JP5099019B2 - Travel guidance device, travel guidance method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel guide device, a travel guide method, and a computer program for guiding a time when a vehicle is recommended to leave a departure place.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device is often mounted on a vehicle that provides vehicle travel guidance so that a driver can easily arrive at a desired destination. Here, the navigation device detects the current position of the vehicle by a GPS receiver or the like, acquires map data corresponding to the current position through a recording medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD or a network, and displays it on a liquid crystal monitor. It is a device that can do. Furthermore, such a navigation device has a route search function for searching for the optimum route from the vehicle position to the destination when a desired destination is input, and displays the guidance route on the display screen and approaches the intersection. In such a case, the driver is surely guided to a desired destination by providing voice guidance.

  Further, in the conventional navigation device, the recommended time to depart from the departure place is also guided based on the desired arrival time at the destination. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-181553 (Patent Document 1), when a user inputs a destination and a desired arrival time to the destination, the route from the current position to the destination is searched and input. A technique is described in which a scheduled departure time to be departed in order to arrive at a destination at the desired arrival time is calculated and the calculated departure time is guided.

JP 2002-181553 A (2nd to 4th pages, FIGS. 2 and 3)

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 can guide the departure time in consideration of the arrival time at the destination, but does not consider the state of the event in the road section when the vehicle travels. . Here, the event states include, for example, traffic jams, road flooding, snow cover, road surface freezing, poor visibility, etc., and these event states greatly affect the traveling environment of the vehicle. Moreover, the state of the event of these road sections changes with time passage. Therefore, even when traveling on the same road section, the state of the event, that is, the traveling environment of the vehicle greatly varies depending on the traveling time.

  And in the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document 1, when the road section where the state of the event such as the road section where the traffic is congested or the road is flooded when traveling on the route to the destination is included, In consideration of the time required to travel on a congested road section or a submerged road section, it is possible to calculate and guide a time earlier than usual as the scheduled departure time. It was not possible to provide guidance on the scheduled departure time for traveling avoiding the time when the section was congested or flooded.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and there is a possibility of traffic jam on the route to the destination by considering the state of the event of the road section included in the route to the destination. Even when a road section or a road section where the road may be flooded is included, to avoid a time when each road section is congested or flooded, etc. An object of the present invention is to provide a travel guidance device, a travel guidance method, and a computer program that can provide a scheduled travel time as a recommended departure time and can provide a comfortable travel environment to the user.

In order to achieve the above object, the travel guidance device (1) according to claim 1 of the present application includes a planned travel route acquisition means (13) for acquiring a planned travel route from the departure place to the destination, and the vehicle is connected to the departure place. and the starting as scheduled departure time, departure time acquisition means for acquiring time every predetermined time in order from the start time of the range within the preferred departure time specified by the user (13), the planned departure time time each contained, in the case where the vehicle has departed the departure point to the scheduled departure time, arrival time acquisition means for acquiring the estimated time of arrival to the road sections included in the planned travel route for each section ( and 13), the event state acquisition means for acquiring the status of events of the road section in the acquired expected arrival time for each section (13) by the estimated arrival time acquisition unit, included in the scheduled departure time Of time, to have a, and guide means (13) for guiding a time as a recommended starting time when the state of the event of all the road sections situations that Der below the threshold acquired by the event condition acquiring means Features.
Here, the “event state” is a state of an event on the road whose state changes with time, and includes, for example, a state of traffic congestion, road flooding, snow cover, road surface freezing, visibility, and the like.

A travel guide device (1) according to claim 2 is the travel guide device according to claim 1 , further comprising event selection means (13) for selecting an event from a plurality of event candidates, wherein the event The state acquisition means (13) acquires the state of the event selected by the event selection means at the determination point.

The travel guidance method according to claim 3 is designated by the user as a planned travel route acquisition step for acquiring a planned travel route from the departure place to the destination, and as a scheduled departure time when the vehicle leaves the departure place. Within the range of the desired departure time, a scheduled departure time acquisition step of acquiring the time every predetermined time in order from the start time of the range, and the vehicle at the scheduled departure time for each time included in the scheduled departure time. When departing from the departure place, the estimated arrival time acquisition step for acquiring the estimated arrival time for the road section included in the planned travel route for each section, and the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition step and the event state acquiring the status of the events of the road section in each section, of the time that is included in the scheduled departure time, in the event state acquisition step A guide step of the obtained event status of all of the road section is guided as the recommended departure time to time when situations that der less than the threshold value, and having a.

Further, a computer program according to claim 4, the computer, and the planned travel route acquisition function of acquiring the planned travel route to the destination from the departure point, the vehicle as depart departure the departure point, the user A scheduled departure time acquisition function for acquiring a time every predetermined time in order from the start time of the range within a specified desired departure time range, and for each time included in the scheduled departure time, the vehicle In the case where the departure place is departed at the time, the estimated arrival time acquisition function for acquiring the estimated arrival time to the road section included in the planned travel route for each section, and the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition function. and event status obtaining function for obtaining an event state of the road section at a time for each section, of the time included in the scheduled departure time, the event state obtaining function Acquired event status of all of the road section is characterized in that to execute a guidance function, the guiding as recommended departure time to time when situations that der less than the threshold value Ri.

