JPH10185597A - Device for providing information for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for providing information for vehicle that can transmit information to a driver by considering whether an object that the driver should recognize can be visually confirmed or whose presence can be estimated, so that no unwanted reporting is made. SOLUTION: A navigation ECU detects whether an object that a driver should recognize, for example, an object such as a signal panel or an obstacle or an event such as an accident exists or not in a direction where an own vehicle advances in a guide path for the position of the own vehicle being detected. Also, based on the information regarding the inclination of a road and the curvature of a curve, the driver's visibility for the object is judged. Then, when the visibility is lower than 100%, a caution level that should be paid to the object is set to a high level, an object with a high caution level is displayed three-dimensionally in transmission on a display, or the presence of the object is announced verbally through speakers. Regarding a road-merging part, when the presence of the merging part can be estimated from, the presence of a branch point ahead of the merging part, no reporting may be made. On the other hand, when the presence thereof can not be estimated, reporting may be made.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle information providing apparatus for providing information on an object to be recognized by a driver, particularly, an object that cannot be visually recognized or estimated by the driver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a navigation device for performing route guidance is known, and vehicles equipped with the navigation device are increasing. In this navigation device, by setting a destination, an optimal route from the current position to the destination is searched for and stored as a travel route. Then, while detecting the current position, the current position and the traveling route are displayed on a map including the current position to guide the traveling route. Also,
At a guidance intersection where the vehicle turns left or right, the traveling direction at the intersection is displayed in an enlarged scale, and voice guidance is also provided. Such a navigation device facilitates selection of a traveling direction in traveling to a destination.

[0003] In addition, optical beacons and radio beacons have been installed on the roadside, and systems for passing traffic congestion information and the like on the road in the traveling direction and providing traffic congestion information and the like by FM multiplex broadcasting have been put into practical use. If such information is used, more appropriate route guidance can be performed by the navigation device.

[0004] Further, in such a device, not only guidance of the traveling route but also information on the traveling state of the vehicle, for example, the degree of caution of the state, is provided to the driver to improve the traveling safety on the guidance route. Is considered.

For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-103491, the degree of attention to the running state of a vehicle is estimated based on map information of navigation, and the driver is informed in advance. If such a degree of attention is notified, the driver can know in advance the event that needs attention on the lane based on the notification.

[0006]

However, in the conventional alertness notifying function, when notifying the alertness, it is determined whether or not the driver can actually recognize the object (object or event) to be recognized, for example, whether or not the driver can visually recognize it. Is not considered. The degree of attention in the state of the road is completely different depending on whether or not the driver can visually recognize the target.
In other words, if you can't see the object to be recognized,
There is a greater degree to know about its presence than a visible object. Conversely, special attention is often less necessary when visible. Therefore, in order to more appropriately notify the driver of the information on the road condition, it is necessary to consider whether the driver can see the target. In addition, in the conventional configuration, when the driver has already recognized an object to be recognized, such as on a road with good visibility, this may be notified, and if this continues, the driver will receive this notification. You may feel annoying.

[0007] Further, regarding route guidance, unless consideration is given to whether or not the driver can actually see and recognize the features on the route guided by screens, voices, etc., the guide route and the actual conditions that the driver sees are considered. There may be a case where the difference from the route scenery becomes large. As a result, the feeling of the feature shown in the route guidance may be poor.

Further, even if the driver cannot see the object to be recognized, it may be a common sense of the driver that the object exists, and the driver is always informed even in such a situation. In some cases, it is not desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and takes into consideration whether or not the driver can actually visually recognize or estimate the presence of an object to be recognized so that unnecessary notification is not performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle information providing device that can transmit information to a driver.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle information providing apparatus for providing a driver with information on an object to be recognized by the driver, based on map information. Recognizability determining means for determining whether or not the driver can recognize an object to be recognized; and, when the recognizability determining means determines that the recognizability of the object to be recognized by the driver is low, And information output control means for outputting information on a target to be output.

As described above, according to the present invention, for an object (an object or an event) to be recognized by the driver when driving, the driver can actually recognize the object (for example, the driver can recognize the object or can presume its existence). Depending on whether it is, information about the target is reported. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate excessive notification and to pay attention to an unrecognizable target in advance based on information notified when visibility is low.

