JP2007148901A - Traffic congestion information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic congestion information display device capable of displaying traffic congestion information in real time with a simple communication configuration. <P>SOLUTION: This traffic congestion information display device has: a vehicle state detection means detecting a state of one's own vehicle; a traffic information reception means receiving traffic congestion information from another vehicle; a traffic congestion position decision means deciding whether a traffic jam position included in the acquired traffic congestion information is ahead of the own vehicle or not; a traffic congestion information production means producing new traffic congestion information including information about the own vehicle including the detected state of the own vehicle and forward vehicle information included in the acquired traffic congestion information when it is decided that the traffic congestion position is ahead of the own vehicle; a traffic congestion information transmission means transmitting the produced new traffic congestion information; and a traffic congestion information display means displaying the produced new traffic congestion information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic jam information display device that is mounted on a vehicle and displays traffic jam information.

  As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on a display device together with a road map, and an appropriate route from the starting point to the destination The vehicle-mounted navigation device that guides the user with a display device or a voice output device contributes to efficient and safe driving for the user.

  In-vehicle navigation devices receive traffic jams from FM multiplex broadcasts that are transmitted according to the frequency of FM radio, radio wave beacons or optical beacons installed on the road, and change the color according to the traffic situation or use schematic diagrams Can also be displayed on the screen.

  However, the traffic jam display method described above is configured to determine traffic jam based on information from a sensor that detects the traffic volume installed on the road, so it is not possible to obtain traffic jam information on a road where no sensor is installed. Can not. In addition, the traffic information received by the vehicle is delayed by a few minutes from the time of the occurrence of the traffic jam, and even if it is displayed as traffic jam, the traffic jam is resolved when it reaches the point where the traffic jam occurs, The reverse is also true.

  In view of this, an inter-vehicle communication device has been devised that can efficiently obtain traffic jam information according to the traveling state of the vehicle (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-038202

  In the example of Patent Document 1, an inquiry signal is sent to vehicles traveling in the front and rear directions, and it is determined whether there is a traffic jam from speed, position, and brake information included in a response signal to the inquiry signal. Further, the frequency of sending the inquiry signal according to the vehicle speed or the like is variable. In this configuration, there is a problem in that the entire communication process becomes complicated because it is necessary to respond to an inquiry signal from another vehicle while adjusting the transmission timing of the inquiry signal. In addition, since it is determined whether there is a traffic jam based on data received from another vehicle, there is also a problem that the traffic jam cannot be determined if there is no response signal from the other vehicle.

  With the above problem as a background, an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information display device capable of displaying traffic information in real time with a simple communication configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The present invention provides a traffic jam information display device for solving the above problems. That is, according to the first aspect, the vehicle state detecting means for detecting the state of the own vehicle, the traffic information receiving means for receiving the traffic information from the other vehicle, and the traffic position included in the acquired traffic information is the own vehicle. Traffic congestion position determination means for determining whether the vehicle is ahead, and when the traffic congestion position is determined to be in front of the host vehicle, the vehicle information including the detected state of the host vehicle and the acquired traffic jam information Traffic information creating means for creating new traffic information including forward vehicle information included, traffic information sending means for sending the created new traffic information, and traffic information for displaying the created new traffic information And a traffic information display device characterized by comprising a display means.

  With the above configuration, a vehicle entering a traffic jam sends traffic information to the vehicle behind it, and the vehicle behind it receives the traffic information and relays it to the vehicle behind it to convey the traffic information. At the same time, it becomes possible to display traffic information in real time. In this configuration, it is not configured to transmit inquiry signals to other vehicles and receive inquiry signals from other vehicles, but to transmit to the following vehicle only when traffic jam information occurring in front of the host vehicle is received. Therefore, communication-related processing is not complicated and the amount of communication can be reduced. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide infrastructure, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured at low cost.

  According to claim 2, the own vehicle information included in the traffic information from the other vehicle in the traffic information display device of the present invention includes the current position of the other vehicle, and the own vehicle state detecting means detects the current position of the own vehicle. A configuration including a position detection unit, wherein the traffic jam position determination unit determines whether the traffic jam position included in the acquired traffic jam information is ahead of the host vehicle from the current position of the other vehicle and the current vehicle position detected. Can be taken.

  Position detecting means such as GPS is used in in-vehicle navigation devices and the like, and the penetration rate of in-vehicle navigation devices is increasing year by year. With the above configuration, for example, the current position of the vehicle can be detected without providing infrastructure along the road, and it is possible to determine whether a traffic jam is occurring in front of the host vehicle.

  According to claim 3, the traffic jam information creating means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention is obtained by using the forward vehicle information as new forward vehicle information when the forward vehicle information is included in the acquired traffic jam information. When the forward vehicle information is not included in the traffic jam information, a configuration can be adopted in which new forward vehicle information is created based on the own vehicle information included in the acquired traffic jam information.