In the travel guidance device according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, by considering the event state of the road section included in the route to the destination, there is a road section or road that may be congested in the route to the destination. Even if there are road sections where there is a risk of flooding, the scheduled departure time for traveling while avoiding times when the state of events such as the time when each road section is congested and the time when the road is flooded gets worse It is possible to guide the recommended departure time. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable driving environment for the user.
In addition, it is possible to guide a scheduled departure time that can provide a comfortable travel environment to the user as a recommended departure time within the range of the desired departure time desired by the user.

In the travel guidance device according to claim 2 , the scheduled departure time for traveling to the destination is guided as the recommended departure time while avoiding the time when the state of the situation selected from the plurality of event candidates is deteriorated. It becomes possible. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable traveling environment that meets the user's request.

Further, in the travel guidance method according to claim 3 , by considering the event state of the road section included in the route to the destination, the road section or the road that may be congested in the route to the destination is flooded. Even if there is a risky road section, the recommended departure time for driving while avoiding times when the state of the event such as the time when each road section is congested or flooded is worsened is recommended It is possible to guide as time. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable driving environment for the user.
In addition, it is possible to guide a scheduled departure time that can provide a comfortable travel environment to the user as a recommended departure time within the range of the desired departure time desired by the user.

Furthermore, in the computer program according to claim 4 , by considering the event state of the road section included in the route to the destination, there is a risk that the road section or the road that may be congested in the route to the destination may be flooded. Even if a road section with a certain number of roads is included, the recommended departure time is the recommended departure time for avoiding the time when the state of the event such as the time when each road section is congested and the time when it is flooded gets worse Can be guided to a computer. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable driving environment for the user.
In addition, it is possible to guide a scheduled departure time that can provide a comfortable travel environment to the user as a recommended departure time within the range of the desired departure time desired by the user.

It is the block diagram which showed the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the data memorize | stored in event state DB. It is a flowchart of the scheduled departure time guidance processing program according to the present embodiment. It is the figure which showed the event avoidance departure time guidance button selection screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed the event selection screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed the threshold value input screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed the desired departure time input screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed an example of the determination link specified when a vehicle drive | works the driving planned route from the departure place to the destination. It is a flowchart of the sub process program of the recommended departure time specific process which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the sub process program of the threshold value determination process which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of calculation of the recommended departure time by the scheduled departure time guidance processing program when "traffic jam" is selected as an event to be avoided. It is the figure which showed the example of calculation of the recommended departure time by the scheduled departure time guidance processing program when "traffic jam" is selected as an event to be avoided. It is the figure which showed the example of calculation of the recommended departure time by the scheduled departure time guidance processing program when "road flooding" is selected as an event to be avoided.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, a travel guide device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment in which the navigation device is embodied. First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is based on a current position detection unit 11 that detects a current position of a vehicle, a data recording unit 12 that records various data, and input information. A navigation ECU (scheduled route acquisition means, scheduled departure time acquisition means, scheduled arrival time acquisition means, event state acquisition means, guidance means, scheduled departure time identification means, event selection means) 13 for performing various arithmetic processes, and a user An operation unit 14 that receives an operation from the computer, a liquid crystal display 15 that displays information such as a map to the user, a speaker 16 that outputs voice guidance related to route guidance, and a DVD that reads a DVD that is a storage medium storing a program A communication module 18 for performing communication between the drive 17 and an information center such as a traffic information center or a probe center; It is al configuration.

Below, each component which comprises the navigation apparatus 1 is demonstrated in order.
The current position detection unit 11 includes a GPS 21, a geomagnetic sensor 22, a vehicle speed sensor 23, a steering sensor 24, a gyro sensor 25, an altimeter (not shown), and the like, and detects a current vehicle position, direction, vehicle traveling speed, and the like. It is possible to do. Here, in particular, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is a sensor for detecting a moving distance and a vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation ECU 13. And navigation ECU13 calculates the rotational speed and moving distance of a wheel by counting the pulse which generate | occur | produces. Note that the navigation device 1 does not have to include all of the above five types of sensors, and the navigation device 1 may include only one or more of these types of sensors.

  Further, the data recording unit 12 reads out a hard disk (not shown) as an external storage device and a recording medium, a map information DB 31, an event state DB 32, a predetermined program, and the like recorded on the hard disk and stores predetermined data on the hard disk. And a recording head (not shown) as a driver for writing.

Here, the map information DB 31 stores various map data necessary for route guidance, traffic information guidance, and map display.
Further, the map data specifically searches for link data relating to road (link) shapes, node data relating to node points, intersection data relating to each intersection, facility data relating to facilities, search data for searching for routes, and points. For example, it includes image drawing data for drawing images such as search data, maps, roads, and traffic information on the liquid crystal display 15. Note that the link data regarding some links includes information regarding the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, a large road having a median strip is composed of a plurality of links associated with each vehicle traveling direction (up and down).

