JP2004157032A - Pathway guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize pathway guidance with a simple functional constitution without mounting various functions. <P>SOLUTION: A vehicle communicates with other vehicles existing around own vehicle with a between vehicle transmitting device 34, and a first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, acquires destination information of the other vehicles by a destination acquiring part 46, also acquires information of present positions of the other vehicles by a present position acquiring part 45, and determines the destinations of the other vehicles, present positions of the other vehicles, and a vehicle being set a nearest destination of own vehicle by a comparing part 44. A relative position, and a relative running direction to the own vehicle of a vehicle determined by the comparing part 44 as a nearest destination set among the other vehicles are detected by a neighboring vehicle ID position detecting part 49. The positions and the running directions of the other vehicles are presented to the driver by an in-vehicle monitor 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a route guidance device that presents various information related to other vehicles existing around a host vehicle to a driver of the host vehicle to guide a route of the host vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a technique for setting the same destination as another vehicle near the own vehicle when performing route guidance, for example, a destination is posted on an Internet homepage, and the destination is obtained from the homepage by another vehicle It is known that a group traveling is enabled by performing a route guidance.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-126187 A
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described related art, a route guidance device including a device compatible with a GPS (Global Positioning System), a DVD (Digital Video Disc / Digital Versatile Disc) storing map data, and the like are mounted on each vehicle. And the route guidance device of each vehicle becomes expensive.
[0005]
Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a route guidance apparatus that realizes route guidance with a simple functional configuration without mounting various functions.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the route guidance device according to the present invention, the destination information set by the other vehicle by the other vehicle destination information obtaining means is communicated with the other vehicles existing around the own vehicle by the inter-vehicle communication means. And the current position information obtaining means obtains the current position information of the other vehicle, and the latest destination determining means obtains the current position of the other vehicle, the current position of the other vehicle, and the destination of the own vehicle. Then, the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle is set is determined. Then, in this route guidance device, the other vehicle detecting means detects the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle, which has recently been determined by the destination determining means as having set the destination closest to the own vehicle's destination. The above-mentioned problem is solved by presenting the position and direction of the other vehicle to the driver using the presenting means.
[0007]
In addition, the route guidance device transmits the destination information of the other vehicle, the current position information of the other vehicle, and the destination information of the own vehicle to the base station, and receives the result determined by the latest destination determination unit of the base station. Alternatively, the position and direction of another vehicle, for which the destination closest to the own vehicle is set, with respect to the own vehicle may be detected and presented.
[0008]
Further, in this route guidance device, the destination information of the other vehicle and the destination information of the own vehicle are transmitted to the base station, the destination code from the base station is received, and the destination code of the other vehicle and the own vehicle are transmitted. Based on the destination code, the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the own vehicle is set may be determined, and the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle may be detected and presented. .
[0009]
Furthermore, the route guidance device transmits the destination information of the other vehicle, the current position information of the other vehicle, and the destination information of the own vehicle to the base station, and the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle is set. The vehicle information about the other vehicle may be received and the vehicle information may be presented.
[0010]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, by communicating with another vehicle existing around the own vehicle, the destination information set by the other vehicle and the current position information of the other vehicle are acquired, and the destination of the other vehicle is acquired. Determining, based on the current position of the other vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle, the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the own vehicle is set, and presenting the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle By doing so, it is possible to guide the route to the vicinity of the destination of the own vehicle by following the presented other vehicle, and various functions such as a satellite communication function and a map data storage function are provided in the own vehicle. Even if it is not, route guidance can be realized with a simple functional configuration.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
[First Embodiment]
The vehicle following system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is realized by a following vehicle 1 and surrounding vehicles existing around the following vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. In this overview, for example, when the following vehicle 1 is traveling in Gotemba City, Shizuoka Prefecture with the destination set to Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the following vehicles A and C are traveling in the direction of the destination. To communicate between vehicles. As shown in FIG. 2, this inter-vehicle communication is a method in which the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles A and B perform two-way wireless communication.
[0013]
In the vehicle following system of this example, the surrounding vehicle A sets the destination as Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, and travels 300 m from the following vehicle 1 on the destination side. In addition, the surrounding vehicle B sets the destination as Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, and travels 200 m on the destination side with respect to the following vehicle 1. Further, the surrounding vehicle C sets the destination to Kisarazu-shi, Chiba, and is traveling 100 m from the following vehicle 1 on the destination side.
[0014]
In this state, the following vehicle 1 communicates with the peripheral vehicle A, the peripheral vehicle B, and the peripheral vehicle C, and thereby the destination set to the peripheral vehicle A, the peripheral vehicle B, the peripheral vehicle C, and the peripheral vehicle A. , The current positions of the surrounding vehicles B and C are obtained, and the destination set by the driver is compared with the destinations of the surrounding vehicles A to C. Then, the following vehicle 1 can arrive at Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa by recognizing the peripheral vehicle B whose destination is set closest to the destination set by the driver and following the driver with the peripheral vehicle B. Is shown.
[0015]
The current position of the surrounding vehicle may be obtained from any one of the surrounding vehicles A, B, and C. Even if the current position of the surrounding vehicle is obtained from the farthest surrounding vehicle A, the own vehicle, the surrounding vehicles B, Since the vehicle C is within 300 m, it does not matter.
[0016]
Hereinafter, a vehicle following system for realizing such processing will be described in detail. In the following description, a route guidance device mounted on a surrounding vehicle is referred to as a “route guidance device for a peripheral vehicle”, and a route guidance device mounted on the following vehicle 1 is referred to as a “route guidance device for a following vehicle”.
