JP6287423B2 - Wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus that transmits the position of a traffic element such as a vehicle by wireless communication.

  A technique for providing information acquired by the host vehicle to other vehicles by inter-vehicle communication has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). With this type of technology, if all the various types of information that can be acquired by the host vehicle are transmitted to another vehicle, the amount of information becomes enormous. For this reason, the time required for communication processing between vehicles becomes longer, and the load on the control device that performs such communication control and data processing also increases. In order to solve such a problem, the technique described in Patent Document 1 proposes to reduce the amount of information by weighting the value of information and selectively transmitting information judged to be more useful. Yes.

JP 2007-156753 A

  However, the above prior art is a technique for reducing the total amount of information by reducing the number of pieces of information to be transmitted, and is not a technique for reducing the data amount of each piece of transmitted information itself. For this reason, even if some important information is transmitted between vehicles, other information is likely to be lost, and even if it is necessary information for one vehicle, it is judged as unnecessary for the other vehicle. Then, it may fall into the situation where necessary information is not transmitted.

  In this regard, if the data amount of each piece of information can be made smaller, even if the total amount of information is the same, the number of pieces of information to be sent is increased, and a large number of pieces of information are sent together. It is also possible to do.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, it is desirable to provide a wireless communication apparatus that has a small data amount of individual information and that can easily transmit a larger amount of information all at once.

  The wireless communication apparatus described below includes a map creation unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and a fitting unit. The map creation unit is a map in which a relative position where a traffic element (for example, another vehicle that is a vehicle other than the host vehicle or a pedestrian) is present is recorded based on the relative position information provided from the information acquisition unit. Create data. The information acquisition unit is configured to acquire relative position information indicating a relative position of the traffic element with respect to the own vehicle with respect to the traffic element existing around the own vehicle. The relative position information may be provided directly from the information acquisition unit to the map creation unit, or the information acquisition unit may register the relative position information in the database and provide the map creation unit via the database.

  The map data created by the map creation unit is data in which a predetermined area around the host vehicle is partitioned into a plurality of cells and 1 bit is assigned to each cell. As a result, the map data is data configured such that the state of each cell is expressed by 1-bit data, and the entire state in a predetermined area can be expressed by the same number of bits as a plurality of cells. In the map data as described above, the map creation unit records whether or not there is a traffic element at a relative position corresponding to each cell by turning on / off the bit corresponding to each cell.

  The transmission unit transmits the absolute position of the host vehicle detected by the detection unit and the map data generated by the map generation unit to a data transmission destination (for example, another vehicle around the host vehicle or a communication facility on the road) .) The detection unit is configured to detect the absolute position of the host vehicle. The receiving unit receives the absolute position of the traffic element and map data transmitted from a data transmission source (for example, another vehicle in the vicinity of the host vehicle or a communication facility on the road). The fitting unit converts the relative position of the traffic element recorded in the map data into the absolute position based on the absolute position of the traffic element and the map data received by the receiving unit.

  Incidentally, the traffic element recorded in the map data received from the data transmission source is a traffic element whose existence is recognized in the data transmission source that transmitted the map data. Such a traffic element may correspond to, for example, the vehicle itself that transmitted the map data, or a vehicle other than the vehicle that transmitted the map data (including the host vehicle). However, whether or not all these traffic elements are applicable can also vary depending on the specifications and environment.

  In addition, the absolute position of the traffic element obtained by the conversion in the fitting unit can be used for various purposes in the host vehicle, but what kind of usage is used is arbitrary. For example, it may be reported as traffic information from a notification device (for example, a navigation system) of the own vehicle to the driver, or used as information necessary for performing vehicle speed control or braking control of the own vehicle. It may also be used for purposes other than these.

  According to the wireless communication apparatus configured as described above, the relative position of the traffic element with respect to the host vehicle can be transmitted with an extremely small data amount of 1 bit. Therefore, even relative position information corresponding to each of a large number of traffic elements can be transmitted collectively. Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of data, for example, only some traffic elements are selected and relative position information is transmitted, and the remaining traffic elements are not given up. It will be over.

  In addition, when the amount of data that can be transmitted in a batch is determined, if the amount of data related to the relative position of the traffic element with respect to the host vehicle decreases, other data can be transmitted accordingly. Therefore, in addition to the relative position of the traffic element with respect to the host vehicle, there can be room for adding and transmitting more other information. Alternatively, if such other information is not added, the amount of data transmitted in a batch can be reduced, so that communication traffic can be reduced and the processing load on each part of the wireless communication device can be reduced. Can do.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in the claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later as one aspect, Comprising: The technical scope of this invention is limited is not.

  In addition to the above-described wireless communication device, the present invention is realized in various forms such as a system including the wireless communication device as a component, a program for causing a computer to function as the wireless communication device, and a wireless communication method. Can do.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the whole system containing a radio | wireless communication apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the data stored in traffic information DB. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the traffic condition. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of map data. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the data stored in a reception map data table. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example in which several cell sizes are mixed in map data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of a header and map data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map data by which cell size was made variable according to vehicle speed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map data by which cell size was made variable according to measurement accuracy. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map data by which the object of digitization was changed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map data which expressed position accuracy with the several adjacent cell. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the data with a position accuracy stored in traffic information DB. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map data which expressed the vehicle speed with the several adjacent cell. It is a flowchart of a data transmission process. It is a flowchart of a data reception process.

