JP4744546B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device including own vehicle position determining means for obtaining own vehicle position and guidance route searching means for searching for a guide route to a destination.

  This type of navigation device is mounted next to the driver's seat, etc., and displays a guidance route from the departure point to the destination on, for example, a liquid crystal display device to provide the driver with an appropriate route (guidance route) to the destination. Driving assistance.

  Today, this type of guide route search is set at a distance of several hundred to several kilometers on the main arterial road and information on traffic congestion, road regulations, construction, traffic accidents, etc. gathered at the Traffic Information Center. This is performed in combination with time information necessary for passing through the “link”.

In the navigation state in which this type of guidance route is required, what is called off-route determination has been proposed.
The navigation device having this configuration is provided with off-route determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle position deviates from the guidance route, and it is determined by the off-route determination means that the vehicle position deviates from the guidance route. If it is, the guide route search means is used to search for a new guide route from the determination time point (the position at which the vehicle is present at the time of determination) to the destination.
Therefore, the user can receive the guidance route newly obtained by searching from the navigation device in the state of being in the off-route state, and can accurately reach the destination.

Problems with this form of off-route countermeasures will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 shows a situation where this type of off-route occurs, and it is assumed that the vehicle travels on a road having a plurality of lanes in one direction. In FIG. 12, the roads are both one-way roads, and the left and right traveling roads running in the left and right directions in the figure show a four-lane left and right traveling road ra, and the upper and lower running roads running in the up and down direction in the figure are three lanes. The travel path is shown. Further, it is assumed that there are a left vertical travel path rbl on the left side in the drawing and a right vertical travel path rbr on the right side as the vertical direction road.

For the road network configured as described above, the guidance route Ro searched for and proposed by the guidance route searching means is set from the starting point S side at the lower left in the figure to the destination D side ahead of the right up / down traveling road rbr. Shall.
In such a road network, the own vehicle will receive navigation from the navigation device sequentially, but in the road network of this configuration, if an attempt is made to enter the left upper / lower travel road rbl from the lower left point in the figure, the upper left In the left and right traveling road parts between the lower traveling road rbl and the right up and down traveling road rbr (this part is referred to as an intermediate road part rm), in order to enter the right up and down traveling road rbr, the traveling lane that is as high as possible It is necessary to take.

However, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), there may be a case where the vehicle can enter only the lowest travel lane for some reason on this intermediate road part. This type of problem is, for example, when the intermediate road part rm is congested and the vehicle cannot select an appropriate lane, or the user is not aware of the lane selection and simply enters the lowest lane. This is the case.
Even in this situation, in the navigation device, in the intermediate road part rm, since the car has entered the intermediate road part rm, it is not determined as an off route.

Now, if the lane selection is wrong in the intermediate road part rm and the vehicle has to go straight on the left and right traveling road ra, the car goes straight and actually goes off-route.
This situation is recognized by the navigation device, and at this stage (in a state where the point C is reached in FIG. 12 (a)), the off-route countermeasure means works for the first time, and the current position is determined as shown in FIG. 12 (b). And search for a route to the destination. As a result, a blank period indicated by a time lag between the points C and B is generated in the navigation according to the newly obtained guide route, which is not preferable.

As a technique for suppressing the occurrence of such a blank period, a technique is proposed in which a departure from a guide route is assumed and a guide route after the departure is obtained in advance (Patent Document 1).
Furthermore, for the purpose of reducing the amount of calculation in Patent Document 1, there is a technique for obtaining a preliminary route only for a guide traffic point (Patent Document 2).
JP-A-8-30193 (Claims) JP 2003-344077 A (Claims)

  As described above, in the technology that predicts a deviation from the guide route and prepares a preliminary route in advance, the possibility of the deviation is not effectively and specifically determined, so that a relatively large number of preliminary There is a problem that it is necessary to prepare a simple guide route, and the amount of calculation increases and the amount of calculation result data to be stored also increases.

  In view of the above situation, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to make the navigation blank period as short as possible even in a situation where the vehicle is in an off-route state. Even in a configuration obtained in advance, it is to obtain a navigation apparatus capable of efficiently performing the preparation and to obtain a navigation method capable of realizing this kind of navigation.

In order to achieve the above object, the characteristic configuration of the navigation device including own vehicle position determining means for obtaining the own vehicle position, and guide route searching means for searching for a guide route to the destination,
With respect to the guidance route on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position, obstacle situation determination means for judging the presence or absence of the obstacle situation that makes traveling along the guidance route difficult in view of the current situation of the own vehicle,
When it is determined by the failure situation determination means that the failure situation exists, the guidance route search means is operated from a point where it is expected to reach the guidance route in the presence of the failure situation. , Off-route preliminary countermeasure means for searching for a new guide route from the departure place to the destination;
Prior to the failure situation determination by the failure situation determination means, the failure situation determination position determination means for determining the failure situation determination position for performing the failure situation determination,
The obstacle circumstance determination position determining means relates to a surrounding traveling body that travels around the own vehicle for a distance from the first course change point on the guide route that is on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position to the obstacle circumstance determination position. based on the periphery traveling body information, said variably determined to be shorter than the standard length which is set in advance when the ambient traveling body is small, the problem condition determination means, it said in the fault condition identified position It is to determine the failure situation.

