WO2014171186A1

WO2014171186A1 - Driving support system, method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2014171186A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/054627
Authority: WO
Inventors: 智哉梅村
Original assignee: アイシン・エィ・ダブリュ株式会社
Priority date: 2013-04-15
Filing date: 2014-02-26
Publication date: 2014-10-23
Also published as: CN105190245B; JP2014206483A; CN105190245A; JP6160191B2; DE112014000658T5

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a technology that performs guidance that does not make a driver uneasy. [Solution] A planned travel route for a vehicle is acquired; a determination is made regarding whether there are multiple driveable lanes that are for entering a guidance target intersection in front of the vehicle and can be driven on if the vehicle crosses the guidance target intersection in accordance with the planned travel route; if there are multiple driveable lanes, a determination is made regarding whether there are painted arrows on the driveable lanes indicating directions different from the planned exit direction in which exiting from the guidance target intersection will take place if the vehicle crosses the guidance target intersection in accordance with the planned travel route; if there are no painted arrows on the driveable lanes indicating directions other than the planned exit direction, a plurality of driveable lanes are indicated; and if there is a painted arrow on the driveable lanes indicating a direction other than the planned exit direction, a recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route is indicated.

Description

Driving support system, method and program

The present invention relates to a driving support system, method, and program for guiding a scheduled travel route.

Conventionally, a technique for guiding a recommended lane recommended for driving a vehicle along a planned travel route is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, when there are a plurality of approach lanes that can be escaped along a guidance route, a lane that excludes traffic-controlled lanes is recommended lanes in a configuration that guides a plurality of approach lanes as recommended lanes. The technology is disclosed.

JP 2007-225541 A

In the prior art, the driver may feel uncomfortable due to the difference between the lane that can travel at the intersection and the arrow paint displayed immediately before the intersection. That is, when guidance is given so that the vehicle travels in a lane that can be traveled in order to drive the vehicle along the scheduled travel route, the driver normally determines that any of the guided lanes may be selected. In this situation, if the arrow paint is different between the guided lanes, not all of the guided lanes appear to be equivalent. Therefore, the driver who has determined that the lane may be in any of the guided lanes may recognize that the arrow paint differs from the guidance content when the driver reaches a position where the arrow paint can be visually recognized. In this case, the driver may think that there is a more appropriate lane in the guided lane, or may think that the guidance was incorrect, giving the driver anxiety. End up.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for performing guidance without giving anxiety to the driver.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, when there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guidance target intersection that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route, It is determined whether or not arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction that is the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route exists on the travelable lane. If arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction does not exist on the travelable lane, a plurality of travelable lanes are guided, and arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane In this case, the recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route is guided.

In other words, if there are multiple lanes that can be traveled, the vehicle should travel when entering the guidance target intersection based on whether or not an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the lane that can travel. As a lane, it is set as the structure which switches between the case where a some driveable lane is guided, and the case where a recommended lane is guided. In addition, when the travelable lane is one, the travelable lane is the recommended lane, and therefore, the travelable lane (= recommended lane) may be guided.

Here, since the travelable lane is an approach lane to the guidance target intersection that can travel when passing the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route, if the driver can guide the travelable lane to the driver, The vehicle can be driven along the planned travel route by traveling in the lane in which the vehicle is guided. However, the arrow paint is the paint that is actually displayed on the approach lane to the guidance target intersection, and the direction of exit from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint when traveling in a travelable lane It is not always the same. Therefore, if it is configured to always guide the travelable lane, when the driver who has determined that the vehicle can travel in any of the guided lanes has reached a position where the arrow paint can be seen, the arrow paint is displayed. May be recognized as different from the guidance content. In this case, the driver may think that there is a more appropriate lane in the guided lane, or may think that the guidance was incorrect, giving the driver anxiety. End up.

Therefore, the arrow paint indicating the direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane while the configuration is such that the travelable lane is guided when the arrow paint indicating the direction different from the planned exit direction is not present on the travelable lane. In some cases, the recommended lane is guided instead of the travelable lane. Here, the recommended lane is not a lane defined from the viewpoint of being able to travel when passing along the planned travel route, but a lane recommended for traveling along the planned travel route. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from being uneasy due to the fact that the exit direction from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint do not match when traveling in a travelable lane. .

In addition, it is preferable that the recommended lane is defined so that a situation in which the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when traveling in the recommended lane does not match the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint does not occur, for example, The recommended lane may be a lane with arrow paint indicating the direction that matches the planned exit direction, or a recommended lane by extracting one lane from the lanes that can pass through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route. It is good. Various methods can be adopted as a method for determining the recommended lane. For example, with respect to a predetermined number of intersections selected in order from the vehicle on the planned travel route, the planned travel route is referred to and each intersection is determined. A configuration that determines the recommended lane based on the approach lane and the exit lane from each intersection, and a configuration that determines the recommended lane so that the number of lane changes required to travel along the planned travel route is minimized. Etc. can be adopted.

Here, the planned travel route acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire the planned travel route from the departure point of the vehicle to the destination, and by specifying the planned travel route when traveling from the departure point to the destination, What is necessary is just to specify the approach lane, exit lane, exit direction etc. which should drive | work before and after the crossing of an intersection.

The travelable lane determining means determines whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guide target intersection that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection ahead of the vehicle along the planned travel route. I can do it. In other words, since the planned travel route indicates the road section to be traveled and the intersection to be passed, the road network composed of the intersection and the road section should travel before and after the guidance target intersection based on the planned travel route. It is possible to specify a road section. And if the road section which should drive before and after the intersection is specified, the approach lane and the exit lane which can be run when driving each road section can be specified. Therefore, the former may be a travelable lane, and it may be determined whether there are a plurality of travelable lanes.

