JP7298353B2 - Information provision device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information providing device.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a navigation device that provides voice guidance for predetermined guidance points on a destination route that is set as a route from a departure point to a destination. As a logic for determining whether or not voice guidance is necessary at a guidance point, the navigation device provides voice guidance when the past number of times of guidance is N times or more and within M days from the date of the last voice guidance at the guidance point. Stop. As a result, there is no voice guidance on frequently used routes, reducing annoyance. Therefore, the effectiveness of guidance can be further improved.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-236028

However, in this type of conventional technology, even if the above conditions (the number of times of guidance and the number of days since the last voice guidance date) are satisfied, for example, on the traveling route from the departure point to the destination, If there is a point where an unexpected event (such as road construction) is occurring, a detour route that detours from the point is searched for by way of branch points existing from the current position of the vehicle to the point. When a detour is searched due to an unexpected event, since the above conditions are not satisfied from the branch point to the detour to the confluence, voice guidance is resumed even if the detour is a well-known road. . Therefore, there is room for improvement in providing guidance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to further improve the effectiveness of guidance.

In order to solve the above problems, an information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention provides information about a guidance point each time a mobile body approaches a predetermined guidance point on a route from the current position to a destination. A voice guidance unit that performs guidance by voice, a guidance history accumulation unit that accumulates the route guided by the voice guidance unit as a guidance history, and based on the guidance history accumulated in the guidance history accumulation unit, at least from the destination to the current a guidance control unit that performs voice guidance when the distance to a point is greater than or equal to a specific value, and stops the voice guidance when the distance is less than the specific value, wherein the guidance control unit When the detour route is automatically re-searched, and when the usage frequency of the detour route selected by the user is less than the frequency setting, the voice guidance is provided regardless of the distance.

According to the present embodiment, when an unexpected event occurs and the vehicle travels on a detour route, if it is determined that the route is frequently traveled by meeting a predetermined condition, no voice guidance is provided, so that the voice guidance is troublesome. mitigated.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in the ability to improve the effectiveness of guidance further.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a traffic condition information collection system 1 equipped with an information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of an ECU 11 of the in-vehicle device 30; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a center server 20; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of processing functions of an ECU 11 of the in-vehicle device 30; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a route guidance unit 334; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing operations in a route guidance unit 334;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a traffic condition information collection system 1 equipped with an information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing device is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), which is an example of a computer that configures the vehicle-mounted device 30 mounted on each of the plurality of vehicles 10 . Although the information providing device implemented by the ECU of the vehicle-mounted device 30 will be described below, the information-providing device is not limited to the ECU of the vehicle-mounted device 30. Alternatively, it may be realized by a computer that constitutes the center server 20 .

A traffic condition information collection system 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 10 and a center server 20 . At least one of the plurality of vehicles 10 is an electric vehicle such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid vehicle (HEV, PHEV) equipped with a high-voltage battery that drives a traction motor. Hereinafter, the vehicle 10 may be simply referred to as "vehicle" or "car". The vehicle is not limited to a passenger car, and may be a freight car, a passenger car (for example, a bus), or the like.

The center server 20 is a server that collects traffic condition information distributed from each of the plurality of vehicles 10 and provides various services by distributing information to users of the plurality of vehicles. Various services include, for example, a car sharing service, an authentication key service, a trunk delivery service, and a B2C car sharing service.

The traffic condition information is information about traffic conditions acquired by the vehicle 10 . The traffic condition information includes, for example, information on the number of vehicles 10 that constitute a group of vehicles traveling in a row in front and behind at a relatively short inter-vehicle distance at one or more predetermined target points, and information on the number of vehicles 10 included in the vehicle group. Information on the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 included in the vehicle group (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle speed information"), information on the destination of the vehicle 10 included in the vehicle group (hereinafter referred to as "destination information"), vehicle state information indicating the state of each vehicle, respectively location information indicating the location of the vehicle in the

The target point is, for example, a point at which congestion is likely to occur, such as a sag portion or junction of an expressway. Information indicating the target point may be set in the center server 20 and distributed to each of the plurality of vehicles 10 through the communication network NW.

