JP6848179B2 - Signal passage support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, the technical field of a signal passage support device that assists a driver of a traveling vehicle in driving when the vehicle passes a traffic light.

A device of this type is known that presents information about the passage of a traffic light to a vehicle driver. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique in which information on whether or not a traffic light can pass is presented when the distance between the vehicle and the traffic light to be supported is within the threshold value, and information is not presented when the distance is not within the threshold value. ing.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-203785

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of traffic lights to be supported are continuous at a short distance, information on the next traffic light is presented immediately after passing through the first traffic light. Will be. In this case, for example, "deceleration" may be presented as support information for the first signal, and "speed maintenance" may be presented as support information for the second signal immediately after the vehicle decelerates. Then, it is instructed to maintain the decelerated state, which may give a sense of discomfort to the driver who wants to drive in the flow. In addition, by following the presented information, a speed difference with surrounding vehicles may occur, which may adversely affect the traffic flow.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, for example, and provides a signal passage support device capable of presenting appropriate information even when traffic signals are continuous at a relatively short distance. Is the subject.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the signal passage support control according to the present invention includes a determination means for determining whether or not a vehicle can pass a traffic light while maintaining a vehicle speed, and the traffic light while maintaining the vehicle speed. Information on the passage of the traffic light is presented so that the vehicle speed is maintained when it is determined that the vehicle can pass through, and the vehicle speed is decelerated when it is determined that the traffic light cannot be passed while maintaining the vehicle speed. a presentation unit configured to perform, when traffic distance is the distance between the two traffic is closer than a predetermined threshold value, and with the vehicle at the start of information presentation for the first traffic to support earlier the first traffic light than the first support distance is a distance, such that the second support distance is a distance between the vehicle at the start of information presentation for the second traffic light to help with the second traffic light is shortened after The second support distance is made shorter than the first support distance as the distance between the traffic lights is smaller, or the control means is the vehicle. When the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined vehicle speed, the presentation of information regarding the second traffic light is permitted, and the smaller the distance between the traffic lights , the larger the predetermined vehicle speed. Make it shorter than the distance.

According to the signal passage support device according to the present invention, the distance at which the information presentation regarding the second traffic light is started is shorter than the distance at which the information presentation regarding the first traffic light is started. Therefore, the timing of presenting information regarding the second traffic light is relatively later than the timing of presenting information regarding the first traffic light. That is, among the continuous traffic lights, the timing of information presentation is delayed for the traffic light to be supported later. As a result, it is possible to reduce the frequent presentation of information even when the traffic lights are continuous. Therefore, it is possible to suitably reduce the discomfort to the driver and the adverse effect on the traffic flow.

Such effects and other gains of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments described below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle which mounts the signal passage support device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the signal passage support device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the correction method of the information presentation timing by the signal passage support device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the timing of information presentation by the signal passage support device which concerns on a comparative example. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the timing of information presentation by the signal passage support device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the correction method of the information presentation timing by the signal passage support device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

An embodiment of the driving support device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, two embodiments of the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described respectively.

<First Embodiment>
The signal passage support device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. In the following, the configuration of the vehicle equipped with the signal passage support device, the operation of the signal passage support device, the correction method of the information presentation timing, and the effect of the embodiment will be described in order.

<Vehicle configuration>
First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of the vehicle 10 on which the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment is mounted will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle equipped with the signal passage support device according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment includes a wireless communication device 110, a navigation system 120, a vehicle speed sensor 130, an ECU 200, and an information presentation unit 300.

The wireless communication device 110 is configured to be able to acquire information about a traffic signal by wireless communication. For example, the wireless communication device 110 wirelessly communicates with a roadside communication device provided in the traffic light to acquire information on the lighting state of the traffic light.

The navigation system 120 is a system that displays the traveling position of the vehicle 10 on a map by using GPS (Global Positioning System). The navigation system 130 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to acquire not only the traveling position of the own vehicle 10 but also the position of the traffic light from map data or the like.

The vehicle speed sensor 130 is a sensor configured to be able to detect the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 10. The vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 from, for example, the number of rotations of the drive shaft.

Various information acquired by the wireless communication device 110, the navigation system 120, and the vehicle speed sensor 130 described above are output to the ECU 200.

The ECU 200 is an electronic control unit configured to be able to control the entire operation of the vehicle 10. In particular, the ECU 200 according to the present embodiment functions as a main part of the “signal passage support device”. The ECU 200 has a traffic light information acquisition unit 210, a current location information acquisition unit 220, a vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230, a traffic light passage determination unit 240, and a presentation information determination unit 250 as logical or physical processing blocks realized inside the ECU 200. And the presentation timing correction unit 260 is provided.