The travelable lane may be specified based on the planned travel route and the road section connected to the guidance target intersection. For example, the road section where the approach lane to the guidance target intersection exists and the approach lane The combination of the road section where the exit lane that travels when exiting the guidance target intersection after traveling is the same as the combination of the road section traveling when traveling along the planned travel route before and after the guidance target intersection In this case, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the approach lane is the travelable lane.

The arrow paint direction determination means is an arrow indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction that is the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing through the guidance target intersection when there are a plurality of travelable lanes. It suffices if it is possible to determine whether paint is present on the travelable lane. That is, the arrow paint indicates the exit direction from the intersection, and the direction indicated by the arrow paint is determined when the arrow paint is actually painted on the road. Therefore, if the direction indicated by the arrow paint is recorded in the map information in advance, the direction indicated by the arrow paint on the approach lane with respect to an arbitrary intersection can be specified at an arbitrary timing. The planned exit direction can be specified by specifying a road section to be traveled before and after the guidance target intersection when traveling on the planned travel route. Therefore, by comparing the planned exit direction and the direction indicated by the arrow paint on the travelable lane, it can be determined whether or not the arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane. .

As a specific example of the arrow paint, the arrow paint is one or a combination of a straight arrow and a non-straight arrow displayed immediately before the guidance target intersection on each approach lane to the guidance target intersection, and a straight arrow Indicates that it is possible to exit the guidance target intersection in the straight direction, and it is possible to assume an example in which the non-straight arrow indicates the exit direction to the nearest branch road. That is, in this example, the straight-ahead arrow indicates the direction in which the user can exit at the guidance target intersection, but the non-straight arrow does not necessarily indicate the direction in which the user can exit at the guidance target intersection.

Since the travelable lane is an approach lane that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route, the travelable lane indicates information about the guidance target intersection. For this reason, for a non-straight arrow, there may occur a situation in which the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when traveling in a travelable lane does not match the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint. Therefore, it is preferable to apply the present invention to guidance for a guidance target intersection on which the above arrow paint is displayed. The branch road is a road that travels when leaving the lane in a non-straight direction. Therefore, the non-straight arrow indicating the exit direction to the nearest branch road indicates the exit direction at the nearest intersection that can exit in the direction indicated by the non-straight arrow.

The lane guide means guides a plurality of travelable lanes when an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is not present on the travelable lane, and the arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane. If it exists, the recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route may be guided. That is, it is only necessary to select a lane to be guided according to the conditions and guide the driver. The guidance may be voice guidance or image guidance.

Furthermore, it may be configured to determine whether or not to perform guidance based on various additional conditions. For example, when the vehicle travels along the planned travel route, the guidance condition determination unit determines whether the distance between the front intersection that passes next to the guidance target intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, Furthermore, in the lane guidance means, when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is greater than a predetermined distance and there is no arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction, a plurality of traveling is possible. If the distance between the front intersection and the target intersection is greater than the predetermined distance and arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane, the recommended lane is A configuration may be adopted in which the recommended lane is guided when the distance between the intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

That is, when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is less than a predetermined distance (when both intersections are close), the driver specifies an approach lane that should enter the front intersection after passing through the guidance target intersection. The period for changing lanes accordingly is short. Therefore, in such a situation, it is preferable to make preparations such as predicting an approach lane at the front intersection before reaching the guidance target intersection. However, if the driver feels uneasy due to the fact that the exit direction from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint do not match when traveling in a travelable lane, before reaching the guidance target intersection, It becomes difficult to make preparations such as predicting the approach lane at the front intersection.

Therefore, if the recommended lane is to be guided when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the direction indicated by the arrow paint and the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when traveling in a travelable lane The driver's direction is not inconsistent with the driver's direction. Accordingly, it is possible to provide guidance without giving the driver anxiety in a situation where there is a high need for advance preparation. In addition, when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is larger than the predetermined distance, the driver specifies an approach lane to enter the front intersection after passing through the guidance target intersection, and changes the lane as necessary. For a long period. Therefore, a case where a plurality of travelable lanes are guided according to whether or not arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane, not the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection. It is sufficient to switch between the case where the recommended lane is guided.

Furthermore, as in the present invention, the method of switching the lane to be guided according to whether or not an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane is also applicable as a program or method. . In addition, the above-described device, program, and method may be realized as a single device or may be realized by using components shared with each part of the vehicle, and include various aspects. It is a waste. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation terminal, a method, and a program provided with the above devices. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the apparatus. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

It is a block diagram of the navigation terminal containing a driving assistance system. It is a flowchart which shows a driving assistance process. (3A) to (3D) are diagrams showing an example of a vehicle and a road around the vehicle.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation terminal:
(2) Driving support processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation terminal:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation terminal 10 including a driving support system according to the present invention. The navigation terminal 10 is provided in a vehicle, and includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and a recording medium 30. The navigation terminal 10 can execute a program stored in the recording medium 30 or the ROM by the control unit 20. Map information 30a is recorded in the recording medium 30 in advance. The map information 30a is information used to specify the position of the vehicle and the facility to be guided, and specifies node data indicating the position of the node set on the road on which the vehicle travels, and the shape of the road between the nodes. This includes shape interpolation point data indicating the position of the shape interpolation point, etc., link data indicating connection between nodes, data indicating the position of the road and its surrounding features, and the like.