  This navigation device includes a failure situation determination means, and with this means, it is difficult to travel along the guidance route with respect to the guidance route that is on the traveling forward side from the vehicle position, as viewed from the current vehicle situation. It is determined whether there is a failure situation. And when it is determined that there is a failure situation, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means works, and the guidance route search means works from the point where the current vehicle situation is expected to reach the departure route. Search for a new route from the starting point to the destination.

  The search method in this case is the same as that by the conventional off-route countermeasure means. However, the setting of the departure point is only a point where the current route of the vehicle is off the guide route and can be reached under obstacle circumstances.

  And in this structure, when the failure situation determination means makes a determination, and the vehicle is likely to deviate from the guide route as a result of the determination, search for a new guide route based on the deviated travel route Is executed when the determination by the failure situation determination means is performed.

  As a result, compared to the case where a new route search is executed in a state where a conventional off-route has occurred, a new route search is performed at a stage where the vehicle may be off-route. The blank area of the navigation described earlier can be reduced.

Furthermore, instead of obtaining a preliminary guidance route to be adopted when deviating from the guidance route for each course change point, in consideration of the current traveling state etc., when it is determined that there is actually a failure situation, In order to search for a new guide route, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which only the minimum necessary new guide route search is performed in response to an effective and specific situation.
Here, in order to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel along the guide route, there are points on the guide route that need to be determined and points that are not necessarily required. For example, in a driving state approaching an intersection that is a course change point of determination, if the guidance route is turning left or right at the intersection, it is inevitably necessary to determine the failure situation at a position at a predetermined distance from the intersection. Become. On the other hand, in traveling along the road, it is not always necessary to determine the failure situation. Therefore, by providing a failure circumstance determination position determining means and setting a point at a predetermined distance from the first route change point in the guidance route on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position as the failure circumstance determination position, it is possible to accurately determine the guide route. Therefore, it is possible to set a failure circumstance determination position determined by the relationship, and to reduce unnecessary determination processing.

Here, the fault condition identified position determining means, the distance from the first course change point of the guide route to the fault condition identified position, and the variable determined on the basis of the ambient traveling body information, problem condition judging means, the fault condition identification The failure situation is determined at the position. More specifically, the obstacle circumstance determination position determining means shortens the distance from the first route change point on the guide route to the obstacle circumstance determination position shorter than a preset standard distance when there are few surrounding traveling bodies. The failure situation determination means performs the failure situation determination at the failure situation determination position.

In the case of this configuration, the vehicle includes a vehicle position determination unit that determines the vehicle position, and a guide route search unit that searches for a guide route to the destination, and the guide route that is on the traveling forward side from the vehicle position. With respect to the current vehicle situation, it is determined whether there is a failure situation that makes it difficult to travel along the guidance route, and when it is determined that the failure situation exists, the guidance route is determined under the failure situation. A navigation method in a navigation apparatus that performs off-route preliminary countermeasures for searching for a new guide route from the departure point to the destination with a point expected to reach off as a departure point includes the following characteristic means: It becomes.
That is, prior to the failure situation determination, the failure situation determination position for performing the failure situation determination is determined,
The distance from the first course change point in the guide route to the fault condition identified position, based on the ambient traveling body information on ambient running body running around a vehicle, the advance when the ambient traveling body is small Variablely determined to be shorter than the set standard distance ,
It performs the fault condition identification in the fault condition identified position,
Navigation is performed according to the newly searched guide route.

Here, when the obstacle circumstance determination position determining means determines the obstacle circumstance determination position, the distance from the first route change point on the guide route to the obstacle circumstance determination position is determined when there are many surrounding traveling bodies. It can be set as the structure variably determined so that it may become long with respect to the said standard distance.
By doing in this way, when a new guidance route is searched early, and the vehicle enters an off-route state, navigation can be performed with a reduced blank period.

Further, in a variable distance from the first course change point to the fault condition identified position in the guide route, further lane information in the road point where the vehicle is traveling, through row sorting information or regulatory information Alternatively, the distance can be variably determined based on any one or more of the own vehicle traveling information relating to the traveling state of the own vehicle .

As described above, for example, when it is necessary to make a left turn at an intersection that is a course changing point that is approaching, a surrounding traveling body that is information about the traveling body that travels around the vehicle as described above. In addition, it is also determined whether or not the vehicle can travel along the guide route based on the lane information, the traffic classification, the legal regulations , or the traveling state of the vehicle at the point where the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, the failure situation determination position is changed according to this kind of situation.
For example, when the number of lanes to the left turn lane is large, when it is not possible to turn left due to traffic classification, legal regulations, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is fast, etc. Increase the distance from the obstacle circumstance determination position to the route change point on the guidance route. By doing in this way, a new guidance route can be searched early, and navigation can be performed with a reduced blank period even when the route enters an off-route state.