Vehicle 10 is communicably connected to center server 20 through communication network NW. The vehicle 10 uploads (transmits) the traffic condition information to the center server 20 at the target point. The communication network NW is, for example, a mobile communication network with many base stations as terminals, a satellite communication network using communication satellites, an Internet network, or the like.

A center server 20 (an example of an external device of the vehicle 10) is communicably connected to each of the plurality of vehicles 10 through the communication network NW. The center server 20 receives the traffic condition information at the target point transmitted from the vehicle 10, and based on the received traffic condition information, grasps the traffic condition at the target point and predicts future traffic conditions at other target points. make predictions. Further, the center server 20 may distribute the results of grasping the traffic conditions at the target point, the prediction results of future traffic conditions at the target point, and the like to some or all of the plurality of vehicles 10 .

Next, the configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 30 of the vehicle 10 and the configuration of the center server 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) and the like.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the ECU 11 of the vehicle-mounted device 30. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, the in-vehicle device 30 includes an ECU 11, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) module 12, a DCM (Data Communication Module) 13, an inter-vehicle communication module 14 (including a directional antenna 14a), and a wheel speed sensor. 15, a navigation device 16, a display device 17, an in-vehicle battery 18, and the like.

The ECU 11 (an example of a vehicle control device) is an electronic control unit that performs various controls related to the vehicle 10, such as a motor ECU, a hybrid ECU, and an engine ECU. The functions of the ECU 11 may be realized by arbitrary hardware or a combination of hardware and software.

The ECU 11 is composed of a microcomputer including an auxiliary storage device 11A, a memory device 11B, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11C, an interface device 11D, and the like. The auxiliary storage device 11A, memory device 11B, CPU 11C, and interface device 11D are connected to each other via a bus line B1.

A program that realizes various functions of the ECU 11 is connected to a predetermined external connection connector (for example, a DLC (Data Link Coupler)) connected to an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) of the vehicle 10 by a detachable cable. provided by a dedicated tool that The program is installed in the auxiliary storage device 11A of the ECU 11 from the dedicated tool via a cable, a connector, and an in-vehicle network according to a predetermined operation on the dedicated tool. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded from another computer (for example, the center server 20) through the communication network NW and installed in the auxiliary storage device 11A.

The auxiliary storage device 11A is non-volatile storage means and stores installed programs as well as necessary files and data. The auxiliary storage device 11A is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, or the like.

The memory device 11B reads out and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device 11A when a program activation instruction is received.

The CPU 11C executes programs stored in the memory device 11B and implements various functions of the ECU 11 according to the programs.

The interface device 11D is used, for example, as an interface for connecting to an in-vehicle network or for one-to-one connection with various sensors, actuators, and the like. The interface device 11D can include a plurality of different types of interface devices according to the objects to be connected.

The ECU 11 , for example, controls the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 to perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles 10 preceding the vehicle 10 and other vehicles 10 following the vehicle 10 through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 . Further, the ECU 11 controls, for example, the DCM 13 and communicates with the center server 20 through the communication network NW.

Further, the ECU 11 controls, for example, the DCM 13 and communicates with the center server 20 through the communication network NW.

The GNSS module 12 receives satellite signals transmitted from three or more, preferably four or more satellites over the vehicle 10 to determine the position of the vehicle 10 (own vehicle) on which it is mounted. The positioning information of the GNSS module 12, that is, the positional information of the vehicle 10 is taken into the ECU 11 through, for example, the DCM 13 and an in-vehicle network.

The DCM 13 is a communication device that connects to the communication network NW and communicates with external devices including the center server 20 through the communication network NW. The DCM 13 transmits and receives various signals (for example, information signals, control signals, position information, etc.) to and from the center server 20 . In addition, the DCM 13 is communicably connected to the ECU 11 via a one-to-one communication line or an in-vehicle network such as CAN, and in response to a request from the ECU 11, transmits various signals to the outside of the vehicle 10 (own vehicle), It outputs a signal received from the outside of the vehicle 10 toward the ECU 11 .

The vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 (an example of a first communication unit and a second communication unit) uses radio waves in an RF (Radio Frequency) band (for example, 700 MHz band or 5.8 GHz band) to communicate with a plurality of vehicles 10. 1 is a known communication device for wirelessly communicating with each other; Further, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 may use radio waves in the millimeter wave band (eg, 60 GHz band) or quasi-millimeter wave band (eg, 24 GHz band). The vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 includes a directional antenna 14a.

The directional antenna 14a has a strong radio wave intensity only in a specific direction viewed from the vehicle 10, specifically, in front of or behind the vehicle 10, and the radio wave intensity in other directions is limited to a very low level. can radiate radio waves. Similarly, the directional antenna 14a has a very strong reception sensitivity only in a specific direction viewed from the vehicle, specifically the front or rear of the vehicle 10, and has a very low reception sensitivity in other directions. It may receive radio waves from the outside as shown.

As a result, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 can establish vehicle-to-vehicle communication only with another vehicle 10 that precedes the vehicle 10 and another vehicle 10 that follows the vehicle 10 under the control of the ECU 11. can.

Further, the directional antenna 14a has a level that can be received by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 of another vehicle 10 only within a predetermined distance (hereinafter referred to as "communicable distance") in front of or behind the vehicle 10. Adjust the signal strength so that the radio waves of At this time, the communicable distance is defined in advance as a value corresponding to the upper limit of the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles 10 when the traffic condition of the road on which the vehicles 10 travel is relatively congested. The communicable distance is, for example, about 10 meters. As a result, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 can establish communication between the vehicles 10 connected in front and behind only when the vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the vehicles 10 is relatively short under the control of the ECU 11. .

The communicable distance in front of the vehicle 10 and the communicable distance behind the vehicle 10 may be the same or different. Further, the directional antenna 14a includes a directional antenna for communication with another vehicle 10 preceding the vehicle 10 and a directional antenna for communication with another vehicle 10 following the vehicle 10. A directional antenna may also be included. Similarly, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14 includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication module (an example of a second communication unit) for communication with another vehicle 10 that precedes the vehicle 10 and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication module (an example of a second communication unit) that follows the vehicle 10 . A vehicle-to-vehicle communication module (an example of a first communication unit) for communication with another vehicle 10 that is connected to the vehicle may also be included.

The wheel speed sensor 15 is known detection means for detecting the wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle 10 . The wheel speed sensor 15 outputs detection information (hereinafter referred to as "wheel speed information") corresponding to the wheel speed of each wheel. The wheel speed information is taken into the ECU 11 through a one-to-one communication line, an in-vehicle network, or the like. Thereby, the ECU 11 can detect (deduce) the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10 based on the wheel speed information of the vehicle 10 .

The navigation device 16 uses voice and display to provide a route to a destination set by a user (specifically, a driver or a passenger) of the vehicle 10 or to a destination automatically set, or to provide route guidance. conduct. At this time, the automatically set destination includes, for example, a destination predicted from a movement pattern based on the user's past movement history. At this time, the automatically set destination may be a destination predicted by the navigation device 16, or a destination predicted by an external navigation server or the like with which communication is possible through the DCM 13 and downloaded. may The destination information held by the navigation device 16 is taken into the ECU 11 through an in-vehicle network or the like.

The display device 17 is, for example, a touch panel liquid crystal display or the like. The display device 17 is arranged at a position that is easily visible to passengers such as the driver of the vehicle 10, for example, at the upper center of the instrument panel in the vehicle compartment, and displays various information screens, various operation screens, etc. under the control of the ECU 11. do.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the center server 20. As shown in FIG. The functions of the center server 20 may be realized by arbitrary hardware or a combination of hardware and software. As shown in FIG. 2B, for example, the center server 20 includes a drive device 21, an auxiliary storage device 22, a memory device 23, a CPU 24, an interface device 25, a display device 26, and an input device 27. are connected by a bus B2.