Next, the above-described wireless communication device will be described with a more specific example.
[Configuration of wireless communication device and inter-vehicle communication system]
The embodiment described below is an example in which a wireless communication device exemplified as an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles, and an information communication system that performs inter-vehicle communication by these vehicles is configured. . This information communication system may be configured to be able to acquire various types of traffic information through inter-vehicle communication and road-to-vehicle communication in addition to vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

  Within the range illustrated in FIG. 1, this information communication system is configured by a plurality of vehicles (in FIG. 1, three vehicles 1, 2, and 3 are illustrated, but the system is not limited to three). ing. These vehicles 1, 2, 3 are equipped with a wireless communication device 10, and are configured such that information communication can be performed between the vehicles 1, 2, 3. In FIG. 1, in order to simplify the drawing, the configuration mounted on the vehicle 1 is described, and the configuration mounted on the vehicles 2 and 3 is not shown. However, a configuration equivalent to that of the vehicle 1 is also mounted on the vehicles 2 and 3. Hereinafter, the description will be continued with reference to the configuration of the vehicle 1 in FIG.

  The wireless communication device 10 mounted on the vehicle 1 includes a control unit 20 and a communication unit 30. The control unit 20 is configured by arranging various interface circuits and the like around a microcomputer including a well-known CPU 21 and RAM 22. The CPU 21 executes various processes according to a predetermined program. Accordingly, the CPU 21 functions as a map creation unit 211, a fitting unit 212, an information providing unit 213, and the like, which will be described later, as a configuration related to the present embodiment. The RAM 22 is a storage unit that temporarily stores various data input / output during the operation of the control unit 20. As a configuration related to the present embodiment, a reception map data table 221 is secured in the RAM 22. The communication unit 30 is a known configuration capable of transmitting and receiving various kinds of information by a radio communication method using radio waves in an RF (Radio Frequency) band, and includes a modulation unit 31, an RF unit 32, a demodulation unit 33, and the like. . Note that the communication unit 30 may be a wireless communication system that uses other than radio waves in the RF band.

  The vehicle 1 includes an information acquisition unit 40, a detection unit 50, and a traffic information database (hereinafter abbreviated as a traffic information DB) 60 as a configuration that functions in cooperation with the wireless communication device 10 described above. The information acquisition unit 40 corresponds to all configurations capable of acquiring traffic information around the vehicle 1. As an example, for example, a camera 41 that takes an image of an object as an image, a rider (LIDAR) 42 that detects the size of the object and the distance to the object by irradiating laser light, etc. Examples thereof include a wireless device 43 that acquires traffic information through inter-vehicle communication.

  The information acquisition unit 40 is not limited to the camera 41, the rider 42, and the wireless device 43, and may have other configurations as long as the configuration is useful for acquiring traffic information. Alternatively, any of the above-described configurations may be omitted as long as the function as the information acquisition unit 40 can be realized. In addition, the information acquisition unit 40 is not a dedicated configuration adopted for the purpose of linking with the wireless communication device 10 described above, but a general-purpose configuration that can be used to realize other functions of the vehicle 1. is there. However, apart from such a general-purpose configuration, the information acquisition unit 40 may be provided as a dedicated configuration as described above. The wireless device 43 may be configured so that the wireless communication device 10 itself plays a role equivalent to the wireless device 43.

  The detection unit 50 corresponds to all configurations for detecting the absolute value of the host vehicle. As an example, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 51 capable of positioning by an artificial satellite, a gyro sensor 52 capable of detecting the direction and angular velocity of a vehicle, and map information in which position information of roads and other facilities is stored. 53 or the like.

  The detection unit 50 is not limited to the GPS 51, the gyro sensor 52, and the map information 53, but may be another configuration (for example, a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle) as long as the configuration is useful for detecting the absolute position of the host vehicle. Sensor, etc.). Alternatively, any of the above-described configurations may be omitted as long as the function as the detection unit 50 can be realized. In addition, the detection unit 50 is not a dedicated configuration adopted for the purpose of linking with the wireless communication device 10 described above, but is a general-purpose configuration that can be used to realize other functions of the vehicle 1. . However, apart from such a general-purpose configuration, the detection unit 50 may be provided as a dedicated configuration as described above.

  The traffic information DB 60 is a database configured by nonvolatile storage means. The traffic information DB 60 stores traffic information acquired by the information acquisition unit 40, traffic information acquired by the wireless communication device 10, traffic information acquired by other methods, and the like as needed. Although the items of information to be stored are not particularly limited, for example, an example of the items can store an information group composed of items as shown in FIG. Furthermore, information corresponding to items other than these may be stored.

  The traffic information stored in the traffic information DB 60 is provided to the wireless communication device 10 when necessary. As described above, when the information acquisition unit 40 and the wireless communication device 10 input / output traffic information via the traffic information DB 60, the information acquisition unit 40 and the wireless communication device 10 have one timing for acquiring traffic information and the other. Even if there is a time difference in the timing at which traffic information is required, both can asynchronously send and receive information. Even when the traffic information DB 60 is provided, the information acquisition unit 40 and the wireless communication device 10 may further include a configuration for enabling direct transmission of information in synchronization.

