JP4725509B2 - New road width calculation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a new road width calculation system for calculating the road width of a new road to be added to map information stored in a navigation device or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device is often mounted on a vehicle that provides vehicle travel guidance so that a driver can easily arrive at a desired destination. Here, the navigation device detects the current position of the vehicle with a GPS receiver or the like, acquires map data corresponding to the current position through a recording medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD, or a network, and displays it on a liquid crystal monitor. It is a device that can do. Then, map data including the current position of the vehicle is read from a recording medium or the like, a map image around the current position of the vehicle is drawn based on the map data and displayed on the display device, and the vehicle position mark (location) is displayed on the map. You can see at a glance where the vehicle is currently traveling by displaying it superimposed on the image and scrolling the map image as the vehicle moves, or fixing the map image to the screen and moving the vehicle position mark. To make it clear.

  Here, new roads (new roads) are constructed every year in Japan. Along with this, the existing road disappears or the shape of the existing road is changed. At this time, there is a problem that information regarding a new road newly created after the map data owned by the navigation device is generated is not registered in the map information data. That is, in a navigation device having map data that does not include a new road, the new road is not displayed on the liquid crystal monitor, and the new road is not subject to route search, so the navigation device does not pass through the new road. May be searched. In order to avoid such a problem, it is necessary to update the map data stored in the navigation device at a certain time interval. Here, the update of the map data is performed by purchasing a new DVD and replacing it with an old DVD, or rewriting the contents of the HDD based on the update map data distributed from the map information distribution center or the like.

  And as a production | generation means which produces | generates the new road information regarding the new road for adding to the map data of a navigation apparatus, it is common to produce | generate based on the survey data which the person actually investigated the new road on-site. . However, the number of new roads to be newly established is very large every year, and it takes a lot of time to investigate all necessary items by hand. As a result, a considerable amount of time is required until the new road is reflected in the map data of the navigation device, which causes a decrease in the reliability of the navigation device.

Therefore, conventionally, new road information is generated by using a travel history of a vehicle. Further, the new road information that can be generated based on the travel history is not limited to information related to the shape of the road, but can also be information related to the road width. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-54934 discloses a road width calculation method in which an information center acquires a travel history of a vehicle by communicating with each vehicle, and in particular estimates a road width of a new road from the average vehicle speed of the vehicle. Is described. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-243391 also obtains data on the vehicle type when the information center obtains the travel locus information of the vehicle by updating with each vehicle, and calculates the road width of the new road from the vehicle type of the vehicle. It describes how to calculate the estimated road width.
JP 2002-54934 A (Page 6, FIG. 3) JP-A-9-243391 (5th page, FIG. 7)

  Here, in the road width calculation method described in Patent Document 1, the road width of the road is increased as the average vehicle speed increases. However, even if it is a wide road, if the vehicle is congested, the vehicle speed of the traveling vehicle will be slow, and there is a possibility that it may be calculated narrower than the actual road width. In addition, in the road width calculation method described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to calculate the road width from information on the type of vehicle that has traveled on a narrow road that only small cars can pass through. It is difficult to calculate the road width on a road or a wide road that can be passed by both small and large cars. As a result, there is a possibility that new road information related to the new road may be generated based on incorrect road width information.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems. For example, in the case where information on a new road is generated from a travel locus of a vehicle, it is possible to calculate an accurate road width of the new road. An object is to provide a novel new road width calculation system.

To achieve the above object, a new road width calculation system (1) according to claim 1 of the present application detects map information storage means (44) for storing map information (53) including a road network, and detects the current position of the vehicle. Current position detecting means (41) for detecting a travel locus of a vehicle traveling on a road not included in the road network of the map information based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detecting means and the map information. A traveling locus specifying means (45) for specifying, a traveling locus storage means (24) for cumulatively storing the traveling locus of the vehicle specified by the traveling locus specifying means, and a traveling stored in the traveling locus storage means . Of the trajectories, road determination means (20) for determining whether or not there are a plurality of travel trajectories traveling on the same road, and the road determination means determines that there are a plurality of travel trajectories traveling on the same road. The coordinate acquisition means (20) for acquiring the position coordinates for each predetermined distance from the starting point of each of the travel loci for the plurality of travel loci, and each of the position coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition means, The inter-coordinate distance calculating means (20) for calculating the distance between the position coordinates at the same distance from the starting point of the traveling locus for each distance from the starting point of the traveling locus, and the inter-coordinate distance calculating portion. Road width calculating means (20) for calculating the road width of the new road based on the distance between the position coordinates calculated by the above .

Further, the new road width calculation system according to claim 2 is the new road width calculation system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the road width calculation means (20) is the inter-coordinate distance calculation means (20 The road width of the new road is calculated based on the average value of the distances between the plurality of position coordinates calculated for each distance from the starting point of the travel locus .

Moreover, the new road width calculation system according to claim 3 is the new road width calculation system (1) according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the coordinates are included in a plurality of travel tracks traveling on the same road. Reference trajectory selection that selects, as the reference trajectory, two travel trajectories having the largest average value of the distances between the plurality of position coordinates calculated for each distance from the starting point of the travel trajectory by the distance calculation means (20). Means (20), wherein the inter-coordinate distance calculating means calculates the distance between the position coordinates with respect to the reference trajectory selected by the reference trajectory selecting means .

Further, the new road width calculation system according to claim 4 is the new road width calculation system (1) according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the position is calculated for each distance from the starting point of the travel locus. Coordinate selection means (20) for selecting the position coordinates of the two points having the largest distance between the coordinates is provided, and the distance calculation means (20) between the coordinates is the position coordinates of the two points selected by the coordinate selection means. The distance is calculated for each distance from the starting point of the travel locus .

A new road width calculation system according to claim 5 is the new road width calculation system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vehicle information storage means (43) stores vehicle information. The road width calculating means (20) is based on a plurality of travel loci stored in the travel locus storage means (24) and vehicle information of the vehicle that has traveled the travel locus. The road width is calculated .

Further, a new road width calculation system according to claim 6 is the new road width calculation system (1) according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle information is information on a vehicle type or a vehicle width .

In the new road width calculation system according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, the travel trajectories of vehicles traveling on roads not included in the road network of the map information are cumulatively stored, and based on the stored travel trajectories Since the road width of the new road is calculated, it is possible to quickly and accurately calculate the road width of the new road without the need for conducting a field survey on the new road. In addition, for example, when updating map data provided in a navigation device or the like, it is possible to update to accurate map data reflecting the latest road network by using information on the calculated road width of the new road. Become.
In addition, since the distance between position coordinates for each predetermined distance in a plurality of traveling tracks traveling on the same road is calculated and the road width of the new road is calculated based on the calculated distance between the position coordinates, It is possible to calculate an accurate road width based on the travel locus of a vehicle that actually travels on a new road regardless of the road width.

Further, in the new road width calculation system according to claim 2, since the road width of the new road is calculated based on the average value of the distances between the plurality of position coordinates, even when the traveling locus of the vehicle is meandering, It is possible to calculate a wide road width.