The traffic light information acquisition unit 210 acquires information about the traffic light from the wireless communication device 110 and the navigation system 120. Specifically, the traffic light information acquisition unit 210 acquires information regarding the lighting state of the traffic light acquired by the wireless communication device 110. The information regarding the lighting state includes not only information regarding the current lighting state but also information regarding the timing of subsequent changes in the lighting state. The signal information acquisition unit 210 further acquires the position information of the traffic light acquired by the navigation system 120. However, the position information of the traffic light may be acquired by the wireless communication device 110. The information about the traffic light acquired by the traffic light information acquisition unit 210 is output to the traffic light passage determination unit 240.

The current location information acquisition unit 220 acquires the current position information of the vehicle 10 from the navigation system 120. The position information acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220 is output to the traffic light passage determination unit 240.

The vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230 acquires vehicle speed information of the current vehicle 10 from the vehicle speed sensor 130. The vehicle speed information acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230 is output to the traffic light passage determination unit 240.

The traffic light passage determination unit 240 has information on the traffic light acquired by the traffic light information acquisition unit 210, position information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220, and vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition unit 230. Based on, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass the traffic light. Specifically, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 calculates the distance between the traffic light and the vehicle 10 from the position information of the traffic light and the position information of the vehicle 10. Subsequently, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 predicts the time when the vehicle 10 reaches the traffic light from the distance between the traffic light and the vehicle 10 and the vehicle speed information. Finally, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass through the traffic light from the lighting state of the traffic light at the time when the vehicle 10 reaches the traffic light. The determination result of the traffic light passage determination unit 240 is output to the presentation information determination unit 250. The traffic light passage determination unit 240 is a specific example of the "determination means".

The presentation information determination unit 250 determines and outputs the support information to be presented to the driver of the vehicle 10 based on the determination result of the traffic light passage determination unit 240. Specifically, the presentation information determination unit 250 determines to present the information "maintaining vehicle speed" to the driver of the vehicle 10 when it is determined that the traffic light can be passed while maintaining the current vehicle speed. To do. On the other hand, when it is determined that the traffic light cannot be passed while maintaining the current vehicle speed, the presentation information determination unit 250 determines to present the information that "deceleration is required" to the driver of the vehicle 10. The support information determined by the presentation information determination unit 250 is output to the information presentation unit 300. The presentation information determination unit 250 is a specific example of the “presentation means”.

Further, the presentation information determination unit 250 also determines the information presentation timing of the support information (in other words, the timing when the support information is actually presented to the driver). Specifically, the presentation information determination unit 250 determines whether or not the distance between the traffic light to be supported and the vehicle 10 is within the predetermined support distance, and outputs the support information if it is within the support distance. However, it is configured not to output support information if it is not within the support distance. The "support distance" here is a distance preset according to an appropriate timing for outputting support information. For example, even though the distance to the traffic light is extremely long, the support related to the traffic light is provided. It is set to avoid the information being presented.

The presentation timing correction unit 260 corrects the output timing of the support information determined by the presentation information determination unit 250. That is, the presentation timing correction unit 260 is configured so that the timing at which the support information is displayed to the driver can be changed. The specific correction method of the information presentation timing by the presentation timing correction unit 260 will be described in detail later. The presentation timing correction unit 260 is a specific example of the “control means”.

The information presentation unit 300 is configured as a display or the like capable of displaying the support information output from the presentation information determination unit 250.

<Operation explanation>
Next, the operation of the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the signal passage support device according to the first embodiment. In the following, a case where the vehicle 10 tries to pass through the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 which are continuously installed at a relatively short distance will be described.

In FIG. 2, when the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment is operating, first, the traffic light information acquisition unit 210 acquires information on the lighting state of the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 (step S101). Further, the position information of the vehicle 10 is acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 220 (step S102). Further, the vehicle speed information acquisition means 230 acquires the vehicle speed information of the vehicle 10 (step S103). The processes of steps S101 to S103 may be performed one after the other, or may be performed in parallel at the same time.

When the various information described above is acquired, the traffic light passage determination unit 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 can pass through each of the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 (step S104). Then, the presentation information determination unit 250 determines the content of the support information to be presented with respect to the first traffic light 510 (step S105).