[Mode of map data (1)]
In the wireless communication device 10, the map creation unit 211 is configured to generate a predetermined signal around the host vehicle based on the traffic information acquired in the information acquisition unit 40 (information stored in the traffic information DB 60 in the present embodiment). Map data representing the traffic situation in the area is created. This map data is data in which a predetermined area around the host vehicle is partitioned into a plurality of cells, 1 bit is assigned to each cell, and the state of each cell is expressed by 1-bit data. By such map data, the entire state in the predetermined area is expressed by the same number of bits as a plurality of cells.

  In the present embodiment, as a representative example of the traffic information converted into map data as described above, information indicating the relative position of another vehicle existing around the own vehicle (that is, the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle). Information). Specifically, based on the relative position information of other vehicles provided from the information acquisition unit 40 (relative position information stored in the traffic information DB 60 in this embodiment), the map creation unit 211 stores each cell. Map data is recorded in which whether or not another vehicle is present at a relative position corresponding to is recorded by turning on / off the bit corresponding to each cell.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, other vehicles C1 and C2 traveling in the same direction as the own vehicle C0 around the own vehicle C0, and other vehicles C3 traveling in the opposite direction to the own vehicle C0 on the opposite lane. Assume that C4 exists. In this case, in the host vehicle C0, the information acquisition unit 40 acquires the relative positions of the other vehicles C1 to C4 with respect to the host vehicle C0. Such a relative position can be measured and acquired by a rider 42 corresponding to an example of the information acquisition unit 40, for example. Or by acquiring the absolute position (for example, the position obtained by positioning by GPS51) of other vehicles C1-C4 by inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles C1-C4, and obtaining the difference from the absolute position of own vehicle C0. Can be acquired. Any one of the plurality of acquisition methods may be used alternatively, but a plurality of acquisition methods may be used in combination. If a plurality of acquisition methods are used in combination, the accuracy of information can be improved.

  In the case of each of the other vehicles C1 to C4 illustrated in FIG. 3, the other vehicle C1 is at a relative position of A (−A) to the left and 3B (+ 3B) to the front with respect to the host vehicle C0. The other vehicle C2 is at a relative position of A (-A) to the left and 3B (-3B) to the rear with respect to the host vehicle C0. The other vehicle C3 is at a relative position of A (+ A) to the right and 2B (+ 2B) forward with respect to the host vehicle C0. The other vehicle C4 is at a relative position of 3A (+ 3A) to the right and 3B (-3B) to the rear with respect to the host vehicle C0. Here, A and B correspond to the distance corresponding to one side of each cell. Therefore, for example, if A is 10 m and B is 10 m, the other vehicle C1 is present at a relative position of 10 m to the left and 30 m to the front with respect to the host vehicle C0.

  When such a traffic situation is acquired in the information acquisition unit 40, the information is stored in the traffic information DB 60. When map data is created in the map creation unit 211, the map creation unit 211 extracts information on the relative positions of the other vehicles C1 to C4 from various traffic information stored in the traffic information DB 60. Thus, map data as shown in FIG. 4 is created. In this map data, based on the relative position information of the other vehicles C1 to C4, when the other vehicles C1 to C4 are present at the relative positions corresponding to the respective cells, the bit corresponding to each cell is turned on (1). (Refer to the hatched cells in FIG. 4). In addition, bits corresponding to cells other than the cells that are turned on are turned off (0). Thereby, the relative positions of the other vehicles C1 to C4 are recorded in the map data.

  In FIG. 4, the bit corresponding to the cell in which the host vehicle C0 exists is also turned on (1). However, it is obvious that the host vehicle C0 exists in the cell regardless of whether the bit is on or off. Therefore, if it is an agreement that it is natural that a vehicle exists in this cell, it is arbitrary whether the cell is turned on or off. Further, whether or not the position of the host vehicle is at the center of the map is also arbitrary. For example, when it is desired to map the front of the host vehicle to a position farther than the rear, 2/3 of the map may be assigned to the front of the host vehicle and 1/3 to the rear of the host vehicle. In this case, the position of the own vehicle is no longer in the center of the map. Further, this map data is data that can identify whether a vehicle is on or off. Therefore, the map data may be map data in which the bit is turned off when the vehicle is present, and the bit is turned on when the vehicle is not present.

  In any case, if the map data illustrated in FIG. 4 is created, for example, if A is 10 m and B is 10 m as in the example described above, the vehicle travels 90 m in the vehicle width direction. The relative position of another vehicle can be expressed with a data amount of 81 bits for a range of 90 m in the direction. A and B may be other than 10 m, and the ratio A: B between them may be other than 10 m: 10 m. In practice, when a more precise relative position is desired to be expressed, the distance corresponding to one side of each cell is preferably as short as possible. For example, an error of ± 10 m may be included when one side of the cell is 20 m, whereas an error of ± 5 m is only included when one side of the cell is 10 m, so the latter is relatively twice as accurate. The position can be expressed.