In the new road width calculation system according to claim 3, two traveling tracks having the largest average value of the distances between the plurality of position coordinates are selected as reference tracks from among a plurality of traveling tracks traveling on the same road. Since the road width of the new road is calculated by calculating the distance between the position coordinates of the selected reference trajectory, if there are a lot of target trajectories when calculating the road width, from among them It is possible to calculate an accurate road width by selecting an optimum travel locus in order to obtain the road width.

In the new road width calculation system according to claim 4, the position coordinates of the two points having the largest separation distance between the position coordinates are selected for each predetermined distance, and based on the distance between the selected position coordinates of the two points. Since the road width of a new road is calculated, when there are a large number of target trajectories when calculating the road width, the optimum position coordinates are selected to obtain the road width from the position coordinates constituting the travel trajectories. Thus, an accurate road width can be calculated. In particular, an accurate road width can be calculated even when traveling tracks intersect.

In the new road width calculation system according to claim 5, the road width of the new road is calculated based on the plurality of travel loci and the vehicle information of the vehicle that has traveled the travel trajectory. It is possible to calculate a more accurate road width in consideration of the type of vehicle and the vehicle width.

Further, in the new road width calculation system according to claim 6, the road width of the new road is calculated based on the plurality of travel loci and the vehicle type or vehicle width of the vehicle that has traveled the travel loci. It is possible to calculate a more accurate road width in consideration of the type of vehicle and the vehicle width.

Hereinafter, based on one embodiment which materialized the road width calculation system concerning the present invention, it explains in detail, referring to drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment is basically composed of a map distribution center 2, a vehicle 3 that is a probe car, and a navigation device 4 that is installed in the vehicle 3. Yes.

  Here, the map distribution center 2 collects and accumulates travel locus information as probe data transmitted from each vehicle 3 traveling all over the country, and the road width of a new road newly established from the accumulated travel locus information. New road information related to etc. is generated. Then, referring to the generated new road information, generation of update data for updating the old version of the map data to a new version of map data including the newly installed new road, and distribution of the generated update data It is a distribution center that performs. As update data, all update data for rewriting and updating all the map data stored in the navigation device 4 (hereinafter referred to as “all update”) and only a specific area of the map data are rewritten and updated (hereinafter referred to as difference). There are two types of differential update data. In this embodiment described below, only an embodiment using differential update data as update data will be described.

Further, the vehicle 3 is a vehicle that travels on roads throughout the country, and constitutes a probe car system together with the map distribution center 2 as a probe car. Here, the probe car system is a system that collects information using a vehicle as a sensor. Specifically, the vehicle transmits the speed data and the operating status of each system such as steering operation and shift position together with GPS position information to the center using the communication module 5, and the center side collects the collected data in various ways. A system that is reused as information.
Here, as the probe data acquired by the vehicle 3 and transmitted to the map distribution center 2 in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment, in particular, the navigation map data 53 provided in the navigation device 4 (see FIG. 5). The position coordinates (latitude / longitude), direction, and vehicle speed of the vehicle 3 when the vehicle 3 travels on a road not included in (). That is, the vehicle 3 acquires and transmits travel locus information related to a travel locus traveling on a road that is not included in the navigation map data 53 included in the navigation device 4 as probe data. The number of vehicles 3 that can communicate with the map distribution center 2 is not necessarily plural, and may be only one. In that case, the navigation map data 53 is updated based only on the traveling locus of the own vehicle without considering the traveling locus of the other vehicle.

The navigation device 4 is an in-vehicle device that is installed in the vehicle 3 and displays a map around the vehicle position based on the stored map data and searches and guides a route to a set destination. Here, the map distribution center 2 and the navigation device 4 are configured to be capable of bidirectional communication using a vehicle communication module 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as a communication module 5) such as a mobile phone mounted in advance in the vehicle. Various information such as travel locus information and difference update data as probe data is transmitted and received between the two.
Moreover, the navigation apparatus 4 which concerns on this embodiment updates the map data stored based on the transmitted difference update data, when difference update data is transmitted from the map delivery center 2. FIG.

In the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment described below, the navigation device 4 directly acquires the difference update data from the map distribution center 2 and updates the map. The map may be updated through a store such as a user PC (Personal Computer) or a dealer.
For example, when the map update is performed via the user PC, the difference update data is downloaded from the map distribution center 2 in the user PC configured to be able to communicate with the map distribution center 2 via a communication network such as the Internet line. . Then, the downloaded difference update data is temporarily stored in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the stored data is further recorded on a medium such as a CD-R or DVD-R, and is read by the navigation device 4, thereby enabling the navigation device. It is desirable to configure so that difference update data can be delivered to 4.
On the other hand, when the map is updated through a store, all update data is downloaded to a store PC installed in the store via a network such as satellite communication. Further, the dealer configures the dealer HDD, which is a storage medium connected to the dealer PC, so as to be removable. Then, the newly installed store HDD is newly connected to the navigation device 4 in accordance with the IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 1394) standard, so that all update data can be transferred to the navigation device 4. It is desirable to configure.

  Next, the map distribution center 2 constituting the road width calculation system 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the road width calculation system 1 according to this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the map distribution center 2 includes a server (road width calculation means, road determination means, distance calculation means, reference trajectory selection means, comparison means, coordinate selection means) 20 and information recording connected to the server 20. A travel locus information DB 24, a new road information DB 25, a center side map information DB 26, a version management DB 27, a notification display 28, and a center side communication device 29 are provided.

  The server 20 includes an arithmetic device that performs overall control of the server 20 and a CPU 21 as a control device, a RAM 22 that is used as a working memory when the CPU 21 performs various arithmetic processes, and a travel locus as probe data collected from the vehicle 3. Inappropriate information exclusion processing for excluding inappropriate information from information, information grouping processing for grouping travel trajectory information traveling on the same road with respect to travel trajectory information not excluded, based on grouped travel trajectory information Road width calculation processing for calculating the road width for one new road for each group, new road information generation processing for generating new road information including the calculated road width, and the new road for the generated new road information Priority setting process to set the priority based on the number of vehicles traveling, according to the set priority Based on the new road information notification process for displaying the new road information on the notification display 28, the old version of the map data, and the new version of the map data, the new road information not included in the road network of the old version of the map data is displayed. ROM 23 or the like in which various control programs for performing update data generation processing for generating differential update data including the map data distribution processing for distributing the generated differential update data to the requested navigation device 4 are recorded. An internal storage device is provided. An MPU or the like can be used instead of the CPU 21.

  The travel locus information DB 24 is a storage unit that cumulatively stores travel locus information relating to the travel locus of the vehicle collected from each vehicle 3 traveling throughout the country. The travel trajectory information stored in the travel trajectory information DB 24 according to the present embodiment is travel trajectory information related to the travel trajectory when the vehicle 3 travels on a road that is not included in the road network of the navigation map data of the navigation device 4.

