JP4757220B2 - Navigation system and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to car navigation, and more particularly to a technique for outputting guidance that prompts a vehicle traveling in a specific direction at an intersection to change lanes.

Conventionally, a technique for recognizing a lane in which a vehicle is traveling, comparing the lane with a preset route, and performing guidance for changing the lane when the lane is not suitable for the preset route is disclosed in Patent Literature 1. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when approaching an intersection scheduled to turn left, if driving in the right lane, guidance for urging to change to the left lane is output.
JP 2006-184007 A

  However, in a GPS (Global Positioning System) system used in a general car navigation system, although the current position of the vehicle is known, the lane in which the vehicle is traveling cannot be identified because the accuracy is not so high.

  Some vehicles have a gyro sensor to interpolate position information when the GPS antenna cannot receive a signal, but this does not improve the accuracy of the position information of the vehicle.

  Therefore, in front of an intersection where a route that travels in a specific direction, such as a right turn or a left turn, is set, guidance is always given to prompt the driver to change the lane to the right or left lane regardless of the lane in which the vehicle is actually traveling. It can be output, but the technical performance of navigation can be questioned.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to determine the necessity of lane change without specifying the lane in front of the intersection where a route traveling in a specific direction is set, and when lane change is necessary It is to output guidance.

  Another object of the present invention is to be able to output lane change guidance even when lane coordinate data is unknown.

  A navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a collection unit that continuously collects position data of each vehicle from each vehicle when a plurality of vehicles are traveling, and a collection unit that collects each vehicle collected by the collection unit. Position data storage means for storing position data, and reference data generation for generating reference data indicating a traveling locus of a vehicle traveling at a predetermined intersection based on the position data of each vehicle stored in the position data storage means And a current position of the target vehicle that is traveling in front of the predetermined intersection, and is set so as to travel along the predetermined route on the predetermined intersection, and the reference data generation unit A lane change guidance for the driver of the target vehicle by comparing with the travel locus indicated by the reference data generated by And guidance determining means for determining whether or not the result of the determination by said determining means, when the lane change guidance is needed, provided with guidance means for outputting the lane change guidance to a predetermined output device.

  In a preferred embodiment, road attribute storage means for storing road attribute data including the width of the road, and the width of the road on which the target vehicle stored in the road attribute storage means is traveling is less than two lanes on one side. You may make it further provide the width | variety determination means which determines whether it is large. At this time, the guidance determination unit determines whether or not the guidance is necessary when the width determination unit determines that the width of the road on which the target vehicle is traveling is larger than two lanes on one side.

  In a preferred embodiment, the reference data generating means generates reference data indicating a travel locus of a vehicle that has traveled along the specific route at the predetermined intersection, and the guidance determination means is configured to specify the predetermined intersection. You may make it compare the reference data of the vehicle which drive | worked with the path | route, and the present position of the said object vehicle.

  In a preferred embodiment, the reference data generating means reads out the position data of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled along the specific route from the position data storage means, and records the traveling trajectories of the plurality of vehicles. Reference data indicating the average may be generated.

  In a preferred embodiment, the specific route is a route that turns right or left at the predetermined intersection, and the lane change guidance changes to a right lane when the specific route is a right turn route. Guidance for prompting may be used, and when the specific route is a left turn route, guidance for prompting a change to the left lane may be used.

  In a preferred embodiment, when the specific route is a right turn route, the guidance determination unit is configured such that the current position of the target vehicle is located to the left in the traveling direction with respect to the travel locus indicated by the reference data. When the specific route is a left turn route, the lane change guidance is required when the current position of the target vehicle is located to the right in the traveling direction with respect to the travel locus indicated by the reference data. It can also be determined.

  Hereinafter, a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a navigation system according to the present embodiment.

  This system includes an information center 1 and an in-vehicle device 3 mounted on a moving vehicle 2 such as an automobile equipped with a GPS antenna called a probe car. The information center 1 and each in-vehicle device 3 mounted on the plurality of vehicles 2 communicate with each other wirelessly.