  Further, in FIG. 4, for the sake of simplifying the drawing, the map data having a configuration in which 9 × 9 cells are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions is illustrated, but whether or not the horizontal and vertical 9 × 9 is set is arbitrary. When it is desired to create a wider range of map data, the relative position can be expressed with high accuracy by increasing the number of cells arranged instead of increasing the length of one side of the cell. For example, if one side of a cell is 10 m, a 9 × 9 cell can express only a 90 m square range, but a 27 × 27 cell can express a 270 m square range. If one side of the cell is changed to 30 m, a 270 m square range can be expressed even in a 9 × 9 cell. In this case, the error increases to ± 15 m, so if you want to maintain accuracy, you can increase the number of cell arrays. Is good.

  The map data created by the map creation unit 211 is modulated by the modulation unit 31 and is broadcast from the RF unit 32 to other vehicles around the host vehicle. At this time, the wireless communication device 10 also transmits information indicating the absolute position of the host vehicle together with the map data. Such broadcast transmission of map data is also performed in other vehicles.

  Therefore, when there are a plurality of other vehicles around the own vehicle, when the above-mentioned broadcast transmission is performed in the plurality of other vehicles, it is received by the RF unit 32 in the own vehicle, and the demodulation unit 33 Demodulate at. Thereby, the absolute position information and map data of the other vehicle are acquired from each of the plurality of other vehicles. When map data is received, each of the plurality of map data is stored in the received map data table 221 as shown in FIG. At this time, the absolute position information (transmission vehicle latitude and transmission vehicle longitude shown in FIG. 5) of other vehicles is also stored in the reception map data table 221. The absolute position information of other vehicles may be transmitted together with the map data. However, when the absolute position information received prior to the map data is stored in the traffic information DB 60, the absolute position information is obtained from the traffic information DB 60. May be obtained.

  At the regular update timing, the fitting unit 212 converts the relative position information of the other vehicle recorded in the map data into the absolute position information using the absolute position information of the other vehicle that has transmitted the map data. Here, when a plurality of map data are received, if the absolute position of the other vehicle and the range of the map data are known, it can be determined whether or not there are overlapping ranges in the plurality of map data.

  When overlapping ranges are included in a plurality of map data, if there is another vehicle in the overlapping range, the absolute position of the other vehicle can be read from each of the plurality of map data. The absolute position read includes an error. Therefore, not all the positions read from the plurality of map data match. However, if the absolute position of another vehicle can be read from each of a plurality of map data, the accuracy of the position information is further improved by estimating the true value of the absolute position from the plurality of absolute positions by the least square method or the like. be able to.

  In this way, the absolute position information of the other vehicle estimated by the fitting unit 212 is stored in the traffic information DB 60. The absolute position information of other vehicles stored in the traffic information DB 60 can be used for various purposes in the own vehicle. For example, it can be used in such a way that it is notified as traffic information from a navigation device provided in the host vehicle to the driver. Alternatively, it can be used as information necessary for performing vehicle speed control and braking control of the host vehicle. Although there may be other uses, since the relevance to the main part is low as to what kind of use is used, further explanation is omitted.

[Mode of map data (2)]
By the way, in the case of the map data illustrated in FIG. 4, the cell size is the same in all of the plurality of cells. Also good. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, map data in which the size of the cell is increased continuously or stepwise as the cell has a far relative position according to the relative position from the host vehicle can be considered. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, the cell size is changed in two stages according to the relative position from the host vehicle. This cell size may be varied over three stages. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, since the cell size is changed in two stages, the size of the cell in the range where the relative position from the own vehicle is closer than the stage where the size is changed is the same size. However, the cell size may be changed continuously according to the relative position from the host vehicle.

  In this way, even when the cell size is variable, the data size assigned to each cell is 1 bit. As a result, the position accuracy is kept high for the cells close to the host vehicle, and the position accuracy is low for the cells far from the host vehicle. Will be able to record a wider range of traffic conditions.

  By the way, it is usually possible to accurately grasp the position of other vehicles in the vicinity of the own vehicle, while other vehicles far from the own vehicle include a corresponding error even if the position can be grasped. obtain. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a difference in data accuracy between another vehicle near the host vehicle that can provide accurate position information and another vehicle that is away from the host vehicle where it is difficult to provide accurate position information. However, there is often no big difference between the case where there is no such difference and the error range. Therefore, if the map data has the form as shown in FIG. 6, the data size can be reduced or the map range can be widened without increasing the error range so much.

  It may be determined in the system which of the map data illustrated in FIG. 4 and the map data illustrated in FIG. 6 is to be used. Also, as such an arrangement, both types of map data may be usable. When both types of map data are used, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a header is added to the head of the map data, and information indicating the map shape is recorded in the header.

  For example, if the information indicating the map shape is 1 bit, it can indicate which of two types of map shapes, and if it is 2 bits, it can indicate which of the maximum 4 types of map shapes is. There may be more than 3 bits if necessary. In other words, the map shape information of the required number of bits only needs to be secured in the header according to how many types of map shapes are present, whereby the processing on the receiving side can be appropriately performed. In FIG. 7, cell size information, information type information, and the like are also recorded in the header, which will be described later.