Now, in the navigation device configured as described above,
The own vehicle position determining means includes own vehicle lane position determining means for obtaining the lane position of the own vehicle in which the own vehicle is traveling,
It is preferable that the failure situation determination unit performs the failure situation determination based on the lane position of the host vehicle determined by the host vehicle lane position determination unit.
In current navigation devices, it is becoming possible to detect the position of the vehicle in units of travel lanes on the travel path. For example, the outline of the own vehicle position is determined from a device such as GPS, and the white line on the road, the road shoulder position, etc. are determined from the in-vehicle camera provided in the own vehicle, and the map information of the own vehicle position obtained in advance From this, the number of lanes, the number of white lines, the characteristics of the road shoulder, etc. at that point are determined, and based on the information on the number of lanes obtained from the imaging information and map information obtained from the in-vehicle camera, the traveling lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling Can be determined.

On the other hand, as described above in the section of the problem to be solved by the present application, the travel lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling is an important element regarding the selection of the travel route.
For example, as a guide route, if there is a point where a right turn or left turn is necessary on the traveling forward side, but the vehicle is not traveling in a driving lane where left or right turn is possible, Therefore, it is necessary to judge that traveling along the guide lane is difficult.
Therefore, it is effective that the vehicle lane position determining means is provided and, based on the determination result, it is effective for the obstacle circumstance determining means to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel along the guidance route. The search can be effectively performed in a preliminary and effective manner.

  Now, in the determination by the obstacle circumstance determination means, the traffic classification information or legal regulation information at the road point where the host vehicle is traveling, the distance from the host vehicle position to the first route change point in the guide route on the traveling forward side It is preferable to make the determination based on one or more of information, surrounding traveling body information that is information regarding a traveling body traveling around the host vehicle, and host vehicle traveling information regarding the traveling state of the host vehicle.

  At the travel point where the vehicle is traveling, depending on the traveling lane of the vehicle, there may be a case where a left turn or a right turn, which is traveling along the guide route, may not be possible depending on traffic classification and legal regulations. Furthermore, when the vehicle is not traveling on the traveling lane even though the distance to the approaching guide point that is approaching is short, it may be impossible to make a left turn or a right turn that are traveling along the guidance route. Furthermore, when there are many vehicles around the own vehicle, it is difficult to change the lane itself. Further, when the traveling speed of the host vehicle is high, similarly, a left turn and a right turn that are traveling along a guidance route that is a route guidance point may not be possible.

  Therefore, the failure situation determination means makes a determination in consideration of any of these requirements. By doing in this way, the navigation corresponding to the present own vehicle situation exactly can be performed.

In the navigation apparatus described so far, the vehicle includes an off-route determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle position deviates from the guide route.
Provided with off-route countermeasure means for searching for a new guide route to the destination by operating the guide route search means when the vehicle position is determined to be out of the guide route by an off-route determination means; It is preferable.

  The off-route determination means and the off-route countermeasure means are means for obtaining a new guide route from the current position when the host vehicle is actually off-route from the guide route. By providing these means, the conventional off-route is provided. Measures can be taken.

  Now, the guide route search means that the guide route search means executes a route search in units of roads, in units of travel lanes, or in units of travel points where it is necessary to perform travel excluding roads on the guide route. That is, the search for the guidance route may be performed in any form in the present application. Here, when a guidance route can be provided in units of traveling lanes, guidance with higher accuracy than before can be performed.

First, the basic form of the navigation apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 100 mainly includes a current position detection device 1, an information storage device 2, an arithmetic processing device 3, a display input device 4, a remote control input device 5, an in-vehicle camera 6, and a VICS receiver 7. It has.

Here, the current position detection device 1 includes a GPS receiver 1a, an orientation detection sensor 1b, and a distance detection sensor 1c.
The GPS receiver 1a is a device that receives a signal from an artificial satellite, and transmits a signal (current time), position information of the GPS receiver 1a, a moving speed of the GPS receiver 1a, and a traveling direction of the GPS receiver 1a. Various information can be obtained.
The direction detection sensor 1b is composed of a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, an optical rotation sensor attached to the rotating part of the steering wheel, a rotational resistance volume, an angle sensor attached to the wheel part, etc., and detects the traveling direction of the vehicle. can do.
The distance detection sensor 1c is configured by a combination of a sensor that detects the number of rotations of the wheel, a sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, and a circuit that integrates the detected acceleration twice, and can detect the moving distance of the vehicle. it can.

  A VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System: registered trademark) receiver 7 is a device that receives a signal transmitted from a signal transmitter installed at a predetermined point on a road. The apparatus can receive a VICS signal multiplexed in FM broadcast. The arithmetic processing device 3 can acquire various traffic information such as traffic jam information, current position information, and parking lot information from the signal received by the VICS receiver 7.

  The information storage device 2 includes a recording medium capable of storing information and its driving means, such as a hard disk drive, a DVD drive equipped with a DVD-ROM, a CD drive equipped with a CD-ROM, and the like. Is done. In this case, the information storage device 2 stores a map database 2a, a traffic information database 2b, and the like.

The map database 2a is a database that stores map information to be displayed on a display unit 4a (to be described later) of the display input device 4, and also stores information for determining the vehicle lane position.
The map information includes a road layer, a background layer having background information such as facilities, a character layer for displaying characters such as a city name, and the like. Among these, the road layer is configured to include a large number of nodes N having position information on a map expressed by latitude and longitude, and a large number of links L that connect the two nodes N to form a road. ing. As shown in FIG. 4, each link L has a link number, node numbers of nodes N at both ends, a road type (type of highway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, etc.), link length, as shown in FIG. And road attribute information such as width.
Further, the map database 2a includes a white line G2d, a broken line G3d, a road edge G1d in the road width direction from the road center line G4d in each road for use in the own vehicle lane position determining means 3b provided in the arithmetic processing unit 3. Are stored (see FIG. 3A). These pieces of information are compared and contrasted with an image captured from the in-vehicle camera 6 and used for determining the lane position of the own vehicle.