  Each in-vehicle device 3 periodically transmits probe data including the current position data of the vehicle 2 specified by the GPS system to the information center 1. Each in-vehicle device 3 requests the information center 1 for route guidance specifying the departure point and the destination, and acquires the route information created by the information center 1 as a response thereto.

  The information center 1 and the in-vehicle device 3 are configured by a computer system including a processor and a memory, for example, and individual components or functions in the information center 1 described below are realized by executing a computer program, for example. Is done.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the information center 1 and the in-vehicle device 3.

  First, the information center 1 will be described.

  As shown in the figure, the information center 1 includes a probe data collection unit 11 that acquires probe data transmitted from the in-vehicle device 3, a probe data storage unit 12 that stores probe data, and reference data based on the probe data. The reference data generation unit 13 for generating the reference data, the reference data storage unit 14 for storing the reference data, the road attribute storage unit 15 for storing the road attribute information, and the current position data indicating the current position from the in-vehicle device 3 A width determination unit 16 that determines the width of the road on which the target vehicle 2 is currently traveling, a right / left turn point detection unit 17 that detects an intersection where the target vehicle 2 makes a right or left turn, reference data, and current position Guidance to determine whether the target vehicle 2 needs lane change guidance based on the data And a necessity determining unit 18.

  The probe data collection unit 11 continuously collects probe data sent from the vehicle-mounted device 3 of each vehicle 2 as needed. The probe data collection unit 11 stores the collected probe data in the probe data storage unit 12.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the probe data storage unit 12. The probe data storage unit 12 includes, as data items, a vehicle ID 121 that is vehicle identification information, a time 122 when the probe data is received, a latitude 123 and a longitude 124 of the vehicle at that time, and the vehicle travels at that time. It has the link No125 inside.

  The vehicle ID 121, time 122, latitude 123 and longitude 124 are included in the probe data sent from the in-vehicle device 3.

  The link No. 125 is obtained from the latitude 123 and longitude 124 by a known link matching process.

  Based on the probe data stored in the probe data storage unit 12, the reference data generation unit 13 generates reference data that is referred to when the guidance necessity determination unit 18 determines whether the lane change guidance is necessary. The reference data is data indicating a travel locus of the vehicle.

  For example, the reference data generation unit 13 reads the probe data of a plurality of vehicles traveling at a certain intersection from the probe data storage unit 12. In particular, the reference data generation unit 13 targets a vehicle that has traveled at the intersection in a travel pattern other than straight travel (typically right turn or left turn), and obtains reference data for each travel pattern as follows.

  That is, the reference data generation unit 13 plots the latitude 123 and longitude 124 of the probe data read from the probe data storage unit 12 and obtains the traveling locus of each vehicle. The reference data generation unit 13 calculates an average travel locus from the plurality of travel tracks for each travel pattern, and uses the calculated travel track as reference data. Alternatively, the reference data generation unit 13 may select one of the plurality of traveling routes as reference data for each traveling pattern.

  The reference data generation unit 13 generates this reference data for a plurality of intersections. In particular, the reference data generation unit 13 may generate reference data for an intersection of a road that is determined to have two or more lanes on one side by a width determination unit 16 described later.

  The reference data generation unit 13 stores the generated reference data in the reference data storage unit 14.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the reference data storage unit 14. That is, the reference data storage unit 14 includes the first link No 141, the second link No 142, and the trajectory data 143.

  The trajectory shown in the trajectory data 143 is a trajectory of a vehicle that has traveled from the first link of the first link No141 to the second link of the second link No142. That is, the trajectory shown in the trajectory data 143 is the travel trajectory of the vehicle that has entered the intersection from the first link and has exited the second link.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific example of reference data. That is, in the drawing, the trajectory data 143 of the vehicle that has passed from the first link of the link No “001” to the second link of the link No “011” is shown. In the example shown in the figure, some points of the trajectory data 143 are out of the road due to a GPS error.

  Referring to FIG. 2 again, the road attribute storage unit 15 stores road attribute information including information that can specify the width of the road at least for each link.

