JPH11211491A - Vehicle position identifying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle position identifying device capable of more precisely identifying a vehicle position in the lateral direction of a road and the traveling track. SOLUTION: When a link L6 is a link having a starting point node of N5, a terminal point node of N6, a width of 10 m, and 4 lanes in which the up and down lanes are not separated, and the regulating direction is reversed, four virtual lane links VL1 -VL4 corresponding to the four lanes are generated. The presence probability of vehicle in two lanes where the passing direction is reverse to the advancing direction of vehicle is set to 0%. When a traveling track passes the part 0.75 m aside from the boundary of the remaining two lanes, the presence probability of vehicle in one lane is calculated as 80%, and the presence probability of vehicle in the other lane is calculated as 20%.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle position identification device for identifying the current position of a running vehicle on a road, and more particularly to a vehicle position identification device for identifying a traveling lane as a position in the width direction of the road. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional vehicle position identification device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8 (1994), in which reference numeral 1 denotes a node indicating a position such as an intersection or a turning point of a road, a link connecting the nodes with a straight line, and the like. (Which are collectively referred to as road data), and 2 is a GPS (Global Positioning Sy).
a) a GPS receiver that receives radio waves from a satellite, measures position using the received radio waves, and outputs vehicle position data, and 3 is a GPS receiver based on, for example, an angular velocity of the vehicle detected by a gyro (not shown). An azimuth measuring means for measuring the traveling azimuth and outputting it as azimuth data, for example, counts a pulse signal output according to the mileage of the vehicle from a distance sensor (not shown) to measure the mileage of the vehicle, This is a distance measuring unit that outputs as distance data.

[0005] 5 calculates the current position of the vehicle in longitude and latitude based on the azimuth data from the azimuth measuring means 3 and the distance data from the distance measuring means 4, and utilizes the position data from the GPS receiver 2. A current position measuring unit that appropriately corrects the current position of the vehicle and outputs the current position of the vehicle as current position data, and 81 integrates the distance data from the distance measuring unit 4 and, when the traveling distance reaches 150 meters, A 150-meter determining unit that outputs a predetermined signal and restarts the integration after resetting the integrated value to zero, and integrates the distance data from the distance measuring unit 4 when the running distance reaches 30 meters. , A predetermined signal is output, and the integrated value is reset to zero.

[0006] Reference numeral 6 denotes a traveling locus storage means for storing the traveling locus of the vehicle based on the direction data from the direction measuring means 3 and the current position data from the current position measuring means 5. The traveling locus storage means 6 generates a traveling vector having a size of 15 and an orientation of the orientation measuring means 3 every time the vehicle travels 15 meters, and sequentially stores the generated traveling vectors.

Reference numeral 7 reads road data from the road network storage means 1 as appropriate, and when the vehicle passes through the intersection, reads the direction data from the direction measurement means 3, the distance data from the distance measurement means 4, and the road network storage means 1. Position candidate setting means for setting position candidates of vehicles in the extending direction of all roads extending from the intersection every time the vehicle travels 15 meters based on the road data. This is a traveling road shape generation unit that generates and sequentially stores road shape vectors corresponding to the supplied position candidates.

Each time a predetermined signal is supplied from the 150-meter determining means 81, the running track 91 compares the running locus from the running locus storing means 6 and the road shape vector from the running road shape generating means 8 to check the running locus. Pattern matching means for selecting the road shape vector having the highest correlation with the vehicle and correcting the current position of the vehicle to a candidate position on the road corresponding to the selected road shape vector. Every time the signal is supplied, the current position data from the current position measuring means 5 and each position candidate from the position candidate setting means 7 are sequentially compared, and the position closer to the current position of the vehicle and closer to the traveling direction is determined. A candidate is selected, and the current position of the vehicle is corrected to the position of the selected position candidate. Is a projection matching means for correcting the trajectory.

[0007] 101 reads out map data around the current position of the vehicle from the road network storage means 1 in accordance with the current position data from the current position measurement means 5 and displays a map around the current position to indicate the current position of the vehicle. This is a display control means for displaying the information on the display means 102 together with the vehicle mark.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the pattern matching unit 91, and FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the projection matching unit 92.

Each time a predetermined signal is supplied from the 150-meter determining means 81, the pattern matching means 91
The travel trajectory stored in the travel trajectory storage means 6 and each road shape vector from the travel road shape generation means 8 are read out by 2 km.

Next, the pattern matching means 91 calculates the correlation between each road shape vector and the travel locus, and selects the road shape vector having the highest correlation. It is determined that the route of the road corresponding to the selected road shape vector is the actual traveling route, and the current position is corrected to the position candidate position on the road corresponding to the road shape vector, and the traveling locus is determined. The traveling locus from the storage means 6 is corrected.

At this time, the pattern matching means 91
Removes a road shape vector having no correlation between the road shape vector and the travel locus, and deletes a position candidate on the road corresponding to the road shape vector.

For example, in FIG. 30, a route indicated by a broken line is a traveling locus from the time when the vehicle departs from the departure point Ps to a time when the vehicle travels 150 meters, and the triangular mark on each road indicates a position candidate. It is. In this case, among these position candidates, the position candidate P0 on the road corresponding to the road shape vector having the highest correlation with the traveling locus.
The current position P0 is corrected to a position of -1.

On the other hand, when the projection matching means 92 has traveled 30 meters from the departure point Ps,
A position candidate P2- set on a road near the current position P2
1, P2-2, P2-3, a position candidate P2-3 which is closest to the current position P2 and whose traveling direction is shortest is selected, the current position is corrected to that position, and the travel locus storage means 6 is selected. Correct the running locus stored in. Thereafter, similarly, every time the vehicle travels 30 meters, the current position is corrected to position candidates P3, P4, and P5,
The running trajectory is similarly modified.

The display control means 101 reads map data around the current position of the vehicle from the road network storage means 1 in accordance with the current position data from the current position measurement means 5 and displays a map around the current position. At the same time, a vehicle mark indicating the current position of the vehicle is displayed on the display unit 102 at a position on the map corresponding to the current position appropriately corrected by the pattern matching unit 91 and the projection matching unit 92 as described above.

[0015]

Since the conventional vehicle position identification device is constructed as described above, it does not identify the position of the vehicle in the width direction of the road, but sets a predetermined position (for example, the center of the road). Was set as a position candidate. For this reason, if the current position of the vehicle is corrected to the selected position candidate, the position of the vehicle is corrected in the center of the road in the width direction, and it is difficult to determine the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and for example, When a vehicle makes a right turn or a left turn from a road having a large width such as a main road in a large city, there is a problem that an error of the vehicle position occurs at most up to almost the width of the road.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle position identification device capable of more accurately identifying a vehicle position and a traveling locus in a width direction of a road. I do.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle position identification device capable of more accurately identifying a vehicle position and a traveling locus in the width direction of a road when changing lanes or turning right or left at an intersection.