  With the above configuration, when the forward vehicle information is included in the traffic jam information, it can be determined that the vehicle that transmitted the traffic jam information that is the source of the forward vehicle information is traveling near the head of the traffic jam, and the forward vehicle information is included. If there is no traffic jam, it can be determined that the vehicle that transmitted the traffic jam information is traveling near the head of the traffic jam. Therefore, it becomes possible to always hold and transmit the latest forward vehicle information.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle state detecting means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention includes a traffic jam judging means for judging whether or not the host vehicle is in a jammed state, and when the host vehicle is judged to be in a jammed state. The traffic jam information creating means can be configured to create host vehicle information including that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state.

  With the above configuration, the traffic information from the preceding vehicle can be reliably transmitted to other vehicles, and the traffic information of the host vehicle is transmitted only when it is determined that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state. It becomes possible to reduce.

  According to claim 5, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention includes a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle, and a time measuring means for measuring a time during which the detected vehicle speed is within a predetermined range. The traffic jam judging means can take a configuration that judges that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state when the duration of the state where the detected vehicle speed is within the predetermined range exceeds a predetermined value.

  The vehicle speed is an indispensable parameter for various control of the vehicle, and vehicle speed detection means, that is, a vehicle speed sensor, is currently installed in most vehicles. With the above configuration, it is possible to determine the traffic jam of the vehicle with a simple and low-cost configuration without establishing infrastructure such as a traffic detector along the road or obtaining traffic jam information from facilities outside the vehicle. . Moreover, since it is not the structure which determines whether it is traffic jam based on the data received from the other vehicle, it is possible to perform traffic jam judgment irrespective of the state of another vehicle.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creating means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured to include the detected current position of the vehicle.

  With the above configuration, other vehicles that have received the traffic jam information can know where the traffic jam has occurred.

  According to claim 7, the own vehicle state detecting means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention includes a traveling direction detecting means for detecting the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and is detected in the own vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creating means. It is possible to adopt a configuration that includes the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, other vehicles that have received the traffic jam information can determine not only where the traffic jam occurs, but also in the lane in the traveling direction of the host vehicle or the oncoming lane. The traffic amount can be reduced because it is only necessary to transmit the traffic jam information to other vehicles only when the traffic jam information in which the traffic jam occurs in the forward direction of the host vehicle is received.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention includes an elapsed time measuring unit that measures an elapsed time since the host vehicle is determined to be in a traffic jam state, and is created by the traffic jam information creating unit. The vehicle information can be configured to include the measured elapsed time.

  With the above configuration, information related to the elapsed time since the occurrence of traffic jam can be transmitted to other vehicles.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention comprises the identification information storage means for storing the identification information of the host vehicle, and the host vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creation means includes the identification information. Can be taken.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to identify from which vehicle the received traffic jam information is transmitted, and it is easy to determine whether the content of the received traffic jam information is the same as that previously received.

  According to claim 10, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention comprises road information storage means for storing road information, and the road corresponding to the current position of the host vehicle is included in the vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creating means. A configuration including information can be taken.

  With the above configuration, since it is possible to acquire not only the position of the vehicle from which the traffic jam information is transmitted but also the information on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the vehicle that has received the traffic jam information is another road that is not jammed. Response measures such as searching for a route or changing a route can be performed with a margin.

  According to claim 11, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention comprises lane information storage means for storing lane information, and the lane corresponding to the current position of the host vehicle is included in the own vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creating means. A configuration including information can be taken.

  With the above configuration, in the case of a road with multiple lanes, it is possible to know in which lane the traffic congestion has occurred, so that the vehicle that has received the traffic congestion information has a margin for avoiding operations such as changing the course to a lane that is not congested in advance. It is possible to carry it.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the own vehicle information created by the jam information creating means in the jam information display device of the present invention includes the detected vehicle speed of the own vehicle.

  Even if it is called traffic jam, there are various states such as a state where the vehicle is traveling at a constant speed, but a state where the vehicle is continuously driven and stopped, and a state where the vehicle does not move at all. With the above configuration, it becomes possible to send details of the traffic jam condition to other vehicles. Further, the vehicle that has received the traffic jam information can grasp the details of the traffic jam status.

  According to the thirteenth aspect, the forward vehicle information in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention includes at least one of the identification information of the forward vehicle, the current position, the elapsed time, and the vehicle speed in the traffic jam state. Can take.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to grasp the traveling state of the forward vehicle information that is considered to be traveling near the head of the traffic jam.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured to include a traffic jam distance calculation means for calculating a traffic jam distance from traffic jam information acquired from another vehicle.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to grasp the details of the traffic jam by not only acquiring the location and speed of the traffic jam but also calculating the traffic jam distance.