[0012] The information generating means is characterized in that when it is determined that the visibility of the object to be recognized is low, the object to be recognized is transparently displayed on a display map screen. Further, the information generating means three-dimensionally transparently displays the object to be recognized on a display map screen.

The objects to be recognized include any of a guide route, a roadside structure, a road junction, a building, a road obstacle, and a construction.

As described above, when an object to be recognized, for example, when the driver has low visibility with respect to the object, an object that cannot be visually recognized is transparently displayed on the screen. Is displayed, it is possible to draw the driver's attention and make the guidance screen easier to see.

Further, in the present invention, when the recognizability judging means determines that there is no vehicle outflow portion before the road junction or that the visibility of the road junction is low, the information output is performed. The control means outputs information on the road junction. If there is a vehicle outflow section before the road junction, the driver may use the general shape of the road if the outflow section is a predetermined outflow section (for example, an interchange exit, a service or parking area entrance). From this, it can be inferred that there is a road junction ahead of it. Therefore, in such a case, if the information regarding the road junction is not output, it is possible to prevent an excessive notification from being given to the recognized object. On the other hand, if the visibility of the junction is low, information about the junction may be output. For example, a road junction may exist at the end of a curved road, in a tunnel, or at the end of a tunnel. Also, even when it is difficult to visually recognize the junction, it is possible to notify the driver of the presence in advance.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 [Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the present embodiment. A DGPS device 12 and a map database 14 are connected to a navigation ECU (electric control unit) 10 that controls various processes in route guidance. DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System)
The device 12 corrects the position information with respect to the current position information detected using the signal from the artificial satellite in consideration of error information in the GPS device supplied by FM multiplex broadcasting or the like,
Perform accurate current position detection.

The map database 14 stores road map data of various places and information on road periphery, for example, landmarks of buildings, intersection information, and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, in addition to these pieces of information, the gradient of the road, the curvature of the curve, the wall around the road, the tunnel,
Information on obstacles and the like that affect the driver's view of the road, such as hills, is stored in the map database 14.

The navigation ECU 10 includes, as communication devices, an optical beacon communication device 16 for communicating with an optical beacon provided on the roadside (usually on the roadside of a general road).
A radio beacon communication device 18 that communicates with a radio beacon provided on the roadside (usually a roadside of a highway), an FM multiplex broadcast receiving device 20 that receives FM multiplex broadcasts, and an inter-vehicle communication that communicates with other vehicles The device 22 is connected. For this reason, the navigation ECU 10 can obtain information on a changing route environment such as accident information, traffic regulation, road construction, and other vehicle trends at any time by using these communication devices.

Further, the navigation ECU 10 includes:
As an information output device for providing information to the driver, a display 24 and a speaker 26 are connected,
The display 24 displays the searched optimal guide route, a target in the route, and the like, and the speaker 26 notifies information about the guide route and the like by voice.

In the vehicle information providing apparatus having such a configuration, when a destination in a drive is set by an input unit (not shown), the navigation ECU 10 uses the map information in the map database 14 to reach the destination. The optimum route is searched, and the route to the obtained destination is set as a guide route.

In the drive in which the route is set, the navigation ECU 10 performs a guidance process for driving along the guide route. For example, when the vehicle is running, a map around the current vehicle position is displayed on the display 24, and a vehicle position mark is displayed on the display map. Further, the guide route to the set destination is displayed on the screen by changing the display color or the like so as to be distinguishable from other roads.

When the vehicle enters the intersection where the vehicle turns right or left, for example, the display 24 shows a right or left turn at the intersection, and an enlarged guidance display for three-dimensionally enlarging and displaying the intersection. Done. At the same time, for example, the message “Next
○ Turn right at the intersection where you can see the building. ”, And the route guidance is executed.

In the first embodiment, the navigation ECU 10 provides guidance to the detected vehicle position in the traveling direction of the vehicle on the set guide route, including a target to be recognized by the driver, for example, a merging portion. It detects whether there is a route, a roadside structure such as a traffic light, an obstacle on the road, or an event such as occurrence of an accident. This object can be known by map information, various communications, and the like. Then, based on road gradient information or the like, it is determined whether or not the driver can actually see the target. If the visibility is low, the target is transparently displayed on the display 24, or At the same time, audio guidance is provided from the speaker 26 for the presence of such an invisible object. Further, when the data of the object is obtained as three-dimensional data, the display is performed in a three-dimensional manner.
Increase visibility above.