A program that implements various functions of the center server 20 is provided by, for example, the recording medium 21A. The recording medium 21A is, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), or a portable memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. When the recording medium 21A recording the program is set in the drive device 21, the program is installed in the auxiliary storage device 22 via the drive device 21 from the recording medium 21A. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded from another computer via a communication network and installed in the auxiliary storage device 22 .

The auxiliary storage device 22 stores various installed programs, as well as necessary files and data.

The memory device 23 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 22 and stores it when a program activation instruction is received.

The CPU 24 executes various programs stored in the memory device 23 and implements various functions related to the center server 20 according to the programs.

The interface device 25 is used as an interface for connecting to a communication network (eg, communication network NW).

The display device 26 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) according to a program executed by the CPU 24, for example.

The input device 27 is used to allow a worker, administrator, or the like of the center server 20 to input various operational instructions regarding the center server 20 .

Next, processing functions of the ECU 11 of the vehicle-mounted device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of processing functions of the ECU 11 of the vehicle-mounted device 30. As shown in FIG. A CPU 11C of the ECU 11 includes a vehicle information acquisition section 111, a map matching section 112, a probe information transmission section 113, a display processing section 114, a destination setting section 325, a route guidance section 334, and the like.

These functions are realized by the CPU 11C executing programs stored in the memory device 11B or the auxiliary storage device 11A shown in FIG. 2A. The auxiliary storage device 11A includes, for example, a map information DB (Data Base) 1191 and a guidance history storage unit 1192. FIG.

The map information DB 1191 is a database in which point information is stored in a searchable manner, and is composed of GIS (Geographic Information System) data and the like. GIS data is data including nodes corresponding to intersections, road links connecting nodes, lines corresponding to features such as buildings and roads, and polygons corresponding to features such as buildings and roads.

The point information includes the name, address, position information, and attribute information of each point, as well as information related to the charging facility (charging facility information), average stay time of the user for each point information, and the like.

Guidance history accumulation unit 1192 accumulates information regarding route guidance provided by route guidance unit 334 as guidance history.

The vehicle information acquisition unit 111 acquires vehicle information input from the GNSS module 12, the wheel speed sensor 15, and other various sensors shown in FIG. 2A from a buffer or the like in RAM. Specifically, the vehicle information acquisition unit 111 acquires position information of the vehicle 10 input from the GNSS module 12 . The vehicle information acquisition unit 111 also acquires wheel speed information input from the wheel speed sensor 15 . The vehicle information acquisition unit 111 also acquires the current (at the time of processing by the CPU 11C) remaining battery level from the charging/discharging control device of the vehicle-mounted battery 18 mounted on the vehicle.

Based on the information stored in the map information DB 1191 and the positional information of the vehicle 10 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 111, the map matching unit 112 determines the road link corresponding to the positional information of the vehicle 10, that is, the vehicle 10 is currently located. Identify the road link on which it is located. For example, since a link ID (Identifier) is defined in advance for each of a plurality of road links that constitute the road network included in the map information DB 1191, the map matching unit 112 refers to the map information DB 1191 to Identify the link ID of the road link on which the vehicle 10 is currently located.

Note that the function of the map matching unit 112 may be provided in the center server 20 . In this case, the center server 20 may identify the link ID of the road link on which the vehicle 10 is currently located based on position information included in probe information (to be described later) transmitted from each vehicle 10 .

The probe information transmission unit 113 transmits various vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 111, time information corresponding to the various vehicle information, and road links specified by the map matching unit 112 at predetermined intervals. Generate information. The probe information transmission unit 113 then transmits the generated probe information to the center server 20 via the DCM 13 .

The probe information transmitted from the vehicle 10 to the center server 20 may not include time information corresponding to various vehicle information. In this case, the center server 20 receives the time when the vehicle movement information is transmitted from the vehicle 10, the time when the vehicle movement information is received by the center server 20, or the time when the vehicle 10 corresponds to the position information calculated from these times. The estimated time when it was present at the position may be added to the probe information received from the vehicle 10 as time information corresponding to various types of vehicle information.