Hereinafter, the travel locus information stored in the travel locus information DB 24 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the storage area of the travel locus information DB 24.
As shown in FIG. 3, the travel locus information is obtained from a vehicle type (ordinary vehicle, medium-sized vehicle, large vehicle, extra-large vehicle, light vehicle, etc.) that has traveled along the travel locus and an existing road link included in the navigation map data. A start link number L _S which is a link number of a road link (hereinafter referred to as a start link) of a travel locus start point (point S in FIG. 8) where the vehicle has started traveling on a road not included in the road network of the map data; The road link (hereinafter referred to as the end link) of the travel locus end point (point E in FIG. 8) where the vehicle has returned from the road not included in the road map data to the existing road link included in the navigation map data. an end link number L _E is the link number, the predetermined time interval during which the road that is not included in the map data the vehicle 3 is traveling (e.g., every 1 sec) position and the time t acquired by the coordinates P (x, y) and progress Composed of the direction N and vehicle speed S.
The traveling locus information DB 24 cumulatively stores the traveling history information described above by the number collected from each vehicle 3. Note that as the travel locus information, the vehicle width may be stored instead of the vehicle type of the vehicle that has traveled.

  On the other hand, in the new road information DB 25, a new road related to a new road generated by grouping a plurality of travel locus information stored in the travel locus information DB 24 for each travel locus information traveling on the same road as will be described later. Storage means for storing information. The new road information stored in the new road information DB 25 according to the present embodiment includes improper information exclusion processing (S12 in FIG. 9) and information grouping processing (in FIG. This is information relating to the new road generated based on the travel locus information classified as travel locus information relating to the travel locus traveling on the same new road by performing S13). Also, information related to the priority order that is set by a priority order setting process (S17 in FIG. 9), which will be described later, and used for notification on the notification display 28 and distribution to the navigation device 4 is also stored.

Hereinafter, the new road information stored in the new road information DB 25 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the storage area of the new road information DB 25.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the start link number L _AS of an existing road link having a start point of a travel locus belonging to each group, and the end link number of an existing road link having an end point of a travel locus _LAE , an average position coordinate P _A (X, Y) for each predetermined distance (for example, 10 m) from the start point, and a road width W with respect to a traveling locus belonging to the group. Then, the new road specified by the new road information shown in FIG. 4 starts with an existing road link having the road width W and the link number L _AS , and passes through the position coordinates P _A (X, Y) to the link number L. It will be the road that leads to the _AE road link.

  Further, in the center-side map information DB 26, basic map data 30 which is map data that is generated based on externally input data and input operations and is the basis for updating the navigation map data stored in the navigation device 4 is provided. Are stored separately for each version. Here, the version is creation time information for specifying the time when the map data was created, and the time when the map data was created can be specified by referring to the version. Further, the center-side map information DB 26 includes a difference for updating a part of the map data created by the server 20 based on the basic map data 30 and stored in the navigation device 4 to a new version of map data. The update data 31 is also stored separately for each version.

  In the version management DB 27, information related to the version of the navigation map data stored in each navigation device 4 is recorded. Here, the navigation map data and the basic map data 30 store various information necessary for route guidance and map display including the road network. For example, map display data for displaying a map, intersection data for each intersection , Node data relating to node points, link data relating to roads (links), search data for searching for routes, facility data relating to facilities, search data for searching for points, and the like.

  The notification display 28 is notification means for notifying the generated new road information to the map distribution center 2 side. Specifically, the notification of a new road is performed by displaying a map of the new road and its surroundings, and further displaying a map in which the new road is highlighted from other roads (see FIG. 12). Then, the map distribution center 2 refers to the displayed map and actually surveys the new road on the site, and generates a new version of the basic map data 30 including the new road. The notification of new road information by the notification display 28 is performed according to the priority set by the priority setting process (S17 in FIG. 9).

  Further, the center side communication device 29 is a communication device for communicating with the navigation device 4 via the network 8. Here, as the network 8, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), an intranet, a mobile phone network, a telephone network, a public communication network, a dedicated communication network, a communication network such as the Internet Etc. can be used. A communication system using CS broadcasting, BS broadcasting, terrestrial digital television broadcasting, FM multiplex broadcasting, or the like by a broadcasting satellite can also be used. Furthermore, a communication system such as a non-stop automatic fee payment system (ETC) or a narrow area communication system (DSRC) used in an intelligent road traffic system (ITS) can also be used.

  Next, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 4 configuring the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the navigation device 4 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the navigation device 4 according to the present embodiment includes a current position detection processing unit (current position detection means) 41 that detects the current position of the vehicle, a travel locus information DB 42, and a vehicle information DB (vehicle information storage). Means) 43, a map information DB (map information storage means) 44, a navigation ECU (running locus specifying means) 45 for performing various arithmetic processes based on the input information, and an operation for accepting an operation from the operator. Unit 46, a liquid crystal display 47 for displaying information such as a map to the operator, a speaker 48 for outputting voice guidance regarding route guidance, and a DVD drive which is a reading device capable of reading a recording medium such as a CD or a DVD 49 and a communication module 5 for communicating with a traffic information center such as a VICS center or the map distribution center 2.The navigation ECU 45 detects a vehicle speed sensor 50 that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle, an ACC switch 51 that detects ON / OFF of an ACC (accessory key) (that is, engine start / stop), and a shift lever position. A shift lever sensor 52 is connected.

  The components constituting the navigation device 4 will be described below. The current location detection processing unit 41 includes a GPS 61, a geomagnetic sensor 62, a distance sensor 63, a steering sensor 64, a gyro sensor 65 as a direction detection unit, and an altimeter (not shown). And the like, and it is possible to detect the current position, direction, distance to a target (for example, an intersection), and the like.

The travel locus information DB 42 is a memory that temporarily stores travel locus information related to the travel locus when the vehicle 3 travels on a road that is not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 stored in the map information DB 44. Means. Specifically, as already shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle starts traveling from the vehicle type of the vehicle 3 and the existing road link included in the navigation map data to a road not included in the road network of the navigation map data. The start link number L _S which is the link number of the road link of the locus start point and the end point of the travel locus where the vehicle has returned from the road not included in the road network of the navigation map data to the existing road link included in the navigation map data predetermined time interval (e.g., every 1 sec) at time t and position coordinates acquired by the while and termination link number L _E is the link number of the road links, running on a road that is not included in the map data vehicle 3 P (x, y), the traveling direction N, and the vehicle speed S are detected by the GPS 61 and the gyro sensor 65 and sequentially stored in the travel locus information DB 42. The travel history information stored in the travel locus information DB 42 is transmitted to the map distribution center 2 as probe data together with information on the vehicle type stored in the vehicle information DB 43 at a predetermined timing. Further, the transmitted travel locus information is deleted from the travel locus information DB 42 each time.

  The vehicle information DB 43 is a storage unit that stores information about the vehicle 3 on which the navigation device 4 is installed. Examples of the information related to the vehicle 3 include information on the vehicle type (ordinary vehicle, medium-sized vehicle, large vehicle, extra large vehicle, light vehicle, etc.) and vehicle width. The information on the vehicle type and the vehicle width is used when calculating the road width of the new road as will be described later (see FIG. 15).

