JPWO2006109798A1 - Vehicle, vehicle-side system, road structure information notification device, car navigation system, and road information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

When the traveling vehicle approaches the road structure information notification device 2, the vehicle detection unit 22 detects the vehicle, the control unit 21 reads the road structure information 23 from the memory 24, and the wireless communication unit 25 stores the road structure information 23 in the vehicle. To the side system 3. The wireless communication unit 31 receives the transmitted road structure information 23, and the control unit 321 writes it in the memory 322. The travel control unit 33 transmits an information request to the road structure information management unit 32 when the road structure information 23 is required. The road structure information management unit 32 reads the road structure information 23 from the memory 322 and transmits it to the travel control unit 33. In this way, the travel control unit 33 acquires necessary road structure information 23.

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the traveling of a vehicle by causing the vehicle to acquire information on the structure of the road.
This application claims priority about Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-113591 for which it applied on April 11, 2005, and uses the content here.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is a technology for controlling the attitude of a vehicle using an electromagnetic damper in an automobile travel control system. As this type of technique, for example, a method of calculating an estimated value of a friction coefficient by identifying a tire natural frequency by system identification is provided.

On the other hand, as described in Patent Document 1 below, a system that performs traffic control by embedding a marker (information output terminal) on a road and causing a traveling vehicle to acquire predetermined data output from the marker. Is provided.
JP 2002-342877 A

  In performing the process of calculating the estimated value of the friction coefficient, if information on road structure such as road surface unevenness, roughness or roadbed can be acquired in advance, there are advantages such as improved accuracy and real-time performance of the estimated value. can get. However, in the current situation, a system that allows a vehicle to acquire such information on a general road, particularly a system that allows a traveling vehicle to acquire such information, has not been established.

  Patent Document 1 describes a technique for causing a traveling vehicle to acquire predetermined data output from a marker embedded in a road. This technique is applied to a vehicle lane in automatic driving control of a vehicle. In order to prevent such deviations, the vehicle is specialized in providing position information on the lane to the vehicle, and there is no contribution to the construction of a system that allows the vehicle to acquire information on the road structure.

  In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for causing a vehicle to acquire information on the structure of a road and controlling the traveling of the vehicle.

  In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle of the present invention acquires road structure information registered in advance, and performs its own traveling control using the acquired road structure information.

  In the vehicle of the present invention, the road structure information may be information related to a road structure distributed in a substantially vertical direction on the road surface and / or below the road surface. Further, this information may be information related to a road structure distributed in a substantially horizontal direction along the road. Furthermore, the information includes road altitude information, slope angle of the slope, bank angle in the curve, pavement type (water-retaining pavement, permeable pavement, drainage pavement, semi-flexible pavement, etc.), pavement material (permeability or non-permeability). Permeable asphalt, concrete, brickwork, stone pavement, gravel road, etc.), pavement and underlying layer thickness, roadbed, embankment or elevated structure, girder structure, girder material, girder length, leg structure, girder Of the seam position, the date of pavement construction, the evaluation value of vibration characteristics and other various items based on the prescribed evaluation criteria, and road surface shape information such as the slope in the width direction of the road surface considering rainwater exclusion May be included.

  In the vehicle-side system of the present invention, when an information request is made from means for receiving road structure information transmitted from the outside, a memory for storing the received road structure information, and a travel control unit for controlling the travel of the vehicle. And means for reading out the road structure information stored in the memory and transmitting the information to the travel control unit.

  In the vehicle-side system of the present invention, the travel control unit includes any one of a suspension control unit, a steering control unit, a transmission control unit, a drive control unit that controls a drive unit such as an engine and / or an electric motor, and a braking control unit. May be included.

  The road structure information notifying device of the present invention is a road structure information notifying device installed in the vicinity of a road, and at least storage means for storing road structure information related to a road section around the position where the device is installed, Transmitting means for transmitting the road structure information to an approaching vehicle.

  The road structure information notification device of the present invention may include a non-contact type wireless communication means for causing the vehicle to acquire the road structure on the vehicle side.

  The car navigation system of the present invention includes storage means for storing map information including road structure information and position information indicating a position related to road traffic information on the map.