[0017]
[Configuration of route guidance device for surrounding vehicles]
As shown in FIG. 3, the route guidance device for the surrounding vehicles includes a destination setting device 12, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 13, a map data storage unit 14, an in-vehicle monitor 15, a blinker device 16, and a navigation control unit 11. An inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 and an inter-vehicle receiving device 18 are connected to each other. The navigation control unit 11 acquires information from each connected unit, displays various kinds of information on the in-vehicle monitor 15 so as to perform route guidance, and uses the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 and the inter-vehicle reception device 18 to control the following vehicle 1 and the vehicle. Communication between The navigation control unit 11 stores a communication program or the like in a recording medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown) and executes the program by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, thereby performing each function described below. Realize.
[0018]
The inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 and the inter-vehicle receiving device 18 are configured by a communication circuit that transmits and receives information to and from a following vehicle route guidance device of the following vehicle 1 by wireless communication, for example. The inter-vehicle transmission device 17 and the inter-vehicle reception device 18 are connected to the control unit 21 in the navigation control unit 11 and perform communication under the control of the control unit 21.
[0019]
Specifically, the inter-vehicle receiving device 18 receives the destination transmission request, the ID transmission request, and the blinker information transmission request transmitted from the following vehicle 1 and transmits the request to the control unit 21. In addition, the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 transmits the set destination, the vehicle ID, the time information, and the blinker information under the control of the control unit 21.
[0020]
The destination setting device 12 includes, for example, an operation input mechanism such as a switch or a jog dial, and enables a driver of a surrounding vehicle to perform a destination setting operation. The destination setting device 12 sends operation input information to the own vehicle destination storage unit 22 in the navigation control unit 11 in response to the operation of the operation input mechanism. Thereby, the own vehicle destination storage unit 22 recognizes the destination from the operation input information and sends the destination information to the control unit 21.
[0021]
This route guidance device for surrounding vehicles uses a signal from the GPS device 13 and map data stored in the map data storage unit 14 when performing route guidance with the destination set by the destination setting device 12. The navigation control unit 11 determines the optimum route, and displays various contents on the in-vehicle monitor 15.
[0022]
The GPS device 13 performs wireless communication with a not-shown GPS satellite or the like, and sends a GPS signal and a time signal from the GPS satellite to the current position detecting unit 23 and the time adjusting unit 24 in the navigation control unit 11.
[0023]
The current position detector 23 detects the current position from the GPS signal acquired by the GPS device 13 and sends the current position to the controller 21. The time adjusting unit 24 detects the time from the time signal acquired by the GPS device 13 according to the control of the control unit 21 and sends the time to the control unit 21.
[0024]
The map data storage unit 14 has a recording medium recording / reproducing mechanism such as a DVD (Digital Video Disc / Digital Versatile Disc) device or the like that stores map data. Output map data. The map reading unit 25 reads a map around the current position detected by the current position detection unit 23 from the map data stored in the map data storage unit 14 according to the control of the control unit 21, and sends the map to the control unit 21.
[0025]
As a result, the control unit 21 obtains a guidance route using the destination information from the own vehicle destination storage unit 22, the current position information from the current position detection unit 23, and the map data from the map reading unit 25, and draws the route. The map including the position where the vehicle exists and the guidance route is displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 15 by the unit 26.
[0026]
The control unit 21 controls the blinker direction detection unit 27 to detect the blinker state when the inter-vehicle reception device 18 receives a blinker information transmission request from the following vehicle 1. Control to transmit the blinker information from the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 is performed. The blinker information includes both blinker operation information by the driver and blinker direction information.
[0027]
Further, when the inter-vehicle receiving device 18 receives an ID transmission request from the following vehicle 1, the control unit 21 reads out the ID information from the ID storage unit 28 and controls transmission from the inter-vehicle transmitting device 17.
[0028]
[Configuration of route guidance device for following vehicle]
As shown in FIG. 4, the route guidance device for the following vehicle includes a destination setting device 32, an in-vehicle monitor 33, an inter-vehicle transmission device 34, a first inter-vehicle reception device 35, a second inter-vehicle reception device 36, A three-vehicle receiving device 37 is connected and configured. Here, the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37 are mounted with their positions in the following vehicle 1 determined in advance.
[0029]
The control unit 31 acquires information from each connected unit, displays various kinds of information on the in-vehicle monitor 33 so as to perform route guidance, and transmits a vehicle-to-vehicle transmitting device 34 and first to third vehicle-to-vehicle receiving devices 35 and 36. , 37 to communicate with surrounding vehicles. The control unit 31 implements each function described below by storing the route guidance program and the communication program of the present invention in a recording medium such as a ROM (not shown) and executing the program by a CPU or the like.
[0030]
The vehicle-to-vehicle transmitting device 34 and the first to third vehicle-to-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37 each include a communication circuit that transmits and receives information to and from a route guidance device for peripheral vehicles by wireless communication. The inter-vehicle transmitting device 34 and the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37 are connected to each unit in the control unit 31, and perform communication under the control of the control unit 31.
[0031]
Specifically, the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37 receive the transmission time information, the peripheral vehicle ID information, and the blinker information transmitted from the peripheral vehicles, and transmit the information to the control unit 31. The inter-vehicle transmission device 34 transmits an ID transmission request under the control of the peripheral vehicle ID request unit 41 and transmits a time information transmission request under the control of the time adjustment unit 42.
[0032]
In addition, the inter-vehicle transmitting device 34, the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37 perform inter-vehicle communication with only the following vehicles that are in the same traveling direction as the following vehicle 1 and are ahead. You may go. As a result, for example, even when the oncoming vehicle of the following vehicle 1 is close to the destination of the following vehicle 1, the route guidance is started from the current direction without instructing the U-turn to the driver.
[0033]
The destination setting device 32 is provided with an operation input mechanism such as a switch and a jog dial, for example, and the driver of the following vehicle 1 can operate the destination setting. The destination setting device 32 sends operation input information to the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 in the control unit 31 in response to the operation of the operation input mechanism. As a result, the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 recognizes the destination from the operation input information and sends the destination information to the comparison unit 44.