  In addition, the map database 2a stores lane information, traffic classification information, and regulatory information on each road with respect to each road for use in the failure situation determination means 3f provided in the arithmetic processing unit 3. These pieces of information are called up in relation to the current position of the vehicle and the first route change point in the guidance route, and are used for determining the failure situation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the traffic information database 2b has a date (here, month and day, January 1 to December 31) and time (here, 15-minute units, 00: 00 to 23: 45), It is a database that stores information on the degree of congestion and travel time corresponding to each of all links L (link numbers 1 to nnn) included in the map database 2a. Here, the degree of congestion is expressed in five stages from “1” to “5”, “1” is no congestion, “2” is slightly congested, “3” is congested, “4” is slightly congested, “5” is expressed such that the degree of congestion increases as the number increases, such as congestion. The congestion degree is classified into five levels “1” to “5”, which is merely an example, and it is naturally possible to further subdivide or simplify it.
The travel time is the time required to pass the distance from one node N to the other node N of each link L, and is represented by a numerical value in seconds in FIG. The information stored in the traffic information database 2b has the same date and time based on past VICS information, road traffic census information, or information obtained from travel history information of the vehicle or other vehicles. It can be obtained by statistically processing the travel time and the degree of congestion in each past link L.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the display / input device 4 is imaged by various information for route guidance such as a map and a guidance route R, further information related to construction performed at the present time or near the guidance route R, and the in-vehicle camera 6. The display unit 4a includes a display unit 4a for displaying imaging information and an input unit 4b that receives an input from a driver of a vehicle who is a guided person. As the display unit 4a, for example, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, a CRT (cathode-ray tube) display device, or the like can be used. As the input unit 4b, here, a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 4a and various switches arranged around the display screen are provided.

  The remote control input device 5 is a device that receives an input from a vehicle driver and transmits it to the arithmetic processing device 3 side by remote control. The transmitted input information is sent to the arithmetic processing device 3 via the remote control receiver 8. Is input.

  The in-vehicle camera 6 is configured to be able to image a scene in front of the host vehicle, and a captured image from the in-vehicle camera 6 is sent to an image processing unit 3a to be described later and is subjected to image processing. In the present application, the vehicle lane position is determined by the vehicle lane position determining means 3b as will be described later, so that information obtained by this image processing is used.

  The arithmetic processing unit 3 includes, for example, a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes and operation control of each part of the navigation apparatus, a RAM that is used as a working memory when the CPU performs arithmetic processes, and various types for operating the CPU. It can be configured to include a ROM or the like in which software such as the operation program and control program is stored. The arithmetic processing device 3 is connected to a current position detection device 1, an information storage device 2, a display input device 4, a remote control input device 5, an in-vehicle camera 6, and a remote control receiver 8.

  The arithmetic processing unit 3 stores software for achieving a predetermined purpose, and is configured to work with hardware to achieve a certain purpose. That is, the software and hardware constitute a processing means that realizes a predetermined purpose by working together. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the arithmetic processing unit 3 includes an image processing means 3a, own vehicle position determining means 3c including own vehicle lane position determining means 3b, off-route determining means 3d, off-route countermeasure means 3e, obstacle There are provided situation determination means 3f, failure situation determination position determination means 3g, off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h, and guidance route search means 3i.

The arithmetic processing unit 3 is constructed so as to achieve mainly three types of objects based on predetermined operation programs, data, input information, and the like.
One of them is the determination of the vehicle position, and a configuration is adopted in which the vehicle position is determined up to the vehicle lane position in accordance with the information from the current position detection device 1 and the information from the in-vehicle camera 6 described above. For this purpose, the vehicle position determining means 3c including the image processing means 3a and the vehicle lane position determining means 3b shown in FIG. 1 is provided.
The second is to search for a new guide route at the time of off-route. For this purpose, off-route determination means 3d and off-route countermeasure means 3e are provided.
The third is to search for a new guidance route before it becomes an off-route. For this purpose, a failure situation determination means 3f, a failure situation determination position determination means 3g and an off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h are provided. ing.

Hereinafter, each means will be described in order.
1. Determination of the vehicle position Information from the current position detection device 1, the information storage device 2, and the in-vehicle camera 6 is used for this determination.
Information from the current position detection device 1 can determine the approximate position of the vehicle within a range of about 5 to 10 m. The approximate position information of the own vehicle thus obtained is used for determining the own vehicle lane position in the own vehicle lane position determining means 3b.