Further, in the map information 30a in the present embodiment, information indicating the lane existing in the road section indicated by each link data and information indicating the continuous relationship between the approach lane and the exit lane are associated with the link data. Yes. Specifically, the information indicating the lane existing in the road section includes the approach lane that travels immediately before entering the intersection corresponding to the node that is one end of the road section indicated by the link data, and the road section. This is information indicating the exit lane that travels immediately after exiting from the intersection corresponding to the node that is the other end of the. The information indicating the continuous relationship between the approach lane and the exit lane is information in which the approach lane and the exit lane to be traveled after traveling on the approach lane are associated with each other. In other words, if an entry lane that exists on a road section indicated by certain link data should exit to another exit lane that exists on another road section connected via an intersection, It is defined as a state in which the exit lane is associated and included in the link data.

Furthermore, the node data is associated with information indicating the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint displayed in each lane. That is, the node data indicates an intersection, and in each road section connected to the intersection, an arrow paint is displayed immediately before the intersection on the approach lane to the intersection. The direction of the arrow paint displayed on each approach lane is defined on the basis of the traveling direction at, and information indicating the direction (straight, right turn, left turn, combination thereof, etc.) is associated with the node data.

Furthermore, the vehicle in the present embodiment includes a GPS receiver 41, a vehicle speed sensor 42, a gyro sensor 43, and a user I / F unit 44. The GPS receiver 41 receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite and outputs a signal indicating a signal for calculating the current position of the vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 42 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels provided in the vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown) and acquires the vehicle speed. The gyro sensor 43 detects angular acceleration about turning in the horizontal plane of the vehicle, and outputs a signal corresponding to the direction of the vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the traveling direction of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 42, the gyro sensor 43, and the like are used for specifying the travel locus of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the current position is specified based on the departure position and the travel locus of the vehicle, and the departure position and the travel are determined. The current position of the vehicle specified based on the trajectory is corrected based on the output signal of the GPS receiver 41.

The user I / F unit 44 is an interface unit for providing various information to the driver, and includes a display unit, a voice output unit, an input unit, and the like (not shown). The control unit 20 can perform route guidance for traveling along the planned travel route to the driver of the vehicle using the current position of the vehicle and the map information 30a by the function of a navigation program (not shown). It is. In the present embodiment, it is possible to guide the lane to be traveled in order to travel along the planned travel route by the function of the navigation program, and the guidance is realized by the driving support program 21. In order to realize the guidance, the driving support program 21 includes a planned travel route acquisition unit 21a, a travelable lane determination unit 21b, a guidance condition determination unit 21c, an arrow paint direction determination unit 21d, and a lane guide unit 21e.

The planned travel route acquisition unit 21a is a program module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of acquiring a planned travel route from the departure point of the vehicle to the destination. That is, the control unit 20 acquires the destination input by the driver through the input unit of the user I / F unit 44 by the process of the planned travel route acquisition unit 21a, and refers to the map information 30a to determine the departure point of the vehicle ( For example, a route from the current position) to the destination is searched. The route search can be performed by, for example, the Dijkstra method. Further, the control unit 20 acquires a route designated by the driver through the input unit of the user I / F unit 44 from the searched routes as a planned traveling route, and records it in the RAM or the like. The planned travel route is composed of link data indicating a road section on which the vehicle should travel and node data indicating an intersection through which the vehicle should pass.

The travelable lane determining unit 21b determines whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guidance target intersection that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection ahead of the vehicle along the planned travel route. It is a program module that causes the control unit 20 to realize the function of determining. In the present embodiment, the guidance target intersection is the closest intersection existing ahead of the vehicle on the planned travel route. Since the planned travel route is composed of link data indicating a road section to be traveled and node data indicating an intersection through which the vehicle should pass, the control unit 20 is based on the planned travel route based on the map information 30a. Thus, it is possible to specify a road section to be traveled before and after the guidance target intersection. If the road section which should drive before and after an intersection is specified, control part 20 will drive each road section based on the information which shows the continuous relation between the approach lane and the exit lane which the link data of map information 30a shows. In this case, it is possible to specify an approach lane or an exit lane that can travel, and the control unit 20 sets the former as a travelable lane.

The travelable lane may be specified based on the planned travel route and the road section connected to the guidance target intersection. In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 refers to the map information 30a and the vehicle is located after the current position. The road section where the approach lane to the guidance target intersection exists is identified from the road sections that travel. Furthermore, the control unit 20 exits from the guidance target intersection after traveling on the approach lane to the guidance target intersection based on information indicating a continuous relationship between the approach lane and the exit lane associated with the link data of the map information 30a. The road section where the exit lane that travels is present is specified. Then, when the combination of the identified road sections matches the combination of the road sections that travel when traveling along the planned travel route before and after the guidance target intersection, the approach lane is set as the travelable lane. When the travelable lane is specified, the control unit 20 further determines whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes.

