C4. 34 notifies the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 of the moving body data related to the moving body M (step S144).
And the display apparatus 20 of the vehicle C2 displays the mobile body M (step S145).

(Eighth operation example)
Next, an eighth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system 1 will be described. The eighth operation example can be implemented in combination with the fifth to seventh operation examples described above, and in the same situation as the fifth to seventh operation examples, the eighth operation example is executed alone. It is also possible. Here, the case where the eighth operation example is carried out independently in the same situation as the fifth operation example will be described as an example.
FIG. 26 is a situation explanatory diagram for explaining an eighth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system. 27 and 28 are flowcharts showing an eighth operation example of the inter-vehicle communication system.
In FIG. 26, the imaging area of each vehicle is omitted. Further, in the map data stored in the storage units 23 and 62, an arc Ar connecting the nodes N is set at the center of the road, and the inter-vehicle communication system 1 uses this arc Ar.

  First, when the object detection unit 32 of the vehicle C4 detects the moving body M (Yes in step S161), the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 of the vehicle management device 3 includes the vehicle C extracted by the neighboring vehicle extraction unit 55. The information sharing vehicle is determined. And it communicates between vehicles C5 and C2 determined as an information sharing vehicle. Here, various data related to the vehicle C5 and various data related to the moving body M are transmitted from the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C5 to the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2. And the vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 of the vehicle C2 enters the loop which performs the process of step S162-step S172 for the number i of the detected moving bodies M. In FIG. 26, only one moving body M is shown.

When the i-th moving body M shares the arc Ar with the vehicle C2 (Yes in step S163), the encounter determination unit 40 of the vehicle C2 determines the current position of the i-th moving body M and the arc Ar. The position of the point P where and are orthogonal to each other is calculated (step S164). In the case of No in step S163, the process proceeds to the process for the next moving object M.
When the distance d between the vehicle C5 and the vehicle C2 is shorter than a predetermined distance ε (eg, ε = 50 m) (Yes in step S165), the encounter determination unit 40 of the jth vehicle C2 The position of the point Q where the vehicle C4 and the arc Ar are orthogonal to each other is calculated (step S166).
Then, the encounter determination unit 40 of the vehicle C2 calculates a time tp required for the vehicle C2 to reach the point P (step S167). The time t _P is calculated by the following equation (3).

tp = | Q−P | / V _C2 −α (3)
(Α is a margin. Considering the case where the vehicle C2 is accelerated, it is assumed that the vehicle C2 reaches the point P slightly earlier.)

Then, the moving speed of the i-th mobile M V _M is nearly zero (e.g., per hour 2km or less) when the (Yes at step S168), the encounter determination unit 40, the distance between the current position and the point P of the moving body M It is determined whether or not _MP satisfies the conditional expression (4) (step S169).

d _MP <V _max × tp (4)
(V _max is the maximum velocity of the moving body M, which is stored in advance in the storage unit 23 for each type of mobile M.)

When the distance d _MP satisfies the conditional expression (4) (Yes in step S169), the image data generating unit 41a generates image data for displaying the moving object M, and the audio data generating unit 41d is connected to the moving object M. Voice data that generates an alarm (deceleration instruction, slow-down instruction, etc.) based on the possibility of encountering is generated. These data are notified to the driver via the display device 20 and the speaker 21 (step S170).
When the distance d _MP does not satisfy the conditional expression (4) (No in step S169), the image data generation unit 41a generates image data for displaying the moving object M. The image data is notified to the driver via the display device 20 (step S171).

Further, in the case of No in step S168, a point Mf that is the future position of the moving object M is calculated (step S181). The calculation of the point Mf is performed, for example, by repeatedly performing the position estimation of the moving object M by the Kalman filter t _p / Δt times (where Δt is the calculation cycle time of the Kalman filter).
Then, the encounter determination unit 40 determines whether or not the line segment L _MMf connecting the point M and the point Mf intersects with the arc Ar (step S182).

In the case of Yes in step S182, the image data generation unit 41a generates image data for displaying the moving body M, and the sound data generation unit 41d generates an alarm (deceleration instruction, slow running) based on the possibility of encounter with the moving body M. Voice data for notifying instructions) is generated. These data are notified to the driver via the display device 20 and the speaker 21 (step S183).
In the case of No in step S182, the image data generation unit 41a generates image data for displaying the moving object M. The image data is notified to the driver via the display device 20 (step S183).

Thus, the value of the moving speed V _M of the moving object M, for changing the subsequent processing for the following reason.
If the moving speed V _M is approximately zero moving object M is difficult to estimate the subsequent movement of the moving body M. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 performs processing assuming that the moving body M performs the fastest movement in the direction in which the vehicle M meets the vehicle C2.
Further, when the moving speed V _M of the moving object M is large to some extent (non-zero), it is easy to estimate the subsequent movement of the moving body M. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 2 of the vehicle C2 performs processing using such estimation.

  In addition, in step S170, S171, S183, S184, the vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 can also use the notification to a driver | operator by character information.

  Further, when there is a succeeding vehicle C of the vehicle C2, these processes can be performed for each information sharing vehicle determined by the information sharing vehicle determination unit 57 of the vehicle management device 3.

