JP6269105B2 - Automatic driving support system, automatic driving support method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic driving support system, an automatic driving support method, and a computer program that support automatic driving control of a vehicle.

  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 by 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. Further, the navigation device has a route search function for searching for a recommended route from the vehicle position to the destination when a desired destination is input, and sets the searched recommended route as a guide route. A guide route is displayed on the screen, and when the user approaches an intersection, the user is surely guided to a desired destination by voice guidance. In recent years, some mobile phones, smartphones, tablet terminals, personal computers, and the like have functions similar to those of the navigation device.

  Further, in recent years, automatic driving control in which the vehicle automatically travels along a preset route, regardless of the user's driving operation, other than the manual driving that travels based on the user's driving operation, as the driving mode of the vehicle. A new proposal has been made for driving by. In automatic driving control, for example, the current position of the vehicle, the lane in which the vehicle travels, the position of other vehicles in the vicinity are detected at any time, and vehicles such as a steering, a drive source, and a brake are driven so as to travel along a preset route. Control is automatic. Here, traveling by automatic driving control has the advantage of reducing the burden on the user's driving, but there are situations in which it is difficult to drive by automatic driving control depending on road conditions. For example, there are situations where it is necessary to change lanes or merge in a short distance section or in bad weather. And in such a situation, it is necessary to interrupt the driving | running | working by automatic driving | operation control and to perform a manual driving | operation.

  Therefore, the navigation apparatus or the like is newly required to search for a recommended route in consideration of the interruption of the automatic driving control. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-118603 recognizes a road with low current position detection accuracy by GPS as an uncontrollable road that cannot be driven by automatic driving control in order to perform driving without interruption by automatic driving control. A technique for searching for a route that avoids a road that cannot be automatically controlled has been proposed.

JP 2011-118603 A (page 6-7, FIG. 4)

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, a route is searched so that a road certified as an uncontrollable road is not included. In other cases, a roundabout route is searched or a route cannot be searched in some cases. On the other hand, the following new problem has arisen when the route for interrupting the traveling by the automatic operation control is also set as a search target. That is, if there are consecutive sections where automatic driving control is interrupted at predetermined intervals, driving by automatic driving control and driving by manual driving are frequently switched. There was a problem that the burden became heavier. In addition, there may be a case where a new section where automatic driving control should be interrupted is found while the vehicle is traveling.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems in the prior art, and even when a section in which automatic operation control should be interrupted is found while the vehicle is running, automatic operation control and manual operation are performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic driving support system, an automatic driving support method, and a computer program that prevent frequent switching of the vehicle and reduce the burden on the user's driving.

To achieve the above object, an automatic driving support system (1), an automatic driving support method, and a computer program according to the present invention provide an automatic driving support system that supports automatic driving control of a vehicle, and automatic driving of a vehicle using the system. An automatic driving support method for supporting control, and further a computer program for realizing the following functions for the system. Specifically, when traveling in an automatic driving section where automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed, an interrupting section setting means for setting an interrupting section for interrupting automatic driving control in the automatic driving section, (41), Additional interruption that additionally sets the section to the suspension section when a section in which automatic operation control is to be suspended is newly detected for the range excluding the section already set as the suspension section in the forward direction Connecting the section setting means (41), the first interrupted section which is the additionally set interrupted section, and the second interrupted section which is an adjacent interrupted section along the first interrupted section And an interrupt section connecting means (41) for newly setting one interrupt section that continues from the start point of one interrupt section to the end point of the other interrupt section along the traveling direction .

  According to the first automatic driving support system, the automatic driving support method, and the computer program according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, when an interrupting section in which the automatic driving control is to be interrupted while the vehicle is running is newly found. However, since the newly found interrupted section and the interrupted section arranged adjacent to the interrupted section are connected and set to one continuous interrupted section, switching between automatic operation control and manual operation is frequently performed. It can be prevented from being performed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user's driving.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 4 is a flowchart of a route search processing program according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the correspondence of addition value (alpha) and the reason for which automatic driving | operation control interrupts. It is the figure which showed the route guidance screen which guided the recommended route displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed the route guidance screen which guided candidate routes other than the recommended route displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed an example of the control content of the automatic driving control set with respect to the driving planned route of a vehicle. It is a flowchart of the sub-processing program of the joining process of an interruption area. It is explanatory drawing explaining the coupling | bonding of the interruption area. It is a flowchart of the automatic driving | operation control processing program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the sub process program of the detection process of an interruption area. It is the figure which showed an example of the correspondence of addition value (alpha) and the probability that automatic operation control will be interrupted.

  Hereinafter, an automatic driving support system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on a first embodiment and a second embodiment embodied in a navigation device.

[First Embodiment]
First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment includes a current position detection unit 11 that detects a current position of a vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted, and a data recording unit 12 that records various data. The navigation ECU 13 that performs various arithmetic processes based on the input information, the operation unit 14 that receives operations from the user, and a map that is searched for by the user in a map around the vehicle and a route search process that will be described later. A liquid crystal display 15 for displaying information and the like, a speaker 16 for outputting voice guidance regarding route guidance, a DVD drive 17 for reading a DVD as a storage medium, a probe center, a VICS (registered trademark: Vehicle Information and Communication System) center, and the like And a communication module 18 for communicating with the information center. . The navigation device 1 is connected to an in-vehicle camera 19 and various sensors installed on a vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted via an in-vehicle network such as CAN. Furthermore, the vehicle control ECU 20 that performs various controls on the vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted is also connected so as to be capable of bidirectional communication. Further, various operation buttons 21 mounted on the vehicle such as an automatic driving switch and an automatic driving start button described later are also connected.

Below, each component which comprises the navigation apparatus 1 is demonstrated in order.
The current position detection unit 11 includes a GPS 22, a vehicle speed sensor 23, a steering sensor 24, a gyro sensor 25, and the like, and can detect the current vehicle position, direction, vehicle traveling speed, current time, and the like. . Here, in particular, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is a sensor for detecting a moving distance and a vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the driving wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation ECU 13. And navigation ECU13 calculates the rotational speed and moving distance of a driving wheel by counting the generated pulse. Note that the navigation device 1 does not have to include all the four types of sensors, and the navigation device 1 may include only one or more types of sensors.

  The data recording unit 12 is also a hard disk (not shown) as an external storage device and a recording medium, and a driver for reading the map information DB 31 and a predetermined program recorded on the hard disk and writing predetermined data on the hard disk And a recording head (not shown). The data recording unit 12 may be configured by a memory card, an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD, instead of the hard disk. Further, the map information DB 31 may be stored in an external server, and the navigation device 1 may be configured to acquire by communication.

  Here, the map information DB 31 displays, for example, link data 33 related to roads (links), node data 34 related to node points, search data 35 used for processing related to route search and change, facility data related to facilities, and maps. Storage means for storing map display data, intersection data relating to each intersection, search data for searching for points, and the like.

  In addition, as link data 33, for each link constituting the road, the width of the road to which the link belongs, the gradient, the cant, the bank, the road surface condition, the merged section, the number of road lanes, the number of lanes that decrease The data representing the narrowed part, the level crossing, etc. is the data regarding the corner, the radius of curvature, the intersection, the T-junction, the entrance and the exit of the corner, the data indicating the downhill road, the uphill road, etc. regarding the road attribute However, regarding road types, in addition to general roads such as national roads, prefectural roads, narrow streets, and the like, data representing toll roads such as highway automobile national roads, city highways, automobile exclusive roads, general toll roads, and toll bridges are recorded.

  The node data 34 includes actual road branch points (including intersections, T-junctions, etc.) and the coordinates (positions) of node points set for each road according to the radius of curvature, etc. Node attribute indicating whether a node is a node corresponding to an intersection, etc., a connection link number list that is a list of link numbers of links connected to the node, and an adjacency that is a list of node numbers of nodes adjacent to the node via the link Data relating to the node number list, the height (altitude) of each node point, and the like are recorded.