  The width determination unit 16 acquires the current position data of the vehicle 2 from the in-vehicle device 3 of the target vehicle 2. Then, the width determining unit 16 is based on the current position of the target vehicle 2 and the road attribute stored in the road attribute storage unit 15, and the road on which the target vehicle 2 is currently traveling has two or more lanes on one side. It is determined whether or not. That is, the width determination unit 16 determines whether or not the width of the link on which the target vehicle 2 is currently traveling is larger than the two lanes on one side.

  The right / left turn point detection unit 17 acquires preset travel route data of the vehicle 2 from the in-vehicle device 3 of the target vehicle 2, and the target vehicle 2 turns right or left on the set travel route. Detect an intersection that turns left. Furthermore, the right / left turn point detection unit 17 detects this based on the current position data of the target vehicle 2 when the distance to the intersection where the target vehicle 2 turns right or left is shorter than a predetermined distance. In other words, the right / left turn point detection unit 17 detects when the target vehicle 2 traveling toward the intersection in front of the right turn or left turn point on the set route approaches the right turn or left turn point. Is detected.

  Here, the intersection which becomes the right turn or the left turn point and the traveling pattern of the intersection are specified by the link No. That is, like the first link No 141 and the second link No 142 in the reference data storage unit 14, the driving pattern such as the intersection and the right / left turn is specified by the combination of the link when entering the intersection and the link when leaving the intersection. To do.

  When the right / left turn point detection unit 17 determines that the target vehicle 2 has approached the right or left turn point, the guidance necessity determination unit 18 obtains the reference data of the intersection and the current position of the target vehicle 2. In comparison, the necessity of the lane change guidance is determined.

  For example, when the right / left turn point detection unit 17 determines that the target vehicle 2 has approached the intersection scheduled to turn left, the guidance necessity determination unit 18 enters the intersection specified by the right / left turn point detection unit 17. The reference data when turning left at the intersection is read out from the reference data storage unit 14 using the link No. when exiting as a key. The guidance necessity determination unit 18 compares the track data 143 of the read reference data with the current position of the target vehicle 2.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, when the current position A is on the right side more than a predetermined distance from the trajectory data 143 in the traveling direction, it is determined that the traveling lane of the target vehicle 2 is not at least the leftmost lane. Is done. At this time, the guidance necessity determination unit 18 instructs the in-vehicle device 3 of the target vehicle 2 to output guidance for prompting the vehicle to move to the left lane so that it can easily turn left. Note that the threshold of the distance between the current position A and the trajectory data 143 in the determination can be arbitrarily set. The same applies to the right turn described below.

  Next, also in the case of a right turn, the guidance necessity determination unit 18 similarly determines that the target vehicle 2 is at least the right lane because the current position A is a predetermined distance or more on the left side of the trajectory data 143 in the traveling direction. When the determination is made, an instruction to output a guidance prompting the user to move to the right lane is provided to facilitate a right turn.

  Next, the in-vehicle device 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The in-vehicle device 3 includes a probe data generation unit 31 that generates probe data, a signal received by a GPS antenna (not shown), a GPS processing unit 32 that generates current position data, and a route set by route guidance. A route data storage unit 34 that stores route data to be shown, a map data storage unit 35 that stores map data, a navigation image composition unit 33 that composes navigation images, a display device 36 that displays navigation images, and voice guidance Is output.

  The probe data generation unit 31 generates probe data including the current position data of the vehicle 2 generated by the GPS processing unit 32 and transmits the probe data to the information center 1.

  The GPS processing unit 32 generates current position data indicating the current position of the vehicle based on the latitude and longitude based on the GPS signal.

  The route data storage unit 34 is data indicating a travel route from the departure point of the vehicle 2 to the destination, which is set in advance by predetermined route guidance.

  The navigation image composition unit 33 is based on the map data stored in the map data storage unit 35, the route data of the set route stored in the route data storage unit 34, and the current position data generated by the GPS processing unit 32. The navigation image provided to the driver of the vehicle 2 is synthesized. The navigation image synthesized by the navigation image synthesis unit 33 is displayed on the display device 36.

