JP2004171459A - Vehicle travel support device and vehicle travel support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support a vehicle travel so as not to disturb the travel by a driver's concern for the change of a traffic signal. <P>SOLUTION: A DSRC transmitter 5 for transmitting traffic signal information is provided on the traffic signal. An on-vehicle machine 3 is loaded on the vehicle, and the traffic signal information is received by a DSRC receiver 10. The lighting state and change timing of the traffic signal are determined from the received information and displayed on a display device 4. The driver can drive the vehicle after the time up to the change in lighting state of the traffic signal is confirmed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle driving support device and a driving support system that are useful when driving a vehicle on a public road according to a traffic light.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When driving a vehicle on a public road, the driver naturally drives according to the traffic light.However, if the waiting time is long, or if the coordination with the continuous traffic light along the traveling route is poor, , The progress may be significantly delayed. As a result, the driver may be frustrated by waiting, which may lead to dangerous driving in search of a way out, or frequent lane change or route change to rush ahead. It tends to drive.
[0003]
Also, as for the lighting state of the signal lamp, for example, knowing the time when the light changed to "green light" can roughly predict the remaining time, so it can be predicted whether or not it is possible to pass through, but the lighting state of "green light" If it is recognized by the driver, the driver does not know when to change to the "red light", and because of the psychological tendency of the driver to want to pass before that, the driver may accelerate before the intersection. However, in some cases, the vehicle may change to a red light despite being accelerated, forcing a sudden stop.
[0004]
Conventionally, in order to prevent such driver's driving from causing danger, for example, it is necessary to obtain a signal position and its operation information from the own vehicle position and speed, and drive without stopping the own vehicle at a signal. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1), or display the color of a vehicle passing a traffic light when traveling at a current speed on a car navigation device to support traveling. There is a technique (for example, see Patent Document 2).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-329384
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-118194 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional technology as described above, since the driver does not know when there is a change in the signal, the uneasy element in the psychological aspect of the driver is not eliminated, and the driving speed is unnecessarily changed or the route is changed. There is a tendency that irregular driving such as making a change is likely to occur, which is not preferable in terms of safe driving.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that enables a driver to pass an intersection where a traffic light is installed in a state of psychological relief. It is in.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the receiving means receives the traffic light information regarding the lighting state and the lighting time of the traffic light, the control means responds to the received traffic light information according to the installation position of the traffic light based on the received traffic light information. Since the information about the lighting state and the lighting time is notified by the notification means, the driver who drives according to the signal can travel after knowing the information about the lighting state and the lighting time as the information of the traffic signal. As a result, it becomes possible to psychologically calmly drive the vehicle while recognizing the change in the lighting state of the signal displayed during traveling. As a result, it is possible to expect an effect of suppressing a psychological sway in trying to perform useless acceleration driving or detour driving.
[0010]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the above invention, the arithmetic means provided in the control means calculates and notifies the time until the lighting state of the target traffic signal changes based on the traffic signal information received by the receiving means. It is possible to drive after recognizing the time until the lighting state of the facing traffic light changes while driving, and useless acceleration driving and forcible lane change etc. It is possible to enhance the effect of psychologically suppressing reckless driving such as going and fighting ahead.
[0011]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, the traveling position information of the own vehicle is acquired by the position information acquiring means, and the signal information received by the control means is information corresponding to the vicinity of the traveling position of the own vehicle. , It is possible to accurately notify the information of the traffic light required for traveling of the own vehicle, so that the information of the traffic light can be transmitted to the driver without waste.
[0012]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the display device is provided as a notifying unit, and the traffic light information is displayed in association with the position of the corresponding traffic light. It is possible to visually and promptly and reliably recognize which traffic light is in relation to the position of the own vehicle, and it is possible to provide the traffic light information without hindering traveling.