[Mode of map data (3)]
In the example already explained, it has been explained that the size of the cells constituting the map data can be arbitrarily changed, but a configuration in which the cell size is dynamically changed may be adopted. Specifically, for example, according to the speed of the host vehicle, the actual range corresponding to one cell may be expanded continuously or stepwise as the speed increases. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the vehicle speed is less than 60 km / h, map data corresponding to one side of the cell of 10 m is created and the vehicle speed is 60 km / h. If it is greater than or equal to h, map data corresponding to 20 m on one side of the cell is created.

  In such a configuration, if the vehicle speed is low, map data capable of recording more accurate information (error is ± 5 m) is created. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed is high, only information (error is ± 10 m) that is less accurate than when the vehicle speed is low can be recorded. However, map data that can be recorded over a wider range with the same number of bits is created. When the vehicle speed is low, the distance between the vehicles tends to be short, and information with high positional accuracy is required. Therefore, it is useful to create map data with a small error under such circumstances. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed is high, the inter-vehicle distance becomes long, so it is less important to measure the distance to other nearby vehicles strictly, but the distance traveled per unit time increases, so It is important to obtain a wide range of traffic information. Therefore, from the viewpoint of appropriately acquiring more important information, a configuration in which the cell size is changed according to the vehicle speed as described above is beneficial.

  In the above example, the example in which the cell size is changed in two stages depending on whether or not the vehicle speed is 60 km / h or higher has been given, but it is needless to say that the cell size may be changed in three or more stages. Further, in addition to such a multi-stage change configuration, the cell size may be continuously changed steplessly. If the cell size map data is recorded as cell size information in the header illustrated in FIG. 7, processing on the receiving side can be appropriately performed. The information indicating the cell size in the header can indicate, for example, which cell size is changed in two stages if there is 1 bit. This information can indicate which cell size is changed to a maximum of four levels if there are two bits. The information may be 3 bits or more if necessary. If the cell size can be changed steplessly, all the possible values for the cell size may be set to the number of bits that can be expressed.

[Mode of map data (4)]
The change of the cell size as described above is not limited to being changed in conjunction with the vehicle speed, and may be configured to be changed under other conditions. For example, as described above, the smaller the cell size, the more accurate map data can be recorded. Therefore, according to the position accuracy of the relative position information acquired by the information acquisition unit 40 of the host vehicle, map data may be created in which the actual range corresponding to the cell decreases as the position accuracy increases. That is, as the information acquisition unit 40, a measurement device having a relatively high accuracy may be employed or a measurement device having a relatively low accuracy may be employed due to cost constraints or other circumstances. .

  For this reason, the cell size is reduced when high-precision measuring equipment is used, and the cell size is increased when low-precision measuring equipment is used. It can be provided to other vehicles. For example, in order to facilitate understanding, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, when the measurement accuracy is low, map data corresponding to 10 m on one side of the cell is created, and when the measurement accuracy is high, Map data corresponding to a side of a cell of 5 m is created. As a result, if the number of cells is the same, the amount of data does not change and the range of the map becomes narrow, but highly accurate position information can be recorded in the map data. If the range of the map is to be widened while maintaining such accuracy, the amount of data will increase, but the number of cells should be increased. Even when such a configuration is adopted, what kind of cell size map data may be recorded as cell size information in the header illustrated in FIG. Alternatively, information indicating high-precision information may be recorded in the header.

[Mode of map data (5)]
The examples described so far are examples in which the presence or absence of a vehicle is recorded in map data. On the other hand, among other vehicles existing around the own vehicle, information indicating the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the other vehicle in which a predetermined event has occurred (that is, the other vehicle's own vehicle with respect to the own vehicle). Information indicating a relative position) may be converted into map data.

  Such a configuration is particularly useful when there are many other vehicles around the host vehicle. Specifically, when there are many other vehicles around the host vehicle, there is a high possibility that many map data in a similar range will be transmitted. In such a case, even if all the map data targets only the same vehicle and records only the presence / absence of the vehicle, a certain degree of accuracy is ensured although there is a certain effect in improving the accuracy of the position information. At that stage, no more redundant information is needed. In such a situation, as described above, if only other vehicles in which a predetermined event has occurred are selected and converted into map data, they are used together with map data in which all existing vehicles are recorded. In this way, it is possible to grasp information such as the relative positions of all the existing vehicles and which vehicle has a predetermined event. That is, by changing the recording target, it is possible to widen the range of information that can be grasped.

  For example, in order to promote understanding, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, when the other vehicles C1 and C4 are turned on, the map data is targeted for the other vehicles that are turned on. Do. When such map data is created, as shown in FIG. 10, different map data is created for map data for all vehicles and map data for winker-on vehicles. If these two map data are created in separate vehicles and transmitted sequentially, the vehicle where both map data were acquired is located at any position, and the turn signal of which vehicle is turned on. It is possible to properly grasp whether or not.

  If the map data indicating the vehicle in which the event has occurred is recorded as information type information in the header illustrated in FIG. 7, processing on the receiving side can be appropriately performed. . For example, if the information type information in the header is 1 bit, it can indicate which of the two types of information types, and if it is 2 bits, it can indicate which of the four types of information types is the maximum. If necessary, there may be more than 3 bits.