[0034]
In the following vehicle route guidance device, when performing route guidance in a state where the destination is set by the destination setting device 32, a destination close to the destination stored in the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 is set. A nearby vehicle that is present is obtained, and the position and direction of the nearby vehicle are presented on the in-car monitor 33.
[0035]
At this time, the control unit 31 causes the inter-vehicle transmission device 34 to transmit a request for transmission of peripheral vehicle destination information, peripheral vehicle current position information, peripheral vehicle ID information, and blinker information. In response, the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35 receives peripheral vehicle current position information, peripheral vehicle ID information, and blinker information from peripheral vehicles. Then, the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35 sends the surrounding vehicle current position information to the current position acquiring unit 45, sends the surrounding vehicle ID information to the surrounding vehicle destination acquiring unit 46, and sends the blinker information to the blinker signal detecting unit 48. .
[0036]
When acquiring the current position information of the surrounding vehicle, the current position acquisition unit 45 sends the current position information of the surrounding vehicle to the comparison unit 44. As a result, the comparing unit 44 compares the current position of the surrounding vehicle, the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and the destination of the following vehicle 1 stored in the own vehicle destination storage unit 43. Then, the comparison unit 44 sends the peripheral vehicle ID information to the peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50 together with the comparison result.
[0037]
The peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50 acquires peripheral vehicle ID information whose destination of the peripheral vehicle is close to the destination of the following vehicle 1 from the comparison result of the comparison unit 44, and sends the peripheral vehicle ID information to the time adjustment unit 42.
[0038]
The time adjusting unit 42 sends a time information transmission request to the inter-vehicle transmission device 34 in order to detect the position of the peripheral vehicle corresponding to the peripheral vehicle ID information acquired by the peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50. As a result, the reception time detection unit 47 obtains time information of the nearby vehicles whose destinations are close by the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37.
[0039]
Here, the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37 detect the peripheral vehicle ID information from the other peripheral vehicles and the time indicating the transmission time according to the request in order to detect the position of the other peripheral vehicles. The information is received and sent to the reception time detector 47.
[0040]
The reception time detection unit 47 receives the transmission time information received by the first inter-vehicle reception device 35, the second inter-vehicle reception device 36, and the third inter-vehicle reception device 37 in response to the request for the time information by the time adjustment unit 42. The detected and stored transmission time information is transmitted to the distance calculation unit 51 for each nearby vehicle.
[0041]
The distance calculation unit 51 calculates the distance between the transmission time information from the surrounding vehicles received by the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, and 37 and the reception time at which the reception time detection unit 47 detects the transmission time information. The distance from the positions of the first to third inter-vehicle receiving devices 35, 36, 37 to the inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 is calculated.
[0042]
When the blinker signal detecting section 48 acquires the blinker information, it sends the blinker information to the surrounding vehicle ID position detecting section 49.
[0043]
The peripheral vehicle ID position detection unit 49 detects the position and direction of the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 from the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 51. When the direction is different from the direction detected by the peripheral vehicle ID position detecting section 49, the peripheral vehicle ID position detecting section 49 gives priority to the detection result of the winker signal detecting section 48.
[0044]
In order to display the detected position of the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 as the position of the surrounding vehicle, the surrounding vehicle ID position detection unit 49 controls the drawing unit 52 to drive the position and direction of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the following vehicle 1. The drawing data to be presented to the user is created and displayed on the in-car monitor 33. In this case, the drawing unit 52 does not display the surrounding vehicles on the map, but creates drawing data in a form notifying only the position and direction of the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 with respect to the following vehicle 1.
[0045]
[Route guidance process of following vehicle 1]
Next, a schematic process of the route guidance processing by the above-described route guidance device for a following vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
[0046]
In the following vehicle route guidance device, when an instruction to guide the route is received from the driver, the process after step S1 is started, and the surrounding vehicle detection process for detecting the surrounding vehicle by the current position acquisition unit 45 is performed. Then, the surrounding vehicle existing ahead in the traveling direction of the following vehicle 1 is detected. In this example, a case will be described in which, for example, five peripheral vehicles exist in front of the following vehicle 1. In this step S1, by executing the peripheral vehicle position detection processing described later by the current position acquisition unit 45, for example, five peripheral vehicle IDs in front of the following vehicle 1 are acquired by inter-vehicle communication.
[0047]
In the next step S2, the control unit 31 controls the inter-vehicle transmitting device 34 and the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, so that the setting is made for the five peripheral vehicles that have acquired the peripheral vehicle ID information in step S1. Get a destination. Then, according to the comparison result of the comparison unit 44, the peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50 executes a later-described destination vehicle discrimination process, which will be described later, using the acquired destination of the peripheral vehicle, thereby setting the target set by the following vehicle 1. The ID of the peripheral vehicle in which the destination of the peripheral vehicle closest to the ground is set is selected.
[0048]
In the next step S3, it is determined whether the destination of the surrounding vehicle selected in step S2 matches the destination of the following vehicle 1. When it is determined that the destination of the surrounding vehicle and the destination of the following vehicle 1 match, the process proceeds to step S4, and it is determined that the destination of the surrounding vehicle and the destination of the following vehicle 1 do not match. If so, the process proceeds to step S7.
[0049]
In step S4, the reception time detection unit 47, the distance calculation unit 51, and the surrounding vehicle ID position detection unit 49 follow up using the transmission time information received by the first to third inter-vehicle reception devices 35, 36, and 37. The position and the direction of the surrounding vehicle holding the surrounding vehicle ID in which the same destination as the vehicle 1 is set are detected by the surrounding vehicle position detection processing.
[0050]
In the next step S5, the position and direction of the surrounding vehicle detected in step S4 are displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33 by the surrounding vehicle ID position detection unit 49 and the drawing unit 52, so that the target surrounding vehicle position and the guidance are displayed. Notify the direction.
[0051]
In the next step S6, the following vehicle 1 follows the surrounding vehicle and determines whether or not the destination of the following vehicle 1 is the same as the current position of the surrounding vehicle. Is completed, and if it is determined that they are not the same, the processing after step S4 is repeated again.