[0013]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means causes the display of the traffic light information to be displayed on the display device for a traffic light near the current position obtained by the position information obtaining means. Therefore, by displaying only the traffic lights in the vicinity that are likely to travel from the current position, it is possible to easily grasp the necessary information visually and quickly and reliably.
[0014]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the control means can change the display range of the traffic light to be displayed on the display device. A required display range can be set and displayed according to a request or the like.
[0015]
According to the invention of claim 7, in the invention of claims 4 to 6, there is provided a route guidance device for displaying the guidance of the traveling route of the vehicle on the display device, and is displayed on the display device by the control means. Since the traffic light information is displayed for the traffic light along the traveling route of the vehicle, it is possible to see only the traffic light information along the guidance of the route guidance device, thereby causing confusion as to which traffic light information to look at. Necessary information can be reliably and promptly recognized without any need.
[0016]
According to the invention of claim 8, in each of the above inventions, the receiving means is configured to receive a breaker information signal relating to the open / close state and open / close time of the breaker at the railroad crossing. Since the notification is made, not only the traffic light but also the railway breaker can be operated after recognizing the open / close information.
[0017]
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, as the vehicle traveling support system, the traffic light information from the traffic light information transmitting means can be received by the on-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle and notified to the driver, so that the useless acceleration is achieved. It is possible to expect an effect of suppressing a psychological sway of driving or detour driving.
[0018]
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, the signal information transmitting means includes a signal position ID, a lighting time interval for each lighting color, a currently lighting color, an elapsed time, as signal information. Since the information including the information such as the direction and the type of the signal is transmitted, the signal information can be received by the on-vehicle device to accurately recognize the state and characteristics of the signal.
[0019]
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the ninth and tenth aspects, the signal information transmitting means is configured to transmit the signal information on the adjacent signal in addition to the target signal. By receiving the information about the other traffic lights located at the same time, it becomes possible to obtain the information of the traveling destination earlier and recognize the state of the traffic lights.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a system having a configuration in which a car navigation device is used together will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of this system, and shows a relative positional relationship when the vehicle 1 and the traffic signal 2 are located. The vehicle 1 is equipped with a vehicle-mounted device 3 and a display device 4 of a car navigation device. The traffic signal 2 is provided with a DSRC transmitter 5 as signal information transmission means. The three indicator lights 2a to 2c of the traffic light 2 are "red", "yellow", and "blue" from the right.
[0021]
The in-vehicle device 3 is configured to perform communication with the DSRC transmitter 5 by the DSRC method. FIG. 1 shows an electrical block configuration of the present system. The in-vehicle device 3 also has a function as a car navigation device, and the control device 6 as a control means is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and includes a ROM, a RAM, and various interface circuits. The storage device 7, the display device 4, the speaker 8, the GPS receiver 9, and the DSRC receiver 10 are connected to the control device 6.
[0022]
The storage device 7 stores map information and other data necessary for route guidance, and also stores data for displaying signal information on a map. The above-described display device 4 and speaker 8 also function as a notifying unit, and display a map or route for route guidance or provide route guidance by voice. The GPS receiver 9 functions as a position information acquisition unit, receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, and outputs the GPS signal to the control device 6. The DSRC receiver 10 receives signal information transmitted from the DSRC transmitter 5 of the signal 2 and inputs the signal information to the control device 6.
[0023]
The DSRC transmitter 5 provided on the side of the traffic signal 2 transmits the traffic signal information by the DSRC system when the traffic signal information is given from the traffic signal management server 11. Here, as the data to be transmitted as the traffic light information, for example, the position ID of the traffic light 2, the lighting time interval (red, yellow, blue, arrow), the current state (color, elapsed time), direction, signal type (right turn arrow) Etc.). Further, by exchanging information about not only the traffic light 2 in which the DSRC transmitter 5 is disposed but also the vicinity and the related traffic light 2, information about other traffic lights 2 can be obtained. I can do it.