  The road structure information management system according to the present invention includes means for communicating with a vehicle-side system via an IP network or other public network, a database for storing road structure information of a jurisdiction area, and an information request from the vehicle-side system. Means for reading necessary road structure information from the database, and means for transmitting the read road structure information to the vehicle.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to acquire the information regarding the structure of a road by the vehicle, especially the vehicle during driving | running | working, and to use for the driving control of the same vehicle, and can improve the driveability and fuel consumption of a vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Notification system, 2 ... Road structure information notification apparatus, 21 ... Control part, 22 ... Vehicle detection part, 23 ... Road structure information, 24 ... Memory, 25 ... Wireless communication part, 3 ... Vehicle side system, 31 ... Wireless communication 32, road structure information management unit, 321 ... control unit, 322 ... memory, 33 ... travel control unit, 331 ... suspension control unit, 3311 ... system identification unit, 3312 ... friction coefficient estimation unit, 332 ... steering control unit, 333 ... Transmission control unit, 334 ... Drive control unit, 335 ... Braking control unit, 4 ... Car navigation system, 41 ... Control unit, 42 ... Map information ROM, 421 ... Map information, 4211 ... Tag information, 43 ... Communication unit, 5 ... Server 51 ... Control unit 52 ... Database 53 ... Communication unit

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the notification system 1 includes a road structure information notification device 2 installed at a position appropriately separated along the road, and a vehicle-side system 3 built in the vehicle.

  Generally, since structures for installing various information terminals used for traffic control and the like are arranged along the road, the road structure information notification device 2 uses such existing structures. It is possible to install. The road structure information notification device 2 includes a control unit 21 that performs main control of the device, a vehicle detection unit 22 that detects approach of a vehicle, a memory 24 that stores road structure information 23, and a wireless that transmits the road structure information 23 to the vehicle. A communication unit 25 and the like are provided. The control unit 21 may be configured using a microcomputer or the like. The vehicle detection unit 22 may detect that a vehicle traveling on a road approaches the road structure information notification device 2 using an existing technology established by a speed monitoring device or the like. The memory 24 is preferably composed of a non-volatile memory, but it is preferable to use a rewritable memory so that new road structure information 23 can be updated appropriately when the road structure changes due to repair work or the like. It is. As described later, the communication between the wireless communication unit 25 and the wireless communication unit 31 may use a non-contact type communication means established by IC tag technology or the like.

  The road structure information 23 includes information on a road structure distributed in a substantially vertical direction on the road surface and / or below the road surface, and information on a road structure distributed in a substantially horizontal direction along the road. . For example, road altitude information, slope angle of slope, bank angle in curve, pavement type (water-retaining pavement, permeable pavement, drainage pavement, semi-flexible pavement, etc.), pavement material (permeable or non-permeable) Asphalt, concrete, brickwork, stone pavement, gravel road, etc.), pavement and underlying layer thickness, roadbed, embankment or elevated structure, girder structure, girder material, girder length, leg structure, girder seam It is either the position, pavement construction date, evaluation value obtained by evaluating various characteristics and other various items according to the predetermined evaluation criteria, and road surface shape information such as whether the road surface has an inclination considering rainwater exclusion. . These pieces of information are preferably collected by using electronic drawings for design and construction currently created and operated by road managers and road construction contractors as information sources.

For information on pavement construction date, the period from construction to present is calculated based on the construction date, and the change over time of the road surface (for example, deterioration of the road surface and occurrence of wrinkles) is the road surface shape described later. Reflected in information.
The vibration characteristics are determined by, for example, the type of pavement, the pavement material, the thickness of the pavement, the roadbed or elevated structure, and the road structure at the position of the seam of the girder, and change as the vehicle travels.
The various evaluation values are values obtained by evaluating the vibration characteristics, the friction coefficient of the road surface, and the like by an evaluation method that is determined in advance and standardized.

  The information such as the road surface shape includes information such as a slope in the width direction given to the road surface in order to exclude rainwater, and a level difference caused by a paint formed to call attention for preventing drowsy driving. The road surface shape information may be obtained from vehicle motion information (for example, vehicle vibration state, wheel slip, anti-lock brake system operation, etc.) obtained as a result of traveling a probe car in advance. Road surface shape information is not only obtained by a probe car, but a probe is also mounted on a general vehicle, road surface shape information on the road on which the vehicle has traveled is aggregated and reflected as the latest information in the road structure information. May be.

  The road structure information notification device 2 has jurisdiction over a certain section of the road on which the road structure information is installed and its surrounding area. When the road structure information notifying device 2 is separately installed at the up and down roads, a certain area ahead in the traveling direction is set as the jurisdiction, and the road structure information 23 of the jurisdiction area is notified.