On the other hand, the event state DB 32 includes an event state and a determination link for each link (hereinafter referred to as a determination link) to be subjected to threshold determination described later among links (road sections) included in the planned travel route of the vehicle. It is a storage unit that stores travel time (hereinafter referred to as travel time between determination links) from the time of entering until the next determination link is entered. Then, the event state for each determination link and the travel time between determination links stored in the event state DB 32 are acquired from the VICS center and the probe center as described later. Here, the “event state” is a state of an event on the road whose state changes with time, and includes, for example, a state of traffic jam, road flooding, snow cover, road surface freezing, visibility, and the like. In addition to the state of the event at the current time, the event state DB 32 also stores the state of the estimated future event (for example, the state every 10 minutes from the current time until 3 hours later).
For example, as information for specifying the state of traffic congestion, the degree of traffic congestion (any one of “congested”, “congested”, and “no traffic jam”) for each determination link is acquired from the VICS center or the probe center and stored in the event state DB 32. Remembered. As information for specifying the flooding state of the road, the water level (XX cm) for each determination link is acquired from the VICS center or the probe center and stored in the event state DB 32. As information for specifying the snow cover state, the snow cover amount (XX cm) for each determination link is acquired from the VICS center or the probe center and stored in the event state DB 32. In addition, as information for specifying the road surface freezing state, the presence or absence of road surface freezing (either “with freezing” or “no freezing”) for each determination link is acquired from the VICS center or the probe center and stored in the event state DB 32. Is done. Further, as information for specifying the state of view, the visible distance (OOm) for each determination link is acquired from the VICS center or the probe center and stored in the event state DB 32.

For example, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing information on the state of the traffic jam of the link A, which is one of the determination links, among the event states for each determination link stored in the event state DB 32.
As shown in FIG. 2, the state of the event of the determination link stored in the event state DB 32 is stored for each elapsed time from the current time. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the degree of traffic jam (every “traffic jam”, “congested”, or “no traffic jam”) every 10 minutes from the current time is stored in the event state DB 32.
Then, the navigation ECU 13 uses the state of the event for each determination link stored in the event state DB 32 to avoid a time when the state of the event becomes worse, such as a time when the link is congested or a time when the link is flooded. Specify the scheduled departure time.

  The state of the event for each determination link stored in the event state DB 32 may be calculated by the navigation ECU 13. For example, the degree of congestion can be calculated from the past travel history (congestion history) of the vehicle. Further, the flood level of the road can be calculated based on the predicted precipitation obtained from the center, the topographic information obtained from the map information DB 31, and the like. Further, the amount of snow and the presence or absence of road surface freezing can be calculated based on the predicted amount of snowfall, predicted temperature acquired from the center, topographic information acquired from the map information DB 31, accident history, and the like. The visible distance can be calculated based on the weather forecast acquired from the center, the predicted temperature, the terrain information acquired from the map information DB 31, and the like.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which navigation ECU13 calculates also about the travel time between determination links for every determination link memorize | stored in event state DB32. For example, it is calculated from the event status (congestion level, road flooding level, snow cover, road freezing, visible distance) of each link constituting the route to the next judgment link, average travel time of each link, etc. It is possible.

  On the other hand, the navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 13 performs a scheduled travel route setting process for setting a planned travel route from the current position to the destination when a destination is selected, and all determinations included in the planned travel route. This is an electronic control unit that performs overall control of the navigation device 1 such as scheduled departure time guidance processing that guides a scheduled departure time when the state of the link event is less than a threshold as a recommended departure time. The CPU 41 as an arithmetic device and a control device, the RAM 41 used as a working memory when the CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes, a RAM 42 for storing route data when a route is searched, and a control program In addition, an internal storage device such as a ROM 43 in which a scheduled departure time guidance processing program (see FIGS. 3, 9, and 10) is recorded and a flash memory 44 that stores a program read from the ROM 43 is provided.

  The operation unit 14 is operated when inputting a departure point as a travel start point and a destination as a travel end point, and includes a plurality of operation switches (not shown) such as various keys and buttons. Then, the navigation ECU 13 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on switch signals output by pressing the switches. In addition, it can also be comprised by the touchscreen provided in the front surface of the liquid crystal display 15. Further, in the present embodiment, when the planned travel route to the destination is set in the navigation device 1, a selection means for selecting an event to be avoided (congestion, flooding of the road, snow cover, road surface freezing, visibility) It is also used as input means for inputting the threshold value of the event state and the range of the scheduled departure time.

  The liquid crystal display 15 also includes a map image including a road, traffic information, operation guidance, operation menu, key guidance, a planned travel route from the departure point to the destination, guidance information along the planned travel route, news, weather Forecast, time, mail, TV program, etc. are displayed. In the present embodiment, when the planned travel route to the destination is set in the navigation device 1, the selection of an event to be avoided (congestion, flooding of the road, snow cover, road surface freezing, visibility), and the state of the event A screen for inputting the threshold value and the desired departure time range is also displayed.