For example, FIG. 3A shows a road section R ₁ where the forward node in the direction of travel is the intersection I ₁ (the node behind the forward direction is not shown), the node behind the direction of travel is the intersection I ₁ , and the forward node in the direction of travel is a road section R ₂ is the intersection I _2, the road sections R ₃ traveling direction behind the node is an intersection I ₂ (direction of travel of the nodes not shown), the traveling direction behind the node is at the intersection I ₂ Of a road constituted by a road section R ₄ (nodes ahead of the traveling direction are not shown) and a road section R ₅ (nodes ahead of the traveling direction are not shown) whose rear node in the traveling direction is the intersection I ₁ . An example is shown. In this example, the road section R ₁ has lanes L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , and L ₁₃ for the intersection I ₁ , and the road section R ₂ has the lane to the intersection I ₂ (and exit from the intersection I _1). lane) L _21, L _22, L ₂₃ is present, the road section R ₃ exists exit lane L _31, L ₃₂ from the intersection I _2, exit lanes L from the intersection I ₂ is the road section R ₄ ₄₁ exists, and the exit lane L ₅₁ from the intersection I ₁ exists in the road section R ₅ .

Then, in the map information 30a indicating this example, the link data indicating the road sections R ₁ is continuous and entry lane L ₁₁ and exit lane L _21, L ₅₁ is the approach lane L ₁₂ and exit lane L ₂₂ is continuous, information indicating that the approach lane L ₁₃ and exit lane L ₂₃ are continuous is associated. Accordingly, the control unit 20, or the like, based on the information indicating the continuous relationship between entry lane and exit lanes, the entry lane L ₁₁ is guided entry lane to guide target intersection I ₁ target intersection I ₁ The combination of the road sections where the exit lane from the road exists is identified as the road sections R ₁ , R ₂ or the road sections R ₁ , R ₅ , and for the approach lanes L ₁₂ , L ₁₃ , the guidance target intersection I ₁ The combination of the road sections where the approach lane to and the exit lane from the guidance target intersection I ₁ exist is specified as the road sections R ₁ and R ₂ .

Furthermore, when the planned travel route is a road section R ₁ , an intersection I ₁ , a road section R ₂ , an intersection I ₂ , and a road section R ₃ , and the intersection I ₁ is a guidance target intersection, the control unit 20 When the vehicle travels along the planned travel route before and after the guidance target intersection I ₁ , the combination of the road sections to be traveled is identified as the road sections R ₁ and R ₂ . The entry lane in the example shown in FIG. 3A, including the guide target intersection road section R ₁ to the combination of road section and the exit lane from the guidance target intersection I ₁ and enters the lane to I ₁ present, R ₂ Is the approach lanes L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , and L ₁₃ , the control unit 20 determines that the approach lanes L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , and L ₁₃ are travelable lanes and determines that there are a plurality of travelable lanes. To do.

The arrow paint direction determination unit 21d indicates a direction different from the planned exit direction, which is the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route when there are a plurality of travelable lanes. This is a program module that causes the control unit 20 to realize the function of determining whether or not the arrow paint exists on the travelable lane. The arrow paint indicates the exit direction from the intersection, and the direction indicated by the arrow paint is determined when the arrow paint is actually painted on the road. In the present embodiment, since the information indicating the direction indicated by the arrow paint is associated with the node data of the map information 30a in advance, the control unit 20 refers to the map information 30a and arbitrarily selects it at an arbitrary timing. The direction indicated by the arrow paint on the approach lane with respect to the intersection can be specified. Therefore, the control unit 20 specifies the direction indicated by the arrow paint on the travelable lane when the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the threshold value.

Furthermore, the planned exit direction can be specified by specifying the road section to be driven before and after the guidance target intersection when traveling on the planned travel route. That is, the control unit 20 uses the straight traveling direction of the road section that travels when entering the guidance target intersection as a reference, and the planned exit direction based on the positional relationship between the reference and the road section that should travel after passing the guidance target intersection. Is identified. Here, the planned exit direction only needs to be defined stepwise according to the direction that can be indicated as the direction indicated by the arrow paint, and if the possible direction as the direction indicated by the arrow paint is straight, right turn, left turn, The planned exit direction should also be defined in three stages: straight ahead, right turn, and left turn. Therefore, the planned exit direction may not be defined in detail as 46.7 °. When the direction indicated by the arrow paint on the travelable lane and the planned exit direction are specified, the control unit 20 compares the planned exit direction with the direction indicated by the arrow paint on the travelable lane, and is different from the planned exit direction. It is determined whether or not an arrow paint indicating a direction exists on the travelable lane.

The lane guide 21e guides a plurality of travelable lanes when an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is not present on the travelable lane, and the arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction can travel When present on the line, this is a program module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of guiding a recommended lane for traveling on the planned travel route. That is, when there are a plurality of travelable lanes, the control unit 20 enters the guidance target intersection based on whether or not an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane. The lane to be traveled is switched between guiding a plurality of travelable lanes and guiding a recommended lane.

Specifically, the control unit 20 selects one of the travelable lane determined by the process of the travelable lane determination unit 21b and the recommended lane specified by the function of the navigation program as a lane to be guided, and driving A process of guiding the guidance target lane to the person is performed. In the present embodiment, the lane to be guided is guided by voice guidance. That is, in the present embodiment, audio data for guiding the positional relationship between the vehicle and the lane and the positional relationship between the lane and the road is defined in advance for various cases and recorded in the recording medium 30 (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires audio data for guiding the selected lane from the recording medium 30 and outputs it to the speaker of the user I / F unit 44. As a result, the speaker of the user I / F unit 44 outputs a sound for guiding the selected lane. In addition, when the travelable lane is one, the travelable lane is the recommended lane, and therefore, the travelable lane (= recommended lane) may be guided.