Subsequently, the presentation timing correction unit 260 determines whether or not the distance between the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “traffic light distance D)) is smaller than the predetermined threshold value a. The determination is made (step S106). As a result, when it is determined that the inter-traffic light distance D is smaller than the predetermined threshold value a (step S106: YES), the presentation timing correction unit 260 sets the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light. It is corrected (step S107). Specifically, the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light is corrected so as to be later than the information presentation timing regarding the first traffic light. On the other hand, the distance D between the traffic lights is a predetermined threshold value. If it is determined that it is not smaller than a (step S106: NO), the above-mentioned correction is not performed. In other words, the information presentation timing for the second traffic light is maintained at the same level as the information presentation timing for the first traffic light. Will be done.

The threshold value a is a threshold value for determining whether or not the support information regarding the second traffic light 520 is presented immediately after passing through the first traffic light 510. For example, the support for which the presentation of the support information is permitted. It is set according to the distance (specifically, the distance between the vehicle and the traffic light when the presentation of support information is permitted). The threshold value a is a specific example of the “predetermined threshold value”.

Subsequently, the presentation information determination unit 250 determines the content of the support information to be presented with respect to the second traffic light 520 (step S108). The output timing (in other words, the presentation timing) of the support information regarding the second traffic light 520 is a value corrected by the presentation timing correction unit 260.

The support information regarding the first traffic light 510 and the second traffic light 520 determined as described above is output from the presentation information determination unit 250 to the information presentation unit 300. As a result, the information presentation unit 300 presents the support information to the driver of the vehicle 10 at the presentation timing determined for each support information.

<Correction method of information presentation timing>
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the correction by the presentation timing correction unit 260 described above will be specifically described. Here, FIG. 3 is a graph showing a method of correcting the information presentation timing by the signal passage support device according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the presentation timing correction unit 260 corrects the information presentation timing by changing the support distance according to the inter- traffic light distance D. Specifically, the support distance is set to a predetermined base distance (value before correction) when the distance D between traffic lights is equal to or greater than the threshold value a. On the other hand, when the inter-traffic light processing D is smaller than the threshold value a, the support distance is corrected so that the closer the inter-traffic light distance D is, the smaller the support distance is.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the support distance changes linearly according to the distance D between the traffic lights, but it may be corrected so as to change stepwise. Further, the support distance may be a binary one selected depending on whether or not the inter-traffic light distance D is smaller than the threshold value a.

If the support distance is changed as described above, when the distance D between traffic lights is relatively large, the support distance becomes a large value, so that information is presented at a relatively early stage. On the other hand, when the distance D between the traffic lights is relatively small, the support distance is also a small value, so that the information is not presented until the distance between the own vehicle and the traffic light is close to some extent. Therefore, the information presentation timing is delayed.

<Effect of embodiment>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the technical effects obtained by the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. Here, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the timing of information presentation by the signal passage support device according to the comparative example. Further, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the timing of information presentation by the signal passage support device according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 4, a comparative example having no presentation timing correction unit 260 will be considered. That is, consider an example in which the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light 520 is not corrected (changed).

According to the signal passage support device according to the comparative example, when the vehicle 10 traveling toward the first traffic light 510 enters the support distance of the first traffic light 510, the driver is provided with support information regarding the first traffic light 510. Is presented. As a result, the driver of the vehicle 10 can perform a driving operation for preferably passing through the first traffic light 510.

After that, when the vehicle 10 passes through the first traffic light 510, the support information regarding the second traffic light 520 is presented immediately after the passage. This is because when the vehicle 10 has passed the first traffic light 510, it is already within the support distance of the second traffic light 520.

When the support information is continuously presented in this way, inconvenience may occur depending on the content of the presented information. For example, "deceleration" may be presented as support information for the first traffic light 510, and "speed maintenance" may be presented as support information for the second traffic light 520 immediately after the vehicle decelerates. Then, it is instructed to maintain the decelerated state, which may give a sense of discomfort to the driver who wants to drive in the flow. In addition, by following the presented information, a speed difference with surrounding vehicles may occur, which may adversely affect the traffic flow.

In FIG. 5 , according to the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, in the signal passage support device according to the present embodiment, when the inter-traffic light distance D is smaller than the threshold value a, the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light 520 is corrected to be delayed by changing the support distance. To. If the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light 520 is delayed, it is possible to reduce the fact that the support information regarding the second traffic light 520 is presented immediately after passing through the first traffic light 510. Therefore, it is possible to preferably avoid the occurrence of inconvenience caused by the continuous presentation of information as described above.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment will be described. Note that the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment already described only in a part of the operation (mainly, the correction method of the information presentation timing), and the device configuration and other operations are almost the same. is there. Therefore, in the following, the parts different from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and the description of other overlapping parts will be omitted as appropriate.