  Further, the speaker 16 outputs voice guidance for guiding traveling along the planned traveling route and traffic information guidance based on an instruction from the navigation ECU 13.

  The DVD drive 17 is a drive that can read data recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD. Then, the map information DB 31 is updated based on the read data.

In addition, the communication module 18 is traffic information composed of information such as traffic jam information, regulation information, and traffic accident information transmitted from a traffic information center such as a VICS (registered trademark: Vehicle Information and Communication System) center or a probe center. For example, a mobile phone or DCM.
Furthermore, the communication module 18 according to the present embodiment transmits information related to the scheduled travel route set to the VICS center and the probe center when the planned travel route to the destination is set in the navigation device 1. Then, the state of the event for each determination link corresponding to the transmitted scheduled travel route and the travel time between determination links are received from the VICS center or the probe center.
Since the event state for each determination link and the travel time between determination links have already been described with reference to FIG.

  Next, a scheduled departure time guidance processing program executed in the navigation device 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the scheduled departure time guidance processing program according to the present embodiment. Here, the scheduled departure time guidance processing program is executed when a planned travel route is set in the navigation device 1 or when a predetermined operation of the user is received in the operation unit 14, and an event selected by the user (congestion, road This is a program that guides a scheduled departure time as a recommended departure time for traveling along a planned traveling route while avoiding that the state of flooding, snowfall, road surface freezing, visibility) of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3, 9, and 10 below are stored in the RAM 42 and ROM 43 provided in the navigation ECU 13 and executed by the CPU 41.

  First, in the scheduled departure time guidance processing program, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1, the CPU 41 determines whether or not a planned travel route of the vehicle is set in the navigation device 1. Here, the planned travel route includes, for example, a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set based on the route search result when the destination is input by operating the operation unit 14. Since the route search is already known, its description is omitted.

  When it is determined that the scheduled travel route is set (S1: YES), the process proceeds to S2. On the other hand, when it is determined that the scheduled travel route is not set (S1: NO), the scheduled departure time guidance processing program is terminated.

  Next, in S <b> 2, the CPU 41 acquires the planned travel route set in the navigation device 1 as the planned travel route of the vehicle.

  Subsequently, in S3, the CPU 41 sequentially displays an event selection screen, a threshold value input screen, and a desired departure time input screen on the liquid crystal display 15. Then, on the event selection screen, threshold value input screen, and desired departure time input screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, the user selects an event to be avoided (congestion, flooding on the road, snow cover, road surface freezing, visibility) Enter the threshold of the status and the desired departure time range.

  4 to 7 are diagrams showing an event avoidance departure time guide button selection screen, an event selection screen, a threshold value input screen, and a desired departure time input screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the process proceeds to S <b> 3, an event avoidance departure time guidance button selection screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. An event avoidance departure time guide button 51 is arranged on the event avoidance departure time guide button selection screen.

Thereafter, when the event avoidance departure time guidance button 51 is pressed, an event selection screen 52 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15 as shown in FIG. Note that event selection buttons 53 to 56 are displayed on the event selection screen 52. Here, when the event selection button 53 is pressed, “traffic jam” is selected as an event to be avoided. When the event selection button 54 is pressed, “road flooding” is selected as an event to be avoided. Further, when the event selection button 55 is pressed, “snow cover, road surface freezing” is selected as an event to be avoided. When the event selection button 56 is pressed, “view” is selected as an event to be avoided.
A plurality of events may be selected as events to be avoided.

When any of the event selection buttons 53 to 56 is pressed, a threshold value input screen 57 for inputting a threshold value of the event state is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15 next. For example, FIG. 6 shows a threshold value input screen 57 when “road flooding” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user. Then, a threshold value is input by operating a threshold value input button 58 displayed on the threshold value input screen 57. Further, as will be described later, the CPU 41 guides, as a recommended departure time, a scheduled departure time at which the event states of all determination links included in the planned travel route are less than the threshold value input on the threshold value input screen 57. For example, when the fact that the flooding of the road is 10 cm is input as the threshold value of the event state, the scheduled departure time when the flooding of all judgment links included in the planned travel route is less than 10 cm is set as the recommended departure time. invite.
When “congestion” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user, the degree of congestion (any one of “congestion”, “congestion”, and “no congestion”) is selected as a threshold on the threshold value input screen 57. The configuration. Further, when “snow cover, road surface freezing” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user, the snowfall amount (XX cm) and the presence or absence of road surface freezing (“with freezing”, “without freezing” are displayed on the threshold value input screen 57. ]) As a threshold value. Further, when “view” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user, the visible distance (XXm) is input as a threshold value on the threshold value input screen 57.