  In the case of performing the eighth operation example alone, it is only necessary to extract a nearby vehicle only when the moving object M is detected, as compared to the case of combining with the fifth to seventh operation examples. , Can increase the processing speed of the system.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to each above-mentioned embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, a design change is possible suitably.
For example, the vehicle management device 3 may include an encounter determination unit.
Further, a part or all of the configuration of the vehicle management device 3 may be incorporated in the in-vehicle device 2 of each vehicle, and a part or all of the configuration in the main control unit 30 of the in-vehicle device 2 may be The structure incorporated in the management apparatus 3 may be sufficient. Further, the vehicle position data detection means is not limited to a GPS receiver. Various data can be replaced with data based on physical quantities having the same meaning.
In addition, the setting of the imaging area and the size of the nearby vehicle extraction area EA can be set as appropriate.
Further, instead of the image of the moving body M, a mark representing the moving body M or a composite image may be displayed on the display device.
In addition to combining the moving body image captured by the camera of the other vehicle with the image captured by the camera of the vehicle, the moving body image captured by the camera of the other vehicle is combined with the map image by the car navigation system. It may be a configuration.
The image data generation unit may generate and output image data for displaying the determination result of the encounter determination unit. Furthermore, the character data generation unit and the image data generation unit may generate character data and image data for displaying the encounter determination result, and notify the driver of the encounter determination result using the character and the image.
In addition, various data estimation (conversion to current data) by the local map generation unit 39 or the like can be set as appropriate.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an inter-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle-mounted apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle management apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 1st operation example of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 1st operation example of a vehicle management apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the method of a search start determination of an information sharing vehicle, the extraction of a nearby vehicle, and the determination of a visual field overlap. It is a graph for demonstrating a margin stop distance. It is a figure for demonstrating encounter determination. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action based on the 1st operation example of the communication system between vehicles, and is a figure for demonstrating the arrangement | positioning state of the vehicle C1, the vehicle C2, and the mobile body M. FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. 9. It is a figure which shows the image imaged with the camera of vehicle C1. It is a figure which shows the image imaged with the camera of vehicle C2. It is a figure for demonstrating correction | amendment of the image of a moving body, (a) is a figure which shows before correction | amendment, (b) is a figure which shows after correction | amendment. It is a figure which shows the image which combined the moving body which the vehicle C1 image | photographed with the image of the vehicle C2. It is a timing chart which shows communication between the vehicle-mounted system and vehicle management system in the 1st operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 2nd operation example of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 3rd operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a situation explanatory view for explaining the 4th example of operation of a communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 4th operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a situation explanatory view for explaining the 5th example of operation of a communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 5th operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a situation explanatory view for explaining the 6th example of operation of a communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 6th operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a situation explanatory view for explaining the 7th example of operation of a communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 7th operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a situation explanatory view for explaining the 8th example of operation of a communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 8th operation example of the communication system between vehicles. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 8th operation example of the communication system between vehicles.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inter-vehicle communication system 2 In-vehicle apparatus 3 Vehicle management apparatus 11 Camera 13 Gyro sensor 14 GPS detector 20 Display apparatus 23 Speaker 32 Object detection part 33 Object data generation part 35 Vehicle data generation part 41a Image data generation part 41b Character data Generation unit 41d Audio data generation unit 41e Control data generation unit 54 Search start determination unit 55 Nearby vehicle extraction unit 57 Information sharing vehicle determination unit 62 Storage unit

Claims (5)

An inter-vehicle communication system in which vehicles communicate with each other,
Imaging means provided for each vehicle for imaging the surroundings of the vehicle;
A moving body detection unit that detects a moving body from an image captured by the imaging unit;
A sounding means that emits sound, provided for each vehicle;
An audio data generation unit that generates audio data related to audio to be generated by the sound generation unit of the vehicle, provided for each vehicle;
Transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving data provided for each vehicle;
With
The sound data generation unit of one vehicle generates sound data notifying the presence of a moving body imaged by the image pickup unit of another vehicle, and outputs the sound data to the sound generation unit of one vehicle ,
Vehicle position data detecting means for detecting vehicle position data relating to the position of the vehicle provided for each vehicle;
A moving body position data generating unit that generates moving body position data related to the position of the moving body from an image captured by the imaging means, provided for each vehicle;
Further comprising
The voice data generation unit of one vehicle is configured to capture the moving body imaged by the imaging unit of another vehicle based on the moving body position data generated by the moving body position data generation unit of another vehicle. Generate voice data that informs the location, and output to the sounding means of one vehicle,
An information sharing vehicle determination unit that determines a combination of vehicles that share information on the moving object imaged by the imaging means;
A storage unit storing an imaging area of the imaging means;
Further comprising
The information sharing vehicle determining unit is configured to overlap the imaging region by a predetermined ratio or more based on the vehicle position data detected by the vehicle location data detecting unit and the imaging region of the imaging unit stored in the storage unit. A vehicle- to-vehicle communication system characterized by combining existing vehicles as one vehicle and another vehicle described above . A search start determination unit that determines whether or not to start searching for a vehicle that shares information;
The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein when the search start determination unit determines to start searching for a vehicle that shares information, the information sharing vehicle determination unit determines a combination of vehicles that share information. Communication system. The search start determination unit determines whether or not to start searching for an information sharing vehicle for the vehicle when the moving body detection unit of the vehicle detects a moving body,
The information sharing vehicle determination unit, when the search start determination unit determines that starts searching for the information sharing vehicle with respect to the vehicle, to claim 2, characterized in that determining a vehicle to share the vehicle and information The vehicle-to-vehicle communication system described. The storage unit further stores map data,
The search start determination unit determines whether the vehicle is approaching a node in the map data based on the vehicle position data and the map data.
The information sharing vehicle determination unit, when the search start determination unit determines that the vehicle is approaching to the node, to claim 3, characterized in that determining a vehicle to share the vehicle and information The vehicle-to-vehicle communication system described. Further comprising a nearby vehicle extraction unit for extracting a vehicle located in the vicinity of the vehicle;
The inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 4 , wherein the information sharing vehicle determination unit determines a vehicle that shares information from among the vehicles extracted by the neighboring vehicle extraction unit.

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