JP2007147317A - Route guidance system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform appropriate route guidance which does not unnecessarily delay a time of arrival at a destination. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 2 recognizes a lane in which a self vehicle is traveling through the use of the analysis of photographed images by a forward camera 19 and map data and detects the presence or absence of course restrictions on right and left turns, straight forward movements, etc. in intersections ahead along a guidance route on the basis of the map data and reception information of a VICS receiver 10 during the time of execution of guidance operation based on the guidance route from a start location to a destination. The control unit 2 generates alarm signals for a driver of the self vehicle from a speaker 8a in the case that the action of a change in a driving lane intended by the driver of the self vehicle is detected through a turn signal switch 12 during the time of execution of the route guidance, that the changing action is a lane change into an already detected course-restricting lane or a lane into the course-restricting lane, and that the self vehicle will deviate from the guidance route if the self vehicle travels according to course restrictions after the lane change. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular route guidance device having a function of calculating a guidance route from a departure point to a destination based on map data and performing a guidance operation in the vehicle traveling direction based on the guidance route.

When using a vehicular route guidance device that displays a guidance route from a departure point (current position or a position set by a user) to a destination on a map screen, the vehicle can be run along the guidance route. Inability to enter a lane where only a right turn or a left turn is allowed (for example, where the vehicle should go straight ahead, or vice versa) ) May occur. In such a situation, in the conventional vehicle route guidance device, the vehicle is still traveling on the guidance route, so the guidance route is not re-searched. In other words, guidance that leads to traffic violations will be performed, which may cause driver discomfort. Conventionally, in order to cope with such a situation, for example, as seen in Patent Document 1, when it is detected that there is a lane change prohibited area at the next intersection based on data received from a roadside beacon, A new route other than the guide route is searched and stored in the memory in advance, and if the traveling lane of the host vehicle that has reached the intersection is incorrect, the new route corresponding to the traveling lane is retrieved from the memory. Reading and displaying on a map screen is performed.
JP-A-8-110236

  In the means described in Patent Document 1, even if a vehicle accidentally enters an inappropriate lane, a new guidance route corresponding to the vehicle is displayed, so that traveling along the guidance route leads to a traffic violation. Can be prevented. However, with this method, route guidance that deviates from the route that should be originally traveled is performed, so there are many cases of detours, and as a result, the time required to reach the destination is unnecessarily extended. A point comes out.

  In this case, a general vehicle driver is likely to perform a driving operation of moving to an adjacent lane when the running lane is congested, and this is an erroneous lane change as described above. There is a background that causes. Therefore, if a warning operation for the vehicle driver is performed when an erroneous lane change is about to be performed, it is considered possible to prevent the problem from occurring. Contrary to this warning action, for example, if only the lane you are driving is congested, it is recommended to move to an adjacent lane (a lane that is not congested) without changing the guide route If the notification operation is performed, the time required to reach the destination can be shortened, and the lane change can be performed with peace of mind even on roads that are unguided for the vehicle driver. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle route guidance device capable of carrying out appropriate route guidance without the risk of unnecessarily extending the arrival time to the destination. It is in.

  According to the means described in claim 1, during the period when the guidance operation based on the guidance route calculated by the route search means is performed, the control means recognizes the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling as the traveling lane recognition means. When the driving lane change behavior intended by the driver of the host vehicle is detected by the driver intention detection means in the recognition state, the change behavior is detected by the restriction state detection means. If the lane change is made to the route restriction lane or the lane following the route restriction lane, and the vehicle travels according to the route restriction after the lane change, the driver of the own vehicle An alarm signal is generated toward In other words, when a vehicle driver tries to make an erroneous lane change that causes a deviation of the guidance route, an alarm signal is issued to the driver to remind the driver of the lane change. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent an erroneous lane change. As a result, it is possible to carry out appropriate route guidance that does not have the risk that the time required to reach the destination will be unnecessarily extended.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, during the period when the guidance operation based on the guidance route calculated by the route search unit is being performed, the control unit recognizes the travel of the host vehicle recognized by the travel lane recognition unit. Judgment of the traffic condition of the lane and the adjacent lane based on the detection output of the congestion detection means, and when the traveling lane of the host vehicle is congested and the adjacent lane is not congested, the route restriction state of the adjacent lane is determined. Judging from the detection output of the restriction state detection means, when the vehicle does not deviate from the guidance route when the vehicle travels according to the route restriction after changing the lane to the adjacent lane, A notification operation that recommends a lane change to the adjacent lane is performed. In other words, in a situation where only the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is congested, it is recommended to move to an adjacent lane (a lane that is not congested) as long as the guide route is not changed. As a result, it is possible to implement appropriate route guidance that can shorten the time required to reach the destination, and at the same time, it is possible to change lanes safely even on roads that are unguided for the vehicle driver. The effect of becoming will also be obtained.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the detection of the lane with the route restriction can be performed by using the image taken by the in-vehicle camera, the lane with the route restriction is provided in the control means. The control for generating the alarm signal or the control for executing the notification operation can be performed even in a place where infrastructure for providing the information is not established or a place where map data providing the information is insufficient. .