Since the travelable lane is an approach lane to the guidance target intersection that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route, the driver can be guided by guiding the travelable lane to the driver. The vehicle can be traveled along the planned travel route by traveling in the lane. However, the arrow paint is the paint that is actually displayed on the approach lane to the guidance target intersection, and the direction of exit from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint when traveling in a travelable lane It is not always the same.

Therefore, if it is configured to always guide the travelable lane, when the driver who has determined that the vehicle can travel in any of the guided lanes has reached a position where the arrow paint can be seen, the arrow paint is displayed. May be recognized as different from the guidance content. For example, the driver may think that there is a more appropriate lane in the guided lane, or may think that the guidance was incorrect, which gives the driver anxiety .

Specifically, the arrow paint in the present embodiment is configured by one or a combination of a straight arrow and a non-straight arrow displayed immediately before the guidance target intersection on each approach lane to the guidance target intersection. Further, the straight-ahead arrow indicates that the guidance target intersection can be retreated in the straight-ahead direction, and the non-straight-ahead arrow indicates a retreat direction to the nearest branch road. That is, while the straight-ahead arrow indicates the direction in which the user can exit at the guidance target intersection, the non-straight arrow does not necessarily indicate the direction in which the user can exit at the guidance target intersection.

In the example shown in FIG. 3A, there are arrows paint showing a straight direction and the left direction on the entry lane L _11, arrow paint is present showing a straight direction on entry lane L _12, right on the entry lane L ₁₃ There is a direction arrow paint. Further, arrows paints showing a straight direction on the entry lane L ₂₁ is present, arrows paints showing a straight direction on the entry lane L ₂₂ is present, arrows paint is present indicating the right direction on the entry lane L _23. Then, in this example, the intersection I ₁ straight traveling the entry lane L _13, you can travel from the road section R ₁ to road section R _2. Further, turn right at the intersection I ₂ traveling on the entrance lane L _23, can travel from the road section R ₂ into road sections R _4. Thus, the arrow in the right direction which is the arrow painted on entry lane L ₁₃ indicates the exit direction at the intersection I ₁ instead intersection I _2, the non-straight arrows nearest branch of the entrance lane L ₁₃ (road The exit direction to the section R ₄ ) is shown. Therefore, the non-straight arrow in the arrows painted on entry lane L ₁₃ does not show the possible directions exit at the intersection I _1.

The branch road is a road that travels when leaving the lane in a non-straight direction. Therefore, the non-straight arrow indicating the exit direction to the nearest branch road indicates the exit direction at the nearest intersection that can exit in the direction indicated by the non-straight arrow. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, it is impossible to turn right at an intersection I _1, after entering the lane L ₁₃ running, since the earliest right turn can intersection is the intersection I _2, is an arrow painted on entry lane L ₁₃ The arrow in the right direction indicates the exit direction at the nearest difference point I _{2 that} can exit in the right direction.

As described above, since the travelable lane is an approach lane that can travel when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route, the travelable lane indicates information about the guidance target intersection. For this reason, in the case of a non-straight arrow, a situation may occur in which the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when traveling in a travelable lane does not match the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, when the intersection I ₁ is a guidance target intersection, the exit direction (straight direction) from the guidance target intersection I ₁ and the arrow paint when traveling on the approach lane L ₁₃ that is a travelable lane. The arrow direction (right direction) indicated by does not match. Therefore, it is preferable to apply the present invention to guidance for a guidance target intersection on which the above arrow paint is displayed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 20 shows a direction different from the planned exit direction while adopting a configuration that guides the travelable lane when the arrow paint indicating the direction different from the planned exit direction is not present on the travelable lane. When the arrow paint exists on the travelable lane, the recommended lane is guided instead of guiding the travelable lane. Here, the recommended lane is not a lane defined from the viewpoint of being able to travel when passing along the planned travel route, but a lane recommended for traveling along the planned travel route. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the control unit 20 refers to the scheduled travel route for a predetermined number of intersections selected in order from the vehicle on the planned travel route by the processing of the navigation program, and determines the planned travel route. The lane that minimizes the number of lane changes required to travel along the road is selected from the lanes on the road section where the vehicle currently exists, and is set as the recommended lane. Therefore, if the recommended lane is guided, the driver's anxiety is caused by the fact that the exit direction from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint do not match when traveling in a travelable lane. This can be prevented.

(2) Driving support processing:
Next, driving support processing by the driving support program 21 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a driving support process executed by the driving support program 21. When the route guidance based on the planned travel route is started, the control unit 20 executes the driving support process shown in FIG. 2 every predetermined period (for example, 100 ms). In the driving support process, the control unit 20 acquires a scheduled travel route (step S100). That is, the control unit 20 refers to the information indicating the planned travel route recorded in the RAM or the like by the process of the planned travel route acquisition unit 21a, and indicates information indicating the planned travel route ahead of the current position of the vehicle (the vehicle in the front). Information indicating link data indicating a road section on which the vehicle should travel and node data indicating an intersection through which the vehicle should pass).

Next, the control unit 20 acquires a recommended lane (step S105). That is, the control unit 20 specifies the current position of the vehicle by the processing of the navigation program, and specifies the travel lane that is the lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling based on the map information 30a. In addition, the control unit 20 selects a predetermined number of intersections in order from the vehicle on the planned travel route, refers to the planned travel route (the exit direction at the intersection) for these intersections, and the vehicle travels in the travel lane. Select one of the lanes on the road section where the vehicle is currently located to minimize the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to travel along the planned travel route after the current position. And get it as a recommended lane.