  According to the fifteenth aspect, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention determines that the traffic jam position is ahead of the host vehicle from the traffic jam information acquired from another vehicle, and determines that the host vehicle is in a jammed state. In addition, the traffic jam distance calculating means can be configured to calculate the traffic jam distance from the current position included in the preceding vehicle information of the acquired traffic jam information and the current position of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, when the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state, the traffic jam occurs from the current position of the vehicle that is determined to be driving near the head of the traffic jam (included in the forward vehicle information) and the current position of the host vehicle. The distance can be calculated.

  According to the sixteenth aspect, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention determines that the traffic jam position is ahead of the host vehicle from the traffic jam information acquired from the other vehicle, and determines that the host vehicle is not in the jammed state. In addition, the traffic jam distance calculating means can be configured to calculate the traffic jam distance from the current position included in the preceding vehicle information of the acquired traffic jam information and the current position included in the own vehicle information of the acquired traffic jam information.

  With the above configuration, among the received traffic information from other vehicles, the vehicle's current position (included in the forward vehicle information) that is judged to be driving near the beginning of the traffic and the vicinity of the end of the traffic It is possible to calculate the traffic jam distance from the current position of the vehicle determined to be included (included in the own vehicle information).

  According to claim 17, the traffic jam information display means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured to display the traffic jam distance.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to visually grasp where and how much congestion has occurred.

  According to claim 18, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention stores the traffic jam information when the traffic jam position is determined not to be ahead of the host vehicle from the traffic jam information acquired from the other vehicle. The traffic jam information creating means creates traffic jam information for each road from the stored traffic jam information, and the traffic jam information display means can display the created traffic jam information for each road.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to create traffic jam information even when it is determined from the traffic jam information acquired from other vehicles that the traffic jam position is not ahead of the host vehicle, and not only in front of the host vehicle but also around the host vehicle. It is also possible to grasp local traffic jams.

  According to the nineteenth aspect, the traffic jam information display means in the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured to display traffic jam information on a map displayed on the in-vehicle navigation device.

  With the above-described configuration, where and how much congestion is occurring is displayed on the map, it becomes easier to visually grasp the congestion. In addition, it is possible to take countermeasures for avoiding traffic jams such as searching for routes that avoid traffic jams by using the route search function of the in-vehicle navigation device. Moreover, since the vehicle-mounted navigation device includes a position detector, if the position detector is used as the position detection means of the present invention, the traffic jam information display device of the present invention can be configured at low cost. Furthermore, since the vehicle-mounted navigation device includes a display device, the traffic information display device of the present invention can be configured at a lower cost if the display device is used as the traffic information display means of the present invention.

  In order to provide a traffic jam information display device that can display traffic jam information in real time with a simple communication configuration, a vehicle that has entered the traffic jam relays the traffic jam information to the rear vehicle in a relay manner, thereby improving the infrastructure This is realized by a configuration that displays the traffic situation on the map in real time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a traffic information transmission method in the traffic information display device of the present invention. When the leading vehicle 101 traveling in the traveling direction A determines that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state, the leading vehicle 101 transmits traffic jam information (vehicle information) to the following vehicle. The succeeding vehicle 103 receives the traffic information of the vehicle 101, calculates the traffic distance in the forward direction (with the vehicle 101), and displays the traffic information on the display unit 55 (described later) or the in-vehicle navigation device 100 (described later). To do. When the vehicle 103 determines that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state, the vehicle 103 transmits traffic jam information (vehicle information) of the host vehicle and traffic information (forward vehicle information) from the vehicle 101 to the following vehicle. When it is determined that the vehicle 105 is in a traffic jam state, the vehicle 105 that is a vehicle following the vehicle 103 includes the traffic jam information (forward vehicle information) of the vehicle 101 in the traffic jam information from the vehicle 103. The head is determined to be the vehicle 101, and the position from the position of the vehicle 101 to the own vehicle position is determined as a traffic congestion section, and traffic congestion information is displayed on the display unit 55 (described later) or the in-vehicle navigation device 100 (described later). Such traffic information is delivered to the following vehicle, and each vehicle displays the traffic information on the display unit 55 (described later).

  Since the vehicle 102 and the vehicle 104 are not equipped with the in-vehicle navigation device 100, the traffic information cannot be displayed together on the map, but the traffic information can be displayed on the display unit 55 by text information or the like. it can.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a mounting state of the traffic jam information display device 50 of the present invention and an in-vehicle navigation device (hereinafter abbreviated as navigation device) 100 in the vehicle 105. The traffic information display device 50 and the navigation device 100 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network: described later) 27 or the like. The same applies to the vehicle 101 and the vehicle 103. The vehicles 102 and 104 are equipped with only the traffic information display device 50.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the traffic jam information display device 50 of the present invention. The traffic jam information display device 50 includes a position detector 51, a calculation unit 52, a communication unit 53, an input / output circuit 54, a display unit 55, a voice synthesis circuit 56 and a speaker 57, a LAN I / F (interface) 58, a memory 59, and the like. Consists of.