[Notification Process of Target to be Recognized by Driver] Hereinafter, the notification process of the information on the target existing on the route by the navigation device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the DGPS device 12 detects the current position of the own vehicle (S1), the navigation ECU 10
The stored data in the traveling direction of the current position detected from the map database 14 is read, and each communication device 1
6, 18, 22, it is determined whether or not there is an object to be recognized by the driver within the own vehicle traveling destination Lm (for example, L = 200 m) in the guide route from the receiving device 20 (S)
2). Note that the distance Lm is not limited to a fixed value. For example, by setting the distance to be equivalent to the current vehicle speed × 10 seconds, the detection range of the object to be notified to the driver can be changed according to the vehicle speed. Becomes

Here, the objects to be recognized are, for example, intersections on a route, traffic signals existing within Lm, the current color of the traffic lights, junctions of roads, vehicles running near junctions, and roads. Obstacles such as falling rocks and broken cars above. Fixed information such as a traffic light and a junction can be obtained from the map database 14. Also, dynamic information about the present color of the traffic light, the presence of a vehicle, an obstacle, and the like can be obtained by communication devices such as the inter-vehicle communication device 22 and the optical beacon communication device 16.

If no target exists (No), S1
Then, the detection of the current position of the own vehicle is sequentially executed.

If the object exists (Yes),
Based on the two-dimensional data or three-dimensional data of the target, three-dimensional data of the driver or a target viewed from a predetermined viewpoint is created. Further, based on the information on the target, the degree of attention to be paid to the driver, that is, the attention level, is calculated (S3). Specifically, for example, when there is a traffic light within Lm, “the traffic light is blue”
Is determined to be caution level 0, "traffic light is yellow" is caution level 1, and "traffic light is red" is caution level 2. Further, for example, when it is detected that there is a junction without a traffic light within Lm, it is determined whether or not the guidance route is a priority road at the junction, and in the case of a priority road, the caution level 1 is set. If the road is not a priority road, it is determined to be the caution level 2 or the like.

Next, the navigation ECU 10 determines whether or not the driver can visually recognize the detected target when the distance between the vehicle position and the target is within Lm (S4).
In this determination, as shown in FIG. 3, based on the road gradient and the curvature of the road indicated by the terrain data read from the map database 14, whether the driver can visually recognize the target from the position of the own vehicle within the distance Lm. Judge whether or not.

When it is detected that a traffic signal having a height hm is installed at a position lm ahead (l ≦ L) from the current position of the own vehicle, the current position PA of the own vehicle is determined as shown in FIG. It is assumed that, when the vehicle is on an uphill, the traffic light exists on the way PB on the downhill to which the traffic light has climbed. In this case, the driver's view range at the current position is calculated based on the road gradient data stored in the map database 14. As a result, if the lower limit of the visibility range is as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3A, the driver determines that the traffic signal ahead of the current position PA cannot be visually recognized.

Similarly, when a traffic signal having a height of hm is installed at a distance of 1 m from the current position of the own vehicle, the current position PA of the own vehicle moves uphill as shown in FIG. If the traffic light is present at the position PB further up the uphill, the traffic light can be physically visually recognized. However, if the elevation angle α exceeds the visible angle,
It is difficult to see. Therefore, the navigation ECU
10 also determines the upper limit (elevation angle) of the driver's view range, and in this case also determines that it is not possible to visually recognize the traffic signal ahead of the current position PA.

As an object to be recognized, FIG.
Even if an obstacle such as a falling rock is detected by the inter-vehicle communication or the like at the same position as in FIG. 3C, for example, as shown in FIG. Can not be visually recognized.

The navigation ECU 10 determines whether or not the driver can visually recognize the target in consideration of the road gradient and the curvature of the road. FIG. 3D shows an example in which, when the curvature is taken into consideration, a junction is present at the destination lm of the current position PA. As shown in the figure, if the guide route from the current position PA to the junction is curved, and the junction is located at a point PB on a gentle uphill, the driver's view range at the point PA Figure 3
As shown in (d), the driver cannot visually recognize the junction. Therefore, the navigation ECU 10
Also in this case, it is determined that the target cannot be visually recognized.