That is, information useful for determining the lane existing at the approximate position of the host vehicle is derived from the road-related information stored in the map database 2a. This type of information includes the number of lanes at the approximate position of the vehicle, the number of white lines and broken lines, and the state of the road shoulder.
Based on this type of information, FIG. 3A shows the road edge G1d, the white line G2d, the broken line G3d, and the central white line G4d taken at the approximate position of the vehicle.
On the other hand, imaging information from the in-vehicle camera 6 is sent to the image processing means 3a, and from the imaging information, a road-like feature image (road edge G1i, white line G2i, broken line G3i, and central white line G4i) is obtained. Extracted. An example of this type is shown in FIG. In this example, the host vehicle is traveling in the left lane of two lanes on one side.

  In the vehicle lane position determining means 3b, information from the map database 2a (information corresponding to FIG. 3 (a)) and information obtained by the image processing means 3a (FIG. 3 (b)) The corresponding information) is compared and contrasted with the positional relationship in the road width direction, and the vehicle lane is determined. In this comparison, the vehicle derived from the map information database 2a side is in the left lane, the image to be captured by the in-vehicle camera 6 mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle is in the left lane, In contrast to the actual captured image captured by the in-vehicle camera 6 mounted on the host vehicle, the side with the higher degree of coincidence is defined as the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is currently traveling. In this way, the vehicle lane position can be determined.

2 Guide Route Search This guide route search is executed by the guide route search means 3i.
The guide route searching means 3i basically performs a process of searching for and determining the guide route R from the departure point S to the destination D when the destination D is designated by the user. Here, the departure point S is determined based on the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection device 1, but the user inputs and designates it using the input unit 4 b of the display input device 4 or the remote control input device 5. You can also

  Further, in the present application, the guide route search means 3i is also used when searching for a new route by the off-route countermeasure means 3e and the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h. Therefore, at the time of searching for a new guidance route by the off-route countermeasure means 3e, the starting point S becomes the current position of the host vehicle determined to be off-route, and a new guidance route by the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h. When the obstacle situation determination means 3f determines that the vehicle deviates from the current guidance route, the position that is expected to reach under the obstacle situation is determined as follows. Become. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 11 (b), this position is slightly on the right side (straight forward side) from the position shown in FIG.

  The process of searching for and determining the guide route R by the guide route searching means 3i can be performed by various known methods, for example, by the following method.

  This method is based on travel time in each link L constituting the guide route R. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the starting point S and the destination D are determined, a plurality of route candidates R1, R2, and R3 connecting both points can be listed. Each route candidate R1, R2, R3 is recognized as a set of continuous links L1, L2,... Constituting the route candidate. For each link L, information on travel time required to pass through each link L for each date and time is stored in the traffic information database 2b.

  That is, according to the traffic information database 2b shown in FIG. 5 described above, each link L1, L2 identified by the link number for any date (for example, January 1) and time (for example, 00:00). ,... For all Lnnnn, the degree of congestion (1 to 5) and travel time (for example, 20 seconds, 135 seconds, 42 seconds, etc.) are determined. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the estimated required time required to pass through the entire route for all route candidates R1, R2, and R3. The route candidate with the lowest cost is determined as the guide route R.

  In the above description, in order to simplify the description, only the travel time has been described as an element for determining the cost. However, as is conventionally known, the road information included in the link information La of each link L is described. Type (type of expressway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, etc.), width, time for passing the intersection when the node N connecting the links L is an intersection, and the link L or node from the departure point It is also possible to include the distance to N, the left / right turn, the number of road lanes, etc. in the cost calculation.

3 Off-route countermeasures In order to cope with off-routes, both off-route determination means 3d and off-route countermeasure means 3e are provided. This countermeasure means 3e is the same as that conventionally provided in the navigation device 100, and when the own vehicle deviates from the guidance route and enters the wrong road, a new guidance route is searched from the position. . The processing by these means is the same as the relationship between the guide route Ro and the new guide route Rn in FIG.

  Accordingly, the off-route determination means 3d basically compares the approximate position of the own vehicle detected from the current position detection device 1 with the guide route Ro, and determines whether the own vehicle is on the guide route Ro. Determine whether. When the off-route determining means 3d determines that the own vehicle position is out of the guide route Ro, the off-route countermeasure means 3d is set so far with the current position of the own vehicle as the departure place S. Using the destination D as the destination D, the guide route searching means 3i is operated to search for a new guide route Rn to the destination. Therefore, when an off-route actually occurs, navigation can be performed with an accurate guide route from that position.

  FIG. 10 shows a processing flow of this off-route countermeasure. As shown in the figure, the current position / lane is detected (step 101), and the result is compared with the current guide route Ro (step 102). If they match as a result of collation (step 103: yes), the guidance is continued (step 105). If they do not match (step 103: no), a new guidance route Rn is searched (step 104), and the guidance is continued. The guidance by the route Rn is continued (step 105).