Next, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the distance from the vehicle to the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than a threshold by the process of the travelable lane determination unit 21b (step S110). That is, in the present embodiment, when the distance between the vehicle and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the threshold value, processing for performing guidance for the guidance target intersection is performed, and the control unit 20 performs the current position of the vehicle. Based on the planned travel route and the map information 30a, the intersection closest to the vehicle in front of the vehicle is specified as the guidance target intersection. And the control part 20 determines whether the distance from the present position of a vehicle to the said guidance object intersection is below a threshold value. Note that the threshold value is a value defined in advance to determine whether or not to execute a process for guiding the intersection. If it is not determined in step S110 for determining whether or not to execute the guidance for the intersection whether the distance from the vehicle to the guidance target intersection is less than or equal to the threshold, the control unit 20 performs step S105 and subsequent steps. Repeat the process.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S110 that the distance from the vehicle to the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the threshold value, the control unit 20 acquires a travelable lane by the process of the travelable lane determination unit 21b (step S115). . That is, the control unit 20 exits when the vehicle exits from the guidance target intersection after traveling on the road section where the approach lane to the guidance target intersection exists and the approach lane to the guidance target intersection based on the map information 30a. Identify the road segment where the lane exists. Then, the control unit 20 determines whether the combination of the identified road sections matches the combination of the road sections that travel when traveling along the planned travel route before and after the guidance target intersection. In this case, the approach lane is set as the travelable lane. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the vehicle C exists in the road section R ₁ and the planned travel route is the road section R ₁ , the intersection I ₁ , the road section R ₂ , the intersection I ₂ , and the road section R ₃ , The approach lanes L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , and L ₁₃ are travelable lanes.

Next, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes by the processing of the arrow paint direction determination unit 21d (step S120). That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes acquired in step S115. For example, in the case of the vehicle C shown in FIG. 3A, since the approach lanes L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , and L ₁₃ are travelable lanes, it is determined that there are a plurality of travelable lanes. If it is determined in step S120 that there are a plurality of travelable lanes, the control unit 20 executes step S125. If it is not determined in step S120 that there are a plurality of travelable lanes, the control unit 20 performs steps. S155 is executed.

In the present embodiment, it is configured to determine whether or not to perform guidance based on various additional conditions in addition to the determination conditions in the arrow paint direction determination unit 21d. In this embodiment, additional conditions are defined for the presence / absence of additional lanes, the continuity of the travelable lane, and the distance between the front intersection that passes next to the guidance target intersection and the guidance target intersection. The support program 21 includes a guidance condition determination unit 21c for determining whether or not the additional condition is satisfied. In this embodiment, the control part 20 is comprised so that the determination based on an additional condition may be performed in step S125, S155, S130, S135 by the process of the guidance condition determination part 21c.

In step S125, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is an additional lane by the process of the guidance condition determination unit 21c (step S125). If it is determined that there is an additional lane, the driving support process ends. . Specifically, the control unit 20 considers that an additional lane exists when the number of lanes increases immediately before the guidance target intersection, and when the additional lane exists, the control unit 20 ends the driving support process. Whether the number of lanes increases immediately before the guidance target intersection can be determined by various methods. For example, the control unit 20 refers to the map information 30a and there is an approach lane for the guidance target intersection. If the number of lanes (entrance lanes) at the end of the guidance target intersection and the lanes (exit lanes) at the opposite end of the guidance target intersection do not match, It is possible to adopt a configuration in which it is determined that the number of lanes is increased immediately before.

In the present embodiment, the lane guidance for the guidance target intersection is provided by voice guidance of the positional relationship between the vehicle and the lane and the positional relationship between the lane and the road. Will obscure the guidance. For example, in FIG. 3B shows an example that is added at the right end against entry lane L ₆₃ is the traveling direction of the guide target intersection I ₄ in the road section R ₆ in which the vehicle C is traveling. In this example, in the vehicle C, as voice guidance indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and the lane and the positional relationship between the lane and the road, for example, “Please drive in the rightmost lane” or the like (in this example, In this case, the positional relationship between the vehicle and the lane is “right”, and the positional relationship between the lane and the road is “end”), and the vehicle C is guided when it travels far from the guidance target intersection I _4. particularly, the right end of the lane becomes unclear whether which of the entrance lane L _62, L _63. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when there is an additional lane, the driving support process is terminated without performing guidance regarding the lane of the guidance target intersection.

In Step S125, when it is not determined that an additional lane exists, the control unit 20 determines whether or not lanes that can travel in the same direction are arranged by the processing of the guidance condition determination unit 21c (Step S130). Specifically, the control unit 20 compares the exit directions that can exit by traveling in each of the plurality of travelable lanes, and when all of the lanes that can exit in the same exit direction are adjacent to each other, It is assumed that lanes that can travel in the same direction are lined up. In step S130, when it is not determined that the lanes that can travel in the same direction are arranged, the control unit 20 guides the recommended lane by the processing of the lane guide unit 21e (step S160). In the present embodiment, since the recommended lane is determined to be one, the control unit 20 acquires, from the recording medium 30, voice data for guiding any one of the approach lanes that can enter the guidance target intersection as the recommended lane. And output to the speaker of the user I / F unit 44. As a result, the speaker of the user I / F unit 44 provides voice guidance indicating the recommended lane.