The display processing unit 114 performs processing for displaying a predetermined information screen on the display device 17 according to an operation or the like by a passenger such as the driver of the vehicle 10 . For example, the display processing unit 114 performs processing for displaying various information distributed from the center server 20 to the vehicle 10 on the display device 17 .

The destination setting unit 325 sets the destination of the vehicle based on the user's input operation. The user's input operation is, for example, a touch operation input to the display device 17, an utterance input operation, or the like. For example, in the case of an utterance input operation, when the content of an utterance to start setting a destination, such as "Search for a destination," is detected by the sound collector provided in the vehicle, the detected utterance content is converted into voice information. , and input to the destination setting unit 325 . The destination setting unit 325 reads message information stored in advance in the auxiliary storage device 11A or the like, converts the message information for setting the destination such as "Where is the destination?" Generate from When the user replies to this question, such as “XX hot springs in Atami,” the speech content is detected by the sound collecting unit, the detected speech content is converted into speech information, and sent to the destination setting unit 325. is entered. The destination setting unit 325 analyzes the frequency components contained in the voice information, analyzes the contents of the speech, sets the destination, and calculates a route from the current location to the set destination. A method of analyzing speech content from voice information is publicly known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2015-211403 and 2018-156523, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

The route guidance unit 334 uses, for example, the position information of the current position of the vehicle, the vehicle speed, the vehicle moving direction acquired from a gyro sensor, etc., and the map information DB 1191 to determine the route selected by the user from the current position to the destination. Provide travel guidance to The function of the route guidance unit 334 can also be replaced by the navigation device 16 . The route guide unit 334 provides travel guidance on the route to the destination using a display screen, voice, and the like. The technology of route guidance is well known as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6305664, Japanese Patent No. 6416948, etc., and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a configuration example of the route guide section 334 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the route guide section 334. As shown in FIG. The route guidance section 334 includes a voice guidance section 3341 , a guidance control section 3342 and a route provision section 3343 .

The voice guidance unit 3341 provides voice guidance for each guidance point each time the vehicle approaches a predetermined guidance point on the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination.

Guidance control unit 3342 performs voice guidance based on the guidance history accumulated in guidance history accumulation unit 1192, at least when the distance from the destination to the current location is greater than or equal to a specific value, and provides guidance from the destination to the current location. If the distance is less than a certain value, stop the voice guidance.

The route providing unit 3343 provides the user with a route to the destination set by the destination setting unit 325 . The route is provided to the user by, for example, displaying the travel route (including detours) of the vehicle from the current location to the destination on the display device 17 . For example, if the destination is the user's home, the route providing unit 3343 selects the route with the shortest travel distance to home or the travel time to home from one or more routes frequently used by the user. Select and serve the shortest route. Specifically, the route providing unit 3343 refers to, for example, the map information DB 1191, and provides the route with the shortest travel distance to the destination for the purpose of prioritizing (reducing time) the arrival time to the destination. .

Note that the route providing unit 3343 calculates the route in consideration of the latest road traffic conditions, vehicle driving conditions, and the like. For example, under certain circumstances, when there is a high possibility that the remaining amount of gasoline will be zero before the destination is reached, the route providing unit 3343 determines whether there is a gas station on the current travel route. If there is a gas station, the user is provided with a drop-off route to the place where the gas station is located. Also, if there is no gas station on the current travel route, a plurality of detour routes with gas stations are searched, and the route with the shortest travel distance is selected and provided to the user. "Predetermined situation" means a situation in which the fuel consumption rate of the vehicle is high, for example, an average speed of 5 km/h or less due to an unexpected event (traffic accident, road construction, etc.) occurring while traveling to the destination. This is the case when chronic traffic congestion occurs, or when a sudden thunderstorm or snowfall forces the vehicle to travel at low speed. Unexpected events can be detected based on, for example, VICS (registered trademark) information.