  The map information DB 44 stores navigation map data 53 used for travel guidance and route search of the navigation device 4. In this embodiment, a hard disk is used as an external storage device and storage medium for the travel locus information DB 42, the vehicle information DB 43, and the map information DB 44. In addition to the hard disk, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk is used as the external storage device. Can be used as Also, a memory card, magnetic tape, magnetic drum, CD, MD, DVD, optical disk, MO, IC card, optical card, etc. can be used as an external storage device.

Here, the navigation map data 53 is composed of various information necessary for route guidance and map display, similar to the basic map data 30 described above. For example, map display data for displaying a map, intersection data regarding each intersection, and the like. , Node data relating to node points, link data relating to roads (links), search data for searching for routes, facility data relating to facilities, search data for searching for points, and the like.
The navigation map data 53 is updated by either a full update that updates the map data of all areas in the country at once or a differential update that updates the map data of only a specific area. Note that a specific update processing method for full update and differential update is a known technique and will not be described here.

  Further, the navigation ECU 45 constituting the navigation device 4 is used as a working memory when the CPU 71 performs various kinds of arithmetic processing, and the CPU 71 as the arithmetic device and the control device for controlling the navigation device 4 as a whole, and the route is In addition to the RAM 72 that stores route data and the like when it is searched for, and a control program, it also acquires travel locus information when the vehicle 3 travels on a road that is not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 of the navigation device 4. Then, a probe data collection processing program (FIG. 7) to be transmitted to the map distribution center 2 as probe data, a route guidance processing program for searching and guiding a route based on the navigation map data 53, and a navigation based on the difference update data. Map data update processing for updating the difference of the map data 53 Program includes an internal storage device such as a flash memory 74 (FIG. 17) or the like to record a program read from the recorded ROM 73, ROM 73. As the RAM 72, ROM 73, flash memory 74, etc., a semiconductor memory, a magnetic core, or the like is used. In addition, an MPU or the like can be used instead of the CPU 71 as the arithmetic device and the control device.

  Next, a basic flow of the entire system according to the road width calculation system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic flow of the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, the navigation device 4 performs map matching based on the navigation map data 53 stored in the map information DB 44 and detection results of various sensors such as the GPS 61, and when a matching point cannot be extracted. That is, the position coordinates (latitude / longitude) of the vehicle 3 when the vehicle 3 travels on a road not included in the navigation map data 53 included in the navigation device 4 is detected. Thereafter, the detected position coordinates and the like are transmitted to the map distribution center 2 as travel locus information.
On the other hand, the map distribution center 2 that has received the travel locus information from the navigation device 4 of each vehicle 3 collects the received data and analyzes the data. In data analysis, first, an abnormal value detected due to an apparatus error or the like is removed. Next, target trajectory information is narrowed down by removing travel locus information predicted that the vehicle 3 is not traveling on a new road. Subsequently, the traveling locus information traveling on the same road is grouped, the road width of one new road to which the group belongs is calculated for each group, and the new road information including the calculated road width is obtained. Generate. Further, the number of travels of the vehicle on the new road of the generated new road information is calculated. Then, priority is set for the new road information based on the calculated number of travels.
Thereafter, the map distribution center 2 generates map data based on the new road information for which priority is set. In the generation of the map data, first, new road information including information on the road width is displayed on the notification display 28 in accordance with the set priority order, and new road information including information on the road width is displayed on the map distribution center 2 side. Notification. The map distribution center 2 refers to the displayed new road information and actually goes to the site and collects information on the new road. Then, based on the new road information notified to the notification display 28 and the information collected on site, a new version of differential update data including the new road is created. Then, the difference update data is distributed according to the priority set in the new road information to the navigation device that requested the version update.
On the other hand, the navigation device 4 that has received the difference update data updates the navigation map data 53 stored in the map information DB 44 to a new version of map data including a new road. Then, the navigation device 4 performs map matching again based on the updated navigation map data 53, and thereafter, similarly, generation of new new road information and distribution of difference update data are repeatedly performed.

  Next, a probe data collection processing program executed by the navigation ECU 45 of the vehicle 3 and the server 20 of the map distribution center 2 in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the probe data collection processing program in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, the probe data collection processing program acquires travel locus information when the vehicle 3 travels on a road that is not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 of the navigation device 4 and transmits it to the map distribution center 2 as probe data. This is a program for collecting the travel locus information transmitted from each vehicle 3 while the map distribution center 2 transmits the information. The program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 below is stored in the RAM 72 and ROM 73 provided in the navigation device 4 or the RAM 22 and ROM 23 provided in the server 20, and is set at a predetermined interval (for example, 200 ms) by the CPU 71 or CPU 21. Every).

  First, the probe data collection processing program executed by the CPU 71 of the navigation device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In step (hereinafter abbreviated as “S”) 1, the CPU 71 detects the current position of the vehicle by the GPS 61. Next, in S2, the CPU 71 performs map matching processing using the current position of the vehicle detected in S1 and the navigation map data 53 stored in the map information DB 44, and specifies the vehicle position on the map data.

  Subsequently, in S3, the CPU 71 determines whether or not a matching point could not be extracted in the map matching in S2, that is, whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a road not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 provided in the navigation device 4. Determine. As a result, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a road included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 (S3: NO), the process proceeds to S8.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a road that is not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 (S3: YES), the position coordinates of the last point where the vehicle was on the existing road link are It is specified as a travel locus start point S where the vehicle has started traveling from an existing road link included in the navigation map data 53 to a road not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53. Furthermore, based on the identified travel locus start point S and the navigation map data 53, a road link with the travel locus start point S is identified as a start link, and a start link number L _S is acquired (S4).

  Thereafter, in S5, the CPU 71 acquires various parameters as travel locus information at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 1 second) by the GPS 61 and various sensors, and stores them in the travel locus information DB. Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of acquiring travel locus information when the vehicle travels on the road 101 not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53.

FIG. 8 shows a traveling example in which the vehicle enters the road 101 from the existing road link 102 and then returns to the existing road link 103. When the travel shown in FIG. 8 is performed, the time t, the position coordinates P (x, y), the traveling direction N, and the vehicle speed S are obtained at the passing points P _{11 to} P ₁₅ at predetermined time intervals (for example, 1 sec). Obtained by the GPS 61, the gyro sensor 65, and the vehicle speed sensor 50. Further, when it is detected by the ACC switch 51 that the engine of the host vehicle has been stopped, or when the shift lever is detected by the shift lever sensor 52 when the shift lever is set to “R”, the fact and that The position coordinates at the time are also stored as travel locus information.

  Further, in S6, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the vehicle has returned to an existing road included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 provided in the navigation device 4. As a result, when it is determined that the road has been returned to the road included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 (S6: YES), the process proceeds to S7. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has not returned to the road included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 (S6: NO), the process returns to S5, and the travel locus information is continuously acquired.