  The position detector 51 serving as the vehicle state detection means and position detection means of the present invention uses a GPS receiver that detects the current position of the vehicle 105 based on radio waves from a satellite. Moreover, it is good also as a structure like the position detector 1 (after-mentioned) of the navigation apparatus 100. FIG. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which acquires present position data from the navigation apparatus 100 via in-vehicle LAN27.

  The calculation unit 52, which is a vehicle state detection unit, a traffic jam position determination unit, a traffic jam information creation unit, a traffic jam determination unit, a time measurement unit, a traveling direction detection unit, an elapsed time measurement unit, and a traffic jam distance calculation unit, is a well-known CPU 52a, It includes a ROM 52b, a RAM 52c, and peripheral circuits such as an A / D conversion circuit (not shown). The ROM 52b stores a control program 52p and data for executing various processes performed by the traffic jam information display device 50.

  The communication unit 53 receives the traffic information from the transmission unit 53a and the transmission antenna 53c, which are the traffic information transmission means of the present invention that transmits the traffic information to other vehicles, and the traffic information reception means of the present invention that receives the traffic information from the other vehicles. The unit 53b and the receiving antenna 53d are included. Since the configuration of the communication unit 53 has the same circuit configuration as that of a known wireless communication device, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The input / output circuit 54 exchanges signals with each unit of the traffic jam information display device 50, and includes a known signal processing circuit and the like.

  The display unit 55, which is the traffic information display means of the present invention, is composed of a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. Yes. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and is based on a display command and display screen data sent from the arithmetic unit 52. To display. Further, as the display unit 55, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display or a plasma display may be used.

  The speaker 57 is connected to a well-known voice synthesis circuit 56, and digital voice data stored in the ROM 52b or the memory 59 is converted into analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 56 in response to a command from the control program 52p. Note that the speech synthesis method includes a recording / editing method in which speech waveforms are stored as they are or after being encoded and connected as necessary.

  The LAN I / F 58 is an interface circuit for exchanging data with other in-vehicle devices and sensors such as the navigation device 100 via the in-vehicle LAN 27. Further, data from the vehicle speed sensor 23 may be taken in via the LAN I / F 58.

  The memory 59 which is the identification information storage means and the traffic jam information storage means of the present invention is a rewritable semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory. The information and data required for the operation of the traffic jam information display device 50 are stored. Note that the memory 59 holds the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle 105 is in an off state, that is, the traffic jam information display device 50 is in an off state.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the navigation device 100. The navigation device 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as remote control) sensor 11, a voice synthesis circuit 24 for performing voice guidance, a speaker 15, a nonvolatile memory 9, a display And a hard disk device (HDD) 21, a control circuit 8 connected thereto, and a remote control terminal 12.

  The position detector 1 detects the position of the vehicle 105 based on a known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3 that detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle 105, a distance sensor 4 that detects the travel distance of the vehicle 105, and a radio wave from a satellite. A GPS receiver 5 is provided. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, some of the above-described sensors may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor or a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, such as a vehicle speed sensor 23, may be used.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a touch panel 22 integrated with the display device 10 or a mechanical switch is used. The touch panel 22 is pressed when an electric circuit is wired on the screen of the display 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction through a gap called a spacer on a glass substrate and a transparent film, and the user touches the film. Since the voltage value changes due to short-circuiting of a part of the wiring, a so-called resistance film method for detecting this as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y) is widely used. In addition, a so-called capacitance method may be used. In addition to the mechanical switch, a pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used.

  It is also possible to input various instructions using the microphone 31 and the voice recognition unit 30. In this method, a voice signal input from the microphone 31 is processed by a voice recognition technique such as a well-known hidden Markov model in the voice recognition unit 30, and converted into an operation command corresponding to the result. Various instructions can be input through the operation switch group 7, the remote control terminal 12, and the microphone 31.

  The transmitter / receiver 13 is connected to a road traffic from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 14 by an optical beacon or a radio beacon output from a transmitter (not shown) provided along the road, for example. It is a device for receiving information or receiving FM multiplex broadcasting.

  In addition, by communicating with an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) vehicle-mounted device 16, the fee information received by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 from an ETC road device (not shown) can be taken into the navigation device 100. . Further, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 may be connected to an external network and communicate with the VICS center 14 or the like.

  The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 which is an input / output circuit, and a bus line 85 which connects these configurations. The CPU 81 controls the navigation program 21p and data stored in the HDD 21. The CPU 81 controls the reading / writing of data to / from the HDD 21. The A / D conversion unit 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 1 or the like to the control circuit 8 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 81, for example. It is. The ROM 82 may store a program for performing a minimum necessary operation among the navigation functions when the HDD 21 fails.

  The drawing unit 87 generates display screen data to be displayed on the display unit 10 from display data and display color data stored in the HDD 21 or the like.

  In the HDD 21 which is the road information storage means and the lane information storage means of the present invention, in addition to the navigation program 21p, so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and map data including road data representing road connections. 21m is stored. The map data 21m stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) and the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connection destination road link, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information.