  According to the means of claims 4 and 5, information detected in the past by the restriction state detection means, that is, information about the lane in which the route restriction exists is stored in the storage means. In such a situation, such information cannot be acquired from the regulation state detection means (for example, a communication failure with the infrastructure of the information provider has occurred, a state in which the scenery in front of the host vehicle cannot be clearly captured by the in-vehicle camera. Etc.), the control for generating the alarm signal or the control for executing the notification operation can be reliably performed using the information stored in the storage means.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows an electrical configuration of a car navigation device 1 (corresponding to a vehicle route guidance device) mounted on a vehicle and parts related thereto, by a combination of functional blocks. In FIG. 1, a car navigation device 1 is a control device 2 having a function of controlling the navigation operation (corresponding to a route search means, a traveling lane recognition means, a restriction state detection means, a driver intention detection means, and a control means). In contrast, the position detector 3, the map database 4, the display device 5, the operation switch group 6, the remote control sensor 7, the voice controller 8, the external memory 9, the VICS receiver 10, the audio device 11, the turn signal switch 12, the camera interface 13 etc. are connected.

  The control device 2 is constituted by a microcomputer provided with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O interface, a bus line connecting these, and the like (all not shown). Among these, ROM stores programs for car navigation, etc. RAM stores road map data acquired from map database 4 in addition to processing data at the time of program execution, and road traffic information received by VICS receiver 10. The image data given through the camera interface 13 is temporarily stored.

  The position detector 3 includes, for example, a GPS receiver 14 that receives a signal from a GPS satellite, a gyro sensor 15 that detects a yaw rate, a distance sensor 16 that detects a travel distance of the vehicle, and a pitching direction of the vehicle This is a part that includes a tilt angle sensor 17 for detecting the tilt angle of the vehicle and calculates the current position information of the vehicle.

  The map database 4 is configured using a large-capacity information recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or HDD (which can also be realized by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory), and is used for displaying a map. Map drawing data, road data necessary for various processes such as map matching, route search, route guidance (including regulation information related to lanes with route restrictions such as turning right and left or straight ahead), and details of intersections In addition to intersection data consisting of data, background data for the background layer, place name data for displaying place names, etc., a facility name database in which the facility names are arranged in, for example, the order of the Japanese syllabary, a telephone number indicating the correspondence between the telephone number and the facility Various map data such as databases are stored.

  The display device 5 includes, for example, a color liquid crystal display for displaying a map screen and the like, and is installed in the vicinity of the driver's seat of the vehicle. On the screen of the display device 5, a road map whose scale can be changed in a plurality of stages in normal times is displayed, and a pointer indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed so as to be superimposed on the display. It has become. In addition, when the route guidance function based on the route calculation result from the departure point to the destination performed using the well-known Dijkstra method is executed, a guidance route (guidance route) to be traveled while being superimposed on the road map is displayed. It has become so. In addition, various menu screens and input screens for searching and inputting a destination by a user (generally a vehicle driver), various message information, help screens, and the like are also displayed. Yes.

  The operation switch group 6 includes mechanical switches arranged around the display device 5 and touch panel switches formed on the display of the display device 5. Various functions (related to the car navigation device 1 ( For example, various operation commands for instructing execution of map scale change, menu display selection, destination setting, route search, route guidance start, current position correction, display screen change, volume adjustment, and the like are generated to the control device 2. It is a configuration to give.

  The remote control sensor 7 is provided to give the control device 2 a remote control signal from the remote control 7a, that is, a signal including various operation commands for instructing execution of various functions related to the car navigation device 1 described above. .