Here, in order to perform voice guidance when a plurality of travelable lanes can be easily specified by voice, it is determined whether or not travelable lanes in the same direction are lined up. That is, when lanes that can travel in the same direction are lined up, the lanes can be clearly guided even by voice by guiding the lanes lined up together. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3C, when the planned travel route of the vehicle C is the road section R ₇ , the intersection I ₅ , the road section R ₈ and the guidance target intersection is the intersection I ₅ , the travelable lane is the approach lane L _72, which is L _73. In this case, even if voice guidance indicating the lanes that can be traveled is performed as a voice guidance that collectively guides the lanes that are lined up (for example, voice guidance such as “Please drive in the two lanes on the right end of the road”) You can guide the lane.

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 3D, when the planned travel route of the vehicle C is the road section R ₉ , the intersection I ₆ , the road section R ₁₀ and the guidance target intersection is the intersection I ₆ , the travelable lane is the approach lane L ₉₁ , L ₉₂ and L ₉₄ . In this case, since the approach lanes L ₉₁ , L ₉₂ , and L ₉₄ are not lined up, voice guidance that collectively guides the lanes that are lined up cannot be performed as voice guidance that indicates the travelable lanes. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the travelable lanes in the same direction are not lined up, the recommended lane is guided instead of guiding the travelable lane as guidance regarding the lane of the guidance target intersection.

In step S130, when it is determined that the lanes that can travel in the same direction are arranged, the control unit 20 performs the next to the guidance target intersection when traveling along the planned travel route by the processing of the guidance condition determination unit 21c. It is determined whether or not the distance between the front intersection passing through and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance (step S135). Specifically, the control unit 20 refers to the map information 30a by the processing of the guidance condition determination unit 21c, and specifies the forward intersection that passes next to the guidance target intersection when traveling along the planned travel route. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, if the planned travel route is road section R ₁ , intersection I ₁ , road section R ₂ , intersection I ₂ , road section R ₃ , and the guidance target intersection is intersection I ₁ , the guidance target The intersection I ₂ ahead of the intersection I ₁ is specified as the front intersection. Furthermore, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the distance between the front intersection I ₂ and the guidance target intersection I ₁ is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

In step S135, when it is not determined that the distance between the front intersection that passes next to the guidance target intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the control unit 20 performs the arrow paint direction processing by the arrow paint direction determination unit 21d. A direction is acquired (step S140). That is, the control unit 20 refers to the node data of the map information 30a and specifies the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint displayed on the approach lane to the guidance target intersection. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, enters lane L ₁₁ arrow paint showing a straight direction and the left direction on exist, there are arrows paint showing a straight direction on entry lane L _12, enters lane L ₁₃ above Specifies that there is an arrow paint pointing to the right.

Next, the control unit 20 determines whether or not arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane by the processing of the arrow paint direction determination unit 21d (step S145). That is, the control unit 20 uses the straight traveling direction of the road section that travels when entering the guidance target intersection as a reference, and the planned exit direction based on the positional relationship between the reference and the road section that should travel after passing the guidance target intersection. Is identified. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, the road section running when entering the guide target intersection I ₁ should be running after the passage of the guide target intersection I ₁ when traveling along a road section R _1, the planned travel route road segment is a road segment R _2. Therefore, when the straight direction of the road section R ₁ is used as a reference, the road section R ₂ exists in a direction that goes straight with respect to the reference. Therefore, the planned exit direction is a straight direction, and the arrow paint of the approach lane L ₁₁ including the left arrow and the arrow paint of the approach lane L ₁₃ that is the right arrow are arrows indicating directions different from the planned exit direction. Paint. Therefore, in this example, it is determined that an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane.

In Step S145, when it is not determined that the arrow paint indicating the direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane, the control unit 20 guides the travelable lane by the processing of the lane guide unit 21e (Step S150). That is, the control unit 20 can run a plurality of times when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is larger than a predetermined distance and there is no arrow paint on the travelable lane indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction. Guide the lane. Specifically, the control unit 20 acquires voice data for guiding a plurality of travelable lanes from the recording medium 30 by indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and the lane and the positional relationship between the lane and the road. Output to the speaker of the I / F unit 44. As a result, the speaker of the user I / F unit 44 provides voice guidance indicating the travelable lane.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S145 that an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane, the control unit 20 executes step S160 by the processing of the lane guide unit 21e. That is, the control unit 20 travels on the planned travel route when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is greater than a predetermined distance and arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane. Guide the recommended lane to

Even when it is determined in step S135 that the distance between the forward intersection passing next to the guidance target intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the control unit 20 executes step S160. That is, the control unit 20 guides the recommended lane when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is a predetermined distance or less.

Here, the predetermined distance is for the driver to specify the approach lane that should enter the front intersection after passing the guidance target intersection, and to determine whether or not the period for changing the lane is short if necessary. An index, which is predefined. That is, when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is less than a predetermined distance (when both intersections are close), the driver specifies an approach lane that should enter the front intersection after passing through the guidance target intersection. The period for changing lanes accordingly is short. Therefore, in such a situation, it is preferable to make preparations such as predicting an approach lane at the front intersection before reaching the guidance target intersection. However, if the driver feels uneasy due to the fact that the exit direction from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint do not match when traveling in a travelable lane, before reaching the guidance target intersection, It becomes difficult to make preparations such as predicting the approach lane at the front intersection.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the recommended lane is guided when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. In this configuration, the driver does not feel uneasy due to the fact that the exit direction from the guidance target intersection and the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint do not match when traveling in a travelable lane. Accordingly, it is possible to provide guidance without giving the driver anxiety in a situation where there is a high need for advance preparation. In addition, when the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is larger than the predetermined distance, the driver specifies an approach lane to enter the front intersection after passing through the guidance target intersection, and changes the lane as necessary. For a long period. Therefore, a case where a plurality of travelable lanes are guided according to whether or not arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane, not the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection. In this case, the recommended lane is guided and switched. As a result, it is possible to provide guidance without giving the driver anxiety.