  Further, as the search data 35, various data used for route search processing for searching for a route from a departure place (for example, the current position of the vehicle) to a set destination as described later are recorded. Specifically, the cost of quantifying the appropriate degree as a route to an intersection (hereinafter referred to as an intersection cost), the cost of quantifying the appropriate degree as a route to a link constituting a road (hereinafter referred to as a link cost), etc. Cost calculation data used for calculating the search cost is stored. In particular, in the first embodiment, as described later, the recommended route is searched using the required time from the starting point to the destination, so that various data for calculating the required time for the route are also stored in the search data 35. ing. The search cost may be defined by the required time.

  Further, in the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment, particularly when searching for a recommended route from the departure place to the destination including the automatic driving section where the automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed, the automatic driving control is performed in the automatic driving section. The recommended route is searched based on the interruption information for interrupting the operation. Specifically, when including an interruption section where automatic driving control is interrupted, an addition value corresponding to the number of times, time, distance, position and reason for interrupting automatic driving control is added to the required time, and the addition of the additional value is performed. The recommended route is searched by comparing the required time.

  Here, as a traveling form of the vehicle, in addition to the manual driving traveling that travels based on the user's driving operation, the vehicle automatically travels along a predetermined route regardless of the user's driving operation. Traveling by operation control is possible. In the automatic driving control, for example, the current position of the vehicle, the lane in which the vehicle travels, and the positions of other vehicles in the vicinity are detected at any time, and steering and driving are performed so as to travel along a route preset by the vehicle control ECU 20. Vehicle control such as power source and brake is performed automatically. The details of the automatic operation control are already known, and the description is omitted. In addition, although automatic driving control may be performed for all road sections, in the following description, as an automatic driving section in which automatic driving control of a vehicle is performed, a gate (manned unmanned, A description will be made assuming that the automatic driving control is basically performed only during the period when the highway is provided with a chargeable free of charge) and the vehicle travels in the automatic driving section. However, other sections may be set as the automatic operation section. For example, a highway automobile national road, a city highway, a car road, a toll road, and a general road may be set as the automatic driving section. In addition, when the vehicle travels in the automatic driving section, automatic driving control is not always performed, but automatic driving control is selected by the user, and driving is performed by automatic driving control as described later. Is only done in appropriate circumstances. That is, the automatic driving section is a section in which automatic driving control is permitted for the vehicle in addition to manual driving.

  Traveling by the above-mentioned automatic driving control has a merit that the burden on the user's driving can be reduced, but there are situations where it is difficult to perform driving by the automatic driving control depending on road conditions. In the navigation apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the automatic driving control of the vehicle is interrupted and manually operated in the automatic driving section in which a situation where it is difficult to travel by such automatic driving control occurs. Set to the interrupted section to drive. The setting of the interruption section is basically performed at the time of the route search, but is also performed while the vehicle is traveling after the route search. For example, when it is newly detected that there is a section with a thin lane line or a section where the weather has suddenly deteriorated in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle, it is difficult to perform automatic driving control in the section. Is newly set as the interruption section. The details of the setting of the interrupted section and the route search based on the set interrupted section will be described later.

  On the other hand, the navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 13 is an electronic control unit that controls the entire navigation device 1. The CPU 41 as an arithmetic device and a control device, and a working memory when the CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes. In addition to the RAM 42 for storing route data when a route is searched, a control program, a route search processing program (see FIG. 2) and an automatic driving control processing program (see FIG. 9) described later. ) Etc. are recorded, and an internal storage device such as a flash memory 44 for storing a program read from the ROM 43 is provided. The navigation ECU 13 constitutes various means as processing algorithms. For example, the route acquisition means acquires a planned travel route of the vehicle including an automatic driving section in which automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed. The interruption section specifying means specifies an interruption section that interrupts the automatic driving control in the automatic driving section included in the planned travel route. The interrupting section connecting means connects the first interrupting section and the second interrupting section, which are interrupting sections arranged adjacent to each other along the candidate route, and sets them as one continuous interrupting section.

  The operation unit 14 is operated when inputting a departure point as a travel start point and a destination as a travel end point, and includes a plurality of operation switches (not shown) such as various keys and buttons. Then, the navigation ECU 13 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on switch signals output by pressing the switches. The operation unit 14 can also be configured by a touch panel provided on the front surface of the liquid crystal display 15. Moreover, it can also be comprised with a microphone and a speech recognition apparatus.

  The liquid crystal display 15 also includes a map image including a road, traffic information, operation guidance, operation menu, key guidance, a candidate for a recommended route from the starting point to the destination searched during route search, and a candidate for a recommended route. Various information related to, guidance information along the guidance route, news, weather forecast, time, mail, TV program, etc. are displayed. In place of the liquid crystal display 15, HUD or HMD may be used.

  The speaker 16 outputs voice guidance for guiding traveling along the guidance route based on an instruction from the navigation ECU 13 and traffic information guidance.

  The DVD drive 17 is a drive that can read data recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD. Based on the read data, music and video are reproduced, the map information DB 31 is updated, and the like.

  The communication module 18 is a communication device for receiving traffic information, probe information, weather information, and the like transmitted from a traffic information center, for example, a VICS center or a probe center. . In addition, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that performs communication between vehicles and a road-to-vehicle communication device that performs communication with roadside devices are also included.

  The vehicle exterior camera 19 is constituted by a camera using a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD, for example, and is installed above the front bumper of the vehicle and installed with the optical axis direction downward from the horizontal by a predetermined angle. And the vehicle outside camera 19 images the front of the traveling direction of the vehicle when the vehicle travels in the automatic driving section. In addition, the vehicle control ECU 20 performs image processing on the captured image, thereby detecting a lane line drawn on the road on which the vehicle travels, other vehicles in the vicinity, and the like. Perform operation control. On the other hand, when the vehicle travels in an automatic driving section, the navigation ECU 13 has a section where a situation in which it is difficult to cause the driving to be performed by automatic driving control based on a captured image captured by the outside camera 19 as described later (for example, Detection of a thin section line, etc.). The detected section is newly set as an interrupted section as will be described later. In addition, you may comprise the vehicle exterior camera 19 so that it may arrange | position behind or a side other than the vehicle front. In addition, various sensors such as an illuminance sensor and a rain sensor may be used instead of the outside camera 19 for detection of a section where a situation where it is difficult to perform traveling by the automatic driving control occurs. In that case, for example, heavy rain or heavy fog can be detected. As a means for detecting other vehicles, a sensor such as a millimeter wave radar, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or road-to-vehicle communication may be used instead of the camera.

  The vehicle control ECU 20 is an electronic control unit that controls the vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted. Further, the vehicle control ECU 20 is connected to each drive unit of the vehicle such as a steering, a brake, and an accelerator. In the first embodiment, the vehicle is controlled by controlling each drive unit particularly when the vehicle travels in an automatic driving section. Implement automatic operation control. Moreover, navigation ECU13 transmits the instruction | indication signal regarding automatic driving | operation control with respect to vehicle control ECU20 via CAN at the time of the driving plan route (guide route) of a vehicle being determined. And vehicle control ECU20 implements the automatic driving | operation control after a driving | running | working start according to the received instruction signal. Note that the content of the instruction signal includes information for specifying a planned travel route (guidance route) and an automatic operation performed on the vehicle for sections other than the interrupted section among the automatic driving sections included in the planned travel path. This is information in which the control content of the operation control (for example, straight ahead, lane change to the right, merge, etc.) is set.