In S <b> 7, the CPU 71 identifies the current position coordinates detected by the GPS 61 as a travel locus end point E that has returned from a road not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 to an existing road link included in the navigation map data 53. To do. Furthermore, identified as the end link road links of the traveling locus end point E on the basis of the current position coordinates and the navigation map data 53 detected by the GPS 61, to obtain an end link number L _E. Through the processes of S4 to S7, the travel locus of the vehicle traveling on the road not included in the road network of the navigation map data 53 can be specified. Note that S4 to S7 correspond to the processing of the travel locus specifying means.

Thereafter, in S8, the CPU 71 determines whether or not it is time to transmit the travel locus information (see FIG. 3) acquired in S4 to the map distribution center 2 as probe data. And when it determines with it being the timing of transmission (S8: YES), the traveling locus information memorize | stored in traveling locus information DB42 is transmitted (S9). At that time, information on the vehicle type of the own vehicle is also acquired from the vehicle information DB 43 and transmitted as travel locus information.
On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not the transmission timing (S8: NO), the probe data collection processing program is terminated without transmitting the travel locus information.

  Next, a probe data collection processing program executed by the CPU 21 of the map distribution center 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the CPU 21 receives the travel locus information transmitted from the navigation device 4 in S101. Thereafter, in S102, the traveling locus information received in S101 is cumulatively stored in the traveling locus information DB 24 (see FIG. 3). Then, new road information and difference update data are generated using the stored travel locus information as described later.

  Next, a new road information generation and notification processing program executed by the server 20 of the map distribution center 2 in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a new road information generation and notification processing program in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, the new road information generation and notification processing program is a new road related to the road width of the newly established new road based on the travel locus information collected by the map distribution center 2 in the probe data collection processing program (FIG. 7). This is a program for generating information and notifying the generated new road information to the map distribution center 2 side. The program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 below is stored in the RAM 22 or ROM 23 provided in the server 20, and is executed by the CPU 21 at predetermined intervals (for example, every 200 ms).

  The CPU 21 first removes an abnormal value detected due to a device error or the like from the travel locus information newly collected from each vehicle 3 in S11 and stored in the travel locus information DB 24. Specifically, when the position coordinates of the vehicle 3 that should have been continuously acquired are position coordinates that are completely different from only the coordinates of one point in the middle, the data relating to the position coordinates is removed. .

Subsequently, in S12, the CPU 21 performs improper information exclusion processing for excluding travel locus information that is predicted that the vehicle 3 is not traveling on a new road from newly collected travel locus information. Specifically, in the present embodiment, travel locus information determined to satisfy any of the following conditions (1) to (5) is excluded.
(1) Traveling track information related to the traveling track returning to the same link.
(2) Travel locus information related to a travel locus where the engine is stopped halfway.
(3) Traveling track information related to a traveling track in which the vehicle is moving backward.
(4) Travel trajectory information related to a travel trajectory where the distance between the travel trajectory start point S and the travel trajectory end point E is less than a predetermined distance (eg, 10 m).
(5) Travel locus information related to a travel locus traveling on the road network included in the basic map data 30 of the map distribution center 2.

For example, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a traveling locus 105 of traveling locus information corresponding to the condition (1). A travel locus 105 shown in FIG. 10 passes through points P _{11 to} P ₁₄ from the existing road link 106 and returns to the same road link 106 again. Such a travel locus is highly likely to be a travel locus that traveled in a large facility such as a parking lot or a shopping center, and the possibility of traveling on a new road is extremely low. Therefore, it is determined that it is not traveling locus information traveling on a new road, and is excluded.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a travel locus 107 of the travel locus information corresponding to the condition (4). A traveling locus 107 shown in FIG. 11 enters from a traveling locus start point S of an existing road link 108 to a traveling locus end point E of the road link 109 and from the traveling locus start point S to the traveling locus end point E. The distance n is less than 10 m. Such a traveling locus is highly likely to be a traveling locus that has passed through the parking lot for a shortcut, and the possibility of traveling on a new road is extremely low. Therefore, it is determined that it is not traveling locus information traveling on a new road, and is excluded.

  Similarly, the travel trajectory of the travel trajectory information corresponding to the conditions (2) and (3) is likely to be a travel trajectory traveled in a large facility such as a parking lot or a shopping center, and travels on a new road. The probability of having done so is very low. Therefore, it is determined that it is not traveling locus information traveling on a new road, and is excluded.

  Further, the travel locus of the travel locus information corresponding to the condition (5) is a travel locus that travels on a road that is already grasped as an existing road in the map distribution center 2. Therefore, such a traveling locus is a traveling locus that travels on an existing road that is erroneously collected because the navigation device 4 has not been updated to the new version of map information. Therefore, it is determined that it is not traveling locus information traveling on a new road, and is excluded. Further, in the unsuitable information exclusion process of S12, the travel locus information determined to satisfy any one of the above conditions (1) to (5) is excluded, but the above (1) to (5) You may make it exclude the driving | running | working locus | trajectory information determined that it corresponds to multiple conditions.

  Subsequently, in S13, the CPU 21 performs an information grouping process for grouping the traveling locus information by classifying the traveling locus information traveling on the same road into the same group with respect to the newly collected traveling locus information. Done. Specifically, in the present embodiment, traveling locus information relating to a traveling locus in which both the traveling locus start point S and the traveling locus end point E are within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 m) is used as traveling locus information for traveling on the same road. Classify into the same group.

  Next, in S14, the CPU 21 calculates, for each group grouped in S13, a road width calculation process (see FIG. 5) described below for calculating the road width of one new road specified by the travel regulation information belonging to the group. 12).

Next, in S15, the CPU 21 performs new road information generation processing for generating new road information including the road width calculated in S14 with respect to the new road specified by the travel locus information of each group. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, with respect to the travel locus information grouped, a start link number L _AS and an end link number L _AE for each group, and a predetermined distance from the start point for the travel locus belonging to the group. An average position coordinate P _A (X, Y) for each (for example, 10 m) is calculated, and new road information is generated by the combination thereof. When there are a plurality of groups, new road information is generated for the number of groups. However, the new road information is not generated again for a group in which the newly collected travel locus information has not been classified since the previous new road information generation process was performed.

  Furthermore, in S16, the CPU 21 calculates the number of travels that the vehicle has traveled on the new road of the new road information generated in S15. Specifically, the number of pieces of traveling locus information belonging to the same group that is the basis of the generated new traveling road information is the number of travelings that the vehicle has traveled on the new road.

  In S17, the CPU 21 sets a priority for the new road information based on the number of travels calculated in S16. Specifically, higher priority is set in order from new road information regarding new roads with a large number of traveling.

In S18, the new road information is notified to the map distribution center 2 side using the notification display 28 according to the priority set in S17. Here, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display screen 120 of the notification display 28 for notifying new road information.
As shown in FIG. 12, the display screen 120 is composed of a surrounding map image including a new road 121 and a new road list 122. Here, in the new road list 122, the address indicating the position of the new road and the calculated road width are shown in a list, and the new road with the higher priority set is arranged higher. When the user selects a new road from the new road list 122, the selected new road and its surrounding map are displayed on the notification display 28. For example, in FIG. 12, in the new road list 122, a new road having the highest priority “Aichi prefecture XX city △ town” is selected, and the corresponding new road 121 is displayed on the map. Therefore, by referring to the display screen 120, it is possible to easily grasp the position and width of the new road.