  In addition, in the HDD 21, auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and other data can be written independently by the user and stored as user data 21u. The user data 21 u can be rewritten by operating the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22 and the remote control terminal 12, or by inputting voice from the microphone 31. Further, data and various information necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored as the database 21d.

  The navigation program 21p, the map data 21m, and the user data 21u can be added / updated from the storage medium 20 via the map data input device 6. The storage medium 20 is generally a CD-ROM or DVD based on the amount of data, but may be another medium such as a memory card. Moreover, you may use the structure which downloads data via an external network.

  The nonvolatile memory 9 is constituted by a rewritable semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and stores information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100. Note that the nonvolatile memory 9 holds the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle 105 is turned off, that is, the navigation device 100 is turned off. Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored in the HDD 21 instead of the nonvolatile memory 9. Furthermore, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored separately in the nonvolatile memory 9 and the HDD 21.

  The display 10 is formed of a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and is based on a display command and display screen data sent from the control circuit 8. To display. Further, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display or a plasma display may be used as the display 10.

  The speaker 15 is connected to a well-known voice synthesis circuit 24, and digital voice data stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 or the HDD 21 is converted into analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 24 according to a command from the navigation program 21p. Note that the speech synthesis method includes a recording / editing method in which speech waveforms are stored as they are or after being encoded and connected as necessary.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 which is a vehicle speed detection means of the present invention includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder, and is installed near the wheel mounting unit, for example, detects the rotation of the wheel and sends it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. is there. In the control circuit 8, the number of rotations of the wheels is converted into the speed of the vehicle 105 to calculate an expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle 105 to a predetermined place, or an average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle 105. To do.

  A LAN (Local Area Network) I / F 26 is an interface circuit for exchanging data with other in-vehicle devices and sensors via the in-vehicle LAN 27. Further, data may be taken from the vehicle speed sensor 23 or connected to the ETC on-vehicle device 16 via the LAN I / F 26.

  With this configuration, when the navigation program 21p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the navigation device 100 allows the user to operate the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22, the remote control terminal 12, or the voice from the microphone 31. When the route guidance processing for displaying the destination route on the display 10 is selected from the menu displayed on the display 10 by the input, the following processing is performed.

  That is, when the user selects a point from a given point or facility search or address search on the map, or a registered place set by the user and sets it as the destination, the current position of the vehicle 105 is obtained by the position detector 1, A process for obtaining an optimum guide route from the current position to the destination is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display 10 so as to guide the user to the appropriate route. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. In addition, at least one of the display 10 and the speaker 15 provides a guidance according to an operation or a message according to an operation state.

  The outline of the process of the traffic jam information display device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is included in the control program 52p and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the control program 52p. First, when no traffic information is received (S1: No), for example, when no traffic information is received within a predetermined time such as 1 minute or longer (S2: Yes), the traffic information is displayed on the display unit 55. If it is (S3: Yes), the traffic jam display is deleted (S7). When the traffic information is displayed on the display device 10 of the navigation device 100, a command to delete the traffic jam display is sent to the navigation device 100 via the in-vehicle LAN 27.

  Subsequently, a congestion determination process (S4, details will be described later) for determining whether or not the vehicle 105 is in a congestion state. When it is determined that the vehicle 105 is in a traffic jam state (S5: Yes), a traffic jam information transmission process (S6, details will be described later) is performed in which traffic jam information is created and transmitted to other vehicles.

  On the other hand, when traffic jam information is received (S1: Yes), traffic jam information reception processing for storing the received traffic jam information and the like (S8, details will be described later), and traffic jam determination processing for determining whether or not the vehicle 105 is in a traffic jam state. (S9, details will be described later), traffic jam distance calculation processing (S10, details will be described later), traffic jam condition determination processing (S11, details will be described later) are sequentially performed, and traffic information is displayed on the display unit 55 based on the execution results of these processing. Is displayed (S12). Further, when the traffic information is displayed on the display device 10 of the navigation device 100, a command for displaying the traffic jam display and data necessary for the traffic jam display are sent to the navigation device 100 via the in-vehicle LAN 27. . Then, a traffic jam information transmission process (S13, details will be described later) is performed in which traffic jam information is created based on the execution result of the above processing and transmitted to other vehicles.

  The congestion determination process corresponding to steps S4 and S9 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows an example of a traffic jam. In the lane near the central separation zone C in the traveling direction A of the vehicle (101 etc.), the lane restriction is performed at the point B, and the vehicles 101 to 103 are almost stopped. Since the vehicle 101 is trying to change the lane to the left lane in order to avoid lane restrictions, the speed of the vehicles 104 and 105 is also reduced and the vehicle is traveling in a non-norrotic manner.