[0018]

A vehicle position identification device according to the present invention includes a current position measuring means for measuring a current position of a vehicle, and a history of the current position measured by the current position measuring means with time. Travel locus storage means for storing as a travel locus, nodes representing positions such as intersections or bending points of roads, and links connecting roads in a predetermined range constituted by links connecting the nodes with straight lines. ,
A road network storage unit that stores the shape of the road, the position of the road, the width of the road, the number of lanes, and the traffic direction of the vehicle as attributes of the road corresponding to the link; and a road network storage unit that stores the road network stored in the road network storage unit. Based on the link and the travel locus stored in the travel locus storage means, a travel road identification means for identifying a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and an attribute of the road identified by the travel road identification means from the road network storage means. The lane calculating means for reading the lane position, the width of the lane, and the traveling direction of the vehicle as the attributes for each lane constituting the road from the attributes of the road, and the lane attributes calculated by the lane calculating means. Calculating the probability that the vehicle is traveling for each lane based on the traveling locus stored in the traveling locus storage means, and identifying the traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the probability Is obtained and a position identification unit that.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the present invention, for each link of a first road network within a predetermined range constituted by nodes and links, the attribute of the road corresponding to the link is stored in the road network storage means. And storing, for each link of the second road network composed of more nodes and links in the same range as the predetermined range, as the attribute of the road corresponding to the link, and specifying the traveling road. Means for using the attribute of the road corresponding to the link of the first road network, and the lane calculating means and the position identifying means for using the attribute of the road corresponding to the link of the second road network.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the present invention, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in a lane different from the previously identified traveling lane by the position identifying means is such that the vehicle travels in the previously identified traveling lane. When the probability becomes higher than a predetermined value by a predetermined value, another lane is identified as the traveling lane of the vehicle.

[0021] In the vehicle position identification device according to the present invention, the position identification means detects that the vehicle has changed lanes based on the amount of change in the running locus in the width direction of the road, and when the lane change is detected, the lane change is detected. The probability that the vehicle is running is reset every time.

The vehicle position identification device according to the present invention includes direction measurement means for measuring a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and detects a right or left turn of the vehicle from a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle or a travel locus by the position identification means. When a right turn or a left turn is detected, the turning radius of the vehicle is calculated from the amount of change in the heading of the vehicle at the time of the right turn or the left turn or the traveling locus,
Based on the turning radius, the probability that the vehicle is traveling for each lane of the road after a right or left turn is calculated, and the traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling is identified based on the probability.

The vehicle position identification device according to the present invention includes direction measurement means for measuring a change in the heading direction of the vehicle. The position identification means detects a right turn or left turn of the vehicle from a change in the heading direction of the vehicle or a traveling locus. If a right or left turn is detected, the system determines the appropriate lane for the right or left turn on the road before the right or left turn, and calculates the probability that the vehicle is traveling in each lane of the road after the right or left turn. Then, based on the probability, the traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling is identified.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle position identification device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a road network storing means for storing nodes indicating positions such as intersections or bends of roads, links connecting the nodes with straight lines, and road data such as road width and road attributes such as one-way traffic. And 2 is antenna 2
-1, a GPS receiver that receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite, measures the current position based on the received radio wave, and outputs position data of the vehicle, and 3 is, for example, an angular velocity of the vehicle detected by a gyro (not shown). Azimuth measuring means for measuring the traveling azimuth of the vehicle based on
Reference numeral 4 denotes a distance measuring unit that counts a pulse signal output from a distance sensor (not shown) according to the traveling distance of the vehicle, measures the traveling distance of the vehicle, and outputs the result as distance data.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a vehicle which calculates the current position of the vehicle based on the azimuth data from the azimuth measuring means 3, the distance data from the distance measuring means 4 and the position data from the GPS receiver 2 so as to represent the current position in longitude and latitude. Is a current position measuring means for outputting the current position of the current position as current position data.

Each time the vehicle 6 travels a predetermined distance or more, or changes the course by a predetermined angle or more, the current position measuring means 5
Is a traveling locus storage means for storing the current position data from the vehicle as a traveling locus of the vehicle.

The reference numeral 7 reads the travel locus from the travel locus storage means 6, reads the road data from the road network storage means 1 as appropriate, compares the travel locus with the road data,
This is a position candidate setting unit that sets the tips of a plurality of courses in a road network similar to a traveling locus as position candidates for a vehicle.

9 records the history of the road data (start node, end node, width, number of lanes, vertical separation, regulation direction) of the course through which each position candidate passes, and records the candidate of the passing course corresponding to each position candidate. Is a passing course candidate storing means for storing a candidate which is determined to be a passing course of an actual vehicle from a plurality of passing course candidates stored in the passing course candidate storing means 9, and the passing course is selected. This is a traveling road identification unit that identifies a road link portion where the vehicle is located above as a traveling road.

11 reads out the road data of the traveling road identified by the traveling road identification means 10 from the road network storage means 1,
A lane calculating means for calculating a virtual lane link corresponding to each lane of the road based on the attribute of the road;
Calculates the existence probabilities of vehicles for each virtual lane link based on the virtual lane link calculated by the lane calculation means 11 and the travel locus stored in the travel locus storage means 6, and calculates the highest one of those existence probabilities. This is a position identification unit that identifies a lane corresponding to the virtual lane link that is the existence probability as a traveling lane, and identifies the current position of the vehicle in the traveling lane.

Reference numeral 13 denotes display means for superimposing and displaying the current position of the vehicle identified by the position identification means 12 on the road data of the road network storage means 1.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an actual passage course and a measured traveling locus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the traveling locus storage means 6, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the traveling locus stored in the traveling locus storage means 6 when the vehicle is located at the position Pi. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing two position candidates a and b set by the position candidate setting means 7.

FIG. 6 shows the course of the candidate a shown in FIG.
(A)) and road data (FIG. 6 (b)) stored in order and corresponding to the passing course.
FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a passing course (FIG. 7A) of candidate b in FIG. 5 and road data (FIG. 7B) stored in order and corresponding to the passing course.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation for specifying the passing course, and FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the traveling locus is corrected (FIG. 9A), and the corrected traveling locus is displayed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display screen of the display unit 13 at the time of
(B)).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the running locus stored in the running locus storage means 6 when the vehicle is located at the position Pj. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation for specifying the passing course, and FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a traveling locus of a vehicle based on a passing course and a corrected traveling locus. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a corrected traveling locus when an incorrect passing course candidate is selected.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the data of the virtual lane link calculated from the road data. FIGS. 15 and 16 show that the vehicle is running based on the calculated virtual lane link and the running trajectory of the vehicle. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are diagrams illustrating an operation when a lane is identified, and FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are diagrams illustrating a vehicle existence probability for each lane illustrated in FIG. 15.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a departure point (double circle in the figure), reference numeral 22 denotes an actual passage course of the vehicle, and reference numeral 23 denotes a measured traveling locus. All circles in the figure are nodes, and links are those connecting the nodes with straight lines. In the following, the operation at that time will be described by taking as an example the case of the actual passing course 22 and the running locus 23 as shown in FIG. First, the operation of the traveling locus storage means 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step ST1, the traveling locus storage means 6 stores the vehicle position (current position of the vehicle) supplied from the current position measuring means 5 as the past position of the traveling locus (past vehicle position) from the previous time. It is determined whether or not the travel distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance Lv1, and if it is determined that the travel distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance Lv1, the process proceeds to step ST2, in which the current position of the vehicle at that time is compared with the past position of the travel locus. Store as one of the locations.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the traveling distance is not longer than the predetermined distance Lv1, the process proceeds to step ST3. In step ST3, the traveling trajectory storage means 6 determines that the traveling distance from the time when the current position of the vehicle is stored as one of the past positions is the predetermined distance Lv2 or more and the traveling direction has changed by the predetermined angle αv1 or more. If it is determined that the traveling distance is equal to or more than the predetermined distance Lv2 and the traveling direction has changed by the predetermined angle αv1 or more, the process proceeds to step ST2, and the current position of the vehicle at that time is determined by the traveling locus. Is stored as one of the past positions.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST3 that the traveling distance is not more than the predetermined distance Lv2 or that the traveling direction has not changed by more than the predetermined angle αv1, the process proceeds to step ST4. In step ST4,
The travel locus storage means 6 stores the current position of the vehicle as the current position in the travel locus. Step ST2
Is completed, the process of step ST4 is executed. That is, the traveling locus includes a past position sequentially stored and a current position indicating the vehicle position at that time.