[0024]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for the signal information reception which the control device 6 always performs in the vehicle-mounted device 3. The control device 6 first determines whether or not the traffic light 2 exists (step S1). This is a case where it is determined that the position of the own vehicle is near the traffic light 2 by receiving a signal from the DSRC transmitter 5 or performing a car navigation function.
[0025]
If “YES” here, the control device 6 determines whether or not the DSRC receiver 10 of the on-vehicle device 3 is performing connection processing to receive the signal information transmitted from the DSRC transmitter 5 on the signal device 2 side. Is determined (step S2). If "YES" here, the controller 6 receives the traffic signal information from the DSRC receiver 10 (step S3) and analyzes the received traffic signal information (step S4).
[0026]
Here, the control device 6 calculates the change timing of the traffic light 2 based on the data included in the traffic light information (step S5). This is calculated from data indicating the current state of the traffic signal information, data indicating the change timing, and the like. In addition, not only the traffic light 2 of the DSRC transmitter 5 that is currently receiving the traffic light information, but also the information of the other traffic light 2 is obtained from the traffic light information existing in other neighborhoods, and the change timing of these traffic light 2 is also obtained. Can be calculated.
[0027]
Next, the control device 6 causes the display device 4 to display the data of the change timing of the traffic light 2 thus obtained, the color of the current lighting state, and the like. This display state is shown in FIG. 5, for example. The display state shown in the figure is the time from the current position P of the vehicle (the center of the lower part of the screen) to the traffic light 2 at the second intersection where there is a possibility of encountering in the traveling direction to the lighting state and the change timing in seconds. it's shown.
[0028]
Here, for example, the traffic signal 2a that is currently facing is lit in "blue", indicating that the time until the lighting state changes is "12" seconds. The traffic lights 2b1, 2b2, and 2b3 encountered when turning left, going straight, and turning right from this intersection one section are “yellow” for “2” seconds, “blue” for “15” seconds, and “red” for “20”. Seconds. In addition, the traffic lights 2c1 to 2c7 at the intersections ahead of one block from which the traffic lights 2b1, 2b2, and 2b3 are expected to travel from the intersections are similarly displayed with the lighting state and the time until the change timing.
[0029]
In performing the above-described display operation, when the route guidance is performed using the navigation function, the control device 6 can change the content to be displayed by performing the flowchart illustrated in FIG. That is, first, the control device 6 determines whether or not route guidance is being performed (step P1), and if "NO", performs the display of FIG. 5 in the same manner as described above (step P4).
[0030]
If “YES” in the step P1, the control device 6 determines whether or not the setting to display the traffic signal information only on the route being guided is made (step P2). If the setting state is "NO", the display of FIG. 5 is performed (step P4). If “YES” in the step P2, the control device 6 displays the traffic signal information only on the guide route as shown in FIG. 6 (step P3).
[0031]
In FIG. 6, for example, when a route R under guidance is set as shown in the drawing with respect to the own vehicle position P, along the route, the lighting state of the traffic lights 2 a, 2 b 2, and 2 c 5 and the change timing. Time (seconds). As a result, only the necessary information is accurately displayed for the user traveling along the route, so that the traffic signal information can be quickly and reliably grasped.
[0032]
Next, when the traffic signal information is displayed as described above, as shown in FIG. 7, when the railway RW is present, information on the open / close state of the circuit breaker signal 12 provided at the railroad crossing CR is also displayed. An example is shown. For example, such a display can be performed by providing a DSRC transmitter that transmits information indicating the open / closed state of the circuit breaker and receiving the DSRC transmitter 10 with the DSRC receiver 10 of the vehicle-mounted device 3. FIG. 7 shows that the state of the circuit breaker signal 12 is “red”, that is, it is closed, and the time until it is opened is “30” seconds.