  As described above, it is necessary to consider the situation where the vehicle is running smoothly and the traffic jam that is stagnant. First, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 105 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 23 falls below a predetermined threshold such as 20 km / h (S21: Yes), the congestion time counter is updated (S22), and the congestion return counter is cleared ( S23). Then, when the vehicle speed falls below a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined time, such as when the traffic time counter exceeds 30 seconds (S24: Yes), it is determined that there is a traffic jam and the vehicle information (details will be described later) is created. Then, it is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 52c or the memory 59 (S25).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined threshold value such as 20 km / h (S21: No), the traffic jam recovery counter is updated (S26). Then, when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined time, such as 15 seconds or more for a traffic jam recovery counter (S27: Yes), it is determined that there is no traffic jam and the traffic jam time counter is cleared (S28). ) And the traffic jam return counter is cleared (S29).

  The traffic jam information transmission process corresponding to steps S6 and S13 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. When the received traffic information does not include forward vehicle information (S41: No), only the own vehicle information is transmitted (S42). When the received traffic information includes forward vehicle information (details will be described later) (S41: Yes), the host vehicle information and the forward vehicle information are simultaneously transmitted (S43).

FIG. 9 shows an example of the data format of the vehicle information. The own vehicle information includes at least one of the following contents.
(1) Vehicle ID
There is no particular restriction on the format of the code as long as it is a code for identifying own vehicle information and other vehicle information and is stored in the memory 59 and does not exist. For example, the body number, the number plate registration number, the device ID of the traffic information display device 50, or the like can be used. If the device ID of the traffic jam information display device 50 is used, it is possible to determine what data is stored at which position even if the data format of the vehicle information differs for each device manufacturer. Further, if the data format of the vehicle information is unified, the vehicle ID can be omitted.
(2) Road information Information is acquired from the map data 21m stored in the navigation device 100 by using the current position data of the vehicle 105 detected by the position detector 51 as road information while traveling. For example, a road name such as “National Route 1”, a link ID, and the like.
(3) Lane information When the current road of the vehicle 105 detected by the position detector 51 is used in the link information acquired from the navigation device 100 and the currently running road has a plurality of lanes on one side, Stores the lane number and the like.
(4) Traveling Direction The traveling direction of the vehicle 105 can be obtained from the transition of the current position detected by the position detector 51. For example, an azimuth angle in a clockwise direction with true north as 0 ° may be used. It is possible to determine whether or not the traffic jam occurs in the traveling direction of the own vehicle based on the traveling direction information.
(5) Current position information The current position information is detected by the position detector 51 and is used to calculate a traffic jam distance. Current position information such as longitude and latitude may be acquired from the navigation device 100 and stored.
(6) Traffic jam time This is the elapsed time after the vehicle 105 is determined to be in a traffic jam state. Date / time data is included in the data received from GPS. Further, the date / time data may be acquired from the navigation device, or the date / time data may be acquired from the clock IC with a configuration including a known clock IC in the calculation unit 52.
(7) Congestion information Information such as a flag for distinguishing between stagnation and noronoro travel. Alternatively, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 23 may be used.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the data format of the forward vehicle information. The forward vehicle information includes at least one of the following contents. Since the detailed contents of the preceding vehicle information are the same as the own vehicle information, the detailed description here is omitted.
(1) Vehicle ID
This is the vehicle ID of the preceding vehicle.
(2) Current position information This is the current position of the preceding vehicle.
(3) Congestion time This is the time that has elapsed since it was determined that the vehicle ahead is congested.
(4) Congestion information Information such as a flag or vehicle speed for distinguishing between stagnation and noronoro travel in the preceding vehicle.

  Of the preceding vehicle information, the lane information and the traveling direction overlap with the own vehicle information, so there is no need to transmit to the rear vehicle, and the amount of communication can be reduced. Of course, the configuration of the data format of the preceding vehicle information may be the same as that of the own vehicle information.

  It is good also as a structure which always transmits the own vehicle information and the forward vehicle information together. In this case, when there is no preceding vehicle information, an invalid numerical value that is not originally defined information such as a blank, NULL, 00, FF, or the like is stored in each of the above data.

  The traffic jam information receiving process corresponding to step S8 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. First, if the received traffic jam information has the same content as that received last time (S51: Yes), the process ends without doing anything.

  On the other hand, the received traffic information is not the same as that received last time (S51: No), and the vehicle is located in front of the vehicle 105 and is traveling on the "same road" in the "same traveling direction" on the "same road" 103 (see FIG. 1; hereinafter, abbreviated as “vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle 105”) (S52: Yes), the vehicle information and the forward vehicle information included in the traffic jam information are stored in the RAM 52c or The data is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 59 (S53). In the example of FIG. 1, the traffic jam information received by the vehicle 105 from the vehicle 103 includes traffic jam information related to the vehicle 103 as own vehicle information and traffic jam information related to the vehicle 101 as forward vehicle information.