  The voice output device 37 outputs voice guidance that prompts a right or left turn in accordance with an instruction from the guidance necessity determination unit 18. For example, when the guidance necessity determination unit 18 determines that the lane change to the right lane is necessary when the route of the target vehicle 2 is a right turn, the voice output device 37 prompts the lane change to the right lane. Output voice guidance. When the guidance necessity determination unit 18 determines that the lane change to the left lane is necessary when the route of the target vehicle 2 is a left turn, the voice output device 37 prompts the lane change to the left lane. Output voice guidance.

  The in-vehicle device 3 may output other guidance instead of or in addition to this voice guidance. For example, text guidance may be output to the display device 36.

  A processing procedure in the navigation system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the probe data collection unit 11 collects probe data from the in-vehicle device 3 of each vehicle 2 and stores it in the probe data storage unit 12 (S11).

  Next, the reference data generation unit 13 generates reference data for each traveling pattern such as a right turn or a left turn at a plurality of intersections based on the probe data stored in the probe data storage unit 12 and stores the reference data in the reference data generation unit 13. (S12).

  The width determination unit 16 determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle 2 is traveling is equal to or more than two lanes on one side of the target vehicle 2 based on the current position of the vehicle 2 and the road attribute (S13). .

  When the road on which the target vehicle 2 is traveling is two lanes or more on one side (S13: Yes), the right / left turn point detection unit 17 approaches the right turn or left turn point in the route in which the target vehicle 2 is set in advance. It is determined whether or not it is going (S15).

  When the target vehicle 2 is approaching the right turn or left turn point (S14: Yes), the guidance necessity determination unit 18 compares the current position of the target vehicle 2 with the trajectory data in the reference data storage unit 14, When the target vehicle 2 makes a right turn, whether or not the current position of the target vehicle 2 is more than a predetermined distance to the left of the trajectory data. And whether or not guidance for urging the driver to change lanes is required (S15).

  When the guidance necessity determination unit 18 determines that guidance for urging to change the lane to the right and left is necessary (S15: Yes), the guidance output to the voice output device 37 of the in-vehicle device 3 is output. Instruct.

  The voice output device 37 outputs voice guidance according to this instruction (S16).

  As a result, when approaching an intersection that should pass through a travel pattern other than straight traveling such as a right turn or a left turn, the driver can be alerted to travel in an appropriate lane. In particular, in this embodiment, the driver can be prompted to change the lane only when the lane change is necessary without specifying the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

  The above-described embodiments of the present invention are examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the information center 1 includes the road attribute storage unit 15, the width determination unit 16, the right / left turn point detection unit 17, and the guidance necessity determination unit 18. The apparatus 3 may be provided.

1 is a schematic diagram of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the information center 1 and the vehicle-mounted apparatus 3. An example of the data structure of the probe data storage unit 12 is shown. An example of the data structure of the reference data storage part 14 is shown. A specific example of reference data is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the navigation system which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information center 2 Vehicle 3 In-vehicle apparatus 11 Probe data collection part 12 Probe data storage part 13 Reference data generation part 14 Reference data storage part 15 Road attribute storage part 16 Width determination part 17 Right / left turn point detection part 18 Guidance necessity determination part 31 Probe data generation unit 32 GPS processing unit 33 Navigation image synthesis unit 34 Route data storage unit 35 Map data storage unit 36 Display device 37 Audio output device

Claims (6)