For example, when the traveling locus from the starting point PR0 in FIG. 4A to the present position Pi is measured, as shown in FIG. 4B, PR0 to PR6 are sequentially stored as past positions. And Pi is stored as the current position. Past positions PR0 to PR6 and current position Pi
Are the traveling locus storage means 6 in the order shown in FIG.
Is stored.

As described above, the traveling locus storage means 6 stores the vehicle position at each time point as the past position or the current position of the traveling locus.

Next, the position candidate setting means 7 reads the past position and the current position of the travel locus from the travel locus storage means 6 and also reads the road data from the road network storage means 1 and has high similarity with the travel locus. Set position candidates in the road data.

For example, for the traveling locus shown in FIG. 4 (b), as shown in FIG. 5, there is road data that substantially overlaps with the traveling locus, so that a position candidate a is set on the road data. Then, on a nearby road, a position candidate b is set on road data having the second highest similarity to the traveling locus. Therefore, in this case, the correlation between the candidate a and the travel locus is higher than the correlation between the candidate b and the travel locus.

The passing course candidate storage means 9 receives, from the position candidate setting means 7, road data of predetermined roads (ie, links) constituting a course having a high similarity to the traveling locus, and stores the road data. The data is sequentially stored as the data of the passing course candidates.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when a candidate a and a candidate b are set, as shown in FIG. 6A, links L1, L2, L3 which are road data corresponding to the candidate a are set.
Are sequentially stored as data of the candidate course a as the vehicle travels, as shown in FIG. 6B. In addition, as shown in FIG.
L10, L11, L which are road data corresponding to
Road data 12 and L13 are additionally stored as data of the passing course candidate b in order as the vehicle travels, as shown in FIG. 7B. As shown in FIGS. 6B and 7B, the road data of each link includes nodes (node numbers) at both ends of the link, the width of the actual road corresponding to the link, the number of lanes, and the like. The information includes information indicating whether the road is vertically separated (information indicating whether the road is only an up line or a down line) and a regulation direction (a traffic direction regulated by a road rule or the like).

Next, the traveling road specifying means 10 reads out the road data of the above-mentioned passing course candidates from the passing course candidate storage means 9 and, based on the road data, each passing course candidate as shown in FIG. Respectively, and generates a template that is substantially similar to the actual road shape, reads the past position and the current position of the traveling locus from the traveling locus storage unit 6, and determines whether the past position and the current position fall within the template. If it is determined that the past position and the current position fall within the template, it is determined that the similarity between the template and the traveling locus is high. Further, the traveling road identification unit 10 compares the shape of the traveling locus with the template shape for the course change point, the length of the straight traveling section, the traveling direction, and the like, and determines the most similar one among all the templates. The selected passing course candidate corresponding to the selected template is specified as an actual passing course.

For example, when passing course candidates a and b shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are stored in the passing course candidate storage means 9 as passing course candidates, the traveling road specifying means 10 Templates 41a and 41b as shown in FIG. 8 are respectively generated from the candidate road data, and the similarity is determined by comparing the respective data with the traveling locus data read out from the traveling locus storage means 6. a is specified as an actual passage course (FIG. 6)
(In the broken line frame of (a)). In the case of the candidates a and b in FIG. 8, the candidate a is closer in shape to the template than the candidate b with respect to the course change point and the length of the straight section.
It is determined that the similarity of the candidate a is high.

After specifying the passing course in this way, the traveling road identification means 10 translates the past position or the current position of the traveling locus in parallel so that the vehicle mark indicating the current position is displayed on the road. Or rotate. For example, in the case of the candidate a shown in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9A, the traveling road identification unit 10 sets PR5, PR6, and PR6 so that PR5, PR6, and Pi fall within the template 41a.
And the correction amount (movement amount) of Pi is calculated, and PR5, PR6, and Pi are moved by the correction amount. By doing so, the vehicle mark is displayed on the road in the road map displayed by the display means 13, as shown in FIG. 9B. After the point in time when this Pi is measured, the passing course is specified appropriately using the correction amount of the traveling locus and the traveling direction.

As shown in FIG. 10A, when the vehicle further travels a predetermined distance and travels to, for example, a point Pj, the vehicle travels to a point Pj. The past positions PR0 to PR10 and the data Pi of the current position shown in c) are stored. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the traveled road identifying means 10 determines that the previously executed correction has been successful because the corrected travel locus 43 is within the template 44, and It is determined that the course is correct, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, the past position and the current position of the traveling locus corrected in the template 44 are stored in the traveling locus storage means 6.

When the passing course candidate b is erroneously selected as the actual passing course, as shown in FIG.
Since the similarity between the template 44b corresponding to the passing course candidate b and the traveling locus 42 is low, the passing course candidate b
From the current position of the vehicle (the position of I1 in the figure). If the vehicle deviates from the passing course in this way,
When the similarity between the template of another candidate and the traveling locus 42 is high, the candidate is selected.

In FIG. 13, after the vehicle turns right, the vehicle deviates from the candidate b of the passing course. At this time, the vehicle extends in the same direction as the azimuth of the vehicle after turning, near the right turning point on the traveling locus. If there is an existing link 45, the link 45 is selected as the candidate b of the passing course. However,
Then, the candidate b of the passing course, for example, as shown at the point I2
Cannot be generated, and the candidate b and the traveling locus 42 become completely inconsistent. At this time, the similarity between the traveling locus 42 and the template 44b decreases, and an appropriate candidate having a high similarity is selected. Become so.

Next, the lane calculating means 11 outputs the road data (start point node, end point node, width, number of lanes, presence / absence of separation of upper and lower lines, regulation, Direction), the width of the road data is equally divided by the number of lanes, and a virtual lane link set at the center position of the equally divided road (lane) is generated. The road data of the virtual lane link includes a virtual start point node, a virtual end point node located at the center of the lane, the width of the lane, and the regulation direction of the lane.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, road data of a link whose start point node is NSi and whose end point node is NDi is, as shown in FIG. 14B, the width is Wi and the number of lanes is two. If there is no separation between the upper and lower lanes and the regulation direction is the reverse direction, it is determined that the road of this link is a two-way lane with one up lane and one down lane. Therefore, the starting node NSi of the original link
The virtual starting point node VNS is defined as the intermediate point between the road and one of the road sides.
i-1, the middle point between the end point node NDi of the original link and one road side of the road is the virtual end point node VNDi-1, and the width is Wi / 2, and the first restriction direction is the reverse direction. An intermediate point between the virtual lane link 51b, the starting point node NSi of the original link, and the other road side of the road is defined as a virtual starting point node VNSi-2, and an intermediate point between the end point node NDi of the original link and the other road side of the road is determined. Virtual end node VNDi-
The second virtual lane link 52b having a width of Wi / 2 and a regulation direction of the forward direction is generated.