  On the other hand, when the received traffic jam information is not from the vehicle 103 (see FIG. 1) traveling in front of the vehicle 105 (S52: No), the received traffic jam information is grouped by road information, lane information, and traveling direction. And stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 52c or the memory 59 (S54). Further, information for one vehicle (only vehicle information) and information for two vehicles (vehicle information and forward vehicle information) are stored separately.

  The congestion distance calculation process corresponding to step S10 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. When the received traffic jam information is from the vehicle 103 (see FIG. 1) traveling in front of the vehicle 105 (S61: Yes), the following processing is performed. When information for two vehicles (own vehicle information and forward vehicle information) is received (S62: Yes), when it is determined that the vehicle 105 is not congested in the above-described traffic jam determination process (S63: No), it is received. The distance between two points is calculated as the traffic jam distance from the current position information included in the own vehicle information and the forward vehicle information of the traffic jam information (S64). In the example of FIG. 1, the distance between the vehicle 101 and the vehicle 103 is calculated as a traffic jam distance.

  When it is determined that the vehicle 105 is congested in the above-described traffic jam determination process (S63: Yes), the traffic jam distance is calculated from the current position information included in the preceding vehicle information of the received traffic jam information and the current position information of the vehicle 105. Calculate (S65). In the example of FIG. 1, the distance between the vehicle 101 and the vehicle 105 is calculated as a traffic jam distance.

  On the other hand, when the information for only one vehicle (only the own vehicle information) is received (S62: No), the vehicle that transmitted the traffic jam information is “the head of the traffic jam” or “the vehicle ahead is a vehicle without a navigation device”. When it is determined that the vehicle 105 is congested in the traffic congestion determination process (S66: Yes), the traffic jam distance is calculated from the received vehicle information of the traffic jam information and the current position information of the vehicle 105. (S67). In the example of FIG. 1, the distance between the vehicle 103 and the vehicle 105 is calculated as a traffic jam distance.

  When the received traffic jam information is not from the vehicle 103 (see FIG. 1) traveling in front of the vehicle 105 (S61: No), the traffic jam distance is calculated as follows to determine the size of the traffic jam. First, among the information stored and grouped in the traffic information reception process described above, for example, information for two vehicles in the group “running on the same road in the same direction” (own vehicle information and forward vehicle information) The traffic jam distance is calculated from the traffic jam information including (S68). Next, when there are two traffic congestion sections, traffic congestion information including information for only one vehicle (own vehicle information only) is stored in the section between the two traffic congestions (section where the traffic congestion is interrupted) ( S69: Yes), these two traffic jams are determined as one traffic jam (S70). If the traffic information for one vehicle is not stored (S69: No), it is determined as an individual traffic jam (S71).

  Moreover, when the distance between two traffic jams is less than a predetermined value, these two traffic jams may be determined as one traffic jam.

  In the traffic jam situation determination process corresponding to step S11 in FIG. 5, the traffic jam starting point and end point, the traffic jam distance, the traffic jam speed, the traffic time of the traffic jam section (for the individual traffic jams from the results of the traffic jam judgment process and the traffic jam distance calculation process ( (Congestion distance divided by congestion speed). Then, map data and related information necessary for displaying the traffic jam are acquired from the navigation device 100. Further, when displaying on the display 10 of the navigation device 100, these data are sent to the navigation device 100.

  FIGS. 13 and 14 are examples of traffic jam display on the display unit 55 or the display device 10 of the navigation device 100. In the example of FIG. 13, the traffic jam ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle 105 is displayed. In the map display area 10a, the current position of the vehicle 105 is represented by G, and the traffic jam section (E to F) is displayed in a color or pattern different from the normal road display on the map. The traffic jam information displayed is displayed in the traffic jam information display area 10b. Further, in the example of FIG. 14, traffic jams (55a to 55e) other than those ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle 105 are displayed along with the traffic jam directions (H, J to M).

  In the configuration described above, the traffic jam information display device 50 is network-connected to the navigation device 100 via the in-vehicle LAN 27, but the navigation device 100 may not be used. In this case, it is good also as a structure which memorize | stores the map data 21m in the memory 59, and it is good also as a structure which displays only traffic information, such as "3 km ahead traffic jam 5km 20 minutes", without memorizing map data. . The traffic information display device 50 may be included in the navigation device 100.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

The figure which shows the transmission method of traffic jam information. The figure which shows the loading condition of a traffic information display apparatus and a vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus. The block diagram which shows the structure of a traffic information display apparatus. The block diagram which shows the structure of a vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus. The flowchart for demonstrating the outline | summary of a process of a traffic information display apparatus. The figure for demonstrating traffic congestion determination processing. The flowchart for demonstrating traffic congestion determination processing. The flowchart for demonstrating traffic information transmission processing. The figure which shows an example of the data format of the own vehicle information. The figure which shows an example of the data format of front vehicle information. The flowchart for demonstrating traffic information reception processing. The flowchart for demonstrating traffic jam distance calculation processing. The figure which shows an example of traffic information display. The figure which shows another example of traffic information display.