In step S155, the control unit 20 determines whether or not an additional lane exists by the processing of the guidance condition determination unit 21c (the same determination as in step S125 is performed). In step S155, the additional lane exists. When it determines with it, the control part 20 complete | finishes a driving assistance process. If it is not determined in step S155 that an additional lane exists, the control unit 20 guides the recommended lane in step S160.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, as long as the lane to be guided is switched depending on whether or not an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction exists on the travelable lane. Various embodiments can also be employed. For example, the navigation terminal 10 may be fixedly mounted on the vehicle, or the portable navigation terminal 10 may be brought into the vehicle and used.

Further, a part or all of the scheduled travel route acquisition unit 21a, the travelable lane determination unit 21b, the guidance condition determination unit 21c, and the arrow paint direction determination unit 21d are executed by another terminal, for example, a management server for map information or the like. May be.

Furthermore, the processing (steps S125, S155, S130, S135) by the guidance condition determination unit 21c may be omitted.

Furthermore, the recommended lane is preferably defined so that a situation in which the exit direction from the guidance target intersection when traveling along the recommended lane does not match the direction of the arrow indicated by the arrow paint does not occur, for example, The recommended lane may be a lane with arrow paint indicating the direction that matches the planned exit direction, or a recommended lane by extracting one lane from the lanes that can pass through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route. It is good. In addition, with respect to a predetermined number of intersections selected in order of closest proximity to the vehicle on the planned travel route, the recommended travel lane is determined based on the approach lane to each intersection and the exit lane from each intersection. It is good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation terminal, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Driving assistance program, 21a ... Planned driving | running | working route acquisition part, 21b ... Travelable lane determination part, 21c ... Guidance condition determination part, 21d ... Arrow paint direction determination part, 21e ... Lane Guide unit, 30 ... recording medium, 30a ... map information, 41 ... receiving unit, 42 ... vehicle speed sensor, 43 ... gyro sensor, 44 ... user I / F unit

Claims

A planned travel route acquisition means for acquiring a planned travel route of the vehicle;
A travelable lane for determining whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guide target intersection that can travel when passing through a planned travel intersection in front of the vehicle along the planned travel route A determination means;
When there are a plurality of travelable lanes, an arrow paint indicating a direction different from a planned exit direction that is a exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route is Arrow paint direction determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is on a travelable lane;
When an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction does not exist on the travelable lane, a plurality of travelable lanes are guided, and an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is on the travelable lane Lane guiding means for guiding a recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route,
A driving support system comprising:
Guidance condition determination means for determining whether or not the distance between the front intersection passing next to the guidance target intersection and the guidance target intersection when traveling along the planned traveling route is equal to or less than a predetermined distance;
The lane guidance means
When the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is greater than a predetermined distance and no arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane, a plurality of travelable lanes are displayed. Guide
When the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is greater than a predetermined distance and an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is present on the travelable lane, the recommended lane is guided,
When the distance between the front intersection and the guidance target intersection is a predetermined distance or less, the recommended lane is guided.
The driving support system according to claim 1.
The travelable lane is
A combination of a road section where an approach lane to the guidance target intersection exists and a road section where an exit lane which travels when leaving the guidance target intersection after traveling the approach lane is the guidance target intersection An approach lane to the guidance target intersection that matches the combination of road sections that travel when traveling along the planned travel route before and after
The arrow paint
A straight arrow and a non-straight arrow displayed immediately before the guidance target intersection on each approach lane to the guidance target intersection, and the straight arrow exits the guidance target intersection in a straight direction. The non-straight arrow indicates the exit direction to the nearest branch,
The driving support system according to claim 1 or 2.
The recommended lane is
A lane that minimizes the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to travel along the planned travel route after the current position of the vehicle;
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The recommended lane is
Among the travelable lanes, there is a lane where there is an arrow paint indicating a direction that matches the planned exit direction,
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A scheduled driving route acquisition step of acquiring a planned driving route of the vehicle;
A travelable lane for determining whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guide target intersection that can travel when passing through a planned travel intersection in front of the vehicle along the planned travel route A determination process;
When there are a plurality of travelable lanes, an arrow paint indicating a direction different from a planned exit direction that is a exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route is An arrow paint direction determination step for determining whether or not the vehicle is on a travelable lane;
When an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction does not exist on the travelable lane, a plurality of travelable lanes are guided, and an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is on the travelable lane A lane guidance process for guiding a recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route,
Driving support method including.
A planned travel route acquisition function for acquiring a planned travel route of the vehicle;
A travelable lane for determining whether or not there are a plurality of travelable lanes that are approach lanes to the guide target intersection that can travel when passing through a planned travel intersection in front of the vehicle along the planned travel route Judgment function,
When there are a plurality of travelable lanes, an arrow paint indicating a direction different from a planned exit direction that is a exit direction from the guidance target intersection when passing through the guidance target intersection along the planned travel route is An arrow paint direction determination function for determining whether or not the vehicle is on a travelable lane;
When an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction does not exist on the travelable lane, a plurality of travelable lanes are guided, and an arrow paint indicating a direction different from the planned exit direction is on the travelable lane A lane guidance function for guiding a recommended lane for traveling along the planned travel route,
Driving support program that realizes the computer.