As shown in FIG. 14 (c), the width is Wi, the number of lanes is 2, the upper and lower lines are separated,
In the case of a link whose regulation direction is reverse, the road of this link is a one-way road and is determined to have two lanes, and further, it is determined that the direction from the end node to the start node is regulated. You. Therefore, an intermediate point between the start node NSi of the original link and one road side of the road is defined as a virtual start node VNSi-1, and an intermediate point between the end node NDi of the original link and one road side of the road is defined as the virtual end node VNDi. The first virtual lane link 51c whose width is Wi / 2 and whose regulation direction is the reverse direction, and an intermediate point between the start point node NSi of the original link and the other road side of the road are assumed to be virtual start point nodes. VNSi-2, the intermediate point between the end point node NDi of the original link and the other road side of the road is the virtual end point node VNDi-2, and the width is Wi / 2.
A second virtual lane link 52c whose restriction direction is the reverse direction is generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14D, in the case of a link whose width is Wi, the number of lanes is 2, the upper and lower lines are separated, and the regulation direction is the forward direction, the road of this link is Is a one-way road, is determined to have two lanes, and further, it is determined that the direction from the start node to the end node is restricted. Therefore, an intermediate point between the start node NSi of the original link and one road side of the road is defined as a virtual start node VNSi-1, and an intermediate point between the end node NDi of the original link and one road side of the road is defined as the virtual end node VNDi. A first virtual lane link 51d whose width is Wi / 2 and whose regulation direction is the forward direction,
An intermediate point between the original link start node NSi and the other road side of the road is a virtual start node VNSi-2, and an intermediate point between the original link end node NDi and the other road side of the road is a virtual end node VNDi-2. The second virtual lane link 52 whose width is Wi / 2 and whose regulation direction is the forward direction
d is generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14 (e), in the case of a link having a width of Wi, a lane number of 1, no separation of upper and lower lines, and no regulation direction, a start node NSi of the original link Is the virtual start node, the end node NDi of the original link is the virtual end node, the width is Wi,
A first virtual lane link 53 having no restriction direction is generated. That is, a one-lane road indicated by a road link is used both up and down.

The road data of the virtual lane link generated in this way is supplied to the position identification means 12.

Next, the position identification means 12 reads the data of the traveling locus from the traveling locus storage means 6 and, based on the road data of the virtual lane link from the lane calculating means 11, the width of the traveling locus and each virtual lane link. Calculate the distance in each direction, and further calculate the probability that the vehicle exists in the lane corresponding to the virtual lane link from those distances, and identify the lane with the highest probability as the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. .

When the distance between the traveling locus and the j-th virtual lane link VLj in the width direction is ΔWj, and the number of lanes on the road on which the vehicle is traveling (ie, the number of virtual lane links) is N. , The j-th virtual lane link VLj
The probability kj that the vehicle is traveling in the lane corresponding to is calculated by equation (1). According to the equation (1), kN is calculated from the probability k1 that the vehicle is traveling in the lanes corresponding to the first to Nth virtual lane links VL1 to VLN. However, the probability that the vehicle is traveling on a lane having a traffic direction opposite to the direction of the traveling locus is set to 0%.

(Equation 1)

For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, the current position of the vehicle is a point Pj, the start node of the link L6 corresponding to the point Pj is N5, and the end node is N
6, the width is 10 meters, the number of lanes is 4, the upper and lower lines are not separated, and the regulation direction is opposite, that is, the road corresponding to the link L6 is 10
If the road is a two-lane two-way road with one meter width,
The position identification means 12 generates four virtual lane links VL1 to VL4 corresponding to the lanes Lane1 to Lane4 having a width of 2.5 meters shown in FIG. 15B, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

At this time, the four lanes Lane 1 to La
Of the ne4, the lanes Lane3 and Lane4 have the traffic direction (unrestricted direction) opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle, so that the probability k3 that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane3 and the lane Lane4 indicate that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane4. Both running probabilities k4 are set to 0%.

Next, for example, when the traveling locus is the lane Lane 1
When the vehicle is passing 0.75 meters from the boundary between the vehicle and the lane Lane2 toward the road, ΔW1 is 0.5 (=
1.25-0.75) meters, and ΔW2 is 2.0
(= 1.25 + 0.75) meters, and as shown in FIG. 17, the position identification means 12 calculates the probability k1 that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane1 by 80% according to the equation (1).
(= (1−0.5 / 2.5) × 100%), and the probability k2 that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane2 is calculated as 20%
(= (1−2.0 / 2.5) × 100%) is calculated.
When the road corresponding to the link L6 and the traveling locus are parallel, as shown in FIG. 18, since ΔW1 and ΔW2 are constant, k1 and k2 also remain constant.

Accordingly, the position identifying means 12 identifies the lane Lane1 which is the lane corresponding to the highest probability k1 among the probabilities k1 to k4 corresponding to the four lanes as the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. .

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the virtual lane link corresponding to each lane is generated from the road data, and the vehicle is determined for each lane from the virtual lane link data and the running locus. Since the traveling probability (existence probability) is calculated and the traveling lane is identified based on the probability, an effect is obtained that the vehicle position in the width direction of the road can be identified.

The driving lane thus identified may be notified to the user. At this time, the existence probability of the vehicle in each lane may be displayed.

Further, utilizing the above-described identification of the traveling lane,
Route search, route guidance, and the like in consideration of the traveling lane may be performed.

The above-described existence probability is calculated according to the equation (1). However, the equation for deriving the existence probability is not particularly limited to this equation, and appropriately derives the existence probability of the vehicle in each lane. Other equations may be used as long as they can be performed.

Embodiment 2 The vehicle position identification device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the road network storage unit 1 and the lane calculation unit 11 of the first embodiment, and therefore will be described, and the description of other components will be omitted. I do.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the second embodiment, the road network storage unit 1 stores the road data of the road network (first road network) stored by the road network storage unit 1 of the first embodiment, The road data of the link corresponding to the detailed road network (second road network) is stored, and the lane calculating means 11 determines whether or not the road data of the detailed road network related to the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle is stored. Then, road data of a link corresponding to a detailed road network is read out as appropriate, and a virtual lane link is calculated based on the road data.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 are diagrams illustrating an example of switching to a detailed road network. Here, the operation will be described with reference to the examples of FIGS. 19 and 20.

The road network storage means 1 stores the links Lb1 to Lb4 (FIG. 19) corresponding to the roads shown in FIG.
(B)) and the links Lc1 to Lc10 (FIG. 1) corresponding to the detailed road network in the range 61 in FIG.
9 (c)) is stored. Range 6
1 is set by storing the latitude and longitude of each vertex in the road network storage means 1 in advance.

The lane calculating means 11 includes the current position measuring means 5
It is determined whether or not the current position of the vehicle is within a range (for example, range 61) in which road data of the detailed road network is stored based on the information on the current position from If it is determined that the link is within the range, the link in the range 61 is changed to a link corresponding to a detailed road network.

For example, when the vehicle is located at the point Pi-N on the road shown in FIG.
Since -N) is outside the range 61, no link or road network change is made. In this case, a virtual lane link is calculated based on the road data of the link Lb1.

On the other hand, when the vehicle is located at the point Pi, since the current position (point Pi) is within the range 61, the links Lb1 to Lb4 are linked to the link Lc1 corresponding to the detailed road map shown in FIG. Is changed to Lc10.