Explanation of symbols

1 position detector 10 display 22 HDD (road information storage means, lane information storage means)
23 Vehicle speed sensor (vehicle speed detection means)
50 traffic information display device 51 position detector (vehicle state detection means, position detection means)
52 arithmetic unit (vehicle state detection means, traffic jam position judgment means, traffic jam information creation means, traffic jam judgment means, time measurement means, travel direction detection means, elapsed time measurement means, traffic jam distance calculation means)
53 Communication unit 53a Transmission unit (congestion information transmission means)
53b Receiver (congestion information receiving means)
55 Display (Congestion information display means)
59 Memory (identification information storage means, traffic jam information storage means)
100 Car navigation system

Claims (19)

Vehicle state detection means for detecting the state of the host vehicle;
Traffic information receiving means for receiving traffic information from other vehicles;
A traffic jam position determining means for determining whether the traffic jam position included in the acquired traffic jam information is in front of the host vehicle;
When it is determined that the traffic position is ahead of the host vehicle, new information including host vehicle information including the detected state of the host vehicle and forward vehicle information included in the acquired traffic jam information. Traffic information creation means to create traffic information,
A traffic information transmitting means for transmitting the created new traffic information;
Traffic information display means for displaying the created new traffic information;
A traffic jam information display device comprising: The own vehicle information included in the traffic information from the other vehicle includes the current position of the other vehicle,
The host vehicle state detection means includes position detection means for detecting a current position of the host vehicle,
The traffic jam position determining means determines whether a traffic jam position included in the acquired traffic jam information is ahead of the host vehicle from a current position of the other vehicle and a detected current position of the vehicle. The traffic information display device according to 1.   When the acquired traffic information includes forward vehicle information, the traffic information generation means sets the forward vehicle information as new forward vehicle information, and when the acquired traffic information does not include forward vehicle information. The traffic jam information display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein new forward vehicle information is created based on own vehicle information included in the acquired traffic jam information. The vehicle state detection means includes a traffic congestion determination means for determining whether the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state,
4. The vehicle information according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state, the traffic jam information creating unit creates the host vehicle information including that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state. 5. The traffic information display device described. Vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle;
A time measuring means for measuring a time during which the detected vehicle speed is within a predetermined range; and
5. The traffic jam information display according to claim 4, wherein the traffic jam judging means judges that the host vehicle is in a traffic jam state when a time during which the detected vehicle speed is in a predetermined range exceeds a predetermined value. apparatus.   The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the own vehicle information created by the traffic information creating unit includes a current position of the detected own vehicle. The own vehicle state detecting means includes a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the own vehicle,
The traffic jam information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the own vehicle information created by the jam information creating means includes the detected traveling direction of the own vehicle. Elapsed time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time since the vehicle is determined to be in a traffic jam state,
The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the own vehicle information generated by the traffic information generation means includes the measured elapsed time. Comprising identification information storage means for storing identification information of the host vehicle,
The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the identification information is included in the vehicle information created by the traffic information creation means. Road information storage means for storing road information;
The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the own vehicle information created by the traffic information creating unit includes road information corresponding to a current position of the own vehicle. Lane information storage means for storing lane information,
The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the own vehicle information created by the traffic information creating unit includes lane information corresponding to a current position of the own vehicle.   The traffic jam information display device according to any one of claims 5 to 11, wherein the vehicle information created by the traffic jam information creation means includes a vehicle speed of the detected vehicle.   The traffic information display according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the forward vehicle information includes at least one of identification information of the forward vehicle, a current position, an elapsed time, and a vehicle speed in a traffic jam state. apparatus.   The traffic jam information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a traffic jam distance calculation unit that calculates a traffic jam distance from traffic jam information acquired from the other vehicle.   When it is determined from the traffic information acquired from the other vehicle that the traffic position is ahead of the host vehicle, and the host vehicle is determined to be in a traffic jam state, the traffic distance calculation means is the acquired The traffic jam information display device according to claim 14, wherein the traffic jam distance is calculated from a current position included in forward vehicle information of traffic jam information and a current position of the host vehicle.   When it is determined from the traffic information acquired from the other vehicle that the traffic position is in front of the host vehicle, and the host vehicle is determined not to be in a traffic jam state, the traffic distance calculation means is the acquired 16. The traffic jam information display device according to claim 14, wherein the traffic jam distance is calculated from a current location included in forward vehicle information of traffic jam information and a current location included in own vehicle information of the acquired traffic jam information.   The traffic jam information display device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the traffic jam information display means displays the traffic jam distance. When it is determined from the traffic jam information acquired from the other vehicle that the traffic jam position is not in front of the host vehicle, the traffic jam information storage unit stores the traffic jam information.
The traffic information creating means creates traffic information for each road from the stored traffic information,
The traffic information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the traffic information display means displays the generated traffic information for each road. The traffic jam information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the traffic jam information display means displays the traffic jam information on a map displayed on an in-vehicle navigation device.

Images