  Next, a route search processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the route search processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the route search processing program is a program that is executed when a predetermined operation for performing a route search is received in the navigation device 1 and searches for a recommended route from the departure point to the destination. 2, 7, 9, and 10 are stored in the RAM 42 and the ROM 43 provided in the navigation device 1 and executed by the CPU 41.

  First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1 in the route search processing program, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the automatic operation switch is turned on. Here, the automatic driving switch is a switch for the user to switch whether the vehicle basically performs the automatic driving control in the automatic driving section or performs the manual driving without performing the automatic driving control. Be placed.

  And when it determines with the automatic driving | operation switch being turned ON (S1: YES), it transfers to S3. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic operation switch is OFF (S1: NO), the process proceeds to S2.

  That is, when it is determined that the automatic operation switch is turned on, the user desires to perform automatic operation control in the automatic operation section. Therefore, as described later, the CPU 41 performs the automatic operation section after S3. Thus, the recommended route from the starting point to the destination is searched basically assuming that the vehicle performs automatic driving control.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the automatic operation switch is turned off, the user desires to perform manual operation without performing automatic operation control in the automatic operation section. The recommended route from the starting point to the destination is searched on the assumption that the vehicle is manually operated in the section. Note that the recommended route search process in S2 is the same as a general route search process that does not consider automatic driving control, and thus description thereof is omitted. When the route search process is performed, the recommended route searched for and other candidate routes other than the recommended route (for example, a route searched for with priority on distance, priority on general road, and priority on toll road) are guided to the liquid crystal display 15. Then, the user selects a planned travel route (guide route) of the vehicle from the guided routes. Thereafter, the navigation device 1 performs traveling guidance based on the selected planned traveling route.

  In S3, the CPU 41 acquires a departure place and a destination. Note that the departure point may be the current position of the vehicle or an arbitrary point (for example, a home) designated by the user. The destination is acquired based on a user operation (for example, a facility search or selection operation) received in the operation unit 14.

  Next, in S4, the CPU 41 creates a candidate route that is a recommended route candidate. The candidate route is created using a known Dijkstra method. Specifically, the route is searched from the departure side and the destination side, and the search cost (node) accumulated from the departure side in the overlapping portion of the search from the departure side and the search from the destination side. (Cost and link cost), the search cost accumulated from the destination side, and the charge cost corresponding to the charge required for traveling, that is, the cost addition value is calculated. Then, the CPU 41 identifies a predetermined number (for example, a maximum of five) routes as candidate routes in the order of the calculated cost addition value.

  The subsequent processing of S5 to S11 is performed for each candidate route created in S4. And after the process of S5-S11 is performed by making all the produced candidate paths into object, it transfers to S12.

  In S5, the CPU 41 determines whether or not an automatic travel section is included in the candidate route to be processed. The automatic travel section is a section that basically performs automatic driving control when the vehicle travels in the section as described above, and corresponds to, for example, an expressway.

  And when it determines with an automatic travel area being included in the candidate path | route used as a process target (S5: YES), it transfers to S6. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic travel section is not included in the candidate route to be processed (S5: NO), the process proceeds to S11.

  In S6, the CPU 41 determines whether or not there is an automatic driving control interruption history when the vehicle has traveled in the past for the automatic traveling section included in the candidate route to be processed. Note that the interruption history of automatic operation control includes information for specifying the position (start position or end position of interruption), time, distance, and reason for interruption of automatic operation control. Further, the automatic operation control interruption history may be stored in the data recording unit 12 or may be stored in an external server. Furthermore, when it is set as the structure memorize | stored in an external server, you may include also about the interruption history of other vehicles other than the interruption history of the same vehicle.

  If it is determined that there is an automatic driving control interruption history when the vehicle has traveled in the past for the automatic travel section included in the candidate route to be processed (S6: YES), the process proceeds to S7. And migrate. On the other hand, for the automatic travel section included in the candidate route to be processed, when it is determined that there is no automatic driving control interruption history when the vehicle traveled in the same section in the past (S6: NO), The process proceeds to S8.

  In S <b> 7, the CPU 41 acquires the automatic driving control interruption history when the vehicle has traveled in the past for the automatic traveling section included in the candidate route to be processed. Specifically, when the automatic operation control interruption history is stored in the data recording unit 12, it is read from the data recording unit 12. On the other hand, when the automatic operation control interruption history is stored in an external server, it is acquired by communicating with the external server.

Subsequently, in S <b> 8, the CPU 41 specifies a section (hereinafter referred to as a suspended section) in which the automatic driving control is suspended in the automatic driving section included in the candidate route. In addition, as an interruption section, a section where a situation in which it is difficult to perform driving by automatic driving control is specified based on road shape, lane markings, traffic information, weather information, past automatic driving control interruption history, and the like. . In the interrupted section, the automatic driving control of the vehicle is interrupted and traveling by manual driving is performed. For example, a section corresponding to any of the following conditions (1) to (5) is specified as an interrupted section.
(1) A section that requires merging or changing lanes in a short section (for example, 500 m or less).
(2) A section where the lane marking (the roadway center line, the lane boundary line, the roadway outer line, etc.) has disappeared or has become so thin that it cannot be recognized by the camera.
(3) A section in which lane regulation is caused by accidents, construction work, fallen objects, etc., but it cannot be determined which lane the regulated lane is.
(4) A section in which the weather is difficult to detect by a camera or a sensor or the weather is difficult to control (for example, heavy rain, heavy fog, snow accumulation, road freezing) when the vehicle is running.
(5) A section other than (1) to (4) in which automatic operation control has been interrupted in the past.

  Whether or not the conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied is determined based on, for example, map information, VICS information, probe information, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and road-to-vehicle communication. Further, whether or not the condition (5) is satisfied is determined based on the interruption history acquired in S7. Note that the interrupted section specified in S8 is provisionally specified, and the interrupted sections are finally integrated in S9, which will be described later, and finally determined and set as the interrupted section. Furthermore, the setting of the interruption section is basically performed at the time of the route search (S8, S9), but is also performed during the travel of the vehicle after the route search as described later (S47 in FIG. 10).

  Next, in S <b> 9, the CPU 41 executes an interruption interval combination process (FIG. 7) described later. It should be noted that the interrupting section joining process is a process of connecting interrupting sections arranged adjacent to each other along a candidate route so as to satisfy certain conditions and setting them as one continuous interrupting section.

  Subsequently, in S10, the CPU 41 acquires interrupt information for interrupting automatic driving control for the candidate route to be processed based on the interrupt section set in S8 and S9. The interruption information includes the number of times, time, distance, position, and reason why automatic driving control is interrupted on the candidate route to be processed. The time, distance, position, and reason are acquired for each interrupted section.

  Thereafter, in S <b> 11, the CPU 41 calculates a determination value D that serves as an index for selecting a recommended route for the candidate route to be processed. Specifically, it is calculated by the following method.

  First, the required time T (minutes) required to travel on the candidate route is acquired. The required time T is calculated from map information, traffic information, and the like. Next, an addition value α corresponding to the interruption information acquired in S10 is added to the calculated required time T. Then, a total value of the required time T and the addition value α is set as a determination value D. The added value α is calculated using at least one of the number of times, the time, the distance, the position, and the reason for interrupting the automatic operation control. For example, the sum of any one or more of (A) to (C) below is set as the addition value α. (A) Number of times automatic driving control is interrupted on the candidate route × 2 minutes, (B) Total time (minutes) when automatic driving control is interrupted on the candidate route, (C) Automatic driving control is interrupted on the candidate route Total distance (km).

  Further, when the addition value α is calculated using the position where the automatic driving control is interrupted, the addition value α is calculated so as to increase as the interrupting position is closer to the destination side of the candidate route. For example, a value obtained by multiplying the ratio of “distance from departure place to stop point” to “total length of candidate route” by “required time × 0.1” is added value α. In addition, when there are a plurality of interruption sections, the addition value α may be calculated for each of the plurality of interruption sections, and the determination value D may be calculated using only the largest addition value α. The determination value D may be calculated by adding the addition value α to the required time T.