  Next, the road width calculation processing program executed by the server 20 of the map distribution center 2 in S14 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the road width calculation processing program according to this embodiment.

  First, in S21, the CPU 71 sets a group in which the travel locus information newly collected in the map distribution center 2 is classified in S13 (specifically, a group in which the travel locus determined to travel on the same road is classified). It is determined whether or not a reference trajectory already exists. Here, the reference trajectory is a travel trajectory set in S24 to be described later, and is two travel trajectories that serve as a calculation reference when calculating the road width among a plurality of travel trajectories traveling on a new road. .

  As a result, when it is determined that the reference trajectory already exists (S21: YES), the process proceeds to S26. On the other hand, when it is determined that the reference locus does not exist (S21: NO), it is further determined whether or not there is traveling locus information of another traveling locus in the group in which the newly collected traveling locus information is classified. (S22). When it is determined that there is no other travel locus (S22: NO), the road width calculation process is terminated because the road width cannot be calculated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is another travel locus (S22: YES), the average value of the separation distance between the two travel tracks in the same group is calculated (S23).
Here, the calculation method of the average value of S23 will be described with reference to a specific example of FIG. FIG. 14 shows travel trajectory information related to two travel trajectories, one of the travel trajectory information being the travel trajectory start point S ₁ on the existing road link 111 to the travel trajectory end point on the existing road link 112. is a traveling locus information concerning the traveling locus 113 for travel up to E _1.
Also, the other traveling locus information is the traveling locus information relating to traveling locus 114 which also travels from the traveling locus start point S ₂ on the existing road link 111 to a traveling locus end point E ₂ on the existing road link 112 . The traveling locus 113 and the traveling locus 114 are indicated by lines obtained by linearly approximating the traveling locus from the coordinates of passing points at predetermined time intervals of the vehicle.

In the present embodiment, the average value of the separation distance between the position coordinates for each predetermined distance from the travel locus start points S ₁ and S _{2 is} set as the average value of the separation distance between the travel tracks. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, a circle C ₁₁ having a radius r (for example, 10 m) is drawn from the travel locus start point S ₁ of the travel locus 113, and the coordinates of the intersection T ₁₁ between the circle C ₁₁ and the travel locus 113 are set. calculate. Further, a circle C ₂₁ having a radius r is drawn from the travel locus start point S ₂ of the travel locus 114, and the coordinates of the intersection T ₂₁ between the circle C ₂₁ and the travel locus 114 are calculated.
Then, from the intersection point _{T 11} of the traveling locus 113 a circle _{C 12} of radius r, calculates the coordinates of the intersection _{T 12} between the circle _{C 12} and the traveling locus 113. Further, a circle C ₂₂ having a radius r is drawn from the intersection T _{21 of the} travel locus 114, and the coordinates of the intersection T ₂₂ between the circle C ₂₂ and the travel locus 114 are calculated. In the same manner, the intersection _T 13 _{through T 16,} sequentially calculates the intersection point _T 23 _{through T 26.} Then, the distance W ₁ between the intersection points T ₁₁ and T ₂₁ , the distance W ₂ between the intersection points T ₁₂ and T ₂₂ , the distance W ₃ between the intersection points T ₁₃ and T ₂₃ , and the distance between the intersection points T ₁₄ and T ₂₄ . The distance W ₄ , the distance W ₅ between the intersection points T ₁₅ and T ₂₅ , and the distance W ₆ between the intersection points T ₁₆ and T ₂₆ are calculated. _Furthermore, an average value _{W A} of W 1 to _W-6 as an average value of the distance between the traveling locus 113 and 114. Note that S22 corresponds to the processing of the road determination means, and S23 corresponds to the processing of the distance calculation means.

  Thereafter, in S24, the two travel trajectories for which the average value of the separation distances is calculated in S23 are set as reference trajectories for the travel trajectories classified into the group, and are stored in the new road information DB 25. Therefore, the distance between the reference trajectories is calculated in S23 and S26 described later. Note that S24 corresponds to the processing of the reference trajectory selection means.

Subsequently, in S25, the CPU 21 calculates the road width W. With respect to the average value W _A of the distance between the reference trajectory calculated in S26 that the in the road width calculation system 1 S23 or later according to the present embodiment, by using the information about the further traveling vehicle type, the road width W calculate.
Here, the calculation method of the road width W in S25 will be described with reference to a specific example of FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the reference trajectory is a line obtained by tracing the approximate center position of the traveling vehicle. Furthermore, the vehicle generally does not travel on the edge of the road, but travels a certain distance from the edge of the road. Therefore, in order to calculate an accurate road width W, to the average value W _A of the distance between the reference locus, and 1/2 of one of the traveling path of the vehicle traveling in the vehicle width La, the other of the operating A value obtained by adding 1/2 of the vehicle width Lb of the vehicle traveling on the track and twice the predetermined distance α defining the width of the road shoulder is calculated as the road width W. The vehicle width La and the vehicle width Lb are determined based on the vehicle type (ordinary vehicle, medium-sized vehicle, large vehicle, extra-large vehicle, light vehicle, etc.) recorded as the travel locus information transmitted from the vehicle. In addition, when the information regarding a vehicle width is transmitted as traveling locus information, the value of the transmitted vehicle width can be used directly.
Further, in the processing of S25, without considering the vehicle type and the vehicle width, the average value W _A of the distance between the reference trajectory calculated in S26 of the S23 and later may be calculated as a road width W.

On the other hand, in S26, the CPU 21 calculates the average value of the separation distance between the reference trajectory already existing in the classified group and the newly collected travel trajectory.
Here, in particular, the method for calculating the average value of the separation distance in S26 will be described with reference to a specific example of FIG. FIG. 16 shows a case where a travel locus 115 is added to the two reference tracks 113 and 114. First, as shown in FIG. 14, by drawing a circle having a radius r (for example, 10 m), points T _{11 to} T ₁₆ and T that are points at predetermined distances r from the travel locus start points E _{1 to} E _{3. 21 to} T ₂₆ and points T _{31 to} T ₃₆ are calculated, respectively.
Then, the point _T 11 calculates the respective distances _W 11 _{to W-16} and _{through T 16} and the point _T 31 _{~T 36,} W 11 distance between the average value _{W 1A} reference trajectory 113 and the traveling locus 115 of _{to W-16} Calculated as the average value of. Moreover, to calculate the respective distances _W 21 _{to W-26} and point _T 21 _{through T 26} and the point _T 31 _{through T 36,} the distance between the average value _{W 2A} running a reference locus 114 the trajectory 115 of the W 21 _{to W-26} Calculated as the average value of. Note that FIG. 13 shows a case where only one traveling locus is newly collected. However, when a plurality of traveling locus is newly collected, the distance between each traveling locus and the reference locus is separated. The average value of is calculated.