  The road structure information notifying device 2 includes, as related information, weather information (temperature, humidity, rain snow, snow cover information, etc.), regional information (earthquake information, inundation information, presence / absence of snow melting agent, sand accumulation near the coast, etc. The information is sent to the vehicle in combination with the road structure information. This makes it possible to perform more advanced vehicle travel control.

  On the other hand, the vehicle side system 3 includes a radio communication unit 31 for receiving the road structure information 23 transmitted from the road structure information notification device 2, a road structure information management unit 32 for managing the road structure information 23, and various types of vehicles. A travel control unit 33 that performs travel control is provided. The vehicle-side system 3 can be constructed by adding necessary units using an existing control system configured by connecting each control unit of the vehicle via a LAN (Local Area Network). it can.

  The road structure information management unit 32 includes a control unit 321 that performs main control and a memory 322 that stores the road structure information 23. The control unit 321 stores the road structure information 23 received by the wireless communication unit 25 in the memory 322 and transmits the road structure information 23 to the travel control unit 33 in response to an information request from the travel control unit 33.

  The travel control unit 33 includes a suspension control unit 331, a steering control unit 332, a transmission control unit 333, a drive control unit 334, a brake control unit 335, and the like, and performs various controls necessary for traveling of the vehicle. The suspension control unit 331 includes a system identification unit 3311 and a friction coefficient estimation unit 3312, and detects a displacement, speed, acceleration, force, etc. of a vehicle, tire, suspension, etc., such as an electromagnetic damper, an accelerometer, a tire pressure sensor, etc. Is used to perform system identification processing and estimation calculation of the friction coefficient of the road surface. Then, based on the estimated friction coefficient of the road surface, for example, vehicle travel control is performed such as changing the hardness of the suspension and the lightness of the steering.

  In the above configuration, when a vehicle traveling on the road approaches the road structure information notification device 2 installed in the vicinity of the road, the vehicle detection unit 22 detects the approach of the vehicle in the road structure information notification device 2, The control unit 21 reads the road structure information 23 stored in the memory 24 and transmits it to the vehicle side system 3 by the wireless communication unit 25.

  In the vehicle-side system 3, the road structure information 23 transmitted from the wireless communication unit 25 is received by the wireless communication unit 31, and the received road traffic information is written in the memory 322 by the control unit 321. Thereafter, in the travel control unit 33, for example, when the suspension control unit 331 needs the road structure information 23 when the friction coefficient is estimated, the suspension control unit 331 transmits an information request to the road structure information management unit 32. . When the information request from the suspension control unit 331 is received, the road structure information management unit 32 reads the road structure information 23 stored in the memory 322 and transmits it to the suspension control unit 331. The suspension control unit 331 can use the road structure information 23 acquired in this way as reference information, for example, to improve the accuracy of friction coefficient estimation calculation and to improve real-time performance.

  In addition, by changing the engine control characteristics between uphill and downhill, safe and fuel-efficient driving is realized. In particular, in a so-called hybrid car equipped with a gasoline engine and an electric motor, when driving uphill, the driving force of the electric motor is used as much as possible without relying on the driving force of the gasoline engine. Make it empty. Further, during downhill traveling, the vehicle is driven using the potential energy of the vehicle without depending on the driving force of the gasoline engine or the electric motor. Thereby, a significant improvement in fuel consumption can be realized. In addition, during downhill driving, the electric motor can function as a generator, and the battery can be charged using the natural descent of the vehicle to regenerate power without driving the gasoline engine for power generation. Can also achieve significant fuel efficiency improvements. In addition, by causing the electric motor to function as a generator, a safe brake function corresponding to engine braking can be stably obtained. Similarly, in an electric vehicle such as a fuel cell vehicle, it is possible to regenerate electric power on a downhill, so that fuel efficiency can be greatly improved.

  The road structure information as described above has different road structure and standards in each country, so the road vibration characteristics and various evaluation values differ from country to country (for example, in Europe where there are many cobblestone roads, the vibration characteristics are obvious. Change). Therefore, it can be seen that this information was used to cross the border.

  Note that the communication between the wireless communication unit 25 and the wireless communication unit 31 is not limited to the above-described technology, but is used in, for example, a broadcasting service for mobile devices in the terrestrial digital direction, so-called one-segment broadcasting, or already in a car navigation system or the like. It is also possible to use advanced traffic transportation systems, so-called ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems), and advanced communication technology using artificial satellites.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the notification system 1 includes a car navigation system 4 mounted on a vehicle and a vehicle side system 3 mounted on the vehicle. The car navigation system 4 includes a control unit 41 that performs main control of the system, a map information ROM 42 that uses a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like, and a communication unit 43 that communicates with the vehicle-side system 3. The map information ROM 42 stores map information 421 added with tag information 4211 and road structure information 23. The tag information 4211 includes position information of a point or section where the road structure information 23 is set, and an identifier of the set road structure information 23.