[0052]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the destination of the surrounding vehicle and the destination of the following vehicle 1 do not match, in step S7, the destination does not match with the destination of the following vehicle 1, but is closest to the destination. The peripheral vehicle position and direction of the peripheral vehicle ID are detected by the peripheral vehicle position detection processing, and the target peripheral vehicle position and direction to be guided in step S8 are presented, and the process returns to step S1.
[0053]
That is, when following the surrounding vehicle whose destination does not coincide with the following vehicle 1, the processing after step S1 is repeated again to search for the surrounding vehicle whose destination coincides with the following vehicle 1. If a nearby vehicle whose destination coincides with the following vehicle 1 cannot be detected, steps S1 and subsequent steps are performed until near the destination of the following vehicle 1 while presenting various kinds of information on the nearby vehicle whose closest destination is the same as the following vehicle. Is repeated. Here, when the other vehicle that has set the destination closer to the destination of the own vehicle than the other vehicle that is presenting the various information is detected, the other vehicle that presents the various information is changed. As a result, the surrounding vehicle in which the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 is set is always searched, and the following vehicle 1 is guided to the vicinity of the destination without fail.
[0054]
[Peripheral vehicle position detection processing]
Next, the surrounding vehicle position detection processing in step S1 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0055]
In FIG. 6A, the following vehicle 1 has surrounding vehicles A to C in front and a surrounding vehicle D right beside. Here, as shown in FIG. 6B, the following vehicles 1 include receivers 1a, 1b, and 1c corresponding to the above-described first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and third inter-vehicle receiving device 37, respectively. Are mounted on each of the peripheral vehicles A to D. Transmitters 17A, 17B, 17C, and 17D corresponding to the inter-vehicle transmission device 17 for performing inter-vehicle communication with the following vehicle 1 are mounted.
[0056]
For example, when the following vehicle 1 detects the position of the peripheral vehicle A, a signal including the peripheral vehicle ID held by the peripheral vehicle A and the time at which the signal was transmitted are transmitted from the transmitter 17A. On the other hand, the following vehicle 1 receives the signal emitted from the transmitter 17A by the receivers 1a, 1b, and 1c.
[0057]
Here, the reception time detection unit 47 stores the time at which the signal emitted from the transmitter 17A is received for each of the receivers 1a to 1c, and the distance calculation unit 51 stores the transmission time of the transmitter 17A and each of the receivers 1a, 1c. The distance from the transmitter 17A to the receivers 1a, 1b, and 1c is obtained by multiplying the difference from the time received at 1b and 1c by the propagation speed of the radio wave. The positional relationship between the receivers 1a, 1b, and 1c is known, and the position and direction of the transmitter 17A of the surrounding vehicle A can be obtained by obtaining a point at which the distance from these three points is the distance obtained above. it can.
[0058]
Similarly, by obtaining the distance from the transmitters 17B to 17D to the following vehicle 1 for each surrounding vehicle ID, the positions and directions of the transmitters 17A to 17D of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the following vehicle 1 are obtained.
[0059]
[Recent destination vehicle discrimination processing]
Next, the latest destination vehicle discriminating process for discriminating the peripheral vehicle whose destination is closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 from the destination of the following vehicle 1, the destination of the nearby vehicle, and the current position in the above-described step S2. This will be described with reference to FIG.
[0060]
In this recent destination vehicle discriminating process, after recognizing the position and direction of the surrounding vehicles in step S1, the processes in and after step S11 are started, and the follow-up input from the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 by the destination setting device 32 is performed. The destination of the vehicle 1 is classified into local, prefectural, city, and town areas, and the process proceeds to step S12.
[0061]
In step S12, the destination and the current position of the peripheral vehicle acquired by the peripheral vehicle position detection processing in step S1 are classified into local, prefectural, city, and town areas, and the process proceeds to step S13.
[0062]
In step S13, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "region" of the current position of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the same region name is used. If it is the same region, the process proceeds to step S14; if it is a different region name, the process proceeds to step S18.
[0063]
In step S14, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "prefecture" of the current position of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the same prefecture name is used. If the names are the same, the process proceeds to step S5; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S20.
[0064]
In step S15, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "city" of the current position of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not there is the same city. If the cities are the same, the process proceeds to step S16. If the cities are different, the process proceeds to step S22.
[0065]
In step S16, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the “town” of the current position of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether the destination is the same town. If they are the same town, the process proceeds to step S17; if they are different towns, the process proceeds to step S24.
[0066]
In step S17, since the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the current position of the surrounding vehicle match from the determination results of steps S13 to S16, the surrounding vehicle exists at the destination, that is, the following vehicle 1 Is determined to be present at the destination, and the process ends.
[0067]
On the other hand, in step S18 after it is determined in step S13 that the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the current position of the surrounding vehicle do not match in the local area, the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the destination of the surrounding vehicle are determined. By comparing with “region”, it is determined whether or not the region name is the same. If the name is the same, the process proceeds to step S19. If the name is different, the process returns to step S12 to acquire the destination of another peripheral vehicle and shifts to the process after step S13 again. .
[0068]
In step S19, a message that the destination of the following vehicle 1 is the same as that of the surrounding vehicle is displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33 up to the "region" as the destination of the following vehicle 1 such as the Kanto region, and the process proceeds to step S20. Advance.
[0069]
In step S20, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "prefecture" of the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the same prefecture name is used as the destination. If it is determined that the same prefecture name is the destination, the process proceeds to step S21. If it is determined that a different prefecture name is the destination, the process returns to step S12 to change the destination of another peripheral vehicle. Then, the process proceeds to step S13 and subsequent steps.
[0070]
In step S21, it is displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33 that the destination of the follow-up vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle is the same as the "prefecture" as the destination of the follow-up vehicle 1, for example, Kanagawa prefecture. Processing proceeds.