Further, the route providing unit 3343 may be configured to provide a route with the shortest travel distance to the destination even in a situation where the travel speed is relatively low in order to give priority to arrival time to the destination. good. By selecting the route with the shortest travel distance, an increase in fuel consumption rate can be suppressed.

Note that the route providing unit 3343 may be configured to select a route in consideration of the latest road traffic conditions, vehicle driving conditions, and the like. For example, when a chronic traffic jam occurs on the way to the destination, the route providing unit 3343 considers the continuous driving time obtained by the in-vehicle sensor, etc. It is determined whether or not there is a rest facility on the route, and if there is a rest facility, a route to the facility is provided to the user. Also, if the facility does not exist on the current travel route, a plurality of detour routes on which the facility exists are searched, and the route with the shortest travel time is selected and provided to the user.

Note that the route providing unit 3343 may be configured as follows. The route providing unit 3343 calculates a route from the current location to the destination based on the map information DB 1191, and displays the route on the display device 17 as a stopover route. Considering the desired arrival time, the current time, and the remaining time until arrival, the route to the destination including the stopover facility is calculated. The current location information includes information about traffic volume around the current location, information about weather around the current location, and the like. The spare time is the time during which the visitor can stay at the facility. For example, if the estimated time of arrival when moving directly from the current position to the destination is 13:00, but the user thinks that it is sufficient to arrive at the destination at 15:00, the time between the desired arrival time and the estimated arrival time is has two hours of free time. For example, when the route providing unit 3343 receives the desired arrival time by a touch operation on the navigation device 16 or the display device 17, it calculates the vacant time, searches for a plurality of facilities that can be visited in the calculated vacant time, A place suitable for the user's purpose of movement is searched from among the facilities, and a route including the place is provided. For estimating the user's travel purpose, for example, the user's utterance content, set destination information manually set by the user, a scheduler in which the user's action record is recorded, and the like are used.

By using destination information by voice (contents of vocalization) instead of manually inputting destination information by the user, the burden on people when searching for the final destination is less than in the case of manual input. greatly reduced. In recent years, speech recognition technology has progressed, and the accuracy of speech recognition has improved greatly. Therefore, estimation of the travel purpose by voice is more useful than estimation using manual input, set destination information, and a scheduler.

When the travel purpose is estimated from the scheduler, the scheduler may be a history of the user's past travels to the destination, or may be planned. For example, the scheduler includes information such as departure time, purpose of travel, travel to stopover point, departure range, facilities stopped by before destination, facility characteristics, genre of stopover facility, time of stopover, length of stay, presence or absence of companions, etc. be Such scheduler information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 11A or the like, and the route providing unit 3343 can estimate the movement purpose by referring to the scheduler information.

It should be noted that, for example, the slack time also varies depending on the type of road used to access the stop-off facility. Therefore, the route providing unit 3343 uses the type of road such as a highway, a general road, and a bypass as travel conditions, and calculates the average traveling speed when each road is used to calculate the margin time. In addition to the type of road, it is also possible to calculate the margin time taking into account traffic conditions such as VICS (registered trademark).

It should be noted that the processing by the route providing unit 3343 can be executed on both the outward route and the return route. For example, if the purpose of the trip is travel, the final destination of the route from home to the accommodation facility (outbound route) will be the accommodation facility, and the final destination of the route from the accommodation facility to home (return route) will be your home. becomes. Therefore, it is possible to provide a candidate for a stopover facility after setting an outward route, and to provide a candidate for a stopover facility after setting a return route.

Also, the timing of providing the stopover facility candidates may be before the vehicle moves or while the vehicle is moving. When the vehicle is moving, the travel time to the stopover facility changes in real time depending on the current position of the vehicle, the surrounding traffic conditions, the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, and other factors. Therefore, the route providing unit 3343 provides the latest stop-off facility candidates while sequentially updating the information at a constant cycle.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the processing operation in the route guide section 334. As shown in FIG.