  The voice controller 8 includes a voice synthesis circuit, an amplifier, and the like. The voice controller 8 controls the voice recognition device 18 and controls talkback output (voice output) through a speaker 8a to a driver who receives voice input. ) Also, the voice information from the control device 2 (message for route guidance, guidance related to screen operation, etc.) is output from the speaker 8a, and a process of giving the voice recognition result by the voice recognition device 18 to the control device 2 is executed. .

  The voice recognition device 18 includes a voice extraction unit for converting voice input from the microphone 18a into digital data, a voice recognition unit including a comparison pattern candidate dictionary for voice recognition, and the like. The result of recognizing the voice is given to the control device 2 via the voice controller 8. Further, the voice recognition device 18 is configured to identify voice commands corresponding to various operation commands by the operation switch group 6, and the execution of the various functions related to the car navigation device 1 is performed by the voice commands. It can be instructed.

  The external memory 9 is composed of a rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or an HDD, and stores specific data that must not be erased even when the power is turned off, or stores frequently used data in a map database. It is provided for uses such as copying from and using. The external memory 9 may be constituted by a removable medium.

  The VICS receiver 10 includes a VICS sensor unit and an FM multiplex broadcast receiver (both not shown). For example, road traffic information or FM by optical / radio wave beacons received by the VICS sensor unit from the VICS station. The road traffic information from the FM multiplex broadcast received by the multiplex broadcast receiver is provided to the control device 2.

  The audio device 11 is configured to include a sound source unit, a tuner, an amplifier, a multi-channel speaker, and the like, and an operation for reproducing and outputting an audio signal from the sound source unit or the tuner from the multi-channel speaker is used as a command from the control device 2. Run accordingly. The sound source unit is provided with a multi-connected CD changer, HDD, MD, etc. In particular, when the map database 4 is constituted by an HDD, or the external memory 9 is constituted by an HDD. In this case, the HDD can be used as a sound source unit. The speaker 8a can also be configured using one channel of a multi-channel speaker of an audio device.

  The turn signal switch 12 has a well-known configuration that causes the blinker lamp to blink when a right turn preparation operation, a left turn preparation operation, or a lane change operation of the vehicle is performed, and a right turn preparation operation or a right lane change operation. A right turn signal is given to the control device 2 when an operation is performed, and a left turn signal is given to the control device 2 when a left turn preparation operation or a left lane change operation is performed.

  The camera interface 13 is for exchanging signals between the control device 2 and a front camera 19 (corresponding to an in-vehicle camera) installed so as to be able to photograph the front of the host vehicle. A signal for instructing the start and stop of the photographing operation is given to 19, and image data (front image of the own vehicle) taken by the camera 19 is given from the front camera 19 to the control device 2.

  The control device 2 uses a well-known map display function and map data acquired from the map database 4 based on an operation command input through the operation switch group 6 or the remote control sensor 7 or a voice command input from the voice recognition device 18. A route search function that calculates a guide route from the departure point to the destination, a route guide function that performs a guide operation in the vehicle traveling direction based on the calculated guide route, a telephone number search function, a postal code search function, a map code Performs processing related to various support functions such as a search function using a unique code such as (registered trademark), 50 sound search function, genre search function, nearest facility search function, destination registration function, point registration function, etc. However, the lane change management function is set as a function directly related to the gist of the present invention.

Accordingly, the lane change management function will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 schematically shows the control contents including the process for realizing the lane change management function among the control contents by the control device 2. In FIG. 2, it is first determined whether or not a route guidance flag (indicating a state in which route guidance is instructed by an operation command or a voice command) is set (step S1). After executing the normal processing routine S2 related to the car navigation function, the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, if the route guidance flag is set, the guidance route display routine S3 for displaying the guidance route calculated by the route search function on the map screen being displayed on the display device 5, the host vehicle Step S4 for recognizing the traveling lane is sequentially executed. Such lane recognition can be performed using, for example, analysis data of the front image of the host vehicle taken by the front camera 19 and map data (particularly, data indicating the number of lanes) acquired from the map database 4. .

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a route restriction such as a right / left turn or straight ahead in the lane before the front intersection along the guide route (step S5). The detection of the lane with the route restriction is performed based on map data acquired from the map database 4, road information acquired through the VICS receiver 10, and the like. In addition, when a lane with a route restriction cannot be detected from the map data or road information, the lane is detected based on the analysis of the front image taken by the front camera 19.