  In addition, when the addition value α is calculated using the reason why the automatic operation control is interrupted, the addition value α is calculated so that the addition value α becomes a larger value in the situation where it is difficult to perform the driving by the automatic operation control. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between the added value α and the reason why the automatic operation control is interrupted. For example, a case where a section that is set as an interrupted section is included because of merging or changing lanes in a short section (for example, 500 m or less), and in particular, merging or changing lanes in a longer period than 100 m and 500 m or less is performed. When an interruption section is included, the addition value α is calculated as “1”, and when an interruption section where merging or changing lanes at 100 m or less is included, the addition value α is calculated as “2”. In addition, when the road shape of the interrupted section where merging or lane change is performed cannot be specified from the map information, the addition value α is calculated to “3”. On the other hand, when a section that is set as an interrupted section is included because of snow accumulation or road surface freezing when the vehicle travels, especially when an interrupted section where road surface freezing information exists in the VICS information is included α is calculated as “3”, and VICS information does not exist, but if the weather forecast includes an interrupted section with a high snowfall rate (for example, 80% or more), the added value α is calculated as “2” and VICS information exists. Without addition, even in the weather forecast, when the snowfall rate is low (for example, less than 80%) and includes an interrupted section, the addition value α is calculated to “1”. Similarly, for other reasons, an added value is calculated as shown in FIG. In addition, when there are a plurality of interruption sections, the addition value α may be calculated for each of the plurality of interruption sections, and the determination value D may be calculated using only the largest addition value α. The determination value D may be calculated by adding the addition value α to the required time T.

  In addition, when the automatic driving section is not included in the candidate route to be processed (S5: NO), the required time T (minute) required for traveling on the candidate route becomes the determination value D. Then, after the determination value D is calculated for all candidate routes created in S4, the process proceeds to S12.

  In S12, the CPU 41 selects a recommended route from the candidate routes created in S4. Specifically, the judgment value D for each candidate route is compared, and the candidate route having the smallest judgment value D among the plurality of candidate routes is selected as the recommended route. Note that a plurality of recommended routes may be selected. In S12, the candidate route having the smallest determination value D is selected regardless of whether or not the interrupted section is included as the recommended route. Accordingly, a candidate route including an interrupted section may be selected as a recommended route, or a candidate route not including an interrupted section may be selected as a recommended route.

  Next, in S13, the CPU 41 guides information related to the recommended route selected in S12 and other candidate routes other than the recommended route. It should be noted that only the information related to the recommended route may be guided, and the candidate routes other than the recommended route are not all routes, but only a predetermined number of routes (for example, two in order of decreasing judgment value D) are targeted for guidance. Also good. In particular, when the automatic driving section is included in the recommended route or other candidate routes, the section corresponding to the interrupted section and the section not corresponding are identified and guided. That is, the guidance for the section corresponding to the interrupted section and the guidance for the section not corresponding are performed in different guidance modes. Furthermore, when guidance of recommended routes and other candidate routes is performed, the interruption information acquired in S10 is also guided.

Here, FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing a route guidance screen 51 for guiding the recommended route displayed on the liquid crystal display 15 in S13 and candidate routes other than the recommended route.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the route guidance screen 51 displays an information window 52 that displays information related to recommended routes to be guided and other candidate routes in a list for each route. The route selected by the cursor 53 in the information window 52 is displayed on the map image on the left side of the screen. For example, FIG. 4 shows a route guidance screen 51 with the recommended route 54 selected, and FIG. 5 shows a route guidance screen 51 with a candidate route 55 other than the recommended route selected.
Here, information including interruption information in particular is displayed in the information window 52 as information on the recommended route and the like. Specifically, (a) the number of times automatic operation control is interrupted in the route, (b) the total distance at which automatic operation control is interrupted in the route, and (c) the required time are displayed for each route. In addition, it is good also as a structure which displays also about the sum total of the time when automatic driving | operation control is interrupted | routed on a path | route. In addition, the information window 52 is displayed in a sorted manner. Specifically, among the candidate routes, the route having a higher priority is preferentially guided. The priority is basically set higher as the judgment value D is smaller, but it may be set based on the number of times automatic operation control is interrupted, time, distance, position, and reason.
In addition, when the recommended route 54 and the candidate route 55 displayed on the map image on the left side of the screen are included in an automatic driving section, a section corresponding to the automatic driving section and a section not corresponding to the automatic driving section are identified and displayed. . For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the automatic driving section is displayed with a solid line, and other than the automatic driving section is displayed with a broken line. In addition, for the section corresponding to the interrupted section among the automatic operation sections, a section specifying line segment 56 connecting the start point and the start point of the interrupted section is displayed in order to identify the section from the other sections. Further, an interrupt icon 57 indicating the reason for interrupting the automatic operation control is displayed in the vicinity of the section specifying line segment 56. For example, in the route guidance screen 51 shown in FIG. 5, there are two interrupted sections for the candidate route 55, and the interrupted section on the departure side is an interrupted section because it is a section that needs to be merged in a short section. Indicates that it is set. On the other hand, the suspending section on the destination side is set as a suspending section because the lane regulation is caused by accidents, construction, falling objects, etc., but it is a section where it is not possible to determine which lane the regulated lane is Indicates that

  Then, the user visually recognizes the route guidance screen 51 displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, so that the automatic driving control can be performed when traveling along the recommended route from the departure point to the destination and candidate routes other than the recommended route and each route. It is possible to grasp where and how it is interrupted (number of times automatic operation control is interrupted, time, distance, position, reason, etc.).

  Next, in S14, the CPU 41 determines a planned travel route (guide route) of the vehicle based on the user's operation from the recommended route and candidate routes other than the recommended route guided in S13. In addition, it is good also as a structure which determines a recommended route as a driving planned route, without making a user select. After that, the CPU 41 controls the contents of the automatic driving control performed on the vehicle in the automatic driving sections included in the planned travel route except the interrupted section (for example, straight ahead, lane change to the right, merge, etc.) ) Is set.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6, it is the figure which showed an example of the control content of the automatic driving | operation control set when the sections af are automatic driving | running | working areas among the driving schedule routes of a vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the section e is an interruption section among the sections a to f, the control content of the automatic operation control is set for the sections a to d and f excluding the section e. In addition, the control content of automatic driving control is basically determined based on the planned travel route and map information. For example, “Merge” is set as the control content of automatic driving control in the section where it is necessary to merge with the main line by IC etc. Is done. Further, “change lane to right (left)” is set in a section where lane change is required in order to move to another highway by JCT or the like. And the information which specifies a driving planned route and the set control content are transmitted to vehicle control ECU20 via CAN. As a result, when the vehicle starts traveling, the vehicle control ECU 20 performs automatic driving control after the start of traveling according to the information received from the navigation device 1.

  Next, the sub-process of the process for combining the interrupted sections executed in S9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a sub-processing program for the process of combining interrupted sections.

  First, in S21, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the interrupted section specified in S8 is included in a plurality of sections for the candidate route to be processed.

  When it is determined that the candidate route to be processed includes a plurality of interrupted sections identified in S8 (S21: YES), the process proceeds to S22. On the other hand, when it is determined that only one interrupted section is included or no interrupted section is included (S21: NO), the process proceeds to S10 without combining the interrupted sections.

  The subsequent processes of S22 to S28 are performed for each interruption section included in the candidate route to be processed. First, processing is executed for the interruption section that is closest to the departure place, and thereafter, processing is executed in order from the interruption section that is closest to the departure place. And after the process of S22-S28 is performed for the interruption area one side before the interruption area in the most destination side, it transfers to S10.