[0071]
In step S22, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "city" of the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the same city is set as the destination. If the same city is the destination, the process proceeds to step S23. If the destination is a different city, the process returns to step S12 to obtain the destinations of other surrounding vehicles, and the process from step S13 onward is performed again. Move on to processing.
[0072]
In step S23, a message indicating that the destination of the surrounding vehicle and the following vehicle 1 is the same as the "city" as the destination of the following vehicle 1, for example, Yokosuka City, is displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33, and in step S24. Proceed with the process.
[0073]
In step S24, the destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the "town" of the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the same town is set as the destination. If the destination is the same town, the process proceeds to step S25. If the destination is a different town, the process returns to step S12 to obtain the destinations of other surrounding vehicles, and the process is repeated from step S13. Move to the processing of.
[0074]
In step S25, the fact that the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle is the same is displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33 up to the "town" as the destination of the following vehicle 1, for example, Natsushima-cho, and the process ends.
[0075]
[Processing by inter-vehicle communication between the following vehicle 1 and surrounding vehicles]
Next, a description will be given, with reference to FIG. 8, of a process of guiding the following vehicle 1 by performing inter-vehicle communication between the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles. In the following description, the processes of steps S31 to S39 will be described as processes of the following vehicle, and the processes of steps S41 to S46 will be described as processes of the surrounding vehicles.
[0076]
In the following vehicle 1, first, when a route guidance is requested by the driver by operating the destination setting device 32, the processing after step S 31 is started, and in step S 31, the peripheral vehicle position detection processing is executed. Then, for example, the vehicle-to-vehicle transmitting device 34 transmits transmission request of the peripheral vehicle ID information, the destination, and the current position of five peripheral vehicles. On the other hand, in each peripheral vehicle, when the transmission request is received by the inter-vehicle receiving device 18 (step S41), the requested peripheral vehicle ID information, destination information, and current position information are transmitted from the inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 (step S42). ), The first inter-vehicle receiving device 35 of the following vehicle 1 receives the peripheral vehicle ID information, the destination information, and the current position information (step S32).
[0077]
In the next step S33, in addition to the acquired destinations of the surrounding vehicles and the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 45, the destination of the following vehicle 1 stored in the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 is used. The destination vehicle discriminating process is executed to determine the peripheral vehicle ID of the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1, and the process proceeds to step S34.
[0078]
In step S34, the time adjustment unit 42 causes the inter-vehicle transmission device 34 to transmit a time information transmission request in order to perform the peripheral vehicle position detection processing on the peripheral vehicle having the peripheral vehicle ID determined in step S33. In response to this, when the surrounding vehicle receives the time information transmission request transmitted from the following vehicle 1 (step S43), the time matching unit 24 generates time information indicating the transmission time according to this request, so that the following vehicle can follow the request. The time of the vehicle 1 and the time of the surrounding vehicles are adjusted (step S44). Then, the surrounding vehicle returns the surrounding vehicle ID information and the time information indicating the transmission time to the following vehicle 1 (step S45).
[0079]
In the next step S35, when the surrounding vehicle ID information and the time information are received by the following vehicle 1, the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37 output to the receiving time detecting unit 47, respectively. Then, the time detected by the reception time detector 47 is stored for each of the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37, and the process proceeds to step S36.
[0080]
In step S36, from the difference between the time detected in step S35 and the time information indicating the transmission time, the inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 of the surrounding vehicle and the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36 of the following vehicle 1, and The distances (three places) with each of the third inter-vehicle receiving devices 37 are calculated by the distance calculating unit 51, and the process proceeds to step S37.
[0081]
In step S37, a point where the distance between the inter-vehicle transmitting device 17 and each of the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37 is the distance calculated in step S36. Is obtained by the surrounding vehicle ID position detection unit 49, and the process proceeds to step S38.
[0082]
In step S38, the drawing unit 52 is controlled so as to display the position of the vehicle-to-vehicle transmitting device 17 of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the following vehicle 1 obtained in step S37. Displays the position of. At this time, the surrounding vehicle ID position detecting section 49 displays how many vehicles are located ahead of the following vehicle 1 and displays the direction of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the following vehicle 1.
[0083]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when three peripheral vehicles A to C exist side by side in front of the following vehicle 1, the purpose of the peripheral vehicle C among the three peripheral vehicles A to C is set. When the ground is closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles A to C are displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33, and the following vehicle 1 is shaded 61. At the same time, the position of the surrounding vehicle C with respect to the following vehicle 1 is displayed by displaying the surrounding vehicle C in black, and a direction display 63 indicating the direction of the surrounding vehicle C with respect to the following vehicle 1 is performed. Here, for example, when the blinker signal detecting section 48 detects that the blinker operation of the surrounding vehicle C is performed in the right direction, the surrounding vehicle ID position detecting section 49 changes the traveling direction display 63 to an arrow pointing rightward in the drawing. Display. As another display example, as shown in FIG. 11, the traveling direction may be displayed as the right side of the screen.
[0084]
Further, as another display example, as shown in FIG. 12, in a state where the surrounding vehicles in front of the following vehicle 1 are displayed in a bird's-eye view, arrows are displayed for the surrounding vehicles of the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1. 64 may be used. Thereby, the driver of the following vehicle 1 can further improve the visibility of the surrounding vehicles.
[0085]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13, only the direction of the surrounding vehicle to be followed may be displayed by the arrow display 65. As a result, only the direction of the destination can be displayed, and natural route guidance can be performed.
[0086]
Furthermore, the screen display example shown in FIG. 13 and the screen display example shown in FIG. 12 are combined to display the blackened display 62 and the arrow display 64 and to display the traveling direction display 63 on the same screen. The surrounding vehicle is clearly presented to the driver of the following vehicle 1.
[0087]
As a result, the driver of the following vehicle 1 can arrive near the destination by following the nearby vehicle because the destination of the surrounding vehicle C is three times ahead of the destination of the following vehicle 1. To the effect.