Subsequently, in S27, the CPU 21 compares the average values calculated in S26, and whether or not the calculated average distance is larger than the average distance between the reference trajectories calculated in S23. Is determined. As a result, when it is determined that the distance is larger than the average value of the separation distance between the reference trajectories (S27: YES), the two trajectories constituting the average value determined to be large and the reference trajectory are newly determined. The reference trajectory is reset and stored in the new road information DB 25 (S24). Therefore, in S27, the two traveling tracks having the largest separation distance among the plurality of traveling tracks traveling on the same road are selected as the reference locus, and in S26, the separation distance between the selected reference locus is calculated. It will be done. Note that S24 corresponds to the processing of the reference trajectory selection means.
Thereafter, the road width W shown in FIG. 15 is calculated using the set reference trajectory (S25).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the average value of the separation distance between the reference trajectories is larger (S27: NO), the road width of the new road already calculated in the group is not changed, so the road width is Exit without calculating.

  Next, a map data update processing program executed by the navigation ECU 45 of the vehicle 3 and the server 20 of the map distribution center 2 in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the map data update processing program according to this embodiment. Here, the map data update processing program updates a specific area of the navigation map data 53 of the navigation device 4 to a new version of map data based on the difference update data newly distributed from the map distribution center 2. It is. Note that the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17 below is stored in the RAM 72 and ROM 73 provided in the navigation device 4 or the RAM 22 and ROM 23 provided in the server 20, and is set at a predetermined interval (for example, 200 ms) by the CPU 71 or CPU 21. Every).

  First, a map data update processing program executed by the CPU 71 of the navigation device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in S31, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the map update start condition is satisfied, specifically that the accessory is turned on, that home registration (including change) has been performed using the operation unit 46, or It is determined using the operation unit 46 whether or not the destination of the route search is set. If it is determined that none of the above conditions is satisfied (S31: NO), the processing program is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that any of the above conditions is satisfied (S31: YES), the process proceeds to S32. And migrate.

  In S <b> 32, the CPU 71 transmits navigation information for executing map update to the map distribution center 2. Here, the information transmitted as the navigation information includes an identification ID for identifying the navigation device 4, registered home coordinates, and the destination coordinates when the destination is set.

  Next, in S <b> 33, the CPU 71 receives the difference update data 31 transmitted from the map distribution center 2 via the communication module 5. The received difference update data 31 includes version information for specifying the version of the difference update data 31. Further, in S34, the difference update processing of the navigation map data 53 stored in the map information DB 44 is performed using the difference update data 31 received in S33. As a result, it is updated to new map data including the newly established new road.

  Next, a map data update processing program executed by the CPU 21 of the map distribution center 2 will be described. First, in S131, the CPU 21 receives navigation information for executing map update from the navigation device 4. Here, the navigation information from the navigation device 4 is transmitted when the power of the navigation device 4 is turned on, when the home is registered, or when the destination is set.

  Next, in S132, the CPU 21 acquires the version of the navigation map data 53 currently stored in the map information DB 44 of the navigation device 4. Specifically, the version management DB 27 is referred to, the navigation device 4 to be updated is identified from the identification ID received as navigation information in S131, and the version of the navigation map data 53 of the identified navigation device 4 is determined for each area. Extracted from the version management DB 27.

  Thereafter, in S133, the CPU 21 compares and updates the version of the map data that the navigation device 4 currently has with the latest version of the map data that the map distribution center 2 has in the update target area of the navigation device 4 that has transmitted the navigation information. It is determined whether there is an area (S134). The area to be updated differs depending on the condition under which the navigation device 4 has started the map data difference update process, the registered home position, and the set destination position.

If it is determined that there is an area to be updated (S134: YES), all the difference update data 31 necessary for updating the area is extracted from the center-side map information DB 26 (S135). Then, the extracted difference update data 31 is distributed to the navigation device 4 (S136). Here, especially in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the difference update data is distributed, the newly added new road information with higher priority is distributed to the navigation device 4 with priority. To do.
On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no area to be updated (S134: NO), the process ends without transmitting the difference update data 31 to the navigation device 4.

As described above in detail, in the road width calculation system 1 according to the present embodiment, the travel locus information when the vehicle 3 as a probe car travels on a road not included in the navigation map data 53 provided in the navigation device 4 is probed. The map distribution center 2 transmits the data to the map distribution center 2 (S7). On the other hand, the map distribution center 2 that has received the travel locus information from the navigation device 4 of each vehicle 3 collects the received data and travels the collected travel locus information. Since the road width of the new road is calculated based on the trajectory (S14), it is possible to quickly and accurately calculate the road width of the new road without having to perform a field survey on the new road. Further, when the navigation map data 53 provided in the navigation device 4 is updated, it is possible to update to accurate map data reflecting the latest road network by using the calculated information on the road width of the new road. Become.
In addition, since the average value of the separation distances between a plurality of traveling tracks traveling on the same road is calculated (S23), and the road width of the new road is calculated based on the calculated separation distance (S25), whether there is traffic congestion It is possible to calculate an accurate road width based on the travel locus of a vehicle that actually travels on a new road regardless of the size of the road. In addition, even when the travel locus of the vehicle is meandering, it is possible to calculate an accurate road width.
In addition, two traveling loci with the largest separation distance among the plurality of traveling loci traveling on the same road are selected as reference trajectories (S24), and the separation distance between the selected reference trajectories is calculated (S23, S26). ) To calculate the road width of the road (S25), so that when there are a large number of target trajectories when calculating the road width, the optimum travel trajectory is selected from among them. Thus, an accurate road width can be calculated.
Furthermore, since the road width of the new road is calculated using the vehicle information (vehicle type and vehicle width) of the vehicle that has traveled along the travel locus (S25), considering the type and vehicle width of the vehicle that traveled along the travel locus, A more accurate road width can be calculated.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, when the road width of a new road is calculated, it is calculated by obtaining an average value of the separation distance of the travel locus (see FIG. 13). You may make it memorize | store and calculate a road width by specifying a road shape by connecting the memorize | stored point.
Here, FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a road width calculation method according to another embodiment. FIG. 18 shows a case where a travel locus 215 is added to two reference trajectories 213 and 214 using the existing road links 211 and 212 as start links and end links, respectively. In another embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 14, by drawing a circle with a radius r (for example, 10 m), a point T ₁₁ that is a point for every predetermined distance r from the travel locus start points S _{1 to} S _3. through T _16, calculates a point _T 21 _{through T 26,} the point _T 31 _{through T 36,} respectively.
Then, to calculate the respective distances _W 11 _{to W-16} and point _T 11 _{through T 16} and the point _T 31 _{through T 36.} Moreover, to calculate the respective distances _W 21 _{to W-26} and point _T 21 _{through T 26} and the point _T 31 _{through T 36.} Furthermore, distances W _{31 to} W ₃₆ between the points T _{11 to} T ₁₆ and the points T _{21 to} T ₂₆ are calculated. Then, in order to compare the position coordinates for each predetermined distance of a plurality of traveling trajectories traveling on the same road, first, W ₁₁ , W ₂₁ and W ₃₁ are compared, and the positions of the two points having the largest separation distance between the position coordinates are compared. Select coordinates. Similarly, W ₁₂ and W ₂₂ and W ₃₂ , W ₁₃ and W ₂₃ and W ₃₃ ,... Are compared in the same manner, and the two largest position coordinates are selected for each predetermined distance. A line connecting the position coordinates of the two selected points is set as a new reference locus, and the road shape can be specified by the shape of the reference locus. It is possible to calculate the road width as in the present embodiment by obtaining the average value of the separation distance between the two selected position coordinates.
Then, according to the road width calculation method according to the other embodiment described above, an accurate road width can be calculated even when the traveling trajectories cross each other as shown in FIG. That is, in another embodiment, even when the traveling locus intersects in the middle, it is possible to set the reference locus based on the traveling locus that is always located on the outermost side.