[0033]
According to the present embodiment, the information transmitted by the DSRC transmitter 5 provided in the traffic light 2 is received by the DSRC receiver 10 provided in the on-vehicle device 3, and the traffic light related to the lighting state and the lighting time of the traffic light 2 is received. The information is obtained, and based on the information, the control device 6 displays the received traffic light information on the display device 4 in accordance with the installation position of the corresponding traffic light on the display device 4. The driver can perform driving after recognizing the lighting state and the time until the change timing as the information of the traffic signal 2, so that the driver can drive the vehicle calmly and mentally. Become. As a result, it is possible to expect an effect of suppressing a psychological sway in trying to perform useless acceleration driving or detour driving.
[0034]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be modified as follows.
The position information obtaining means may directly obtain the position information of the own vehicle by receiving a beacon or other information, or may use various means for specifying the own vehicle position by a map matching method provided in the car navigation device. The present invention can also be applied to a device that acquires position information by using these in combination.
The receiving means is not limited to DSRC, and various communication methods can be applied.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an electric block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for displaying traffic light information. FIG. Flowchart for displaying traffic light information FIG. 5 shows a display example of traffic light information (part 1)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of signal information (part 2).
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of signal information (part 3).
[Explanation of symbols]
2 is a traffic light, 3 is a vehicle-mounted device, 4 is a display device (notification means), 5 is a DSRC transmitter (signal information transmission means), 6 is a control device (control means), 7 is a storage device, and 8 is a speaker (notification means). ) And 9 are GPS receivers (position information acquisition means), 10 is a DSRC receiver, 11 is a traffic signal management server, and 12 is a circuit breaker signal.

Claims (12)

Receiving means for receiving the traffic light information on the lighting state and lighting time of the traffic light,
Notification means for notifying information,
A vehicle driving support device, comprising: a control unit that causes the notifying unit to notify the information on the lighting state and the lighting time of the received traffic light information in accordance with the installation position of the corresponding traffic light. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the control unit includes a calculating unit that calculates and notifies a time until the lighting state of the target traffic signal changes based on the traffic signal information received by the receiving unit. . The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1 or 2,
A position information acquisition unit that acquires travel position information of the own vehicle,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the control means is configured to notify the information corresponding to the vicinity of the traveling position of the own vehicle acquired by the position information acquiring means, with respect to the received traffic light information. . The vehicle driving support device according to claim 3,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the notifying unit is provided as a display device, and is configured to display the traffic signal information in association with the position of the corresponding traffic signal. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 4,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the control means displays the traffic light information on the display device for a traffic light near the current position acquired by the position information acquiring means. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 5,
The control device is configured to be capable of changing a display range of a traffic light to be displayed on the display device. The vehicle driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
A route guidance device that performs guidance of the traveling route of the vehicle by displaying the guidance on the display device,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the control unit displays the traffic light information on a traffic light that is displayed on the display device and is along a travel route of the vehicle. The vehicle driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The receiving means is configured to receive a circuit breaker information signal related to the open / close state and open / close time of the circuit breaker at the railroad crossing,
The vehicle driving support device, wherein the control unit is configured to also notify the circuit breaker information by the notifying unit. Traffic light information transmitting means for transmitting traffic light information on the lighting state and lighting time of the traffic light installed on the road,
Receiving means mounted on the vehicle for receiving the traffic light information transmitted from the traffic light information transmitting means, and information on the lighting state and lighting time corresponding to the installation position of the traffic light by using the notifying means arranged in the vehicle A vehicle driving support system comprising an on-vehicle device provided with control means for notifying the user. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9,
The signal information transmitting means includes information such as a signal position ID, a lighting time interval in each lighting color, a currently lighting color, an elapsed time, a direction, and a signal type as information on the signal. Vehicle driving support system. The vehicle traveling system according to claim 9, wherein
The vehicle driving support system, wherein the signal information transmitting unit transmits the signal information on an adjacent signal in addition to the target signal. The vehicle driving support system according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
A vehicle driving support system, wherein communication between the signal information transmitting unit and the on-vehicle device is performed by a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) method.

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