  Subsequently, when the threshold value of the event state is input, a desired departure time input screen 59 for inputting a range of time desired to leave from the departure place is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. FIG. 7 shows a desired departure time input screen 59. Then, by operating the time input button 60 displayed on the desired departure time input screen 59, the desired departure time range is input. In the present embodiment, the desired departure time that can be input is in units of 10 minutes. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of desired departure times are input instead of the time range. As will be described later, the CPU 41 is included in the planned travel route within the range of the input desired departure time (specifically, every 10 minutes included in the input desired departure time range). The scheduled departure time when the state of all the determination link events is less than the threshold value input on the threshold value input screen 57 is guided as the recommended departure time.

  The threshold value of the event state may be acquired from the probe center as probe information instead of being input by the user using the threshold value input screen 57. Here, when the probe center sets the threshold value of the event state, the event state and the traffic amount of the vehicle are compared for each link, and the event of which the vehicle is determined to be able to travel comfortably is determined. It is desirable to set the lower limit of the state as a threshold value.

  Thereafter, in S4, the CPU 41 selects an event to be avoided (congestion, flooding on the road, snow cover, freezing on the road surface, visibility) on the event selection screen, threshold value input screen, and desired departure time input screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. It is determined whether the input of the event state threshold and the desired departure time range has been completed.

  If it is determined that the selection of the event to be avoided, the threshold of the event state, and the input of the desired departure time range have been completed (S4: YES), the process proceeds to S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the selection of the event to be avoided, the threshold of the event state, and the input of the desired departure time range have not been completed (S4: NO), the process waits until completion.

  In S5, the CPU 41 acquires the event selected on the event selection screen, the threshold value of the state of the event input on the threshold value input screen, and the desired departure time range input on the desired departure time input screen.

  Subsequently, in S6, the CPU 41 specifies a determination link included in the planned travel route of the vehicle acquired in S2. Here, the determination link is a link to be subjected to threshold determination described later. Specifically, (a) a link including a departure place, (b) a link connected to an intersection, (c) a link connected to a corner, (d) a change amount of an event state from a past history, Links with high frequency of change (for example, links where the degree of congestion has changed more than a predetermined number of times from “no traffic jam” to “traffic congestion” within one week, links that have been flooded more than a predetermined number of times within a year, A link in which the amount of snow is 10 cm or more within a year, a link having a predetermined number of times or more, and a link in which a visible distance is 50 m or less within a year).

For example, FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination link that is specified when the vehicle 70 travels on a scheduled travel route 73 from the departure point 71 to the destination 72. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the link A is specified as the determination link as the link including the departure place, the link B is specified as the determination link as the link connected to the corner, and the link C is specified as the link connected to the intersection. Link D is specified as a determination link as a link that is connected to the determination link and whose degree of congestion has changed from “no congestion” to “traffic congestion” within a week by a predetermined number of times.
In addition, you may specify all the links which comprise a driving plan route as a determination link. Moreover, you may specify the link which exists every predetermined distance (for example, 1 km) from a departure place as a determination link.

Thereafter, in S7, the CPU 41 determines the event state for each link and the travel time from entering the determination link to entering the next determination link (travel time between determination links) for the determination link specified in S6. get. Specifically, information on the planned travel route of the vehicle acquired in S2 and the determination link specified in S6 is transmitted to the VICS center and the probe center, and the state of the event of the corresponding determination link and between the determination links Request travel time. And the state of the event of the judgment link delivered from the VICS center and the probe center and the travel time between judgment links are acquired for each link in response to the request. As for the event state of the determination link, in addition to the current time state, an estimated future event state (for example, every 10 minutes after 3 hours from the current time) is also acquired. Further, the event state may be configured so that a state every 10 minutes is acquired from the start time of the desired departure time to 3 hours later.
Further, the VICS center and the probe center estimate the state of the future event based on the current state of the event of the determination link, the history of the state of the past event of the determination link, the topography, and the like. Note that the event state for each determination link and the travel time between determination links acquired in S7 are stored in the event state DB 32.

  Thereafter, in S8, the CPU 41 executes a recommended departure time specifying process (FIG. 9) described later. In the recommended departure time specifying process, the state of the event selected by the user for all the determination links included in the planned travel route within the range of the desired departure time input by the user is also determined by the user. This is a process of specifying a scheduled departure time that is less than the input threshold value as a recommended departure time.

  Subsequently, in S9, the CPU 41 guides the recommended departure time specified in S8. For example, if the recommended departure time is specified between 10 minutes and 20 minutes after the current time in S8, “the departure time that can avoid the event is between 10 minutes and 20 minutes after the current time. "The departure time at which the event can be avoided is: x: xxx to x: xx" is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, or the sound of the same content is output from the speaker 16.

  Next, sub processing of the recommended departure time specifying processing in S8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a sub-processing program for the recommended departure time specifying process.

  The following processes of S11 to S14 are executed for a plurality of times included in the desired departure time range input by the user. Specifically, the processing at S11 to S14 is repeatedly executed with the time every predetermined time n minutes (for example, 10 minutes) elapsed as the scheduled departure time in order from the start time of the desired departure time range input by the user. To do. Then, after the processing for all scheduled departure times included in the desired departure time range input by the user is completed, the sub-processing program of the recommended departure time specifying process is terminated.