  Further, in this embodiment, the navigation device 4 performs the recording of the travel locus information of the vehicle 3 (S5) and the identification of the start link and the end link (S4, S7), and collects the travel locus information from each vehicle 3 ( The map distribution center 2 performs S102), exclusion of inappropriate data (S11, S12), information grouping (S13), road width calculation (S14), and priority setting (S16). However, the navigation device 4 and the map distribution center 2 may perform the above processing.

  For example, as another embodiment, the navigation device 4 performs recording of the travel locus information of the vehicle 3 (S5), identification of the start link and end link (S4, S7), and exclusion of inappropriate data (S11, S12), The map distribution center 2 performs collection of travel locus information from which unsuitable data has been deleted from each vehicle 3 (S102), information grouping (S13), road width calculation (S14), and priority setting (S16). You may do it.

  Further, as another embodiment, recording of travel locus information of the vehicle 3 (S5), identification of the start link and end link (S4, S7), exclusion of inappropriate data (S11, S12), and information grouping (S13) The navigation device 4 may perform all of the calculation of the road width (S14) and the priority setting (S16). In this case, new road information cannot be generated in consideration of the travel trajectory of other vehicles, but there is no need to go through the map distribution center 2 for generating new road information. Therefore, the navigation map data 53 can be updated without actually investigating a new road on the map distribution center 2 side. As a result, communication costs can be reduced and map data can be updated more quickly.

  Furthermore, as another embodiment, the navigation device 4 only records the travel locus information of the vehicle 3 (S5), collects the travel locus information from each vehicle 3 (S102), and specifies the start link and end link (S4). , S7), exclusion of inappropriate data (S11, S12), information grouping (S13), road width calculation (S14), and priority setting (S16) may be performed by the map distribution center 2. .

  Further, the basic map data 30 and the difference update data 31 included in the map distribution center 2 may be generated by the server 20 without human intervention. In other words, the server 20 may be configured to generate a new version of map data including a new road based on the new road information generated in S14 and the past version of map information.

  In the present embodiment, the new road information is notified and distributed according to the set priority order. However, the navigation map data 53 may be updated according to the priority order. For example, it is possible to preferentially update with differential update data including new road information with high priority.

  In the present embodiment, the generated new road information is notified on the notification display 28 provided in the map distribution center 2, but can be notified on a PC owned by the user of the navigation device 4. You may do it. That is, after the priority order is set in S17 of FIG. 9, the new road information is distributed to the user's PC so that the user can check the new road information via the PC. In addition, as for the delivery with respect to a user's PC, it is desirable to preferentially deliver new road information with a higher priority.

It is a schematic structure figure showing a road width calculation system concerning this embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the road width calculation system which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the memory area of travel locus information DB. It is the figure which showed an example of the memory area of new road information DB. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the basic flow of the road width calculation system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the probe data collection process program in the road width calculation system concerning this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the acquisition example of the driving | running | working locus | trajectory information when a vehicle drive | works the road which is not included in the road network of navigation map data. It is a flowchart of the new road information production | generation and alerting | reporting program in the road width calculation system which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of the driving track information excluded in step 12. It is the figure which showed the example of the driving track information excluded in step 12. It is the figure which showed the display screen of the display for alerting | reporting new road information. It is a flowchart of the road width calculation processing program which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the average value of the separation distance between the driving traces in step. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the road width of the new road in step 25. FIG. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the average value of the separation distance between the reference locus in step 26, and a run locus. It is a flowchart of the map data update process program in the road width calculation system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the road width concerning other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Road width calculation system 2 Map distribution center 3 Vehicle 4 Navigation apparatus 20 Server 21 CPU
22 RAM
23 ROM
45 Navigation ECU
51 ACC switch 52 Shift lever sensor 53 Navigation map data 71 CPU
72 RAM
73 ROM

Claims (6)

Map information storage means for storing map information including a road network;
Current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
Based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection means and the map information, a travel locus specifying means for specifying a travel locus of a vehicle traveling on a road not included in the road network of the map information;
Traveling locus storage means for accumulatively storing the traveling locus of the vehicle identified by the traveling locus identification means;
Road determination means for determining whether or not there are a plurality of travel loci that travel on the same road among the travel loci stored in the travel locus storage means;
Coordinate acquisition for acquiring position coordinates for each predetermined distance from the start point of each travel locus when the road determination means determines that there are a plurality of travel tracks traveling on the same road Means,
Coordinates for calculating the distance between the position coordinates at which the distance from the starting point of each traveling locus is the same distance among the position coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquiring means for each distance from the starting point of the traveling locus. A distance calculation means;
A new road width calculation system comprising road width calculation means for calculating a road width of a new road based on the distance between the position coordinates calculated by the inter-coordinate distance calculation means . The road width calculating means, based on the average value of the distance between the plurality of the position coordinates calculated for each of the range from the start point of the traveling locus by the coordinate distance calculating means, the road width of the new road The new road width calculation system according to claim 1 , wherein the new road width calculation system is calculated. The plurality of traveling locus of traveling the same road, two average values of the distances between a plurality of the position coordinates calculated for each of the range from the start point of the traveling locus is the largest by the inter-coordinate distance calculating means A reference trajectory selection means for selecting the travel trajectory of the vehicle as a reference trajectory,
The coordinate distance calculation means, new road of claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that to calculate the distance between the position coordinates of the reference trajectory selected by the previous SL standard locus selection means as a target Width calculation system. For each of the range from the start point of the traveling locus, provided with a coordinate selection means to select the position coordinates of the distance is the largest two-point between the position coordinates,
The coordinate distance calculating means, the distance between the position coordinates of two points selected by said coordinate selection means, according to claim 1, characterized in that calculating for each of the range from the start point of the traveling locus or The new road width calculation system according to claim 2 . Vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information;
Wherein said road width calculating means for on the basis of the vehicle information of the vehicle traveling the travel locus with a plurality of travel locus stored in the traveling locus storage means, and calculates the road width of the new road The new road width calculation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . 6. The new road width calculation system according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle information is information related to a vehicle type or a vehicle width.

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