The lane calculating means 11 calculates a virtual lane link based on the road data of the link (in this case, link Lc9) corresponding to the current position among the links Lc1 to Lc10. For example, when a vehicle is located at the point Pi shown in FIGS. 19B and 19C, the road data of the link Lc9 corresponding to the detailed road map (width = W2, number of lanes = 1, vertical separation = Yes) ) Is calculated based on the virtual lane link.

The virtual lane link calculated by the lane calculating means 11 is supplied to the position identifying means 12, and the position of the vehicle is identified based on the virtual lane link.

By switching the road network in this manner, in the range 61, the virtual lane links are calculated based on the links Lc1 to Lc10 corresponding to the detailed road map instead of the links Lb1 to Lb4.
Without determining that the vehicle has left the road as shown in FIG. 19B, it is determined that the vehicle is continuously traveling on the road as shown in FIG. 19C.

For example, when traveling on the road shown in FIG. 20A, the road network storage means 1 stores the links Lb1 to Lb3 (FIG. 20) corresponding to the road shown in FIG.
(B)) and the links Lc1 to Lc5 (FIG. 2) corresponding to the detailed road map of the range 62 in FIG.
Assuming that road data of 0 (c) is stored, when the vehicle is traveling outside the range 62, the lane calculating means 11 calculates a virtual lane link based on the link Lb1 or the link Lb3. However, when the vehicle is traveling within the range 62, the links Lb1 to Lb3 are
The link is switched from Lc1 to Lc5 corresponding to the detailed road map, and the virtual lane link is calculated based on one of the links Lc1 to Lc5 (in this case, link Lc3).

By switching the road map in this way, a virtual lane link is calculated in the range 62 based on the links Lc1 to Lc15 corresponding to the detailed road map, and as shown in FIG. 20C, it is determined that the vehicle is continuously traveling on one lane, as shown in FIG. 20C.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, a plurality of road networks of different scales are stored for the same range, and the driving lane is identified using the road data of the detailed road network. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that a more appropriate lane can be identified as a traveling lane.

In the second embodiment, the ranges 61 and 62 are set by storing the latitude and longitude of each vertex in the road network storage means 1 in advance. The ranges 61 and 62 may be set using coordinate information normalized in units. In that case, after converting the current position of the vehicle into normalized coordinate values, it is determined whether or not the current position is within the ranges 61 and 62.

Also, as shown in FIG.
2 may be set in advance corresponding to the shape of the link 64. As described above, by setting the ranges 61 and 62 in association with the link 64, when the link corresponding to the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified, the vehicle is moved to the range 61, 62.
62 is determined.

Further, as shown in FIG. 22, ranges 61 and 62 are set so that the outer edge passes through the node 65, and the ranges 61 and 62 are associated with the links Lb5 to Lb8 in the ranges 61 and 62. Links corresponding to the detailed road network are stored, and when the links on which the vehicle is traveling are links Lb5 to Lb8 in the ranges 61 and 62,
The links Lb5 to Lb8 may be changed to links corresponding to a detailed road network.

Embodiment 3 Since the vehicle position identification device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the position identification device 12 of the first embodiment, the position identification device 12 will be described, and the description of other components will be omitted.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the third embodiment, when the vehicle changes lanes, the position identification means 12 determines the above-mentioned probability ki with respect to the lane to be changed (virtual lane link VLi) and the lane to be changed (virtual). Lane link VLj)
Are compared, the probability kj for the lane of the change destination is larger than the sum of the above-mentioned probability ki for the lane of the change source and the predetermined hysteresis width Δk (kj>
(Ki + Δk)), it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in the lane to be changed. That is, when the probability kj for the new lane is equal to or less than the sum of the probability ki for the original lane and the predetermined hysteresis width Δk, the position identification unit 12
Determines that the vehicle is traveling in the lane from which the change was made.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the position identification unit 12 when the vehicle changes lanes. Here, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

The road shown in FIG. 23A is a two-lane one-way road having a width of W. Then, the vehicle first travels in the lane Lane1, as indicated by the travel locus 73,
It is assumed that the lane change starts at the point 71, the lane change ends at the point 72, and then the vehicle travels on the lane Lane2.

At this time, the distance between the virtual lane link 74 of the lane Lane1 and the traveling locus 73, and the lane Lane2
The distance between the virtual lane link 75 and the traveling locus 73 is shown in FIG.
(B), the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane1 and the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane2 are calculated as shown in FIG. Is done.

At this time, the vehicle existence probabilities for the lanes Lane1 and Lane2 change as shown in FIG. 23 (c), and coincide with each other at time ti-c. Thereafter, the magnitude relation of the existence probabilities is reversed, and the existence probability of the vehicle with respect to the lane Lane2 increases, and at time ti-b, the existence probability of the vehicle with respect to the lane Lane2 and the existence probability of the vehicle with respect to the lane Lane1. Is larger than a predetermined hysteresis width.

The position identifying means 12 changes the traveling lane to the lane L until the time ti-c in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
ane1 and thereafter, lane Lane2
Until the time ti-b at which the difference between the vehicle existence probability with respect to the vehicle lane and the vehicle existence probability with respect to the lane Lane1 becomes larger than a predetermined hysteresis width, the traveling lane is identified as the lane Lane1 as shown in FIG. After time ti-b, the traveling lane is identified as lane Lane2.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, even when the vehicle runs out of the adjacent lane temporarily, for example, when avoiding a parked vehicle, even if the vehicle travels over a predetermined hysteresis width, the lane for other lanes is not exceeded. Until the existence probability of the vehicle increases, the driving lane to be identified is not changed.
An effect is obtained that the possibility of erroneously identifying the traveling lane can be reduced.

Embodiment 4 Since the vehicle position identification device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the position identification device 12 of the first embodiment, the position identification device 12 will be described, and the description of other components will be omitted.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the fourth embodiment, the position identification means 12 performs lane change when the amount of change in the width of the traveling locus in the width direction exceeds a width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient. Is determined to have been performed.

When the vehicle turns right or left at the intersection, the position identifying means 12 sequentially changes the lane corresponding to the virtual road link according to the equation (2) from the virtual road link having the shortest distance to the traveling locus. Is calculated, and the lane corresponding to the virtual road link having the highest probability is identified as the traveling lane.

(Equation 2)

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the position identification unit 12 when the vehicle changes lanes, and FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the position identification unit 12 when the vehicle turns left at an intersection. It is. Here, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25.

As shown in FIG. 24, the vehicle moves to the point Pi-c.
If you move from to the right point Pi-a and change lanes,
The position identifying means 12 determines a point Pi- at which the amount of change in the width direction of the traveling locus becomes equal to or greater than a value obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient.
The traveling lane is at lane La at time ti-b when the vehicle passes b.
It is determined that it has been changed to ne2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25 (a), for example, after a vehicle turns left at an intersection and enters a three-lane road where the upper and lower lines are separated, the lane changes at points Pi-1 and Pi. In this case, the position identification means 12 firstly determines the point Pi-
2, the probability calculated according to equation (2) (FIG. 2)
According to 5 (b)), the traveling lane is identified as the lane Lane1. At this time, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane1 is 50%, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane2 is 33%, and the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane3 is 17%. .