[0088]
If the signal received in step S35 includes the signal detected by the blinker direction detection unit 27 of the surrounding vehicle, and the blinker signal detection unit 48 detects the blinker operation of the surrounding vehicle, Is controlled by the surrounding vehicle ID position detecting section 49 so as to change the direction of the surrounding vehicle displayed on the in-vehicle monitor 33 in accordance with the direction indicated by.
[0089]
Then, in step S39, the comparison unit 44 uses the current position obtained by the current position acquisition unit 45 based on the signal received by the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35 and the destination stored in the own vehicle destination storage unit 43. Then, it is determined whether or not the surrounding vehicle has reached the destination. If it is determined that the surrounding vehicle has reached the destination, the process is ended. If it is determined that the surrounding vehicle has not reached the destination, the process returns to step S34, and the processes from step S34 are repeated.
[0090]
Further, in the surrounding vehicle, in step S46 following step S45, it is determined whether or not an IGN switch (not shown) has been turned off. If the IGN switch has been turned off, the process ends, and the IGN switch is turned on. If, the process from step S41 is repeated.
[0091]
[Effects of First Embodiment]
As described above in detail, according to the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the destination closest to the destination set by the following vehicle 1 is set among a plurality of surrounding vehicles. Since the surrounding vehicle can be detected and the position and direction of the surrounding vehicle can be presented to the driver of the following vehicle 1 so as to follow the surrounding vehicle, a disk device or the like on which the following vehicle 1 records GPS or map data There is no need to install Therefore, according to the following vehicle route guidance device, it is possible to realize the route guidance with a simple functional configuration without mounting various functions.
[0092]
In addition, according to the route guidance device for the following vehicle, the traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle near the destination of the following vehicle 1 is detected and displayed. Therefore, even when the surrounding vehicle turns right or left, the direction in which the following vehicle 1 should proceed. Can be clearly recognized by the driver.
[0093]
Further, according to the route guidance device for the following vehicle, the blinker operation of the surrounding vehicle is detected, and the traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle is preferentially displayed, so that the traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle is changed before the surrounding vehicle turns right or left. It can be displayed, and the following vehicles can be easily followed.
[0094]
Furthermore, according to the route guidance device for the following vehicle, the destination set by the following vehicle 1 is determined by the degree of coincidence between the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the destination of the surrounding vehicle in the region, prefecture, city, town, and village. Is detected, and even if the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the destination of the peripheral vehicle do not completely match, the nearby vehicle with the closest destination is presented. be able to.
[0095]
Furthermore, according to the route guidance device for the following vehicle, the position of the surrounding vehicle is obtained from the time information received by the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the second inter-vehicle receiving device 36, and the third inter-vehicle receiving device 37. It can be configured.
[0096]
[Second embodiment]
Next, a vehicle following system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0097]
[Configuration of vehicle tracking system]
In the vehicle following system according to the second embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, when the surrounding vehicle A is running 300 m ahead of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle B is running 200 m ahead of the following vehicle 1. The inter-vehicle communication is performed between the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles A and B, and the destination set by the following vehicle 1 for the surrounding vehicles A and B is acquired. Then, the following vehicle 1 transmits to the base station 71 the destination set by the route guiding device for the following vehicle and the destinations of the peripheral vehicles A and B acquired by the inter-vehicle communication.
[0098]
The base station 71 refers to the contents of the postal code DB storage unit 72 that stores a postal code database that records postal codes corresponding to the area, and refers to the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the destinations of the peripheral vehicles A and B. Is converted to a postal code and returned to the following vehicle 1.
[0099]
The following vehicle 1 compares the postal code of the destination of the following vehicle 1 returned from the base station 71 with the postal code of the destination of the surrounding vehicle A and the postal code of the destination of the surrounding vehicle B. A nearby vehicle having a postcode near the postcode of the destination is selected and presented to the driver.
[0100]
In such a vehicle tracking system, as shown in FIG. 16, the base station 71 includes a base station-side transmitting device 81 and a base station-side receiving device 82 that communicate with the following vehicle 1, and A position-postal code conversion unit 83 is provided which converts destinations of the following vehicle 1 and surrounding vehicles into postal codes with reference to the postal code database of the number DB storage unit 72.
[0101]
The postal code DB storage unit 72 stores the destination information of the surrounding vehicles, the position information expressed by the latitude and longitude, the address, and the like of the destination of the following vehicle 1, and the postal code corresponding to the position. Here, as shown in FIG. 18, the postal code database 100 has a postal code map 100 to which a postal code 102 is added for each area 101. Those with similar numbers are also closer in position.
[0102]
Then, when the base station 71 receives the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles at the base station-side receiving device 82, the position-postal code conversion unit 83 refers to the postal code database in accordance with the destination. Then, the postal code information is converted to postal code information and transmitted to the base station side transmitting device 81, and the postal code information is transmitted from the base station side transmitting device 81 to the following vehicle 1.
[0103]
The route guidance device for a following vehicle includes a base station transmitting device 91 and a base station receiving device 92 for communicating with a base station 71 as shown in FIG. The destination of the following vehicle 1 and the destination of the surrounding vehicle are sent to the base station transmitting device 91 from the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 and the surrounding vehicle destination obtaining unit 46, and the postal code information received by the base station receiving device 92. Is input to the comparison unit 44 in the following.
[0104]
In such a following vehicle route guidance device, when a signal from a surrounding vehicle is received by the first inter-vehicle receiving device 35, the surrounding vehicle destination obtaining unit 46 obtains the destination of the surrounding vehicle and sends it to the base station transmitting device 91. At the same time, the destination information of the following vehicle 1 stored in the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 is transmitted to the base station transmitter 91. Then, the base station transmission device 91 transmits the destination information from the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 and the surrounding vehicle destination acquisition unit 46 to the base station 71.