  Therefore, the CPU 41 first reads the variable i from the RAM 42 and inputs i = 0 as an initial value.

  Thereafter, in S11, the CPU 41 executes a threshold determination process (FIG. 10) described later. The threshold determination process is performed when the vehicle departs at the scheduled departure time to be processed (i minutes after the start time of the desired departure time range) when each determination link included in the planned travel route arrives. This is a process of determining for each link whether or not the state of the event selected by the user of the link is less than the threshold value input by the user.

  Then, in S12, based on the result of the threshold determination process in S11, when the vehicle departs at the scheduled departure time to be processed, the CPU 41 notifies the user when all the determination links included in the planned travel route arrive. It is determined whether or not the state of the selected event is less than a threshold value input by the user.

  As a result, when the vehicle departs at the scheduled departure time to be processed, the state of the event selected by the user at the arrival of all the determination links included in the planned travel route is less than the threshold input by the user. If it is determined that the state is in a state (S12: YES), specifically, if a later-described threshold value excess determination flag “f” read from the RAM 42 is “0”, the process proceeds to S13. On the other hand, when the vehicle departs at the scheduled departure time to be processed, the state of the event selected by the user at the arrival of one of the determination links included in the planned travel route is the threshold value input by the user When it is determined that the state is in the above state (S12: NO), specifically, when a threshold value excess determination flag “f” described later read from the RAM 42 is “1”, the process proceeds to S14.

  In S <b> 13, the CPU 41 specifies the scheduled departure time currently being processed as the recommended departure time, and stores it in the RAM 42. The scheduled departure time stored in the RAM 42 is guided as a recommended departure time in S9.

  Thereafter, in S <b> 14, the CPU 41 updates the scheduled departure time currently being processed. Specifically, a predetermined time n minutes (for example, 10 minutes) is added to the variable i. Then, the process after S11 is performed with respect to the updated scheduled departure time.

  In addition, after the process for all scheduled departure times included in the range of the desired departure time input by the user is completed, the sub-processing program of the recommended departure time specifying process is terminated, and the process proceeds to S9.

  Next, the sub-process of the threshold determination process in S11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a sub-processing program for threshold determination processing.

  The following processes of S21 to S26 are executed for each determination link included in the planned travel route of the vehicle specified in S6. Specifically, among the determination links identified in S6, the determination link closest to the departure place is sequentially processed, and the processes of S21 to S26 are repeatedly executed. Then, after the processing for all the determination links specified in S6 is completed, or when a threshold excess determination flag “f” described later becomes “1”, the sub-processing program of the threshold determination processing is ended.

  Therefore, the CPU 41 first reads the variables j and k from the RAM 42 and substitutes the initial values j = 1 and k = i, respectively. Further, the threshold excess determination flag “f” is read from the RAM 42 and “0” is substituted (the flag is turned OFF). The variable j is a value for identifying the determination link currently being processed, and the variable k is the start of the desired departure time range when the vehicle departs i minutes after the start time of the desired departure time range. It is a value indicating the time from the time until reaching the determination link that is the current processing target. Further, the threshold excess determination flag “f” indicates whether or not the state of the event selected by the user at the arrival of any determination link included in the planned travel route is greater than or equal to the threshold input by the user. It is a flag which shows.

  After that, in S21, the CPU 41 determines the arrival time of the determination link to be processed (that is, k minutes after the start time of the desired departure time range) from the event states for each determination link stored in the event state DB 32. The state of the event selected by the user of) is acquired.

  Subsequently, in S22, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the state of the event acquired in S21 is less than a threshold value input by the user.

  And when it determines with the state of the event acquired by said S21 being more than the threshold value input by the user (S22: NO), it transfers to S23. In S23, when the vehicle departs i minutes after the start time of the desired departure time range, the CPU 41 indicates that the state of the event selected by the user at the arrival of one of the determination links included in the planned travel route is the user It is determined that the state is equal to or greater than the threshold value input to, and “1” is assigned to the threshold value excess determination flag “f” read from the RAM 42 (the flag is turned ON). Thereafter, the sub-processing program of the threshold determination process is terminated, and the process proceeds to S12.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the state of the event acquired in S21 is less than the threshold value input by the user (S22: YES), the process proceeds to S24. In S24, the CPU 41 obtains the travel time between determination links from the travel time between determination links stored in the event state DB 32 to the j + 1th determination link that is the next processing target from the jth determination link that is the current processing target. To do.

  Subsequently, in S25, the CPU 41 reads the variable k from the RAM 42, and adds the travel time between determination links acquired in S24. As a result, the estimated arrival time at the j + 1th determination link to be processed next is calculated.

  Thereafter, in S26, the CPU 41 updates the determination link that is the current processing target. Specifically, the determination link closest to the departure place next to the determination link to be processed is set as a new determination link to be processed. Then, the process after S21 is performed with respect to the updated determination link.