When the destination of the vehicle is set in step S1, a route search is performed in step S2, and route guidance is started in step S3. In step S4, destination information is determined, for example, the user's home, travel destination facilities, and the like. In step S5, the destination information and the audio set value are captured. The destination information and voice setting values are recorded, for example, in the guidance history accumulation unit 1192, and the voice setting value is the volume of the sound (voice, etc.) played during guidance to the route to the specific destination. and is recorded in association with route information indicating the content of the route.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not traffic information has been received. The determination is made by the guidance control section 3342 . When traffic information is received (step S6, Yes), the process of step S12 is performed. For example, if you are heading to your destination via an expressway and receive traffic congestion information that indicates that a traffic accident has occurred at a specific point on the road, the first exit IC (which is a certain distance from your destination) that you normally use Instead of a route that goes through the second exit IC (exit IC that exists outside the destination and is rarely used by the user) in front of the accident occurrence point (exit IC that exists outside the destination and is rarely used by the user). is used as a branch point, a search for a detour route that bypasses the location where the traffic accident occurred is performed via the branch point. When rule guidance for the detour route is provided, the volume is set to the original state (state with voice guidance) before reaching the second exit IC. As a result, voice guidance is provided before reaching the second exit IC, enabling safe driving. After the process of step S12, the process of step S13 is performed.

Returning to step S6, if the congestion information has not been received (step S6, No), the process of step S7 is performed. The determination is made by the guidance control section 3342 . In step S7, it is determined whether or not automatic reroute (automatic re-search) has been performed. For example, when the vehicle is moving from the company, which is the departure point of the vehicle, to the home, which is the destination of the vehicle, since road paving work is being carried out on a specific road within 1 km from the home, Suppose a detour is chosen. In this case, a detour route is searched for by way of a location where construction is being carried out via the branch point, where the point where the road that is normally used branches off to the detour route is set as a branch point. The detour route is, for example, a road that exists within 1 km from the home and that the user has used several times before. Therefore, since the detour route is not an unknown route for the user, it is considered possible to safely drive to home without voice guidance while driving. Therefore, when a detour is selected by the user's own judgment, that is, when automatic reroute is not performed (step S7, No), the process of step S8 and subsequent steps is performed without performing the process of step S12.

If automatic reroute is performed (step S7, Yes), the process of step S12 is performed. When the automatic reroute is performed, the detour route is not selected by the user's own judgment. It may be a road with no traffic or a road that is used very infrequently. Therefore, in this case, voice guidance of the route is performed by the process of step S12. If the voice guidance for the route has not been interrupted at the time when the process of step S7 is performed, the voice guidance is continued in step S12. Also, if the voice guidance for the route is interrupted at the time when the process of step S7 is performed (if the voice is set to 0 in the process of step S10 described later), the voice guidance is resumed in step S12. be done.

In step S8, it is determined whether or not the number of times the detour route is used is greater than or equal to the frequency setting. The determination is made by the guidance control section 3342 . The frequency setting is determination information for determining whether the frequency (number of times) that the detour route is used as the movement route of the vehicle is high or low. For example, if the average value of the number of detour route usages per week calculated based on travel information accumulated over the past several years is "1", the frequency setting is set to "1". If the average value of the number of detours used per week calculated based on travel information accumulated in the last few months (for example, two months) is "2", the number of detours traveled is greater than or equal to the frequency setting. (Step S8, Yes).

The fact that the number of detours used is large means that it is possible to drive home safely without voice guidance while driving. Therefore, when it is determined that the number of times the detour route is used is large, the process of step S9 and subsequent steps is performed without performing the process of step S12. Note that the frequency setting is not limited to the average value of the number of detours used per week calculated based on travel information accumulated over the past several years. It may be the average value of the number of detours used per month calculated by

If the number of times the detour route is traveled is less than the frequency setting (step S8, No), even if the detour route is selected by the user's own judgment, it is a detour route that is used infrequently. Guidance should be provided. Therefore, voice guidance is performed by the process of step S12.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not the remaining running distance from the current position to the destination is within the remaining running distance setting. The determination is made by the guidance control section 3342 . The shorter the remaining distance from the current position to the destination, the more likely the road is familiar to the user or the road is used frequently. Therefore, a remaining distance setting that indicates the value of the remaining distance to the destination from the current position is provided separately from the above-described frequency setting.