  If there is a route restriction in the lane before the front intersection along the guide route, it is determined whether or not there is a driving lane change action intended by the driver of the host vehicle (step S6). Such a driving lane change action is determined based on whether a right turn signal or a left turn signal is input from the turn signal switch 12.

  Note that it is also possible to determine whether or not there is a travel lane change action as described above by other means, for example, a means using each detection output of the sight line direction and steering operation state of the vehicle driver. Specifically, a line-of-sight detection system that detects the direction of the line of sight of the vehicle driver (for example, light projecting means for projecting infrared light toward the face of the vehicle driver, red reflection on the face of the vehicle driver) Imaging means for converting external light into a video signal, image processing means for extracting an image of the face of the vehicle driver by performing binarization processing, feature point extraction processing, and the like based on the video signal, extracted image And an operation state detection means for detecting an operation angle and an operation direction of the steering wheel, and the driver's line of sight is adjacent to the lane or the adjacent lane. When the direction toward the outer mirror (door mirror) on the lane side continues for a preset time or longer and it is detected that the steering wheel has been operated in the adjacent lane direction by a predetermined angle or more, It is determined that there is a lane change behavior can be configured such.

  When it is determined in step S6 that there is a travel lane change action, it is determined whether or not the vehicle deviates from the guide route due to the route restriction at the front intersection when traveling in the lane to be changed (step S7). That is, when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled as it is in the lane to be changed by the driving lane change action, when it is assumed that the vehicle will deviate from the guidance route due to driving in accordance with the route restriction at the front intersection, “YES” is determined in step S7. Will be judged.

  As described above, when “YES” is determined in the step S7, an alarm signal is generated from the voice controller 8 through the speaker 8a (step S8), and thereafter, the process returns to the step S1. If "NO" is determined in the step S7, the alarm signal generating step S8 is jumped and the process returns to the step S1. The alarm signal at this time may be an alarm sound that alerts the driver of the vehicle, but is a message (synthesized sound generated by a voice synthesis circuit in the voice controller 8) with a content of stopping the driving lane change action. May be.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S6 that there is no travel lane change action, it is determined whether or not the travel lane of the host vehicle (particularly in front of the host vehicle) is congested (step S9). Such determination of the traffic jam state can be performed in real time by analyzing a front image of the host vehicle taken by the front camera 19, for example. It should be noted that other means, for example, a judgment means based on a search result of the in-vehicle radar, a data provision means from the roadside infrastructure, or the like may be used for judging the presence or absence of a traffic jam.

When it is determined that the traveling lane of the host vehicle is not congested (step S9: NO), the process returns to step S1 as it is, but when it is determined that the traffic lane is congested, the lane adjacent to the traveling lane is congested. Whether or not there is is determined by the same means as described above (step S10).
When the adjacent lane is congested, the process returns to step S1 as it is, but when the adjacent lane is not congested (step S10: NO), the host vehicle is controlled by the route restriction at the front intersection when traveling in the adjacent lane. Is determined to depart from the guidance route (step S11). That is, when it is assumed that the vehicle travels as it is in the adjacent lane that is determined not to be congested, "YES" is determined in step S11 when it is assumed that the vehicle deviates from the guidance route due to driving in accordance with the route restriction at the front intersection. Will be judged.

  As described above, when “YES” is determined in step S11, the process returns to step S1 as it is. However, when “NO” is determined, that is, it is not hindered to travel in the adjacent lane determined that there is no traffic jam. When it is considered that there is no traffic, a lane change recommendation message is generated from the voice controller 8 through the speaker 8a (step S12), and then the process returns to step S1. The lane change recommendation message is generated by a voice synthesis circuit in the voice controller 8.

If “NO” is determined in step S5, that is, if there is no route restriction at the front intersection along the guide route, whether or not the traveling lane of the own vehicle (in particular, the front of the own vehicle) is congested. Is determined by the same means as described above (step S13). In this case, when it is determined that the travel lane of the host vehicle is not congested (step S13: NO), the process returns to step S1 as it is, but when it is determined that the traffic lane is congested, the next lane of the travel lane is It is determined by the same means as described above whether or not there is a traffic jam (step S14).
When the adjacent lane is congested, the process returns to step S1 as it is, but when it is not congested (step S14: NO), the lane change recommendation message generation step S12 is executed and then the process returns to step S1. .