  In S22, the CPU 41 acquires the start point X1, the end point X2, and the distance L1 (= | X2-X1 |) of the interrupted section to be processed.

  Next, in S23, the CPU 41 determines the start point Y1, the end point Y2, and the distance L2 (interrupt section set next to the destination side of the interrupt section to be processed) (that is, the interrupt section set adjacent to the destination side). = | Y2-Y1 |) respectively.

  Subsequently, in S24, the CPU 41 determines the distance L3 (= |) between the interrupted section to be processed (hereinafter referred to as the first interrupted section) and the interrupted section to be processed next (hereinafter referred to as the second interrupted section). X2-Y1 |) is calculated.

  Subsequently, in S25, the CPU 41 predicts the vehicle speed V of the vehicle traveling between the first interruption section and the second interruption section. The vehicle speed V may be a road speed limit (for example, 80 km / h) specified based on the map information, or may be an average vehicle speed of a corresponding section acquired from VICS information or probe information. In addition, it is desirable to predict in consideration of traffic information such as traffic jam information.

  Thereafter, in S26, the CPU 41 is necessary for the vehicle to travel from the end point of the first interruption section to the start point of the second interruption section based on the distance L3 calculated in S24 and the vehicle speed V predicted in S25. The required time Z (= L3 / V) is calculated.

  Next, in S27, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the required time Z calculated in S26 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. Here, the threshold value used as the determination criterion in S27 is set based on, for example, the road type and the road shape, and is an upper limit time at which the switching interval between the automatic driving control and the manual driving is determined to be complicated for the user. 1 minute. Note that the user may set a threshold value. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which determines whether the distance L3 between a 1st interruption area and a 2nd interruption area is below a threshold value (for example, 1 km) rather than whether the required time Z is below a threshold value in said S27.

  And when it determines with the required time Z calculated by said S26 being below a predetermined threshold value (S27: YES), it transfers to S28. On the other hand, when it is determined that the required time Z calculated in S26 is longer than the predetermined threshold (S27: NO), the process returns to S22, and after changing the interruption section to be processed, the steps after S22 are performed. Run the process again.

  In S <b> 28, the CPU 41 connects the first interruption section and the second interruption section and sets it as one continuous interruption section. For example, a case will be described in which two interruption sections A and B are set adjacently along the candidate route as shown in FIG. In this case, unless the interruption sections are combined in S28, automatic operation control is performed from point X1, manual operation is performed from point X1 to point X2, and automatic operation is performed from point X2 to point Y1. Control is performed, manual operation is performed from point Y1 to point Y2, and automatic operation control is performed after point Y2. Therefore, switching between automatic operation control and manual operation is frequently performed. On the other hand, when the interrupted section A and the interrupted section B are connected in S28 and a new interrupted section C starting from X1 and ending at Y2 is set, manual operation is continued from point X1 to point Y2. Thus, frequent switching between automatic operation control and manual operation can be prevented.

  Thereafter, the process returns to S22, and after changing the interruption section to be processed, the processes after S22 are executed again. And after the process of S22-S28 is performed for the interruption area one side before the interruption area in the most destination side, it transfers to S10.

  Next, an automatic driving control processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the automatic operation control processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the self-propelled driving control processing program is executed at a predetermined interval (for example, every 100 ms) after the planned traveling route (guidance route) of the vehicle is determined in S14. This is a program for making new settings.

  First, in S31, in the automatic operation control processing program, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the automatic operation start button is turned on. Here, the automatic operation start button is arranged on an instrument panel or the like, and is switched ON and OFF every time the user presses it. Then, automatic driving control is started when the vehicle is running in an automatic driving section (excluding the section set as an interruption section), while automatic driving is started when the vehicle is turned off during execution of the automatic driving control. Even during traveling in the section, the automatic operation control ends and switches to manual operation.

  And when it determines with the automatic driving | operation start button being turned ON (S31: YES), it transfers to S34. On the other hand, if it is determined that the automatic operation start button is not turned on (S31: NO), the process proceeds to S32.

  In S32, the CPU 41 determines whether or not automatic driving control in the vehicle is being executed.

  And when it determines with the automatic driving | operation control in a vehicle being performed (S32: YES), it transfers to S33. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic driving control in the vehicle is not being executed (S32: NO), the automatic driving control processing program is terminated.

  In S33, the CPU 41 executes an automatic operation control end process. Specifically, an instruction signal for terminating the automatic driving control is transmitted to the vehicle control ECU 20 via the CAN. As a result, the automatic driving control ends in the vehicle and switches to manual driving.

  On the other hand, in S34, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the vehicle is in the automatic driving section based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 11 and the map information. Note that it is desirable to specify the current position of the vehicle in detail using a high-precision location technology. Here, the high-accuracy location technology detects the white line and road surface paint information captured from the camera behind the vehicle by image recognition, and further compares the white line and road surface paint information with a previously stored map information DB, thereby driving the vehicle. This is a technology that makes it possible to detect lanes and highly accurate vehicle positions. The details of the high-accuracy location technology are already known and will be omitted.

  And when it determines with a vehicle being in an automatic driving area (S34: YES), it transfers to S35. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle is not in the automatic driving section (S34: NO), the process proceeds to S32.

  In S35, the CPU 41 executes an interruption section detection process (FIG. 10) described later. In addition, the detection process of the interruption section has a situation where it is difficult to perform the automatic driving control outside the section that has already been set as the interruption section using the outside camera 19 or the sensor while the vehicle is traveling as described later. This is a process of detecting a generated section and newly setting it as an interrupted section.

  Next, in S36, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the automatic operation control is being interrupted. As described above, even when the vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving section, if the vehicle is located in the set interruption section, the automatic driving control of the vehicle is interrupted and traveling by manual driving is performed.

  If it is determined that the automatic operation control is being interrupted (S36: YES), the process proceeds to S39. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic operation control is not interrupted (S36: NO), the process proceeds to S37.

  In S37, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the interruption section. The interruption section is set in advance for the planned travel route on which the vehicle travels in the above-described route search processing program (FIGS. 2 and 7). It is also set in a detection process (FIG. 10) of an interrupted section described later.

  And when it determines with the vehicle having entered into the interruption area (S37: YES), it transfers to S38. In S38, the CPU 41 executes the automatic operation control interruption process. Specifically, an instruction signal for temporarily interrupting the automatic driving control is transmitted to the vehicle control ECU 20 via the CAN. As a result, the automatic operation control is temporarily interrupted in the vehicle and switched to manual operation. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has not entered the interruption section (S37: NO), automatic driving control is continuously performed.

  On the other hand, in S39, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the vehicle has left the suspended section.

  And when it determines with the vehicle having left the interruption area (S39: YES), it transfers to S40. In S <b> 40, the CPU 41 executes automatic operation control restart processing. Specifically, an instruction signal for resuming the automatic driving control that has been interrupted is transmitted to the vehicle control ECU 20 via the CAN. As a result, the automatic operation control that has been interrupted in the vehicle is resumed, and the manual operation is switched to the automatic operation control. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has not left the interruption section (S39: NO), the automatic driving control is continued to be interrupted.

  Next, the sub-process of the interruption section detection process executed in S35 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a sub-processing program for detecting the interruption interval.

  First, in S <b> 41, the CPU 41 acquires the current position of the vehicle based on the detection result of the current position detection unit 11. Note that it is desirable to specify the current position of the vehicle in detail using a high-precision location technology.

  Next, in S42, the CPU 41 acquires route information ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction. For example, route information within 1 km is acquired along the planned travel route from the current position of the vehicle.

  Subsequently, in S43, the CPU 41 determines whether or not it is connected to a traffic information server such as an external server or a VICS center in which the interruption history of the automatic driving control of other vehicles is stored.