A collecting means for continuously collecting position data of each vehicle from each vehicle when a plurality of vehicles are traveling;
Position data storage means for storing position data of each vehicle collected by the collection means;
Reference data generation means for generating reference data indicating a travel locus of a vehicle that has traveled a predetermined intersection based on the position data of each vehicle stored in the position data storage means;
A target vehicle that is traveling in front of the predetermined intersection, and is generated by the reference data generation means and a current position of the target vehicle that is routed so as to travel along the predetermined route on the predetermined intersection. Guidance determination means for comparing the travel locus indicated by the reference data and determining whether or not lane change guidance is required for the driver of the target vehicle;
As a result of determination by the determination means, when the lane change guidance is necessary, guidance means for outputting the lane change guidance to a predetermined output device ,
The specific route is a route that turns right or left at the predetermined intersection,
The lane change guidance is guidance that prompts a change to the right lane when the specific route is a right turn route, and a guidance that prompts a change to the left lane when the specific route is a left turn route. Yes,
When the specific route is a right turn route, the guidance determination unit is configured such that when the current position of the target vehicle is located to the left of the traveling locus indicated by the reference data in the traveling direction, and the specific route When the route is a left turn route, it is determined that the lane change guidance is necessary when the current position of the target vehicle is located to the right in the traveling direction with respect to the travel locus indicated by the reference data. Navigation system. Road attribute storage means for storing road attribute data including the width of the road;
Width determination means for determining whether or not the width of the road on which the target vehicle stored in the road attribute storage means is running is larger than two lanes on one side;
The guidance determination unit performs the necessity determination of the guidance when the width determination unit determines that the width of the road on which the target vehicle is traveling is larger than two lanes on one side. The navigation system according to claim 1. The reference data generating means generates reference data indicating a travel locus of a vehicle that has traveled along the specific route at the predetermined intersection,
The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance determination unit compares reference data of a vehicle that has traveled along the specific route with the predetermined intersection with a current position of the target vehicle.   The reference data generating means reads out position data of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled along the specific route from the position data storage means, and generates reference data indicating an average of the traveling tracks of the plurality of vehicles. The navigation system according to claim 3, wherein the navigation system is generated. Continuously collecting position data of each vehicle from each vehicle when a plurality of vehicles are traveling;
Storing the collected position data of each vehicle in a position data storage means;
Generating reference data indicating a traveling locus of a vehicle that has traveled a predetermined intersection based on the position data of each vehicle stored in the position data storage means;
A target vehicle that is traveling in front of the predetermined intersection, and is generated by the reference data generation means and a current position of the target vehicle that is routed so as to travel along the predetermined route on the predetermined intersection. Comparing the travel locus indicated by the reference data and determining whether or not the lane change guidance is necessary for the driver of the target vehicle;
The result of the determination, when the lane change guidance is required, possess a step of outputting the lane change guidance to a predetermined output device, and
The specific route is a route that turns right or left at the predetermined intersection,
The lane change guidance is guidance that prompts a change to the right lane when the specific route is a right turn route, and a guidance that prompts a change to the left lane when the specific route is a left turn route. Yes,
In the step of determining whether or not the lane change guidance is necessary, when the specific route is a right turn route, the current position of the target vehicle is located to the left in the traveling direction from the travel locus indicated by the reference data. And when the specific route is a left turn route, the lane change guidance is required when the current position of the target vehicle is located to the right of the traveling direction indicated by the reference data in the traveling direction. determining <br/> navigation method and. A computer program for car navigation,
Continuously collecting position data of each vehicle from each vehicle when a plurality of vehicles are traveling;
Storing the collected position data of each vehicle in a position data storage means;
Generating reference data indicating a traveling locus of a vehicle that has traveled a predetermined intersection based on the position data of each vehicle stored in the position data storage means;
A target vehicle that is traveling in front of the predetermined intersection, and is generated by the reference data generation means and a current position of the target vehicle that is routed so as to travel along the predetermined route on the predetermined intersection. Comparing the travel locus indicated by the reference data and determining whether or not the lane change guidance is necessary for the driver of the target vehicle;
As a result of the determination, when the lane change guidance is necessary, a computer program that causes a computer to execute an output instruction of the lane change guidance to a predetermined output device ,
The specific route is a route that turns right or left at the predetermined intersection,
The lane change guidance is guidance that prompts a change to the right lane when the specific route is a right turn route, and a guidance that prompts a change to the left lane when the specific route is a left turn route. Yes,
In the step of determining whether or not the lane change guidance is necessary, when the specific route is a right turn route, the current position of the target vehicle is located to the left in the traveling direction from the travel locus indicated by the reference data. And when the specific route is a left turn route, the lane change guidance is required when the current position of the target vehicle is located to the right of the traveling direction indicated by the reference data in the traveling direction. To determine,
Computer program.

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