  Although not shown in FIG. 2, when an operation command or a voice command is input through the operation switch group 6, the remote controller 7a, and the microphone 18a, the control device 2 performs an interrupt process corresponding to the command. It is configured to execute.

In short, as a result of the control shown in FIG. 2, the following actions and effects can be obtained.
That is, the control device 2 recognizes the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling during the execution period of the guidance operation based on the guidance route, for example, using analysis data and map data of the front image taken by the front camera 19. At the same time, it is determined (detected) whether or not there is a route restriction such as a right or left turn or straight ahead at the front intersection along the guide route. Further, the control device 2 determines (detects) the presence / absence of the driving lane change behavior intended by the driver of the host vehicle based on, for example, a signal from the turn signal switch 12 in the lane recognition state. When there is such a travel lane change behavior, the control device 2 is the lane change to the route restriction lane (or the lane following the route restriction lane) determined as described above, and the change behavior When it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled in accordance with the route regulation after changing the lane, if the vehicle deviates from the guidance route, an alarm signal for the driver of the host vehicle is generated from the speaker 8a.

  The generation timing of such an alarm signal is described below with reference to the drawings. That is, as schematically shown in FIG. 3, for example, on a road with four lanes a, b, c, and d, in front of the intersection to be left-turned on the guide route (indicated as a left-turn intersection in FIG. 3). A state is assumed in which there is a route restriction and a lane change prohibition restriction section relating to each lane a, b, c, d. In this case, when the driver of the host vehicle A traveling in the lane d in which only a left turn is permitted at the intersection changes to the adjacent lane c in response to the situation where a large number of vehicles B are lined up ahead, If the vehicle travels on the lane c as it is, there is a route regulation (only straight travel is permitted), and as a result of driving in compliance with the traffic rules, the vehicle will deviate from the guide route. In this case, in this embodiment, when the driver of the own vehicle A traveling in the lane d takes a driving lane change action to the adjacent lane c (let's carry out an erroneous lane change that causes a deviation of the guide route) ), An alarm signal is issued to the driver so as to discourage lane changes, so that erroneous lane changes can be prevented in advance. As a result, it is possible to implement appropriate route guidance that does not have the risk that the time required to reach the destination that is being route-guided will be unnecessarily prolonged.

  In addition, during the execution period of the guidance operation based on the guidance route, the control device 2 determines in real time the traffic lane of the host vehicle and the traffic congestion status of the adjacent lane based on, for example, a front image taken by the front camera 19 ( Detection), and when the traveling lane of the host vehicle is congested and the adjacent lane is not congested, a notification operation for generating a message recommending a lane change to the adjacent lane from the speaker 8a is performed along the guidance route. It will be implemented in consideration of the route restrictions at the front intersection.

  Specifically, when there is no route restriction at the front intersection along the guide route, it is directed to the driver of the own vehicle on the assumption that the traveling lane of the own vehicle is congested and the adjacent lane is not congested. A notification operation of a lane change recommendation message that recommends a lane change to the adjacent lane is performed. On the other hand, when there is a route restriction at the front intersection along the guide route, the host vehicle is only used when the vehicle does not deviate from the guide route when the vehicle is driven according to the route restriction after changing the lane to the adjacent lane. A notification of a lane change recommendation message for recommending a lane change to the adjacent lane is performed toward the driver.