As a result of the above determination (S4), if there is a part of the object which cannot be visually recognized (Yes), it is further determined whether the attention level of the situation changes due to the inability to visually recognize the object, and a new state is determined. Attention level is calculated (S5).

FIG. 4 shows a method of calculating a caution level to be given to the driver when the driver cannot recognize the target.

First, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), when the traffic light located 1 m away from the current position is not visible to the driver, that is, when the visibility is 0%, the calculated attention level for the traffic light is set to 1 each. I'll give you levels. That is,
If "the traffic light is blue", increase the caution level from 0 to level 1. If "the traffic light is yellow", change the caution level 1 to level 2; if "the traffic light is red", raise the caution level. Turn 2 to level 3.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when the visibility is determined to be between 0% and 100% in the determination S4, the attention level is set in the same manner as in the case of the visibility of 0%. Is raised one level at a time.

Further, as shown in FIG.
If it is 0%, the driver can determine the presence of the traffic light and also its present color, so that the caution level remains unchanged with the present color blue = level 0, yellow = 1, and red = 2.

Further, as described above, in the determination S4, not only the road gradient as shown in FIG. 4 but also the curvature of the route to the target and the existence of obstacles such as walls and tunnels that obstruct the view are considered. Calculate the degree. FIG. 5 shows an example in this case. In FIG. 5, there are tall walls on both sides of the route (similarly in a tunnel). And
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the driver cannot see the traffic light lm ahead due to the wall due to a large curvature of the route (visibility 0%), the attention level T for the traffic light already calculated in S3. One level each,
If the current color of the traffic light is blue, attention level 0 to level 1
If yellow, attention level 1 is set to level 2; if red, attention level 2 is set to level 3.

Further, as shown in FIG.
If the visibility is 100%, the attention level T is raised by one level as in the case of the visibility of 0%, and if the visibility is 100%, the attention level is not changed as shown in FIG.

As described above, when the attention level T is obtained based on the target and its visibility, it is then determined whether or not this attention level T is equal to or higher than level 1 (S
6) If the level is 0 (No), the driver is not notified and the current position is detected again as described above (S
1), the target detection (S2), and the attention level calculation / determination (S3 to S6) processing are repeated.

When it is determined in the determination S6 that the caution level is equal to or higher than the level 1 (Yes), the presence of the target is indicated to the driver by a display on the display 24 or a sound from the speaker 26 or the like. Notify (S
7).

FIG. 6 shows an example of the value of the attention level T and the contents of the notification when the object is a traffic light. FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples of display on the display 24.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the attention level is 0, there is no object to be recognized (no traffic signal) or the driver can visually recognize the object.
Furthermore, the degree of attention in the route environment is extremely low (the current color of the traffic light is blue). Therefore, in this case, neither voice guidance nor screen display is performed. For this reason, the driver
You will not be bothered by unnecessary notification.

If the attention level is 1, it is not necessary to pay much attention, so that voice guidance is not performed and only the target is displayed on the display 24. Note that the caution level 1 is, for example, a level when the present color of the traffic light is yellow and the visibility is 100%, or when the present color of the traffic light is blue but the driver cannot see the traffic light. .

As a result of the determination in S6, if the warning level is 2, the notification of the existence of the traffic light "signal, caution" is performed once, and the traffic light is displayed on the display 24 together with the present color of the traffic light in a three-dimensional manner. To be displayed. The display on the display 24 indicates that the visibility of the traffic light is 1
If it is not 00%, the target is transparently displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 7A so as to clarify its existence although it is not actually visible. When only a part of the target is not visible, the part that is not visible as shown in FIG.

As described above, even when the caution level is 1 and the traffic signal cannot be visually recognized, FIGS.
As in (b), the traffic light is displayed transparently.

Here, in the case of the present embodiment, the attention level 2 indicates that the present color of the traffic light that can be visually recognized by the driver is red, and that the present color of the traffic light that cannot be visually recognized by the driver is two. May be yellow. In either case, the driver needs to pay attention to the traffic light. Therefore, by performing both the voice guidance and the display on the display 24, the driver's attention can be prompted.