  Incidentally, as can be understood from FIG. 10, the map data indicating the other vehicle in which the event has occurred cannot grasp the position of the other vehicle in which the event has not occurred. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not to send such map data by broadcast, it is determined that the map data in which the presence of all vehicles has been recorded is being sent by broadcast. Good. For example, if a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the communication unit 30 received map data from another vehicle, it is more important to know the latest vehicle position, so the presence of all vehicles was recorded. Broadcast map data. On the other hand, if the predetermined time or more has not elapsed, it can be considered that the latest vehicle position has been grasped, so map data indicating another vehicle in which an event has occurred is broadcast. If it does in this way, it can control that it falls into the situation where the position of the other vehicle in which the event has not occurred cannot be grasped.

[Mode of map data (6)]
The cell size of the map data can be reduced to the extent that when a vehicle is recorded for one cell, it can be assured that no vehicle is present in the surrounding cells. is there. For example, since the total length of a general vehicle is at least about 3 m, if the size of one cell is reduced to a size such as 2 m square or 1 m square, a vehicle with a total length of 3 m will not be arranged in tandem at 2 m pitch or 1 m pitch. Can be guaranteed.

  When the cell size is reduced in this way, other information can be recorded together with the relative position where the other vehicle exists by performing bit on / off for a plurality of cells in adjacent positions. It becomes possible. In other words, even if a plurality of cells in adjacent positions are turned on, if the cell size is sufficiently small as described above, it is guaranteed that there is no other vehicle in the position corresponding to each such adjacent cell. it can. Therefore, in this case, the possibility that a plurality of vehicles exist at adjacent positions can be excluded. Therefore, if a plurality of cells at adjacent positions are turned on, it can be interpreted that some information is recorded without interpreting that there are a plurality of vehicles.

  As an example of such information, for example, it is conceivable to record the positional accuracy of the relative position where the other vehicle exists. For example, when map data as shown in FIG. 11 is created for four other vehicles (ordinary vehicles # 1 to # 4) around the own vehicle, the positional accuracy of the ordinary vehicles # 1 to # 3 is high. It can be interpreted as being recorded as high information. It can be interpreted that the ordinary car # 4 is recorded as information with low position accuracy.

  That is, for the regular car # 4, the 2 × 2 cell is turned on, but it is guaranteed that there are no four vehicles in the cell, so such a 2 × 2 cell is turned on. If it is, it is interpreted that information with low positional accuracy is recorded. Such map data is converted into traffic information with position accuracy information as shown in FIG. 12, for example, and is registered in the traffic information DB 60. Thereby, in the control using the information registered in the traffic information DB 60, it is possible to carry out the control in consideration of the position accuracy in addition to the position of the vehicle.

[Mode of map data (7)]
In addition to the cell indicating the position of the vehicle, the cell at the adjacent position is also turned on, and other information that can be recorded as described above can be recorded vehicle speed information. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a low speed vehicle (ordinary vehicle # 4 in FIG. 13) turns on only one cell. The medium speed vehicle (ordinary vehicles # 1 and # 3 in FIG. 13) turns on two cells adjacent in the traveling direction. The high-speed vehicle (the own vehicle in FIG. 13 and the ordinary vehicle # 2) turns on three cells adjacent in the traveling direction.

  By doing in this way, the cell lined up in the advancing direction is turned on in the range of 1-3, and the vehicle speed range can be recorded by the number. In this case, even if three cells arranged in the traveling direction are turned on, a configuration in which the cell size is small to such an extent that another vehicle cannot exist in each cell is adopted. In the above example, the speed range is divided into three stages. However, if there is a sufficient margin in the number of cells, it may be further divided into multi-stage speed ranges. In addition to the cells arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the speed may be expressed using cells arranged in the width direction of the vehicle. For example, a maximum of 3 × 3 cells can be assigned to one vehicle. If it is, it can express the vehicle speed range of 9 steps at the maximum. If the above configuration is adopted, speed information can be transmitted by map data.

[Map data transmission / reception processing]
Next, map data transmission / reception processing executed by the CPU 21 provided in the wireless communication apparatus 10 as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. First, map data transmission processing will be described. This transmission process is a process executed regularly or irregularly many times during the operation period of the wireless communication device 10.

  When this transmission process is started, the CPU 21 determines whether or not a map has been received within the past 100 milliseconds (S105). Here, if a map has not been received within the past 100 milliseconds (S105: NO), traffic information is extracted from the traffic information DB 60 for all vehicles. On the other hand, if the map has been received within the past 100 milliseconds (S105: YES), the traffic information is extracted from the traffic information DB 60 for the vehicle blinking the blinker. These S105 to S115 determine which of the map data illustrated in FIG. 10 is to be created.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 acquires the extracted position accuracy of the vehicle (S120) and determines the map shape (S125). In S125, it is determined whether the map shape illustrated in FIG. 4, the map shape illustrated in FIG. 6, or any other map shape is used. At that time, the positional accuracy acquired in S120 is also referred to. If higher-accuracy information can be acquired, a map shape of a type that can reflect this is selected.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 acquires the vehicle speed of the host vehicle (S130), and determines the map size based on the vehicle speed and the measurement accuracy (S135). In S135, the selection of the map size based on the vehicle speed condition as illustrated in FIG. 8 and the selection of the map size based on the measurement accuracy as illustrated in FIG. 9 are performed. Whether or not to use both the vehicle speed and the measurement accuracy is arbitrary, and selection based on either one may be performed.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 determines the number of cells to be allocated for each vehicle based on the positional accuracy or the vehicle speed for each vehicle (S140). In S140, selection of the number of cells based on the positional accuracy as illustrated in FIG. 11 and selection of the number of cells based on the vehicle speed as illustrated in FIG. 13 are performed. Whether or not to use both the position accuracy and the vehicle speed is arbitrary, and selection based on either one may be performed. For example, when both are desired, the speed is expressed by the number of cells in the vertical direction and the position accuracy is expressed by the number of cells in the horizontal direction.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 creates a map with the map shape, size, and number of cells for each vehicle determined from the extracted traffic information (S145), and adds the traffic information extraction condition, map shape, and size information to the header portion (S150). ). As a result, map data expressing the state of each cell with 1 bit as described above is created, and various information is recorded in the header portion.