  Note that after the processing is completed for all the determination links included in the planned travel route of the vehicle specified in S6, the sub-processing program of the threshold determination processing is terminated, and the process proceeds to S12.

  11 and 12, when the vehicle 70 travels on the planned travel route 73 shown in FIG. 8, “congestion” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user, and “congestion” is input as a threshold. It is the figure which showed the example of calculation of the recommended departure time by the said scheduled departure time guidance processing program, when the time after 30 minutes after the present time is input as the range of desired departure time.

For example, when the departure point is departed at the start time within the range of the desired departure time input by the user, the congestion degree at the time of arrival of the determination link A (that is, the current time) is estimated as “no congestion” The congestion level at the time of arrival of link B (after 10 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “no traffic jam”, and the congestion level at the time of arrival of judgment link C (after 20 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “congestion” Then, the congestion level at the time of arrival of the determination link D (after 50 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “congested”. Therefore, if the departure point is departed at the start time within the range of the desired departure time, the event state of the determination link C becomes equal to or greater than the threshold when the determination link C travels, so the start time is not selected as the recommended departure time.
If the departure point is 10 minutes after the start time, the degree of congestion at the time of arrival of the determination link A (after 10 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “no congestion”, and when the determination link B arrives The congestion level (after 20 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “congested”, the congestion level at the time of arrival of the determination link C (after 40 minutes from the start time) is estimated as “congested”, and the determination link D The degree of congestion on arrival (60 minutes after the start time) is estimated as “congested”. Accordingly, if the departure place is departed 10 minutes after the start time in the desired departure time range, the event state of each determination link becomes less than the threshold during travel of all determination links A to D, and therefore 10 minutes from the start time. The rest is selected as the recommended departure time.

The above process is repeated for the case where the departure point is departed 20 minutes after the start time within the desired departure time range and the case where the departure point is departed 30 minutes after the start time.
As a result, in the example shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a time 10 minutes to 20 minutes after the start time (current time) is guided as the recommended departure time.

  Further, FIG. 13 shows that when the vehicle 70 travels on the planned travel route 73 shown in FIG. 8, “Road flooding” is selected as an event to be avoided by the user, “60 cm” is input as a threshold value, and departure desired It is the figure which showed the example of calculation of the recommended departure time by the said scheduled departure time guidance processing program, when the time after 0 minute-30 minutes after a present time is input as a time range.

For example, when the departure point is departed at the start time in the range of the desired departure time input by the user, the water level when the determination link A arrives (that is, the start time) is estimated to be “10 cm”, and the determination link B The water level at the time of arrival (after 10 minutes from the start time) is estimated to be “20 cm”, the water level at the time of arrival of the determination link C (after 20 minutes from the start time) is estimated to be “30 cm”, and the determination link D The water level at the time of arrival (after 40 minutes from the start time) is estimated to be “40 cm”. Therefore, if the departure point is departed after 0 minutes from the start time in the desired departure time range, the event state of each determination link becomes less than the threshold during the travel of all determination links A to D, so the start time is the recommended departure Selected as time.
Further, when the departure point is departed 20 minutes after the start time, the water level when the determination link A arrives (after 20 minutes have elapsed from the start time) is estimated to be “30 cm”, and when the determination link B arrives (start) The water level at 30 minutes after the time is estimated to be “40 cm”, the water level at the time of arrival of the judgment link C (after 40 minutes from the start time) is estimated to be “70 cm”, and at the time of arrival of the judgment link D (start) The water level (after 60 minutes from the time) is estimated to be “40 cm”. Therefore, if the departure point is departed 20 minutes after the start time in the desired departure time range, the state of the event of the determination link C becomes equal to or greater than the threshold when the determination link C travels, so the recommended departure is 20 minutes after the start time. Not selected as time.

The above processing is repeated for the case where the departure point is departed 10 minutes after the start time in the desired departure time range and the case where the departure point is departed 30 minutes after the start time.
As a result, in the example shown in FIG. 13, the time after 0 to 10 minutes after the start time (current time) is guided as the recommended departure time.