4 Off-Route Preparatory Measures This off-route preparatory measure is based on whether or not the vehicle is likely to fall off route, and if it is likely to fall off, a new guide route Rn in case of falling off route is preliminarily determined. It is what you want. Therefore, for this purpose, failure situation determination means 3f, failure situation determination position determination means 3g and off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h are provided.
Here, the obstacle circumstance determination means 3f relates to the guidance route Ro that is on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position, and whether or not there is an obstacle circumstance that makes it difficult to travel along the guidance route Ro as seen from the current own vehicle situation. When the failure situation determination means 3f determines that there is a failure situation, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h departs from the previous guide route Ro and can be reached under the failure situation. (For example, a point that is slightly straight ahead from the route change point C in FIG. 2 (a)) is set as the departure point S, and the guide route search means 3i is operated to reach the preset destination D from the departure point S. Search for new guidance routes.
Therefore, when the failure situation determination means 3f determines that traveling along the current guidance route Ro is impossible for some reason, a search for a new guidance route from a point off the route to the destination D is executed. The

Now, the failure circumstance determination means 3f determines whether or not the vehicle can travel along the guidance route based on at least the lane position of the own vehicle determined by the own vehicle lane position determination means 3b described above. .
For example, if you need to make a left turn at a route change point (intersection, etc.) when traveling along a guidance route, there is no obstacle when you are in a left turn lane, and there are obstacles when you are in a straight lane or a right turn lane. It is determined that there is a possibility, and the farther from the left turn lane, the higher the degree of failure is determined.

  Furthermore, in this determination, traffic classification information or legal regulation information at the road point where the vehicle is traveling, distance information from the vehicle position to the first route change point in the guidance route R on the traveling forward side, Any one or more of the surrounding traveling body information, which is information related to the traveling body traveling around the own vehicle, and the own vehicle traveling information regarding the traveling state of the own vehicle is also a requirement for the determination.

  As an example of traffic classification and legal restrictions, refer to the prohibition of change of travel lane at the travel point, etc., and the latest left turn intersection approaching on the guidance route Ro as seen from the travel lane where the vehicle is currently traveling In spite of the fact, if the vehicle is in a straight lane, it is determined that there is a high possibility of a failure. In this case, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h searches for a new guide route Rn on the premise that the vehicle is going straight ahead at an intersection approaching.

  As an example of distance information from the own vehicle position to the first route change point C on the guidance route Ro on the traveling forward side, the vehicle is approaching on the guidance route Ro as seen from the traveling lane in which the own vehicle is currently traveling. Despite the recent left turn intersection C, if the vehicle is in a straight lane and the distance to the intersection C is insufficient, it is determined that there is a failure. In this case, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h searches for a new guide route Rn on the premise that the vehicle is going straight ahead at an intersection approaching.

  As an example of the surrounding traveling body information that is information about the traveling body traveling around the own vehicle, there are many vehicles around the own vehicle and the own vehicle is traveling in the center lane, When there is a recent left turn intersection C approaching on the guide route Ro, it is determined that there is a failure situation. Also in this case, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h searches for a new guide route Rn on the premise that the vehicle travels straight on the intersection C where the vehicle is approaching.

  As an example of the traveling information of the host vehicle, when the host vehicle is traveling at a relatively high speed on the lane on the center side, and there is a recent left turn intersection C approaching on the guide route Ro, Judge that there is. Also in this case, the off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3h searches for a new guide route Rn on the premise that the vehicle is going straight ahead at an intersection approaching.

  In the above description, the example in which the failure situation determination is performed at an arbitrary travel point in accordance with the concept of the failure situation determination referred to in the present application has been described. However, in the case of this basic form, the section in which the determination is performed is determined.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a failure circumstance determination position determining unit 3g for determining a failure circumstance determination section or position for determining a failure circumstance by the failure circumstance determination unit 3f is provided. In this example, 3g determines the obstacle circumstance determination section based on the relationship with the first course change point C on the guide route Ro that is on the traveling forward side from the vehicle position.
Therefore, the determination by the failure situation determination means 3f is not always performed, and for example, the failure situation determination is performed only within a section at a predetermined distance X from the left turn intersection C. This section A is shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a processing flow of the off-route preliminary countermeasure according to this example.
This processing flow is repeatedly executed sequentially while the host vehicle is traveling in the section A, and when necessary, searches for a new guide route Rn.

  In this flow, first, the vehicle position and the vehicle lane on the map on which the vehicle is traveling are detected (step 81). On the other hand, with respect to the guidance route Ro that has been searched in advance, the route change point C ahead of the host vehicle is collated with the travel route that the host vehicle is currently traveling (step 82). At this collation stage, if the vehicle is going to travel along the guide route Ro, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a route that conforms to the route. Here, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 2, when traveling on the uppermost traveling lane that can turn left, it is possible to travel along the guide route Ro and travel on the lowermost traveling lane. If so, the possibility of off-route is high.

In this situation, it is determined whether or not there is a course change point C within the predetermined distance Xm ahead in the guidance route Ro (step 83). That is, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to determine the failure situation in relation to the route change point C. In the example shown in FIG. 2 (B), the distance in the left-right direction shown in section A corresponds to X, and it is preferable to set the distance to about 200 to 1000 m on a four-lane road as shown. This determination is a determination requirement for whether or not the vehicle can travel along the guidance route Ro even if the vehicle travels as it is. Accordingly, in this determination, if the vehicle position is too close to the course change point C, the determination is yes, and the processing from step 84 to step 86 is executed based on the determination that there is a high possibility of a failure situation.
On the other hand, if the distance between the vehicle and the route change point C is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance, it is determined that the vehicle can travel along the current guidance route Ro and the current guidance state is maintained (step 83: no).