<Output conditions for support information>
As described above, in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not the support information can be output according to the distance between the own vehicle and the traffic light (that is, the support distance). On the other hand, in the second embodiment, it is determined whether or not the support information can be output by using the concept of the presented permitted vehicle speed in addition to or instead of the support distance. The "presentation permitted vehicle speed" is a value set in advance as a lower limit value of the vehicle speed at which the presentation of support information is permitted. For example, if the vehicle speed does not reach the permitted vehicle speed, the support information will not be presented even if the vehicle is within the support distance of the traffic light.

<Correction method of information presentation timing>
The operation of the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 6 is a graph showing a method of correcting the information presentation timing by the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the presentation timing correction unit 260 according to the second embodiment corrects the information presentation timing by changing the presentation permitted vehicle speed according to the distance D between the traffic lights. Specifically, the presented permitted vehicle speed is set to a predetermined base vehicle speed (value before correction) when the distance D between traffic lights is equal to or greater than the threshold value a. On the other hand, when the distance D between traffic lights is smaller than the threshold value a, the vehicle speed allowed to be presented is corrected so that the closer the distance D between traffic lights is, the higher the vehicle speed is.

In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the permitted vehicle speed changes linearly according to the distance D between the traffic lights, but it may be corrected so as to change stepwise. Further, the presented permitted vehicle speed may be a binary one selected depending on whether or not the distance D between traffic lights is smaller than the threshold value a.

If the permitted vehicle speed is changed as described above, the permitted vehicle speed will be a low value when the distance D between traffic lights is relatively large, so that the vehicle speed will be low at a relatively early stage (that is, even if the vehicle is not sufficiently accelerated). ) Information will be presented. On the other hand, when the distance D between the traffic lights is relatively small, the vehicle speed permitted to be presented becomes a high value, so that the information is not presented until the own vehicle accelerates to some extent. Therefore, the information presentation timing is delayed.

As described above, if the permitted vehicle speed is changed, the same effect as changing the support distance can be obtained. That is, it can be said that the second embodiment also changes the distance between the own vehicle and the traffic light when the presentation of the support information is permitted.

<Effect of embodiment>
Next, the technical effect obtained by the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment will be described in detail.

As described with reference to FIG. 6, according to the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of inconvenience as described in the comparative example shown in FIG. 4 as in the first embodiment. Is. Specifically, in the signal passage support device according to the second embodiment, when the inter-traffic light distance D is smaller than the threshold value a, the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light 520 is delayed by changing the presentation permitted vehicle speed. It will be corrected. If the information presentation timing regarding the second traffic light 520 is delayed, it is possible to reduce the fact that the support information regarding the second traffic light 520 is presented immediately after passing through the first traffic light 510. Therefore, it is possible to preferably avoid the occurrence of inconvenience caused by the continuous presentation of information as described above.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of claims and within a range not contrary to the gist or idea of the invention that can be read from the entire specification, and the signal passage support device accompanied by such a modification Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

10 Vehicle 110 Wireless communication device 120 Navigation system 130 Vehicle speed sensor 200 ECU
210 Traffic light information acquisition unit 220 Current location information acquisition unit 230 Vehicle speed information acquisition unit 240 Traffic light passage judgment unit 250 Presentation information determination unit 300 Presentation timing correction unit 510 1st traffic light 520 2nd traffic light D Distance between traffic lights a Threshold

Claims (1)

Judgment means for determining whether or not a vehicle can pass a traffic light while maintaining the vehicle speed,
If it is determined that the vehicle can pass through the traffic light while maintaining the vehicle speed, the vehicle speed is maintained, and if it is determined that the vehicle cannot pass through the traffic light while maintaining the vehicle speed, the vehicle decelerates. A presentation means for presenting information regarding the passage of the traffic light, and
If traffic distance is the distance between the two traffic is closer than a predetermined threshold value, the the distance between the vehicle and the first traffic light at the start of information presentation for the first traffic to help previously than one support distance, such that the second support distance is a distance between the vehicle at the start of information presentation for the second traffic light to assist said second traffic is reduced later, the presentation means Equipped with control means to control
The control means makes the second support distance shorter than the first support distance as the distance between the traffic lights is smaller, or the control means is the second support distance when the vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined vehicle speed. A signal passage support device characterized in that the second support distance is made shorter than the first support distance by permitting the presentation of information about the traffic light and increasing the predetermined vehicle speed as the distance between the traffic lights is smaller. ..

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