  If it is determined that the vehicle is connected to a traffic information server such as an external server or a VICS center in which the interruption history of the automatic driving control of other vehicles is stored (S43: YES), the route from the server in S42 is determined. The latest automatic driving control interruption history and the latest traffic information in the forward section (hereinafter referred to as the detection target section) of the vehicle in which the information has been acquired are acquired (S44). On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not connected to a traffic information server such as an external server or a VICS center that stores the automatic driving control interruption history of other vehicles (S43: NO), the process proceeds to S45.

  In S45, the CPU 41 determines whether a camera, a sensor, or the like for detecting the external environment of the vehicle is connected. Examples of the sensor include a millimeter wave radar for detecting an obstacle, a rain sensor for detecting rain and snow, an illuminance sensor, and the like.

  If it is determined that a camera or sensor for detecting the external environment of the vehicle is connected (S45: YES), the external environment around the vehicle is detected using the connected camera or sensor. (S46). On the other hand, if it is determined that a camera or sensor for detecting the external environment of the vehicle is not connected (S45: NO), the process proceeds to S47.

Subsequently, in S47, the CPU 41, in the section ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle that acquired the route information in S42, based on the interruption history and traffic information acquired in S44 and the external environment detected in S46, has already It is determined whether or not there is a section in which a situation where it is difficult to cause the automatic driving control to run is performed except for the section set as the suspension section. And when it determines with the area where the situation where it is difficult to perform driving | running | working by automatic operation control exists, this area is newly specified as an interruption area. The interrupted section specified in S47 cannot be specified during the route search, but is an interrupted section that can be specified for the first time when the vehicle reaches the site. For example, the following (6) to (9) ) Is determined as an interrupted section.
(6) A section in which no interruption history exists at the time of the route search, but a new interruption history is generated when another vehicle interrupts the automatic driving control until the vehicle arrives at the site.
(7) A section in which a lane restriction is newly generated due to an accident, a construction work, a fallen object, or the like after the route search, and it is impossible to determine which lane is the restricted lane.
(8) By imaging the road surface with the camera, it was newly detected that the lane markings (the lane center line, the lane boundary line, the lane outside line, etc.) have disappeared or have become so thin that they cannot be recognized by the camera. section.
(9) A section that cannot be predicted at the time of route search, but is difficult to detect by a camera or sensor, or weather in which vehicle control is difficult (for example, heavy rain, heavy fog, snow cover, road surface freezing).

  Next, in S48, the CPU 41 determines whether or not an interrupted section has been newly specified in S47.

  And when it determines with the interruption area having been newly specified (S48: YES), it transfers to S49. On the other hand, when it is determined that the interrupted section is not newly specified (S48: NO), the process proceeds to S36 without setting a new interrupted section.

  In S <b> 49, the CPU 41 executes the above-described interruption section combining process (FIG. 7). As described above, the joining process of the interrupting sections is a process of connecting the interrupting sections continuously arranged along the candidate route while satisfying a certain condition and setting the interrupting sections as one continuous interrupting section. That is, since a new interrupted section is specified in S47, it is determined whether or not to join the interrupted sections for the new interrupted section. If necessary, the interrupted sections are combined. In S25, when the vehicle speed V of the vehicle traveling between the first interruption section and the second interruption section is predicted, the vehicle speed of the vehicle at the current time (that is, when a new interruption section is specified) is determined by the vehicle speed sensor. 23, and the obtained vehicle speed is preferably estimated as the vehicle speed V of the vehicle traveling between the first interruption section and the second interruption section.

  Next, in S50, the CPU 41 changes the control content of the automatic operation control set in S14 according to the newly specified and combined interrupted section. Specifically, the control content is changed so that automatic operation control is not performed in a section newly set as an interrupted section. Further, if it is necessary to change the control contents of the automatic operation control in other sections, the change is made. Then, the changed control content is transmitted to the vehicle control ECU 20 via the CAN. As a result, it is possible to implement automatic operation control that reflects the newly specified and combined interrupted section.

  As described in detail above, the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment, the automatic driving support method by the navigation device 1 and the computer program executed by the navigation device 1 include an automatic driving section in which automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed. When searching for a recommended route from the departure point to the destination, a plurality of candidate routes that are candidates for the recommended route are acquired (S4), and the automatic driving section included in the candidate route is acquired for each of the acquired candidate routes. In S8, the interruption section where the automatic operation control is interrupted is specified (S8). On the other hand, when a section where automatic driving control is to be interrupted forward in the traveling direction is detected while the vehicle is traveling, the section is additionally set as the interrupted section (S47). Since a certain 1st interruption area and the 2nd interruption area which is the interruption area arrange | positioned adjacently along this 1st interruption area are connected and set to one continuous interruption area (S49), vehicle Even when a new interruption section in which the automatic operation control is to be interrupted is found during the traveling, it is possible to prevent frequent switching between the automatic operation control and the manual operation. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user's driving.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a navigation device according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those of the configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 10 denote the same or corresponding parts as the configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment. It is.

  The schematic configuration of the navigation device according to the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment. Various control processes are also substantially the same as those in the navigation apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. However, the navigation apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment determines an interruption section in which the automatic driving control is interrupted in the navigation apparatus 1 during the route search, and the vehicle control ECU 20 determines the vehicle according to the interruption section determined by the navigation apparatus 1 during the route search. On the other hand, in the navigation device according to the second embodiment, the navigation device 1 only specifies a section (hereinafter referred to as an interruption prediction section) that may interrupt the automatic driving control when the route is searched, The specified predicted interruption interval does not affect whether automatic driving is actually interrupted (that is, whether or not automatic driving control is interrupted is determined by the navigation device or the vehicle control ECU 20 during traveling in the automatic driving interval). Is determined).

  Note that the route search processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device according to the second embodiment is different from the route search processing program (FIG. 2) according to the first embodiment except that the interrupted section is replaced with the predicted interrupt section. The process is basically the same. Further, the automatic operation control processing program is basically the same processing as the automatic operation control processing program (FIG. 9) according to the first embodiment. However, since the route search processing program according to the second embodiment only predicts a section in which the automatic driving control may be interrupted, the interrupt predicted section specified in S8 and S9 and the actual automatic driving are predicted. The section where control is interrupted may be different. Therefore, the control content (see FIG. 6) of the automatic driving control determined in S14 is changed as needed while the vehicle is traveling.

  Further, the process of combining the interrupted sections in S9 is also performed for the predicted interrupted section. As a result, if the recommended route and other candidate routes include an interrupt predicted section where automatic driving control may be interrupted, one interrupt predicted section connected by connecting adjacent interrupt predicted sections Can be set. Therefore, it is possible to accurately correspond the interruption prediction section to the section where the automatic operation control is actually interrupted. Moreover, it becomes possible to correct to the shape which can be easily grasped by the user without complicating the shape of the interruption prediction section.

  In the navigation device according to the second embodiment, in S10, the CPU 41 is predicted to interrupt the automatic driving control for the candidate route to be processed based on the predicted interruption interval set in S8 and S9. Get prediction information. In addition, the interruption prediction information indicates the probability that automatic driving control is actually interrupted in the predicted interruption period in addition to the number of times, time, distance, position, and reason that automatic driving control is predicted to be interrupted in the candidate route to be processed. including.

  In S11, the CPU 41 calculates the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted in addition to the number of times, the time, the distance, the position, and the reason that the automatic driving control is predicted to be interrupted when calculating the judgment value D of the candidate route. The added value α may be calculated by using this.