  If it is determined yes in step 83, the surrounding information and vehicle information of the own vehicle are obtained (step 84). Here, the surrounding information of the own vehicle is whether or not another vehicle exists around the own vehicle as described above. Further, the vehicle information is the traveling speed of the own vehicle. This requirement is because a left turn or the like becomes difficult when the degree of congestion is high and the traveling speed is high.

  After obtaining the above information, it is determined whether or not it is possible to enter the guidance route from the current position including the current travel lane (step 85). For example, in the state where the host vehicle is filled with other vehicles and is traveling at a relatively high speed, it is determined that there is a failure and it is determined that it is not possible to enter the guidance route. On the other hand, when there is no vehicle around the host vehicle and the vehicle is traveling at a relatively low speed, it is determined that there is no obstacle circumstance in the obstacle circumstance determination, and it is determined that it is possible to enter the guidance route. In this case, the presence / absence of a failure situation may be determined by further referring to the current time or the traffic classification to the intersection, laws and regulations, and the like.

The above determination is performed, and if it is determined that there is a failure and it is impossible to enter the current guide route Ro (step 85: no), a search for a new guide route Rn is executed (step 86). In this new guidance route search, the point of arrival in the situation where the obstacle situation is maintained as it is and the vehicle travels according to the situation is set as the departure point S (a position straight ahead from point C in FIG. 2). .
When the above determination is performed and it is determined that there is no obstacle and it is possible to enter the current guide route Ro (step 85: yes), navigation according to the current guide route Ro is executed (step 87). .
As described above, a search for a preliminary guide route is performed when there is a high possibility of actually going off-route, and limited resources can be used effectively.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the above basic mode, the range for determining the failure situation is determined from the relationship with the first route change point C on the guidance route Ro on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle, and the distance X is constant. As a matter of course, the failure situation determination is sequentially performed in a predetermined section A on the side of the course change point C from the position. In the present embodiment, the distance from the course change point is made variable according to the traveling state. The determination is made only by the position.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), the lane information at the road point where the host vehicle is traveling is the distance Y from the first route change point C to the obstacle circumstance determination position E on the guidance route Ro. It is determined based on any one or more of traffic classification information or legal regulation information, surrounding traveling body information which is information relating to a traveling body traveling around the own vehicle, and own vehicle traveling information relating to the traveling state of the own vehicle.

This example will be described for the case where the vehicle is approaching a left turn intersection C on the guide route Ro (see FIG. 11B). As described above, in the present application, it is possible to determine whether the traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling is a left turn lane or a straight lane. Therefore, for example, when there are many lanes to the left turn lane, the traveling speed is high, and the degree of traffic congestion is high, if the distance Y is long and there is no vehicle in the left turn lane, there is an obstacle situation. Judge that.
Conversely, if the number of lanes to the left turn lane is small, the traveling speed is slow, and the degree of traffic congestion is low, the above distance is shortened, and if there is no vehicle in the left turn lane at that position, it is determined that there is a failure situation. .
If it does in this way, the existence of obstacle circumstances can be judged from the relation to the distance to the left turn intersection C and the traveling lane.

  In this case as well, the distance Y may be set with reference to traffic classification at road points, legal regulations, and the like. In this case, for example, in a section where the travel lane cannot be changed, the distance may be set longer as a matter of course.

  Further specifically, based on the processing flow shown in FIG. 9, detection of the current position / lane of the own vehicle (step 91) and collation with the forward guidance route (step 92) are the same as before. At this stage, the current position / travel lane in which the vehicle is traveling is determined, and the relationship between the travel lane to be targeted and the travel lane currently traveling is determined.

  Subsequently, the surrounding traveling body information and the own vehicle traveling information are taken in (step 93). The failure determination position E, which is the distance Y from the intersection, is determined in relation to the distance determined in advance as a standard by using the information thus acquired as a weight. For example, when there are many surrounding traveling bodies, weighting is executed so that the distance Y becomes longer, and when there are fewer surrounding weights, weighting is executed so that the distance Y becomes shorter (step 94). Then, it is determined whether or not it is possible to enter the guidance route Ro from the current travel lane at the failure determination position E determined in this way (step 95). In essence, whether or not the vehicle is in a lane where a left turn is possible at this position is a criterion for determination.

As a result, if it is possible to enter (step 95: yes), the guidance is continued as it is (step 9).
7) If entry is impossible (step 95: no), after searching for a new route Rn (step 96), guidance is continued on the new route (step 97).

  As described above, it is possible to minimize the blank period of navigation using the guidance route even when the route falls off.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, in the determination of the vehicle position, an example in which the vehicle position can be determined including the travel lane of the vehicle is shown. It is possible to determine whether or not traveling along the guide lane is possible in the situation where the vehicle is close to the vehicle as a failure situation determination, and according to the result, a new guide route search may be performed. In addition to the above, it may be performed in units of roads that do not include the traveling lane search as usual.
In this case, the failure situation determination can be made according to the traveling speed and the distance from the vehicle position to the route change point.
(2) In the above embodiment, an example in which the search for the guidance route is performed in units of roads has been described. However, the search for the guidance route may be performed in units of travel lanes including the travel lanes. In this case, although the off-route determination works effectively, the failure situation determination is performed with the point requiring the change of the traveling lane as the course change point described so far.
Further, the search may be performed in units of travel points that need to be traveled excluding the travel along the route of the guide route (so-called straight travel) (the route change point units described so far).