  In this car navigation system 4, the control unit 41 uses the tag information 4211 to perform a monitoring process as to whether or not the road structure information 23 is set at a point or section where the vehicle is currently traveling. When the vehicle reaches or is expected to reach a point or section where the road structure information 23 is set, the control unit 41 determines the road structure information 23 at the position from the identifier included in the tag information. Is read out and transmitted to the vehicle side system 3 by the communication unit 43. The determination of the likelihood of arrival can be performed using an existing route recognition function or the like.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of a road structure information notification system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the notification system 1 includes a server 5 and a vehicle side system 3. The vehicle-side system 3 can access the server 5 via an IP (Internet Protocol) network or other public networks, has jurisdiction over a predetermined area, and all the road structure information 23 set for the road in the jurisdiction area. In charge. The server 5 includes a control unit 51 that performs main control, a database 52 that covers all road structure information 23 in the jurisdiction area, and a communication unit 53 that serves as an interface to the public network.

  The vehicle-side system 3 transmits an information request to the server 5 in response to an arbitrary trigger (for example, a signal generated when executing a calculation process that requires the road structure information 23 or a signal generated periodically). To do. In transmitting this information request, the communication unit 31-2 is connected to, for example, a multiple access wireless base station (not shown) using wireless communication means, and further, the public network is connected via the wireless base station. To the server 5 via this public network. Information indicating the position where the vehicle is currently traveling or the position where the vehicle is expected to travel in the future is added to the information request. Upon receiving this information request, the server 5 searches the database 52 for the road structure information 23 corresponding to the vehicle position information, and returns the corresponding information to the vehicle side system 3. The vehicle-side system 3 can be used for arbitrary processing using the road structure information 23 thus acquired.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

  The present invention includes means for communicating with a vehicle-side system via an IP network or other public network, a database for storing road structure information of a jurisdiction area, and a road required from the database in response to an information request from the vehicle-side system. The present invention relates to a road structure information management system including means for reading structure information and means for transmitting the read road structure information to the vehicle.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to acquire the information regarding the structure of a road by the vehicle, especially the vehicle during driving | running | working, and to use for the driving control of the same vehicle, and can improve the driveability and fuel consumption of a vehicle.

Claims (10)

  A vehicle that acquires road structure information registered in advance and performs its own travel control using the acquired road structure information.   The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the road structure information is information related to a road structure distributed in a substantially vertical direction on a road surface and / or below the road surface.   The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the road structure information is information relating to a road structure distributed in a substantially horizontal direction along the road.   The road structure information includes road altitude information, slope slope angle, bank angle in the curve, pavement type, pavement material, pavement and underlying layer thickness, roadbed, embankment or elevated structure, girder joints. Including the position of the road, the date of pavement construction, the evaluation value of vibration characteristics and other various items based on the predetermined evaluation criteria, and road surface shape information such as the slope in the width direction of the road surface considering rainwater exclusion Item 4. The vehicle according to any one of Items 1 to 3. Means for receiving road structure information transmitted from outside;
A memory for storing the received road structure information;
A vehicle-side system comprising: a unit that reads out the road structure information stored in the memory and transmits the information to the travel control unit when an information request is made from a travel control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle.   6. The vehicle side according to claim 5, wherein the travel control unit includes any one of a suspension control unit, a steering control unit, a transmission control unit, a drive control unit that controls a drive unit such as an engine and / or an electric motor, and a braking control unit. system. A road structure information notification device installed in the vicinity of a road,
Storage means for storing at least road structure information about a road section around the position where the machine is installed;
A road structure information notification device comprising: a transmission means for transmitting the road structure information to a vehicle approaching itself.   The road structure information notification device according to claim 7, further comprising non-contact type wireless communication means for causing the vehicle to acquire the road structure on a vehicle side.   A car navigation system comprising storage means for storing map information including road structure information and position information indicating a position related to road traffic information on a map. Means for communicating with the vehicle-side system via an IP network or other public network;
A database that stores road structure information for the jurisdiction area;
Means for reading out the necessary road structure information from the database in response to an information request from the vehicle-side system;
A road structure information management system comprising means for transmitting the read road structure information to the vehicle.

Images