  When the map data is completed in this way, the CPU 21 encodes and compresses the map, broadcasts it to the surrounding transmission destinations (S155), and ends the transmission process. The encoding method for encoding the map may be any method as long as the data amount of the map data can be compressed. However, for example, as is apparent from referring to FIG. 11 and the like, data tends to have a large number of bits that are turned off for the number of bits that are turned on. Therefore, the run-length encoding method is effective. It is.

  Next, map data reception processing will be described. This reception process is a process that is executed regularly or irregularly many times during the operation period of the wireless communication device 10. The transmission process and the reception process described above may be executed alternately in a time division manner, or both processes may be executed asynchronously and in parallel.

  When this reception process is started, the CPU 21 receives and decodes the compressed map (S205). In S205, decoding is performed in accordance with the encoding method used in S155 described above. Then, the CPU 21 calculates the relative position of the vehicle using the map shape and size information described in the header part (S210). That is, in the map data, the relative position where the vehicle exists is recorded by turning on the bit, but the relative distance to the position indicated by the bit can be changed according to the size of the cell. Therefore, in S210, various information is acquired from the header, and the relative position is calculated.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 stores the relative position of the vehicle in the reception map table as a set together with the position information of the transmission source vehicle (S215), and converts the relative position information received in one or more maps into an absolute position (S220). ). In S220, as a result of receiving a plurality of map data, a plurality of pieces of relative position information may be acquired corresponding to one vehicle. In such a case, all these relative positions are set to absolute positions. After conversion, the true value of the absolute position is estimated using a least square method or the like.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 compares the latest traffic information received on the map with the traffic information DB 60 of the own vehicle that has already accumulated the information (S225), and determines whether there is any traffic information missing in the received map. Judgment is made (S230). In S230, for example, information indicating that the other vehicles # 1 to # 4 exist in the vicinity of the own vehicle is registered in the traffic information DB 60. Nevertheless, the other vehicles # 1 to ## are included in the reception map. If there is only information 3, it is determined that there is a loss.

  If there is such a lack, for example, if the other vehicle that is the transmission source of the reception map is the other vehicle # 1, the other vehicle # 1 does not recognize the presence of the other vehicle # 4 for some reason. Can be estimated. Therefore, in this case, it is beneficial to transmit the presence of the other vehicle # 4 to the other vehicle # 1. Therefore, when there is a lack of traffic information in the reception map (S230: YES), the CPU 21 transfers detailed data (additional information) of the missing traffic information (S235). In the above example, the detailed data of the other vehicle # 4 is transferred to the other vehicle # 1. In the present embodiment, the detailed data of the other vehicle # 4 is not the map data as described above, but the information of the other vehicle # 4 is transferred by inter-vehicle communication. However, if only the position of the other vehicle # 4 is to be transmitted, the map data as described above may be transmitted by the transmission process described above.

  When S235 is completed or when a negative determination is made in S230 (S230: NO), the traffic information DB 60 is updated (S240), and the information recorded in the latest reception map is registered in the traffic information DB 60. The reception process ends.

[effect]
According to the wireless communication device 10 as described above, the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle can be transmitted with an extremely small data amount of 1 bit. Therefore, even relative position information corresponding to each of a number of other vehicles can be transmitted collectively. Therefore, in order to suppress the data amount, for example, only some other vehicles are selected and the relative position information is transmitted, and the remaining other vehicles are not given up transmitting the relative position information. It will be over.

  In addition, when the amount of data that can be transmitted in a batch is determined, if the amount of data related to the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle decreases, other data can be transmitted accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to afford to add and transmit more other information besides the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle. Alternatively, if such other information is not added, the amount of data transmitted in a batch can be reduced, so that communication traffic can be reduced and the processing load on each part of the wireless communication device 10 is reduced. be able to.