  The object is to obtain a navigation device capable of making the navigation blank period as short as possible even in a state of being in an off-route state, and to obtain a navigation method capable of realizing this kind of navigation.

The block diagram which shows the outline of the hardware constitutions of the navigation apparatus which concerns on the basic form of this invention The figure which shows the search situation of the new guidance route in basic form The figure which shows the state (b) of the reference data obtained from map data, and the picked-up image (b) obtained when determining a driving lane The figure which shows the contents of the link information of each link which the map database has Diagram showing contents of traffic information database The figure which shows the relationship of the link and node which are used for the search of the guidance route The figure which shows the example of a display of the guidance route R The figure which shows the flow of a new guidance route search with the fault condition determination which concerns on a basic form The figure which shows the flow of a new guidance route search with the fault condition determination which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the flow which performs reroute after off route The figure which shows the search condition of the new guidance route in embodiment of this invention Diagram showing problems when only off-route countermeasures are implemented

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Current position detection apparatus 2 Information storage apparatus 2a Map database 2b Traffic information database 3 Processing unit 3a Image processing means 3b Own vehicle lane position determining means 3c Own vehicle position determining means 3d Off route determining means 3e Off route countermeasure means 3f Fault circumstances Determining means 3g Fault condition determining position means 3h Off-route preliminary countermeasure means 3i Guide route searching means 4 Display input device 5 Remote control device 6 Car-mounted camera 7 VICS receiver 9 Construction notice sign

Claims (9)

A navigation device comprising own vehicle position determining means for obtaining the own vehicle position, and guide route searching means for searching for a guide route to the destination,
With respect to the guidance route on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position, obstacle situation determination means for judging the presence or absence of the obstacle situation that makes traveling along the guidance route difficult in view of the current situation of the own vehicle,
When it is determined by the failure situation determination means that the failure situation exists, the guidance route search means is operated from a point where it is expected to reach the guidance route in the presence of the failure situation. , Off-route preliminary countermeasure means for searching for a new guide route from the departure place to the destination;
Prior to the failure situation determination by the failure situation determination means, the failure situation determination position determination means for determining the failure situation determination position for performing the failure situation determination,
The obstacle circumstance determination position determining means relates to a surrounding traveling body that travels around the own vehicle for a distance from the first course change point on the guide route that is on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position to the obstacle circumstance determination position. based on the periphery traveling body information, said when the ambient traveling body is less variable and determined to be shorter than the standard length which is set in advance,
The navigation apparatus that performs the failure situation determination at the failure situation determination position. The obstacle circumstance determination position determining means variably determines the distance from the first course change point on the guide route to the obstacle circumstance determination position so that it becomes longer than the standard distance when there are many surrounding traveling bodies. The navigation device according to claim 1. The fault condition identified position determining means further lane information in the road point where the vehicle is traveling, through row segment information or regulatory information, or any one or more of the vehicle running information related to the traveling state of the vehicle the navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, the variable determining the distance based. The own vehicle position determining means includes own vehicle lane position determining means for obtaining the lane position of the own vehicle in which the own vehicle is traveling,
The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the failure situation determination unit performs the failure situation determination based on the lane position of the host vehicle determined by the host vehicle lane position determination unit. The obstacle circumstance determination means includes traffic classification information or legal regulation information at a road point where the vehicle is traveling, distance information from the vehicle position to the first route change point on the guide route on the traveling forward side, any one of claims 1 to perform the fault condition determination based on any one or more of the vehicle running information about the surrounding running body information or the traveling state of the vehicle is information concerning the traveling body to travel around 4 The navigation device described in 1. An off-route determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle position deviates from the guide route;
Off route countermeasure means for searching for a new guide route to the destination by operating the guide route search means when the vehicle position is determined to be out of the guide route by the off route determination means. The navigation apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 5 provided. The guide route search means, the road unit, lane unit, or to any one of claims 1 to 6 to perform a route search in the running point units that need to be run with the exception of the road will travel consists in guiding route The navigation device described. Vehicle position determination means for obtaining the vehicle position, and guide route search means for searching for a guide route to the destination,
Regarding the guidance route on the traveling forward side from the own vehicle position, judging from the current own vehicle situation, it is determined whether there is an obstacle situation that makes it difficult to travel along the guidance route,
Off when searching for a new guidance route from the departure point to the destination, starting from a point that is expected to arrive outside the guidance route under the obstacle circumstances when it is determined that the obstacle circumstance exists A navigation method in a navigation device that executes route preliminary measures,
Prior to determining the failure situation, the failure situation determination position for determining the failure situation is determined,
The distance from the first course change point in the guide route to the fault condition identified position, based on the ambient traveling body information on ambient running body running around a vehicle, the advance when the ambient traveling body is small Variablely determined to be shorter than the set standard distance ,
It performs the fault condition identification in the fault condition identified position,
A navigation method for performing navigation according to a newly searched guide route. In order to determine the obstacle circumstance determination position, the distance from the first route change point on the guide route to the obstacle circumstance determination position is variable so as to be longer than the standard distance when there are many surrounding traveling bodies. the navigation method according to claim 8 determined.

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