Next, at the point Pi-1, when the amount of change in the width of the running locus in the width direction is equal to or larger than the width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient, the position identification means 12 changes the lane to the right side. Judge. And after that,
The position identification unit 12 sets the probability that the vehicle is traveling on the leftmost lane Lane1 to 0%, and then sets the lane La1.
The probability that the vehicle is traveling on ne2 and the probability that the vehicle is traveling on lane Lane3 are calculated. At this time, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane2 is 67%,
The probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane3 is 33%. In this case, since the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane1 is set to 0%, the position identification unit 12
The probability is calculated with the number of lanes N set to two.

Further, when the amount of change in the width of the traveling locus at the point Pi is equal to or larger than the width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient, the position identifying means 12 changes the lane further to the right side. Judge that you have done. Thereafter, the position identification unit 12 sets the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane2 on the left side of the lane Lane1 to 0%. Therefore, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane3 is 100%.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25 (c), when it is erroneously determined that the traveling lane after the left turn is the lane Lane2, the position identifying means 12 determines the point Pj-3 according to the equation (2). The running lane is identified as the lane Lane2 according to the calculated probability (FIG. 25D). At this time,
When the probability is calculated in the order of the lane closest to the travel locus, the lane La
The probability that the vehicle is traveling on ne2 is 50%, the probability that the vehicle is traveling on lane Lane1 is 33%,
The probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane3 is 17%. The order in which the probabilities are calculated may be a lane order in which the vehicle often travels by convention.

Next, at the point Pj-2, when the amount of change in the width of the traveling locus in the width direction becomes equal to or greater than the width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient, the position identifying means 12 changes the lane to the right side. Judge. And after that,
The position identification unit 12 sets the probability that the vehicle is traveling on the leftmost lane Lane1 to 0%, and then sets the lane La1.
The probability that the vehicle is traveling on ne2 and the probability that the vehicle is traveling on lane Lane3 are calculated. Note that the position identification unit 12 determines whether the vehicle is in the lane Lane2 based on the traveling locus.
Is determined to have changed lanes to the right, and the lane La
The probability is calculated in the order of ne3 and the original lane Lane2.
At this time, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane3 is 67%, and the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane2 is 33%. In this case, since the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the lane Lane1 is set to 0%, the position identification unit 12 calculates the probability with the number of lanes N being 2.

Further, at the point Pj-1, similarly,
When the amount of change in the width of the traveling locus in the width direction is equal to or larger than the width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient, the position identification unit 12 determines that the vehicle has changed lane further to the right side.
Since there is no lane on the right side of e3, lane Lane3
Is set to 100%, and the probability that the vehicle is running in other lanes is set to 0%. That is, in this case, the position identification unit 12 identifies the traveling lane as the lane Lane3, and determines that the traveling lanes at the points Pj-3 and Pj-2 have shifted to the right lane.

After that, at the point Pj, when the vehicle changes lane to the left side, the position identifying means 12 determines that the amount of change in the running locus in the width direction is equal to or larger than the width obtained by multiplying the width of the lane by a predetermined coefficient. It is determined that the vehicle has changed lanes, the probability that the vehicle is traveling in lane Lane2 is set to 100%, and the probability that the vehicle is traveling in other lanes is set to 0%.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the lane change of the vehicle is detected based on the traveling locus, and at that time, the existence probability of the vehicle is reset for each lane.
Since the driving lane is identified according to the existence probability, when the wrong lane is identified as the driving lane,
There is an effect that an appropriate traveling lane can be identified by using the lane change of the vehicle.

Embodiment 5 FIG. Since the vehicle position identification device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the position identification device 12 of the first embodiment, the position identification device 12 will be described, and the description of other components will be omitted.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the fifth embodiment, when the vehicle turns right or left at the intersection, the position identification means 12 determines the angular velocity ω (t) of the vehicle measured by the azimuth measurement means 3, for example, a gyro. rad / sec]
And a turning radius R (t) [m] (= V (t) / during a right or left turn based on the speed V (t) [m / sec] of the vehicle based on the pulse signal measured by the distance measuring means 4.
ω (t)), an average value R of the turning radius R (t) is calculated, and a value obtained by multiplying the average value R by a predetermined coefficient is the closest distance from the road side to the virtual lane link. The lane is identified as the driving lane. In the following, the turning radius R
The average value R of (t) is simply called a turning radius.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification of a traveling lane when a vehicle turns left at an intersection by the vehicle position identification device according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 26A, since the value obtained by multiplying the turning radius R by a predetermined coefficient is smaller than the width of the leftmost lane Lane1, the position identification unit 12 identifies the traveling lane as the lane Lane1. Further, as shown in FIG. 26 (b), the value obtained by multiplying the turning radius R by a predetermined coefficient is equal to or larger than the width of the leftmost lane Lane1.
Identifies the traveling lane as lane Lane2. That is,
The position identification means 12 identifies a lane in which the distance from the road side to the virtual lane link is close to a value obtained by multiplying the turning radius R by a predetermined coefficient.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the traveling lane after turning right or left is identified based on the turning radius calculated from the angular velocity and the speed of the vehicle at the time of turning. In particular, when turning right or left from a road having a large width, it is possible to improve the accuracy of identifying the traveling lane.

Embodiment 6 FIG. Since the vehicle position identification device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the position identification device 12 of the first embodiment, the position identification device 12 will be described, and the description of other components will be omitted.

In the vehicle position identification device according to the sixth embodiment, when the vehicle makes a right or left turn at an intersection, the position identification means 12 refers to the road data on the road before the right or left turn and selects one of the available lanes. The traveling locus is translated to the position where the vehicle turned right or left from the lane closest to the turning direction (for example, in the case of a right turn, the rightmost lane of the travelable lanes) to correct the current position of the vehicle. .

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification of a traveling lane when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection by the vehicle position identification device according to the sixth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27A, the leftmost lane La of the three-lane road 67 where the upper and lower lanes are separated.
When the vehicle makes a right turn on a four-lane road 68 with two lanes on each side from ne1, the position identification means 12 changes the position of the vehicle when the vehicle makes a right turn from the rightmost lane Lane3 of the road 67 from the point Pi. Is corrected to the point Pia.
Note that the position identification unit 12 calculates the point Pia by translating the traveling locus in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 27 (b), when the vehicle turns left from the rightmost lane Lane3 of the road 67 to the road 68, the position identification means 12 determines the position of the vehicle from the point Pj to the road 67. Is corrected to the point Pja where the vehicle is located when the vehicle turns left from the leftmost lane Lane1. Note that the position identification unit 12 calculates the point Pja by translating the traveling locus in parallel.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, when a vehicle makes a right or left turn at an intersection, the turning direction of the available lane can be determined by referring to the road data on the road before the right or left turn. Since the current position of the vehicle is corrected by translating the traveling trajectory to the position when turning right or left from the nearby lane, the lane that the driver customarily selects will be identified as the traveling lane, In other words, a lane that is customarily suitable for turning right or left on the road before turning right or left is determined to be a driving lane, and the effect of identifying a driving lane after turning right or left can be simplified.

Embodiment 7 FIG. Since the vehicle position identification device according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the road network storage unit 1 of the first embodiment, only the road network storage unit 1 will be described, and description of other components will be omitted. .

In the vehicle position identification device according to the seventh embodiment, the road network storage means 1 stores road data different from that of the first embodiment. The road data stored in the road network storage unit 1 includes a start point node, an end point node, a width of a road, the number of lanes of the road, and traffic conditions.