Next, when the caution level is 3, the voice guidance of "signal, caution" is repeated several times, and the display 24 indicates that there is a traffic signal that cannot be visually recognized by the driver, which is red. Figure 7 to impress
As shown in (c), the traffic light is displayed transparently, and the display blinks. Attention level 3 is the case where the traffic light is not visible from the driver and the present color of the traffic light is red in the case of the present embodiment. Therefore, in both the voice guidance and the display guidance, the presence of the red light is notified in advance and the driver's attention is strongly encouraged, so that the driver can be encouraged to smoothly stop the vehicle. In order to make the target on the display 24 more conspicuous, a highlight display or the like may be performed.

FIG. 8 shows an example of notification when the target is not a traffic light, but a merging section which cannot be visually recognized due to a curve of a route, a tunnel, a wall, or the like exists at the destination and another vehicle to be merged exists. ing. As described above, when it is detected that there is a junction within Lm from the current position, for example, it is determined whether or not the guidance route is a priority road at the junction, and in the case of a priority road, the attention level If it is not a priority road, it is determined to be the caution level 2 or the like.
If a merging vehicle is present at the merging point, for example, the caution level is determined to be level 2 for a priority road and to caution level 3 otherwise. Further, when the junction is not visible, each caution level is further increased by one level. When the junction is not visible and a merging vehicle is present, the caution level is 3
That is all. Therefore, voice guidance repeats, "There is a merging vehicle ahead." Several times, and the merging part that is not actually seen is transparently displayed, and the traveling direction of the vehicle to be merged is indicated by an arrow (for example, in red). At the same time, the vehicle flashes to alert the driver. However, the caution level for the junction may be set without necessarily determining whether or not the traveling road is a priority road.

It should be noted that the setting of the attention level of the object to be recognized by the driver is not only determined according to the present color and visibility of the traffic light as described above. The attention level may be defined depending on the object, such as falling rock (falling object) and during construction = attention level 1 and uncertain event = attention level 2. Here, the uncertain event is, for example, "there is a merging vehicle", "the oncoming vehicle crossing the center line", "there is a spinning vehicle".
And so on. Such an uncertain and dynamic event can be detected by using inter-vehicle communication or the like more frequently.

As described above, when the driver is notified according to the caution level, if the driver takes an appropriate action based on the notification, for example, the driver stops before the red traffic light, Alternatively, when an action such as deceleration is taken in front of the junction, the notification may be stopped or a process of lowering the attention level may be performed. When the caution level is maximum and the driver does not execute the deceleration of the vehicle speed or the like, it is also possible to forcibly decelerate the vehicle or the like based on the determination of the navigation ECU 10.

When a guidance intersection or a guidance route to be turned left or right cannot be visually recognized due to a building, an obstacle, or a terrain, the caution level is set according to the visibility as described above. An invisible object (here, the guide route itself) can be transparently displayed over a building or the like. That is, when the guidance route is not visible behind the building, the route behind the building is transparently displayed. At the same time, its existence is voice-guided. Therefore, an appropriate route condition can be notified to the driver in advance, and route guidance can be performed more accurately and safely. In determining the visibility, the traveling time of the vehicle, for example, whether or not the vehicle is traveling at night may be considered.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the first embodiment,
A caution level is calculated for an object to be recognized, and the driver is notified according to the caution level. However, for example, a driver may be able to infer the presence of a road junction even if the driver cannot visually recognize the junction.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, when the target to be recognized is the road junction, the caution level is not determined, but whether the driver can guess or visually recognize the road junction is determined. A process of notifying the confluence is performed as a reference.

FIG. 9 shows a processing procedure according to the second embodiment. Note that the vehicle information providing device (here, the navigation device) that executes the processing is the same as the configuration shown in FIG.

First, the procedure shown in FIG.
DGPS device 12 detects the current position of the own vehicle. The navigation ECU 10 reads out the stored data in the traveling direction of the current position detected from the map database 14, and reads the communication devices 16, 18, 22 and the receiving device 20.
Lm ahead of the running path of the own vehicle in the guide route (for example, L =
Within 500 m), it is determined whether there is an object to be recognized by the driver. The objects to be recognized include, for example, the map database 14, roadside structures such as traffic lights obtained from communication devices such as the inter-vehicle communication device 22 and the optical beacon communication device 16, road junctions, and road junctions, as described above. There are events such as obstacles and accidents.