[0105]
In response to this, when the postal code information corresponding to the destination information is transmitted to the base station receiving device 92, the postal code information is sent to the comparing unit 44. As a result, the comparing unit 44 numerically compares the postal code of the destination of the following vehicle 1 with the postal code of the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and compares the postal code of the number closest to the postal code of the destination of the following vehicle 1. A nearby vehicle whose number is set as the destination is obtained.
[0106]
[Following vehicle route guidance processing of the second embodiment]
Next, a process of guiding the following vehicle 1 by the base station 71, the following vehicle route guidance device, and the surrounding vehicle route guidance device in the above-described vehicle following system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this description, the same processes as those described above are denoted by the same step numbers, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In the following description, the processing of steps S51 to S55 and steps S34 to S39 will be described as processing of the following vehicle, and the processing of steps S41 to S46 will be described as processing of surrounding vehicles, and steps S61 to S63 will be described. Will be described as the processing of the base station 71.
[0107]
In the second embodiment, the route guidance device for the following vehicle requests transmission of the peripheral vehicle ID information and the destination information of the peripheral vehicle (step S51), and in step S53 following the received step S52, the peripheral vehicle destination acquisition is performed. The destination information of the surrounding vehicles is transmitted from the unit 46 to the base station transmitting device 91. At the same time, the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 sends the stored destination information of the following vehicle 1 to the base station transmitter 91. Then, the base station transmitting device 91 transmits the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles to the base station 71.
[0108]
In the base station 71, when the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles is received by the base station-side receiving device 82 (step S61), the position-postal code converting unit 83 refers to the postal code database 72 and refers to the following vehicle 1. Then, the destinations of the surrounding vehicles are converted into postal codes (step S62), and the postal code information is sent to the following vehicle route guidance device by the base station side transmitting device 81 (step S63).
[0109]
In the peripheral vehicle route guidance device, when the base station receiving device 92 receives the postal code information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle (step S54), the postal code information of the following vehicle 1 and the postal code of the surrounding vehicle are received by the comparing unit 44. The peripheral vehicle to be followed by the following vehicle 1 is determined by comparing the information with the information (step S55), and the peripheral vehicle ID of the peripheral vehicle determined by the peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50 is acquired (step S34). I do.
[0110]
In this example, the case where the destinations of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles are converted to postal codes has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. The code may be converted into another code for determining the destination of the surrounding vehicle, for example, a telephone number.
[0111]
[Effect of Second Embodiment]
As described in detail above, according to the vehicle following system according to the second embodiment, the destination of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles is converted to the destination of the following vehicle 1 by using a code such as a postal code converted by the base station 71. Since the destination of the nearby vehicle near the destination is determined, the following vehicle can be determined by the following vehicle route guidance device by a simple code comparison process, and the following vehicle can be determined. A route guidance device for a following vehicle can be realized.
[0112]
That is, in the vehicle following system, the surrounding vehicles near the destination of the following vehicle 1 are determined from the destinations of the surrounding vehicles by the postal code converted by the base station 71. Need not be executed.
[0113]
In addition, according to this vehicle following system, among the destinations of the surrounding vehicles, the surrounding vehicles that are close to the destination of the following vehicle 1 are determined by the postal code or the telephone number, so that the comparison degree of the numbers is compared. The surrounding vehicle followed by the following vehicle 1 can be determined only by the processing, and a route guiding device for the following vehicle with a simpler configuration can be realized.
[0114]
Here, as shown in FIG. 18, if, for example, the first three digits of the postal code 102 match, the destination of the following vehicle 1 and that of the surrounding vehicle are regarded as the same. Vehicles in the vicinity of the destination close to the first destination can be extracted.
[0115]
In the vehicle following system according to the second embodiment, the destination information from the following vehicle 1 is converted into a postal code by the base station 71 and returned to the following vehicle 1 to determine a nearby vehicle near the destination. The station 71 may determine a nearby vehicle near the destination and return only the nearby vehicle ID to the following vehicle 1.
[0116]
[Third embodiment]
Next, a vehicle tracking system according to a third embodiment will be described. The same parts as those in the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Note that the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the same step numbers, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0117]
[Configuration of Vehicle Tracking System According to Third Embodiment]
In the vehicle following system according to the third embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, when the surrounding vehicle A and the surrounding vehicle B are running ahead of the following vehicle 1, the following vehicle 1, the surrounding vehicle A, and the surrounding vehicle B And the destination set by the following vehicle 1 with respect to the surrounding vehicle A and the surrounding vehicle B is obtained. Then, the following vehicle 1 transmits to the base station 110 the destination set by the route guiding device for the following vehicle and the destinations and current positions of the peripheral vehicles A and B acquired by the inter-vehicle communication.
[0118]
As shown in FIG. 21, the base station 110 receives the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the destination information and the current position information of the surrounding vehicles A and B at the base station side receiving device 82 as shown in FIG. Then, the latest destination vehicle discrimination processing shown in FIG. That is, the comparison unit 111 determines a nearby vehicle for which a destination close to the destination of the following vehicle 1 has been set, sends it to the base station-side transmitting device 81, and follows the information to that effect from the base station-side transmitting device 81. Reply to vehicle 1. Then, the following vehicle 1 recognizes the nearby vehicle whose return destination is the closest, and presents the position and direction of the nearby vehicle.
[0119]
As shown in FIG. 22, the route guidance device for a following vehicle in such a vehicle following system uses a current position acquisition unit 45 of a control unit 120 and a first inter-vehicle receiving device 35 to determine the current positions of surrounding vehicles. At the same time, the base station transmitting device 91 transmits the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles, and the surrounding vehicle ID information. In the following vehicle route guidance device, when the base station receiving device 92 receives peripheral vehicle ID information of the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 by the comparing unit 111 of the base station 110, the peripheral vehicle ID obtaining unit The peripheral vehicle ID is determined by 50 and sent to the time adjusting unit 42.