As described in detail above, in the navigation device 1, the travel guidance method using the navigation device 1, and the computer program executed by the navigation ECU 13 of the navigation device 1, the planned travel route of the vehicle is acquired (S2), Based on the user's operation, an event is selected from among a plurality of event candidates, and the event threshold and desired departure time are input (S3 to S5), and the event state of the determination link included in the planned travel route is acquired ( S7) The state of the event selected by the user for all the determination links included in the scheduled travel route within the range of the desired departure time input by the user is less than the threshold value also input by the user. Will guide the scheduled departure time as the recommended departure time (S8, S9), so the route to the destination Even when there are road sections where there is a risk of traffic congestion or roads where there is a risk of flooding, the time when the state of events such as the time when each road section is congested or the time of flooding deteriorates It is possible to guide the scheduled departure time for traveling while avoiding the vehicle as the recommended departure time. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable driving environment for the user.
In addition, it is possible to select a scheduled departure time that can be used to avoid a time when the state of the event of each road section included in the route to the destination becomes worse from a plurality of candidate departure times (S13). The scheduled departure time that can provide the user with the most comfortable driving environment within the desired departure time desired by the user can be guided as the recommended departure time.
In addition, it is possible to guide the scheduled departure time for traveling to the destination while avoiding the time when the state of the situation selected by the user from a plurality of event candidates is deteriorated, as a recommended departure time. It is possible to provide a comfortable driving environment along the road.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the event selection screen 52 shown in FIG. 5 is configured to allow the user to select one of the events to be avoided from among a plurality of event candidates, but as a configuration to select a plurality of events. Also good. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which navigation ECU13 selects from the present weather and the condition of a link. Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which all event candidates are automatically set as avoidance targets.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the desired departure time range is input by the user on the desired departure time input screen 59 shown in FIG. 7, but the desired arrival time range may be input. When the desired arrival time range is input, the navigation ECU 13 guides the scheduled departure time that satisfies the condition of arriving at the destination within the input range as the recommended departure time.

  In this embodiment, every time a planned travel route is set, an event is selected, a threshold value is input, and a desired departure time range is input (S3 to S5). The navigation device 1 may perform the selection and input of values, and the processing after S6 may be executed using the selection results and input values. As a result, the processing of S3 to S5 can be omitted.

  Further, as a result of executing the scheduled departure time guidance processing program (FIG. 3), the user has selected all the determination links within the range of the desired departure time input by the user and included in the scheduled travel route. If it is determined that there is no scheduled departure time in which the event state is also less than the threshold value input by the user, another route to the destination may be searched. Then, the scheduled departure time guidance processing program may be executed again using another newly searched route as the scheduled travel route. It is also possible to execute a scheduled departure time guidance processing program for a plurality of scheduled travel routes.

  Further, the navigation device 1 and a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone may be configured to communicate with each other, and the recommended departure time specified in S8 may be transmitted to the user's mobile terminal. Further, the scheduled departure time guidance processing program (FIG. 3) may be executed when the navigation ECU 13 determines that there is a possibility that the road around the vehicle may be flooded while the vehicle is parked. Furthermore, it is desirable that the planned travel route of the vehicle at that time is a route from the current position of the vehicle to a designated evacuation area. The navigation ECU 13 selects “road flooding” as an event to be avoided.

1 Navigation device 13 Navigation ECU
31 Map information DB
41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM

Claims (4)

A planned travel route acquisition means for acquiring a planned travel route from the departure point to the destination;
A scheduled departure time acquisition means for acquiring a time every predetermined time in order from the start time of the range within the range of the desired departure time specified by the user as a scheduled departure time from which the vehicle departs the departure place;
For each time included in the scheduled departure time, when the vehicle departs from the departure place at the scheduled departure time, an estimated arrival time is obtained for each section of the estimated arrival time on the road section included in the planned travel route. Time acquisition means;
Event state acquisition means for acquiring the event state of the road section at the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition means for each section;
Of time included in the scheduled departure time, and guide means for the state of the event of all of the road section acquired by the event condition acquiring means for guiding a recommended starting time to time when situations that der less than the threshold value, A travel guide device characterized by comprising: Having an event selection means for selecting an event from a plurality of event candidates;
The travel guidance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the event state acquisition unit acquires the state of the event selected by the event selection unit at the determination point. A planned travel route acquisition step for acquiring a planned travel route from the departure point to the destination;
A scheduled departure time acquisition step of acquiring a time at a predetermined time in order from a start time of the range within a range of a desired departure time specified by the user as a scheduled departure time from which the vehicle departs the departure place;
For each time included in the scheduled departure time, when the vehicle departs from the departure place at the scheduled departure time, an estimated arrival time is obtained for each section of the estimated arrival time on the road section included in the planned travel route. A time acquisition step;
An event state acquisition step of acquiring, for each section, an event state of the road section at the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition step;
Of time included in the scheduled departure time, a guide step of the state of the event of all of the road section acquired by the event condition acquisition step guides as a recommended starting time to time when situations that der less than the threshold value, A travel guide method characterized by comprising: On the computer ,
A scheduled travel route acquisition function that acquires a planned travel route from the departure point to the destination,
A scheduled departure time acquisition function for acquiring a time every predetermined time from the start time of the range within the range of the desired departure time specified by the user as a scheduled departure time from which the vehicle departs the departure place;
For each time included in the scheduled departure time, when the vehicle departs from the departure place at the scheduled departure time, an estimated arrival time is obtained for each section of the estimated arrival time on the road section included in the planned travel route. Time acquisition function,
An event state acquisition function for acquiring, for each section, the state of the event of the road section at the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition function;
Of time included in the scheduled departure time, the guide function of the state of the event of all of the road section acquired by the event condition acquisition function to guide as a recommended starting time to time when situations that der less than the threshold value,
A computer program for executing

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