  The generation timing of a lane change recommendation message that takes such route restrictions into account is described with reference to the drawings as follows. That is, as schematically shown in FIG. 4, for example, on a road having four lanes a, b, c, and d, in front of an intersection (indicated as a straight intersection in FIG. 4) on the guide route. A state is assumed in which there is a route restriction and a lane change prohibition restriction section relating to each lane a, b, c, d. In this case, in a situation where the lane c in which the host vehicle A is traveling is congested by another vehicle B and the adjacent lane b is not congested, the host vehicle travels according to the route regulation after the lane change to the adjacent lane b. If it does not deviate from the guide route when it is made, a notification operation of a lane change recommendation message to the adjacent lane b is performed toward the driver of the host vehicle A. In short, when the lane c in which the host vehicle A is traveling is congested, it is recommended to move to the adjacent non-congested lane b within a range where the guide route is not changed. As a result, it is possible to implement appropriate route guidance that can shorten the time required to reach the destination being route guidance, and at the same time, lane changes can be made safely even on roads that are unguided for vehicle drivers. The effect that it can be performed will also be acquired.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the detection of a lane with a route restriction can be performed also by analysis of a photographed image by the front camera 19, and therefore, in the control device 2, such a route restriction is performed. Control generation of the warning signal and the lane change recommendation message even in places where infrastructure (VICS, etc.) providing information related to a certain lane is not established or where map data providing the information is insufficient Can be executed reliably.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the following modifications or expansions are possible.
With respect to the control device 2, all of the detection results of the lane with the route restriction before the intersection, or only the detection results by the analysis of the captured image by the front camera 19, are stored in the external memory 9 (in the inventions of claims 4 and 5 A function of using the stored contents of the external memory 9 for controlling the output of the warning signal and controlling the notification operation of the lane change recommendation message may be added. According to such a configuration, the past detection result for the lane where the route restriction exists, that is, the information about the lane where the route restriction exists is stored in the external memory 9. In such a state that such information cannot be obtained by the means as in the above-described embodiment (for example, a communication failure with the information source infrastructure has occurred, the front camera 19 clearly captures the scenery in front of the host vehicle. Even in a case where it is not possible to use the information stored in the external memory 9, the generation control of the warning signal and the lane change recommendation message can be reliably performed.
An alarm signal (alarm sound) that informs the control device 2 that when the driver of the own vehicle takes a driving lane change action in the lane change prohibition restriction section before the intersection, the lane change becomes a traffic violation. Alternatively, a function for generating a warning message) may be added.

Functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention Flow chart showing control contents by control device Schematic diagram for explaining the action (part 1) Schematic diagram for explanation of action (Part 2)

Explanation of symbols

  1 is a car navigation device (vehicle route guidance device), 2 is a control device (route search means, travel lane recognition means, restriction state detection means, driver intention detection means, control means), 3 is a position detector, 4 is Map database, 5 is a display device, 9 is an external memory, 12 is a turn signal switch, and 19 is a front camera (vehicle camera).

Claims (5)

A route guidance device for a vehicle, comprising route search means for calculating a guide route from a departure point to a destination using map data, and performing a guidance operation in the vehicle traveling direction based on the guide route calculated by the route search means In
Traveling lane recognition means for recognizing the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling;
Restricted state detecting means for detecting a lane having a route restriction among lanes before the intersection existing in the guide route;
Driver intention detection means for detecting a driving lane change behavior intended by the driver of the host vehicle;
While the guidance operation is being performed, the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is recognized based on the output of the traveling lane recognition unit, and the driving lane change action is performed by the driver intention detection unit in the recognized state. If detected, the change behavior is a lane change to a route lane detected by the restriction state detecting means or a lane following the route lane, and the vehicle is allowed to travel according to the route lane change after the lane change. Control means for generating an alarm signal toward the driver of the host vehicle when deviating from the guide route when
A vehicle route guidance apparatus comprising: A route guidance device for a vehicle, comprising route search means for calculating a guide route from a departure point to a destination using map data, and performing a guidance operation in the vehicle traveling direction based on the guide route calculated by the route search means In
Traveling lane recognition means for recognizing the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling;
Restricted state detecting means for detecting a lane having a route restriction among lanes before the intersection existing in the guide route;
A traffic jam detection means for detecting in real time a vehicle traffic jam situation in a plurality of lanes existing at the destination of the vehicle,
Based on the detection output of the traffic jam detection means, the travel lane of the host vehicle recognized by the travel lane recognition means and the traffic congestion status of its adjacent lane are determined based on the detection output of the traffic jam detection means during the period in which the guidance operation is performed. When the lane is congested and the adjacent lane is not congested, the route restriction state of the adjacent lane is determined based on the detection output of the restriction state detection means, and the vehicle is in accordance with the route restriction after changing the lane to the adjacent lane. Control means for performing a notification operation for recommending a lane change to the adjacent lane toward the driver of the host vehicle when the vehicle does not deviate from the guide route when traveling
A vehicle route guidance apparatus comprising:   The said restriction | limiting state detection means is comprised so that execution of the detection of the lane with the said route restriction | limiting can be performed based on the analysis of the front image of the own vehicle image | photographed with the vehicle-mounted camera. Route guidance device for vehicles.   4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes storage means for storing a detection result by the restriction state detection means, and uses the stored contents of the storage means for output control of the alarm signal. Route guidance device. 4. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control unit includes a storage unit that stores a detection result of the restriction state detection unit, and uses the stored contents of the storage unit for execution control of the notification operation. Route guidance device.

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