For example, when the remaining running distance is set to 800 m and the actual remaining running distance is 790 m, it is determined that the remaining running distance is within the remaining running distance setting. When the remaining distance is short, it is possible to safely drive to home without voice guidance during the rest of the route, and the voice guidance may be perceived as annoying. Therefore, when it is determined that the remaining running distance is within the remaining running distance setting (step S9, Yes), the process of step S10 is performed without performing the process of step S12.

If the remaining running distance exceeds the remaining running distance setting (step S9, No), even if it is determined in step S8 that the frequency of travel on the detour is high, the distance to the destination is long, so safe operation is performed. Since it is desirable to implement voice guidance above, voice guidance is performed by the process of step S12.

In step S10, the voice setting value is set to "0", that is, the voice guidance is stopped. This processing is performed by the guidance control unit 3342 . In step S11, the information indicating the volume value set in step S10 or step S12 is changed. This processing is performed by the guidance control unit 3342 . In step S13, the guidance control unit 3342 overwrites the voice setting value of the guidance history accumulation unit 1192 with the changed setting value.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not the traveling position of the vehicle has reached the route guidance point. When the traveling position of the vehicle has not reached the route guidance point (step S14, No), the processes after step S3 are repeated. When the traveling position of the vehicle reaches the route guidance point (step S14, Yes), the process of step S15 is performed.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination, and if the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (step S15, No), the processes after step S3 are repeated. If the vehicle has arrived at the destination (step S15, Yes), the process ends.

As described above, the information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment provides voice guidance for each guidance point each time the mobile body approaches a predetermined guidance point on the route from the current position to the destination. a guidance history accumulation unit 1192 that accumulates the route guided by the voice guidance unit 3341 as a guidance history; and a guidance control unit 3342 that performs voice guidance when the distance of is greater than or equal to a specific value, and stops voice guidance when the distance is less than a specific value. With this configuration, when an unexpected event occurs and the detour route is traveled, the voice guidance is not performed when it is determined that the route is frequently traveled by satisfying a predetermined condition, so that the annoyance of the voice guidance can be reduced.

The configuration shown in the above embodiment shows an example of the content of the present invention, and it is possible to combine it with another known technology, and one configuration can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

1: Traffic condition information collection system 10: Vehicle 11: ECU
11A: Auxiliary storage device 11B: Memory device 11C: CPU
11D: Interface device 12: GNSS module 14: Vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 14a: Directional antenna 15: Wheel speed sensor 16: Navigation device 17: Display device 18: Vehicle battery 20: Center server 21: Drive device 21A: Recording medium 22: Auxiliary storage device 23: Memory device 24: CPU
25: interface device 26: display device 27: input device 30: vehicle-mounted device 111: vehicle information acquisition unit 112: map matching unit 113: probe information transmission unit 114: display processing unit 325: destination setting unit 334: route guidance unit 1192 : Guidance history accumulation unit 3341 : Voice guidance unit 3342 : Guidance control unit 3343 : Route providing unit

Claims (1)

a voice guidance unit that provides voice guidance for a given guidance point each time the mobile object approaches a predetermined guidance point on the route from the current position to the destination;
a guidance history accumulation unit that accumulates the route guided by the voice guidance unit as a guidance history;
Based on the guidance history accumulated in the guidance history accumulation unit, voice guidance is provided at least when the distance from the destination to the current location is greater than or equal to a specific value, and when the distance is less than the specific value, a guidance control unit that stops voice guidance;
with
The guidance control unit performs the voice guidance regardless of the distance when the detour is automatically re-searched and when the frequency of use of the detour selected by the user is less than the frequency setting.
Information provider.

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