In the seventh embodiment, it is assumed that the direction from the start node to the end node is always passable, and the pass condition is set to “one-way” or “face-to-face”. If "one-way" is set, it indicates that the road can only travel in the direction from the start node to the end node. If "two-way" is set, the road is It is shown that traffic in both directions between the start node and the end node has at least one lane.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating virtual lane links calculated from road data.

The lane calculating means 11 reads the above-mentioned road data stored in the road network storing means 1 and generates a virtual lane link by equally dividing the width of the road by the number of lanes.

The link shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the start node is NSi, the end node is NDi, the width is Wi, and the number of lanes is one.
If there is road data whose traffic condition is “face-to-face traffic”, the lane calculation unit 11 sets the virtual start point node and the virtual end point node to be the same as the start point node and the end point node of the road data, respectively, and sets the width. The virtual lane link is set to Wi and the traffic condition is set to “face-to-face traffic”.

The link shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the start node is NSi, the end node is NDi, the width is Wi, and the number of lanes is one.
If there is road data whose traffic condition is “one-way”, the lane calculating means 11 sets the virtual start point node and the virtual end point node to be the same as the start point node and the end point node of the road data, respectively, and sets the width. The virtual lane link is set to Wi and the traffic condition is set to “one-way”.

The link shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), the start node is NSi, the end node is NDi, the width is Wi, and the number of lanes is two.
In the case where there is road data whose traffic condition is “face-to-face traffic”, the lane calculation unit 11 sets the direction from the virtual start node to the virtual end node as the direction from the start node to the end node of the road data. A virtual start node is arranged between the node and one roadside, a virtual end node is arranged between the end node and one roadside, and the width is Wi /
2 and the first virtual lane link in which the traffic condition is set to “one-way” and the direction from the virtual start node to the virtual end node as the direction from the end node to the start node of the road data, the end node A virtual start node is arranged between the road node and the other roadside, a virtual end node is arranged between the start node and the other roadside, the width is set to Wi / 2,
A second virtual lane link in which the traffic condition is set to “one-way” is generated.

The link shown in FIG.
As shown in (e), the start node is NSi, the end node is NDi, the width is Wi, and the number of lanes is two.
In the case where there is road data whose traffic condition is “one-way”, the lane calculating means 11 sets the direction from the virtual start node to the virtual end node as the direction from the start node to the end node of the road data. A virtual start node is arranged between the node and one roadside, a virtual end node is arranged between the end node and one roadside, and the width is Wi /
2 and the first virtual lane link for which the traffic condition is set to “one-way” and the direction from the virtual start node to the virtual end node as the direction from the start node to the end node of the road data, A virtual start point node is disposed between the roadside and the other roadside, a virtual endpoint node is disposed between the end point node and the other roadside, the width is set to Wi / 2,
A second virtual lane link in which the traffic condition is set to “one-way” is generated.

As described above, when the number of lanes in the link road data is two or more, all the traffic conditions of the virtual lane link data are set to “one-way”.
Further, “OK” and the arrow in the figure indicate that the vehicle can pass in the direction of the arrow.

As described above, the road data used in the vehicle position identification device is not limited to the road data used in the vehicle position identification device according to the first embodiment, but is used in the vehicle position identification device according to the seventh embodiment. And the other types may be used. However, in that case, the lane calculating means 11 changes to a method for generating a virtual lane link from the road data in accordance with the format of the road data.

Embodiment 8 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the first or seventh embodiment, the position identification means 12 calculates the lane width by equally dividing the width of the road data by the number of lanes. Alternatively, the lane width for each lane may be stored in advance as a part of the road data. In addition, on a road having different numbers of lanes between an up line and a down line, road data may be provided for each of the up line and the down line.

Embodiment 9 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the first embodiment, it is assumed that the traffic regulation direction is one of the forward direction and the reverse direction. The direction may be stored, or the restriction direction for each of the traveling directions of the up line and the down line may be stored, and the restriction direction of the lane may be determined based on the data.

Embodiment 10 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the third embodiment, the position identification means 12 uses the hysteresis width when identifying the traveling lane, but the existence probability of the vehicle in the predetermined lane elapses the predetermined time. In the case where the maximum lane is continuously maintained while the vehicle is traveling for a predetermined distance, the lane may be identified as a traveling lane.

Embodiment 11 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the fourth embodiment, the position identification means 12 calculates the existence probability of the vehicle in each lane by using equation (2).
As long as the existence probability of the vehicle in the lane in the direction of the lane change becomes large, another calculation formula may be used instead of the formula (2). Further, the position identification means 12 may set a constant every time the lane is changed so that the existence probability of the vehicle in the lane in the direction of the lane change is increased.

The position identification means 12 detects a lane change from a change in the traveling locus of the vehicle and calculates the probability of the vehicle existing in each lane at that time. Then, the existence probability of the vehicle in the lane in the changed direction may be increased. further,
A signal indicating the direction in which the vehicle was operated by the driver (a left or right turn signal) is detected from a direction indicator provided in the vehicle, and the presence probability of the vehicle in the lane in that direction may be increased. Good.

Embodiment 12 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the fifth embodiment, position identification means 12 determines the turning radius at the time of right turn or left turn at the intersection at speed V (t).
Is divided by the angular velocity ω (t) to calculate the average value of the values R (t). Based on the vehicle position at three places when turning right or left, the radius of the circle passing through the three places is turned. It may be calculated as a radius. Further, the turning radius may be calculated by another calculation formula.

Further, the position identifying means 12 identifies the traveling lane by comparing the value obtained by multiplying the turning radius by a predetermined coefficient with the width of the lane, but based on the value obtained by multiplying the turning radius by the predetermined coefficient. The existence probabilities of vehicles in each lane may be calculated, and the traveling lane may be identified from the magnitude relationship of the existence probabilities of vehicles in each lane.

Embodiment 13 FIG. In the vehicle position identification device according to the sixth embodiment, when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection, position identification means 12 selects a lane that is conventionally easily selected as a traveling lane after right or left turn. In the road network storage means 1, information indicating the relationship between the traveling lanes before and after turning right and left at the intersection and before and after going straight ahead is stored,
The position identification means 12 identifies the traveling lane and the current position of the vehicle based on the information, or the lane so that the existence probability increases as the lane is more likely to be routinely selected when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection. An existence probability may be set for each lane, and the traveling lane may be identified from the magnitude relation of the existence probability of the vehicle in each lane.

[0134]

As described above, according to the present invention, the current position measuring means for measuring the current position of the vehicle and the traveling locus for storing the history of the current position measured over time as the traveling locus of the vehicle For each link of the road network within a predetermined range formed by storage means, nodes indicating positions such as intersections or bending points of roads, and links connecting the nodes with straight lines, the shape of the road and the position of the road A road network storage means for storing the width of the road, the number of lanes, and the direction of travel of the vehicle as attributes of the road corresponding to the link, and a road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the link and travel locus of the road network. And the attribute of the specified road is read out from the road network storage unit, and from the attribute of the road, the position of the lane and the width of the lane are defined as the attributes of each lane constituting the road. And a lane calculating means for calculating the traffic direction of the vehicle, and calculating the probability that the vehicle is running for each lane based on the attributes and running trajectory of the lane, and the running lane on which the vehicle is running based on the probability. And a position identifying means for identifying the vehicle position, so that the vehicle position in the width direction of the road can be identified.