Further, the navigation ECU 10 determines whether the object to be recognized is a junction of a road ahead of the guidance route, and specifies the junction (S11). The determination as to whether or not the junction is a road junction includes, for example, (1) a contact point between a main line and an inter-mounting unit, (2) a contact point between main lines,
(3) The determination is performed based on a determination condition such as a decreasing portion of a lane (such as the end of an ascending lane) (but is not limited to these). Then, when these conditions are satisfied, it is determined to be the merging section, and the following processing is performed without setting the caution level. If information on whether or not each road is a junction is stored in the map database 14 in advance, it is easy to identify the road junction.

Next, the navigation ECU 10 determines whether it is necessary to notify the driver of the merging section based on, for example, a criterion described later (S12). If it is determined that it is not necessary (No), the process returns to the next process of determining the target to be recognized (S11).
If it is determined that notification is necessary (Yes), display information (two-dimensional data or three-dimensional data) and audio information about the specified confluence are fetched from the map database 14 (S13).

The current position of the vehicle is detected by the DGPS device 12, and when the current position reaches a position several hundred meters (for example, 500m) before the specified junction, the navigation EC.
U10 outputs the acquired display information and audio information to the display 24 and the speaker 26. As a result, the display 24 performs a two-dimensional or three-dimensional display of the merging portion, and further displays, for example, "there is a merging portion ahead." And notifies the driver of this. In addition, the speaker 26 outputs a sound such as "There is a merging section ahead." And notifies the user (S15). In addition,
When the visibility of the junction is low, the junction may be transparently displayed on the display 24.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the judgment on the necessity of the notification of the merging section in step S12 of FIG. 9 described above.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, after specifying the presence of the merging section, the navigation ECU 10 reads out further map data from the map database 14 and becomes the outflow section of the vehicle within a certain section before the merging section. It is determined whether a branch point exists (S121).

If there is no branch point (No), the driver cannot presume that there is a junction ahead of the junction. Proceeding to step S13, notification of the merging section is performed.

On the other hand, when a branch point exists (Ye
s) further shows the type of the branch point, the interchange (IC) exit on the highway, the service area (S
A) or it is determined whether or not the entrance of the parking area (PA) (S122). Note that the determination of the type of the branch point can be performed using the information on the branch point stored in the map database 14 in advance if the information is stored. If it is not stored, it is determined from the destination of the branched road.

When the branch point is an IC exit, SA, PA entrance, or the like, the driver usually estimates that a general shape of the road has a junction in front of the road. Therefore, in the case of the IC exit, SA, PA entrance, etc. (Yes), the notification about the merging section is not performed, and step S in FIG.
Then, the process returns to step S11 to continue the process of detecting another object to be recognized. Even if there is a branch point, the branch point is the IC exit, S
If it is not the entrance of A and PA, the junction does not always exist in front of the entrance. Therefore, in step S122, N
If it is determined to be "o", the process proceeds to step S13 in FIG. 9, and the specified junction is notified to the driver.

As described above, if it is determined whether there is a branch point in front of the junction or whether or not the driver is notified based on the type of the branch point, the determination can be made more easily than the visibility determination. It can be performed.

FIG. 11 shows a further criterion for judging the necessity of notification of the merging section in step S12 of FIG. 9 described above.

In FIG. 11, first, the navigation ECU
10 judges whether or not the specified junction is present in the tunnel (S125). In general, it is difficult for a driver to see through the junction in the tunnel. Therefore, in the determination of step S125,
If it is determined that there is a junction in the tunnel (Ye
In s), the process proceeds to step S13 in FIG. 9 to notify the specified junction. In addition to the tunnel, there is a high noise barrier at the shoulder of the road, or when the visibility is poor due to the inclination of the road, nighttime, rainy weather, snow, etc.
If the junction 10 judges this and notifies the junction in the same manner, the driver can be more reliably notified of the junction.