  For example, when the addition value α is calculated using the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted, the addition value α is calculated such that the higher the probability of interruption, the larger the addition value α. Here, FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between the added value α and the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted. For example, it is a case including a section set as an interruption prediction section for the reason of performing a merging or lane change in a short section (for example, 500 m or less), and particularly a merging or lane change in a longer period than 100 m and 500 m or less In the case of including the predicted interruption section to be performed, since it is possible to perform merging and lane change relatively easily even in the automatic driving control, the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted is low, and the addition value α is set to “ 1 ". In addition, in the case of including an interruption prediction section in which merging or lane change is performed at 100 m or less, it is difficult to perform merging or lane change by automatic driving control, so there is a high probability that automatic driving control is interrupted, and the added value α Is calculated as “2”. In addition, when the road shape of the interruption prediction section where the merging or lane change is performed cannot be specified from the map information, since the automatic driving control cannot be basically performed, the addition value α is calculated as “3”. On the other hand, when it includes a section that is set as a predicted suspension section due to snow or road surface freezing when the vehicle travels, especially when it includes a predicted suspension section where road surface freeze information exists in the VICS information , It is determined that there is a very high probability that the automatic driving control will be interrupted due to weather that is difficult to detect with a camera or sensor when the vehicle is traveling in the section, or weather that is difficult to control the vehicle, and the added value α is calculated to “3”. . In addition, when there is a VICS information that does not exist, but includes a forecasted section with a high snowfall rate (for example, 80% or more) in the weather forecast, it is difficult for the weather or vehicle control to be detected by a camera or sensor when the vehicle is traveling in the section. It is determined that there is a high probability that the automatic driving control will be interrupted due to the weather, and the addition value α is calculated to be “2”. Further, when there is a VICS information and there is an interruption prediction section where the snowfall rate is low (for example, less than 80%) even in the weather forecast, it is difficult for the weather or vehicle control to be detected by a camera or a sensor when the vehicle is traveling in the section. It is determined that the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted due to the weather is low, and the addition value α is calculated to be “1”. Similarly, for other reasons, as shown in FIG. 11, the added value is calculated based on the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted. In addition, when there are a plurality of interruption prediction sections, the addition value α may be calculated for each of the plurality of interruption prediction sections, and the determination value D may be calculated using only the largest addition value α. A configuration may be adopted in which the judgment value D is calculated by adding all the addition values α to the required time T. As a result, it is possible to calculate a judgment value D of a candidate route including an interruption prediction section where there is a high probability that the automatic driving control is actually interrupted (that is, making it difficult to be selected as a recommended route), so a more appropriate recommended route is selected. It becomes possible to do.

  Note that the configuration for calculating the judgment value D of the candidate route based on the number of times, time, distance, position, and reason for which the automatic driving control is predicted to be interrupted is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. .

  Further, in the navigation device according to the second embodiment, when guiding information related to the candidate route other than the recommended route or the recommended route in S13, the guidance may be performed in a manner corresponding to the probability that the automatic driving control is interrupted. good. Specifically, the display color and display pattern of the predicted interruption section included in the recommended route and the like are changed according to the probability of interruption. For example, in the route guidance screen 51 shown in FIG. 5, an interruption prediction section predicted to have a high probability of interruption (80% or higher) is displayed in red, and the probability of interruption is moderate (less than 80% and 50% or higher). The predicted interruption prediction section can be displayed in green, and the interruption prediction section predicted to have a low probability of interruption (less than 50%) can be displayed in blue. As a result, by visually recognizing the route guidance screen 51, it becomes possible for the user to easily grasp in what section the automatic driving control is interrupted with what probability.

  As described above in detail, in the navigation device according to the second embodiment, the automatic driving support method using the navigation device, and the computer program executed by the navigation device, the departure point including the automatic driving section where the automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed is performed. When searching for a recommended route to the destination, multiple candidate routes that are candidates for the recommended route are acquired, and automatic driving control is interrupted for each of the acquired candidate routes in the automatic driving section included in the candidate route The interruption prediction section that has a possibility of being identified is identified, and the first interruption section and the second interruption section that are adjacent to each other along the candidate route are connected and set as one continuous interruption section. Therefore, when the planned driving route of the vehicle includes a predicted stop period where automatic driving control may be interrupted, the automatic driving control is actually interrupted. It is possible to accurately corresponding interruption prediction interval to. Moreover, it becomes possible to correct to the shape which can be easily grasped by the user without complicating the shape of the interruption prediction section.

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 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, it is set as the structure which identifies the area which automatic operation control interrupts or may interrupt in an automatic operation area (S8, S47), but interrupts manual operation. It is good also as a structure which identifies the area which interrupts manual driving | operation or the area which may perform automatic driving | operation control by interrupting manual driving | operation. In such a case, a section that does not correspond to any of the above conditions (1) to (5) can be performed by interrupting manual operation and performing automatic operation control or by interrupting manual operation and performing automatic operation control. It becomes a section with sex. And it becomes possible to similarly perform the joining process of the interruption area shown in FIG. 7 with respect to the identified area. Furthermore, the judgment value D is calculated based on the information that the manual operation is interrupted or predicted to be interrupted, and the recommended route is selected. In addition, in the calculation of the judgment value D in S11, contrary to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the added value α is smaller as the number, time, or distance at which manual operation is interrupted or predicted to be interrupted is larger. Set to a value. Further, the closer the position where the manual operation is interrupted or predicted to be interrupted is closer to the destination side of the candidate route, the smaller the added value α is set.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the navigation device 1 is configured to set the control content of the automatic driving control performed on the vehicle (for example, straight ahead, lane change to the right, merge, etc.) The control content of the automatic driving may be set by the vehicle control ECU 20. Further, the control content of the automatic driving control is not necessarily set at the time of the route search, and may be set before reaching the automatic driving section.

  Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the above-described detection process of the interrupted section (FIG. 10) is performed while the vehicle is traveling in the self-propelled driving section. It may be performed only during the period. In that case, when a new interruption section is specified in S47, in S49, the interruption section where the vehicle is currently located and the newly specified interruption section are combined. Further, when the detection process of the interrupted section (FIG. 10) is performed only while traveling in the interrupted section, a detection range for newly detecting the section where the automatic driving control should be interrupted with respect to the front of the vehicle in the traveling direction. (In other words, the range in which route information is acquired in S42, the range in which interruption information and traffic information are acquired in S44, and the detection range of cameras and sensors in S46) may be configured to be set according to the vehicle speed. . For example, the detection range is set wider as the vehicle speed increases. As a result, since the required time Z from the end point of the interrupted section where the vehicle is currently located to the start point of the newly specified interrupted section is inevitably less than or equal to the threshold value, the processing of S22 to S27 can be omitted. .

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the user's driving operation that the vehicle control ECU 20 controls all of the accelerator operation, the brake operation, and the steering wheel operation, which are operations related to the behavior of the vehicle, among the operations of the vehicle. It has been described as an automatic operation control for automatically running without depending on. However, in the automatic driving control, the vehicle control ECU 20 may control at least one of the accelerator operation, the brake operation, and the steering wheel operation, which is an operation related to the behavior of the vehicle among the operations of the vehicle. On the other hand, manual driving by the user's driving operation will be described as a case where the user performs all of the accelerator operation, the brake operation, and the steering wheel operation, which are operations related to the behavior of the vehicle, among the operations of the vehicle.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the navigation device 1 executes the route change processing program (FIG. 2) and the automatic driving control program (FIG. 9). However, the vehicle control ECU 20 executes the configuration. Also good. In this case, the vehicle control ECU 20 is configured to acquire the current position of the vehicle, map information, traffic information, and the like from the navigation device 1.

  In addition to the navigation device, the present invention can be applied to a device having a route search function. For example, the present invention can be applied to a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, and the like (hereinafter referred to as a mobile terminal). Further, the present invention can be applied to a system including a server and a mobile terminal. In that case, each step of the above-described route change processing program (FIG. 2) and automatic driving control program (FIG. 9) may be configured to be implemented by either a server or a portable terminal. However, when the present invention is applied to a portable terminal or the like, it is necessary that a vehicle capable of performing automatic driving control and the portable terminal or the like be connected so as to be communicable (regardless of wired wireless).