According to the present invention, for each link of the first road network within a predetermined range formed by nodes and links, the road network storage means stores the attribute of the road corresponding to the link, In the same range as the predetermined range,
For each link of the second road network composed of more nodes and links than the nodes and links, the link is stored as the attribute of the road corresponding to the link, and the traveling road identification means corresponds to the link of the first road network. Since the attribute of the road is used and the lane calculating means and the position identifying means use the attribute of the road corresponding to the link of the second road network, it is possible to identify a more appropriate lane as the traveling lane. There is an effect that can be done.

According to the present invention, the position identifying means
When the probability that the vehicle is traveling in a lane different from the previously identified traveling lane is higher than the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the previously identified traveling lane by a predetermined value or more, another lane is identified. Since the system is configured to be identified as the traveling lane of the vehicle, there is an effect that the possibility of erroneously identifying the traveling lane can be reduced.

According to the present invention, the position identifying means
When it detects that the vehicle has changed lanes based on the amount of change in the running locus in the width direction of the road, and when the lane change is detected,
Since it is configured to reset the probability that the vehicle is traveling for each lane, if the wrong lane is identified as the traveling lane, use the lane change of the vehicle to identify the appropriate traveling lane There is an effect that can be.

According to the present invention, the position identifying means
If a right or left turn of the vehicle is detected from a change in the heading of the vehicle or a travel path, and a right or left turn is detected,
Calculates the turning radius of the vehicle from the amount of change in the heading direction of the vehicle when turning right or left or the traveling locus, and calculates the probability that the vehicle is running in each lane of the road after right or left turning based on the turning radius However, since it is configured to identify the traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the probability, the effect of increasing the accuracy of identifying the traveling lane, especially when turning right or left from a road with a large width, is obtained. is there.

According to the present invention, the position identifying means
If a right or left turn of the vehicle is detected from a change in the heading of the vehicle or a travel path, and a right or left turn is detected,
It is customary to determine the lane suitable for right or left turn on the road before turning right or left, calculate the probability that the vehicle is running for each lane of the road after right or left turning, and based on the probability, the vehicle is running. Since the driving lane is configured to be identified, the lane conventionally selected by the driver is identified as the driving lane, which simplifies the process of identifying the driving lane after turning right or left. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle position identification device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an actual passage course and a measured traveling locus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a traveling locus storage unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a traveling locus stored in a traveling locus storage unit when the vehicle is located at a position Pi.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing two position candidates a and b set by a position candidate setting unit.

FIG. 6 (a) shows a passing course of candidate a in FIG. 5,
(B) is a figure which shows the road data corresponding to the passage course memorize | stored in order.

FIG. 7A shows a course of a candidate b in FIG. 5;
(B) is a figure which shows the road data corresponding to the passage course memorize | stored in order.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation of specifying a passing course.

9A is a diagram illustrating an operation when correcting a traveling locus, and FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a display screen of a display unit when the corrected traveling locus is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a traveling locus stored in a traveling locus storage unit when the vehicle is located at a position Pj.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an operation of specifying a passing course.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a traveling locus of a vehicle based on a passing course and a corrected traveling locus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a corrected traveling locus when an incorrect passing course candidate is selected.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating virtual lane link data calculated from road data.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operation when the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is identified based on the virtual lane link and the traveling locus of the vehicle.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation when the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is identified based on the virtual lane link and the traveling trajectory of the vehicle.

17 is a diagram showing a vehicle existence probability for each lane shown in FIG.

18 is a diagram showing the existence probability of vehicles for each lane shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a detailed example of switching to a road network according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of switching to a detailed road network.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating another setting of a range having road data of a detailed road network.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating still another setting of a range having road data of a detailed road network.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the position identification unit when the vehicle changes lanes according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the position identification unit when the vehicle changes lanes according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the position identification unit when the vehicle turns left at an intersection.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification of a traveling lane when a vehicle turns left at an intersection by the vehicle position identification device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification of a traveling lane when a vehicle turns right or left at an intersection by the vehicle position identification device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing virtual lane links calculated from road data according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional vehicle position identification device.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a pattern matching unit in a conventional vehicle position identification device.

FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the operation of projection matching means in a conventional vehicle position identification device.

[Description of Signs] 1 Road network storage means, 3 azimuth measurement means, 5 current position measurement means, 6 travel trajectory storage means, 10 travel road identification means, 11 lane calculation means, 12 position identification means, 23
Running trajectory.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 19, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. a current position measuring means for measuring a current position of a vehicle; a traveling locus storage means for storing a history of the current position measured with the passage of time by the current position measuring means as a traveling locus of the vehicle; For each link of the road network of a predetermined range formed by nodes representing the positions of intersections or bending points and links connecting the nodes with straight lines, the shape of the road, the position of the road, the width of the road, A road network storage unit that stores the number of lanes and a traffic direction of the vehicle as the link of the road network corresponding to the link; a road attribute stored in the road network storage unit; and a travel locus storage unit. Traveling road identification means for identifying a road on which the vehicle is traveling, based on the determined traveling trajectory; Reading from the means, from the attribute of the road,
The lane position, lane position,
A lane calculating means for calculating a width of the lane, and a traffic direction of the vehicle; an attribute of the lane calculated by the lane calculating means; and a traveling locus stored in the traveling locus storing means. A vehicle position identification device comprising: a position identification unit that calculates a probability that a vehicle is traveling and identifies a traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the probability. 2. The road network storage means stores, for each link of a first road network in a predetermined range constituted by nodes and links, an attribute of a road corresponding to the link and stores the attribute of the predetermined range. A second node composed of more nodes and links than the nodes and links in the same range as
For each link of the road network, the attribute of the road corresponding to the link is stored. The driving road specifying means uses the attribute of the road corresponding to the link of the first road network, and calculates the lane and the position identification. The vehicle position identification device according to claim 1, wherein the means uses an attribute of a road corresponding to the link of the second road network. 3. The position identification means determines that the probability that the vehicle is traveling in a lane different from the previously identified traveling lane is a predetermined value from the probability that the vehicle is traveling in the previously identified traveling lane. The vehicle position identification device according to claim 1, wherein when the vehicle is higher, the another lane is identified as a traveling lane of the vehicle. 4. The position identification means detects that the vehicle has changed lanes based on the amount of change in the travel locus in the width direction of the road, and when the lane change is detected, the vehicle is traveling for each lane. The vehicle position identification device according to claim 1, wherein the probability is reset. 5. A directional measuring means for measuring a change in the heading of the vehicle, wherein the position identification means detects a right turn or a left turn of the vehicle from a change in the heading of the vehicle measured by the azimuth measuring means or a traveling locus. If a right or left turn is detected, the turning radius of the vehicle is calculated from the change in the heading of the vehicle at the time of the right or left turn or the traveling locus, and based on the turning radius, each lane of the road after the right or left turn is calculated. 2. The vehicle position identification device according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating a probability that the vehicle is traveling, and identifying a traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the calculated probability. 6. A azimuth measuring means for measuring a change in the heading of the vehicle, wherein the position identification means detects a right turn or a left turn of the vehicle from a change in the heading of the vehicle or a traveling locus measured by the azimuth measuring means. When a right turn or a left turn is detected, a lane that is conventionally suitable for a right or left turn on the road before the right or left turn is determined, and the probability that the vehicle is traveling for each lane of the road after the right or left turn is determined. 2. The vehicle position identification device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle lane in which the vehicle is traveling is identified based on the calculated probability.