When the junction does not exist in the tunnel (N
In o), it is further determined whether or not the junction exists within a certain section (for example, 500 m) from the tunnel exit (S126). When the vehicle is present in a certain section, it is difficult for the driver to see that the merging portion exists in the same manner as in the tunnel, so that it is difficult to estimate the existence of the merging portion. Also, at the exit of the tunnel, the environment of the runway inside the tunnel changes suddenly, and caution is required for driving. Therefore, if the presence of such a junction is notified in advance, the driver can easily travel smoothly. For example, if the junction exists within a section of about 500 m required to execute the lane change with a margin from the tunnel exit on the expressway (Yes), the process proceeds to step S13 in FIG. The driver is notified of information about the junction. For example, when there is a soundproof wall on the shoulder of the road, it may be determined whether or not a confluence exists in a certain section based on the end of the soundproof wall. Further, in a situation where the visibility of the junction is low, it may be determined whether or not there is a junction within a certain section (for example, 500 m or less) from the position of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle.

Next, in step S126 of FIG. 11, if there is no junction in a certain section (N
o) Returning to step S11 in FIG. 9, the specified junction is not notified.

As described above, with respect to the two types of notification necessity determinations (FIGS. 10 and 11) of the second embodiment, a configuration in which only one condition is determined can be applied. However, both determination criteria are taken into consideration. If the notification of the confluence portion is performed, more appropriate notification can be performed. Considering both criteria, (1) there is no branch point before the junction, (2)
In any of the cases where the branch point is not a predetermined one and (3) the visibility to the junction is low (in a tunnel or the like),
The driver is notified of the merging section.

Further, even if the driver is notified of the road junction based on such a criterion, it is expected that about 20 to 30% of all the junctions will be notified. Is done. Therefore, it is possible to reliably transmit information about the merging section to the driver without excessive notification and without lowering the driver's attention to the notification.

By the way, the notification of the object to be recognized described in each of the first and second embodiments is not limited to being performed together with the route guidance in the travel in which the destination is set, but the destination is set. Even if it is not, an object to be recognized in the traveling direction of the own vehicle may be detected and notified according to the recognition state (visibility or guessability) of the object.

Furthermore, the display of the object to be recognized may be changed over time according to the movement of the own vehicle position, or the display of the object corresponding to the own vehicle position at that time may be made for a certain period or every certain distance. The display may be changed by calculating the attention level.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, for an object (an object or an event) to be recognized by the driver when driving, whether the object can be visually recognized by the driver or other objects can be recognized. Using the criterion of whether or not it can be inferred from the condition, the notification of information about the target is determined. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive notification, and appropriately inform the driver of information such as the degree of attention to be paid to the route environment that is influenced by visibility and the presence of the junction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating notification processing of a target to be recognized according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a route environment and a driver's visibility with respect to a target according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a visibility based on a road gradient and an attention level calculated according to the road gradient in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a visibility based on a road curvature and an obstacle and an attention level calculated according to the curvature according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between an attention level for a target calculated based on visibility and a notification content according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example on a display according to an attention level according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example different from FIG. 7 on the display according to the attention level according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of notifying a driver of a road junction according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for determining the necessity of notification of a merging unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for determining the necessity of notification of a merging section according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 navigation ECU, 12 DGPS device, 1
4 map database, 16 optical beacon communication device, 1
8 radio beacon communication device, 20 FM multiplex receiving device,
22 inter-vehicle communication device, 24 display, 26 speaker.

Claims (5)

[Claims] An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, which provides a driver with information on an object to be recognized by a driver, and determines whether or not the driver can recognize an object to be recognized based on map information. Recognizability judging means, and information output control means for outputting information about the object to be recognized when the recognizability judging means judges that the recognizability of the object to be recognized is low. An information providing device for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The information providing apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the information output control unit displays the target on a display map screen when it is determined that the visibility of the target to be recognized is low. An information providing device for a vehicle, wherein the information providing device performs transparent display. 3. The information providing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the information output control unit displays the target on a display map screen when it is determined that the visibility of the target to be recognized is low. An information providing device for a vehicle, wherein a three-dimensionally transparent display is provided. 4. The information providing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the object includes any one of a guide route, a roadside structure, a road junction, a building, a road obstacle, and a construction. Vehicle information providing device. 5. The information providing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the information output control means determines whether or not the vehicle outflow portion exists in front of a road junction or the road junction by the recognizability determining unit. If it ’s determined that the part ’s visibility is low,
An information providing device for a vehicle, wherein information on the road junction is output.