  Moreover, although the embodiment which actualized the automatic driving support system according to the present invention has been described above, the automatic driving support system can also have the following configuration, and in that case, the following effects can be obtained.

For example, the first configuration is as follows.
The vehicle has a required time calculation means for calculating a required time required for the vehicle to travel from the end point of the first interrupted section to the start point of the second interrupted section or from the end point of the second interrupted section to the start point of the first interrupted section. The section connecting means connects the first interrupted section and the second interrupted section according to the required time.
According to the automatic driving support system having the above configuration, it is determined whether to connect the first interruption section and the second interruption section based on the positional relationship between the first interruption section and the second interruption section. It is possible to prevent frequent switching between the automatic operation control and the manual operation while preventing the section where the automatic operation control is interrupted due to the connection of the sections from becoming longer than necessary.

The second configuration is as follows.
The interruption section connecting means connects the first interruption section and the second interruption section when the required time is less than or equal to the threshold value, and does not connect the first interruption section and the second interruption section when the required time is longer than the threshold value. It is characterized by that.
According to the automatic driving support system having the above configuration, the automatic driving control is interrupted by connecting the interrupting sections because the interrupting sections are combined only when the interval between the first interrupting section and the second interrupting section is particularly short. While preventing the section from becoming longer than necessary, switching between automatic operation control and manual operation can be prevented from being performed continuously in a short time.

The third configuration is as follows.
The vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle speed of the vehicle, the required time calculation means is a distance from the end point of the first interruption section to the start point of the second interruption section or from the end point of the second interruption section to the start point of the first interruption section The required time is calculated based on the distance and the vehicle speed.
According to the automatic driving support system having the above-described configuration, based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle at the time when the interrupted section is newly detected, the second interrupted section starts from the end point of the second interrupted section or ends from the end of the second interrupted section. It is possible to accurately calculate the time required to travel to the start point of one interrupted section.

The fourth configuration is as follows.
The control content setting means for setting the control content of the automatic driving control performed on the vehicle for the sections other than the interruption section among the automatic driving sections where the vehicle is scheduled to travel and the interruption section connecting means first. Control content changing means for changing the control content of the automatic operation control set by the control content setting means according to the newly set interrupted section when the interrupted section and the second interrupted section are connected. It is characterized by that.
According to the route search system having the above-described configuration, when a new interrupted section in which the automatic driving control is interrupted is detected, the vehicle is used when traveling in the automatic driving section in consideration of the newly detected interrupted section. It becomes possible to change the control content of the automatic operation control to be performed. Accordingly, it is possible to perform appropriate automatic operation control in consideration of interruption of automatic operation control.

The fifth configuration is as follows.
It has a vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and the additional interruption section setting means newly detects a section where the automatic driving control should be interrupted in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle when the vehicle travels in the interruption section. The detection range to be set is set according to the vehicle speed of the vehicle.
According to the automatic driving support system having the above-described configuration, the relationship between the two interrupted sections should be connected without calculating the required time from the end point of the interrupted section where the vehicle is currently located to the start point of the newly specified interrupted section. It is possible to appropriately determine whether or not it is.

The sixth configuration is as follows.
The additional interruption section setting means sets the detection range wider as the vehicle speed is higher.
According to the automatic driving support system having the above configuration, the time required from the end point of the interrupted section where the vehicle is currently located to the start point of the newly specified interrupted section can be inevitably set to be equal to or less than the threshold value. Without executing the process, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the two interrupted sections are in a relationship to be connected.

The seventh configuration is as follows.
The interruption section setting means sets the interruption section using a road shape, traffic information, or a past history of automatic driving control.
According to the route search system having the above-described configuration, it is possible to appropriately specify a section in which a situation in which it is difficult to perform traveling by automatic driving control occurs as an interrupted section.

1 Navigation device 13 Navigation ECU
14 Operation unit 15 Liquid crystal display 41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM
51 Route Guidance Screen 52 Information Window 54 Recommended Route 55 Candidate Route 56 Section Specific Line Segment 57 Interruption Icon

Claims (10)

When traveling in an automatic driving section where automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed, an interrupting section setting means for setting an interrupting section for interrupting automatic driving control in the automatic driving section;
When a section where automatic driving control is to be interrupted is newly detected with respect to a range excluding the section already set as the suspension section in the forward direction of the vehicle, the section is additionally set as the suspension section. Additional interruption section setting means to perform,
From the start point of one of the interrupted sections, the first interrupted section that is the additionally set interrupted section is connected to the second interrupted section that is adjacent to the interrupted section along the first interrupted section. An automatic driving support system comprising: an interrupting section connecting means for newly setting one interrupting section that continues to the end point of the other interrupting section along the traveling direction . Time required calculating means for calculating a time required for the vehicle to travel from the end point of the first interrupted section to the start point of the second interrupted section or from the end point of the second interrupted section to the start point of the first interrupted section. Have
2. The automatic driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the interruption section connecting unit connects the first interruption section and the second interruption section according to the required time.   The interruption interval connecting means connects the first interruption interval and the second interruption interval when the required time is equal to or less than a threshold value, and connects the first interruption interval and the second interruption time when the required time is longer than the threshold value. The automatic driving support system according to claim 2, wherein the two suspension sections are not connected. Vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle speed of the vehicle;
The required time calculation means calculates the distance from the end point of the first interrupted section to the start point of the second interrupted section or the distance from the end point of the second interrupted section to the start point of the first interrupted section and the vehicle speed of the vehicle. 4. The automatic driving support system according to claim 2, wherein the required time is calculated based on the driving time. Control content setting means for setting the control content of the automatic driving control performed on the vehicle for the sections excluding the interrupted section among the automatic driving sections scheduled to travel by the vehicle;
Control of the automatic operation control set by the control content setting means according to the newly set interruption section when the first interruption section and the second interruption section are connected by the interruption section connecting means 5. An automatic driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising control content changing means for changing the content. Vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle speed of the vehicle;
When the vehicle travels in the interruption section, the additional interruption section setting means sets a detection range for newly detecting a section where automatic driving control should be interrupted in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle as the vehicle speed of the vehicle. The automatic driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic driving support system is set according to the setting.   The automatic driving support system according to claim 6, wherein the additional interruption section setting means sets the detection range wider as the vehicle speed of the vehicle increases.   The automatic operation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the interrupting section setting means sets the interrupting section using a road shape, traffic information, or an interrupt history of past automatic driving control. Support system. A step of setting an interruption section for interrupting automatic driving control in the automatic driving section when the interrupting section setting means travels in an automatic driving section where automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed;
When the additional interruption section setting means newly detects a section where automatic driving control should be interrupted with respect to the range excluding the section already set in the suspension section in the forward direction of the vehicle, the section A step of additionally setting the interruption section;
Interrupted section connecting means connects the first interruption interval is the additional set interrupted section, and a second interruption interval is interrupted section disposed adjacent along the first interruption interval, whereas A step of newly setting one interrupted section that continues from the start point of the interrupted section to the end point of the other interrupted section along the traveling direction . Computer
When traveling in an automatic driving section where automatic driving control of the vehicle is performed, an interrupting section setting means for setting an interrupting section for interrupting automatic driving control in the automatic driving section;
When a section where automatic driving control is to be interrupted is newly detected with respect to a range excluding the section already set as the suspension section in the forward direction of the vehicle, the section is additionally set as the suspension section. Additional interruption section setting means to perform,
From the start point of one of the interrupted sections, the first interrupted section that is the additionally set interrupted section is connected to the second interrupted section that is adjacent to the interrupted section along the first interrupted section. A computer program for functioning as interrupting section connecting means for newly setting one interrupting section that continues to the end point of the other interrupting section along the traveling direction .

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