[Other Embodiments]
As described above, the wireless communication device has been described with the exemplary embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Can be implemented in various forms.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the cell size is variable in a single map data as illustrated in FIG. 6 has been described. However, whether such a configuration is adopted is arbitrary. Moreover, in the said embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, although the structure which changes a cell size dynamically according to a vehicle speed was demonstrated, it is arbitrary whether such a structure is employ | adopted. Moreover, in the said embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 9, although the structure which changes a cell size based on the measurement accuracy of the information acquisition part 40 was demonstrated, it is arbitrary whether such a structure is employ | adopted. . Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure which selectively transmits either of two types of map data which were illustrated in FIG. 10 by employ | adopting the process step of S105-S115, Whether or not to adopt the configuration is also arbitrary.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 11, although the structure which represents the position accuracy of the traffic element used as a target by turning on several adjacent cells was demonstrated, such a structure is employ | adopted. Whether or not to do so is also arbitrary. Moreover, in the said embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 13, although the structure which represents the speed | rate of the traffic element used as object by having turned on several adjacent cells was demonstrated, such a structure is employ | adopted. Whether or not is arbitrary. In the above embodiment, in S155 and S205, it has been described that the map data is encoded and compressed at the time of transmission and the map data is decoded at the time of reception by a run-length encoding method or the like. Whether or not to adopt the configuration to be performed is also arbitrary. Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a lack of information is detected in the received map data by S230-S235, a configuration is provided in which information is provided to the transmission source of the map data. However, such a configuration is employed. Whether or not to do so is also arbitrary. All of the configurations that may be arbitrarily adopted as described above may be adopted, some may be selected, and all may not be adopted.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although demonstrated that the vehicle was made into object as a traffic element, you may make object pedestrian, a bicycle, etc. In order to simplify the description, the above-described embodiment has been described by taking the inter-vehicle communication system as an example. However, the map data as described above is provided to the transmission destination by inter-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication. May be.

  In addition, each component of this invention is notional, It is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the functions of one component may be distributed to a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component. Further, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be replaced with a known configuration having the same function. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other embodiment. In the configuration of the above embodiment, the part realized by software may be replaced by hardware having equivalent functions, and conversely, the part realized by hardware has equivalent functions. It may be replaced by software that you have.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Wireless communication apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... RAM, 30 ... Communication part, 31 ... Modulation part, 32 ... RF part, 33 ... Demodulation part, 40 ... Information acquisition part, 41 ... Camera, 42 ... rider, 43 ... wireless device, 50 ... detection unit, 51 ... GPS, 52 ... gyro sensor, 60 ... traffic information DB, 211 ... map creation unit, 212 ... fitting unit, 213 ... information providing unit, 221 ... received map data table.

Claims (8)

As map data representing traffic conditions in a predetermined area around the host vehicle, the predetermined area is divided into a plurality of cells, 1 bit is assigned to each cell, and the state of each cell is 1-bit data. By expressing with, it is possible to create map data configured to be able to express the entire state in the predetermined area with the same number of bits as the plurality of cells, and regarding traffic elements existing around the host vehicle Based on the relative position information provided from the information acquisition unit (40) that acquires relative position information indicating the relative position of the traffic element with respect to the host vehicle, the traffic element exists at a relative position corresponding to each cell. A map creation unit (20, 211, 211) for creating the map data recorded by turning on / off the bit corresponding to each cell;
Transmission for transmitting the absolute position of the host vehicle provided from the detection unit (50) capable of detecting the absolute position of the host vehicle and the map data created by the map creating unit to a data transmission destination Part (30, 31, 32),
A receiver (30, 32, 33) for receiving the absolute position of the traffic element and the map data transmitted from a data transmission source;
A fitting unit (20, 21, 212) for converting a relative position of the traffic element recorded in the map data into an absolute position based on the absolute position of the traffic element and the map data received by the receiving unit. A wireless communication device comprising: According to the relative position from the host vehicle, the map creation unit (20, 211, 211, S120-S125) increases the size of the cell continuously or stepwise as the cell is farther from the relative position. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map data is created. The map creation unit (20, 211, 211, S130-S135) increases the actual range corresponding to one cell continuously or stepwise as the speed increases according to the speed of the host vehicle. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map data is created. According to the positional accuracy of the relative position information acquired by the information acquisition unit of the host vehicle, the map creating unit (20, 21, 211, S135) is assigned to one cell as the positional accuracy is higher. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the map data in which a corresponding actual range is reduced continuously or stepwise is created. When the map creation unit (20, 211, 211, S140-S145) records whether or not the traffic element exists at a relative position corresponding to each cell by turning on / off the bit corresponding to each cell, The map data in which the positional accuracy of the relative position is recorded together with the relative position where the traffic element exists is created by turning on / off bits for a plurality of cells in adjacent positions. The radio | wireless communication apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 . When the map creation unit (20, 211, 211, S140-S145) records whether or not the traffic element exists at a relative position corresponding to each cell by turning on / off the bit corresponding to each cell, The map data in which the speed or speed range of the traffic element is recorded together with the relative position where the traffic element exists is created by performing bit on / off for a plurality of cells at adjacent positions. The radio | wireless communication apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-5 . The map creation unit (20, 21, 211, S155) is configured to compress the data amount of the map data by creating the map data and then encoding the map data using a predetermined encoding method.
The fitting portion (20,21,212, S205) are all compressed the map data, of claims 1 to 6 for converting the map data before compression by decoding by the predetermined encoding scheme The wireless communication device according to claim 1. When the receiving unit receives the map data from the data transmission source, it is the traffic element whose existence is recognized on the own vehicle side, and is recorded in the map data received from the data transmission source. An information providing unit (20, 21, 213, S230-S235) that provides additional information regarding the traffic element to the data transmission destination when the traffic element is not present
A wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , further comprising:

Images