[0120]
[Following vehicle route guidance processing of the third embodiment]
Next, a process of guiding the following vehicle 1 by the base station 110, the following vehicle route guidance device, and the surrounding vehicle route guidance device in the above-described vehicle following system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, the processes of steps S31 and S32, steps S71 to S73, and steps S35 to S39 are described as processes of the following vehicle, and the processes of steps S41 to S46 are described as processes of the surrounding vehicles. The processing of steps S81 to S83 will be described as processing of the base station 110.
[0121]
In the third embodiment, in a step S71 following the step S32 in which the surrounding vehicle ID information, the destination information of the surrounding vehicle, and the current position information are received by the following vehicle route guidance device, the information received in the step S32 is used as a base. It is sent to the station transmitting device 91. At the same time, the own vehicle destination storage unit 43 sends the stored destination information of the following vehicle 1 to the base station transmitter 91. Then, the base station transmitting device 91 transmits the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles, the current position information of the surrounding vehicles, and the surrounding vehicle ID information to the base station 110.
[0122]
Upon receiving the destination information of the following vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles, the current position information of the surrounding vehicles, and the surrounding vehicle ID information (step S81), the base station 110 sends the received information to the comparing unit 111, and the comparing unit 111 The destination of the following vehicle 1 is compared with the destination of the surrounding vehicle, and the surrounding vehicle ID information in which the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 is set is extracted (step S82). The ID information is transmitted to the base station-side transmitting device 81, and transmitted from the base station-side transmitting device 81 to the following vehicle 1 (step S83).
[0123]
In the following vehicle route guidance device, when the base station receiving device 82 receives the peripheral vehicle ID information (step S72), it sends the peripheral vehicle ID information to the peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50, and the peripheral vehicle ID of the received ID and the time of the peripheral vehicle Is transmitted (step S73), and the process of step S35 is performed.
[0124]
[Effects of Third Embodiment]
As described above, according to the vehicle following system according to the third embodiment, the base station 110 selects the surrounding vehicle that the following vehicle 1 follows. The route guidance of the following vehicle 1 can be realized by making the functional configuration of the following vehicle route guiding device simpler without the necessity of being executed by the guidance device.
[0125]
Further, according to the vehicle tracking system, even after the place name is changed, for example, even if the place name recognized by the follow-up vehicle 1 and the place name recognized by the surrounding vehicles are different, the base station 110 By recognizing the content of the change in the place name, it is possible to reliably extract the vehicles around the destination close to the destination of the following vehicle 1. Further, the latest map information is stored in the base station 110, and the comparison can be performed by the comparing unit 111.
[0126]
[Fourth embodiment]
Next, a vehicle following system according to a fourth embodiment will be described. The same reference numerals and the same step numbers denote the same parts as in the above-described embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0127]
[Configuration of Vehicle Tracking System of Fourth Embodiment]
In the vehicle following system according to the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 24, the following vehicle 1 performs inter-vehicle communication between the surrounding vehicle A and the surrounding vehicle B traveling ahead, and the surrounding vehicle A and the surrounding vehicle B The destination and the current position set in are acquired, transmitted to the base station 130, the comparison unit 131 performs the recent destination vehicle discrimination processing shown in FIG. The present embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in that a nearby vehicle ID for which a nearby destination is set is extracted, vehicle information stored in the vehicle information DB storage unit 140 is acquired from the base station 130, and the vehicle information is returned to the following vehicle 1.
[0128]
As shown in FIG. 25, the base station 130 uses the comparing unit 131 to determine the peripheral vehicles of the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 based on the destinations of the following vehicle 1 and the nearby vehicles, and the current positions of the nearby vehicles. Then, the surrounding vehicle ID information of the surrounding vehicle is returned to the following vehicle 1.
[0129]
At this time, the comparison unit 131 refers to the number information database 141, the vehicle type information database 142, and the color information database 143 stored as the vehicle information in the vehicle information DB storage unit 140, and the vicinity of the obtained peripheral vehicle ID information. Search for vehicle features. Here, vehicle number information corresponding to the peripheral vehicle ID is registered in the number information database 141, vehicle type information corresponding to the peripheral vehicle ID is registered in the vehicle type information database 142, and color information database 143 is registered in the color information database 143. The vehicle color corresponding to the surrounding vehicle ID is registered. Then, the comparing unit 131 sends the obtained peripheral vehicle ID information and the vehicle information retrieved from the peripheral vehicle ID to the following vehicle 1.
[0130]
As shown in FIG. 26, the route guidance device for the following vehicle of the vehicle following system according to the fourth embodiment is different from the route guidance device for the following vehicle in the third embodiment in that Second vehicle-to-vehicle receiving device 36 and third vehicle-to-vehicle receiving device 37 for adjusting time between vehicles, peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit 50, time adjustment unit 42, reception time detection unit 47, distance calculation unit 51, peripheral vehicle ID position detection The functional configuration of the control unit 150 except for the section 49 and the winker signal detecting section 48 is obtained, and the base station receiving apparatus 92 and the drawing section 52 are connected.
[0131]
[Following vehicle route guidance processing of the fourth embodiment]
Next, a process of guiding the following vehicle 1 by the base station 130, the following vehicle route guidance device, and the surrounding vehicle route guidance device in the above-described vehicle following system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, the processes of steps S31, S32, S71, S91, S92, and S39 will be described as processes of the following vehicle, and the processes of steps S41, S42, and S46 will be described as processes of the surrounding vehicles. The processes of S82, S101, and S102 will be described as processes of the base station 130 and the vehicle information DB storage unit 140.
[0132]
In the fourth embodiment, in step S101 after extracting the peripheral vehicle ID information in which the destination closest to the destination of the following vehicle 1 is set in step S82, the comparison unit 131 uses the number information database 141 and the vehicle type. With reference to the information database 142 and the color information database 143, number information, vehicle type information, and color information corresponding to the peripheral vehicle ID extracted in step S82 are searched, and in step S102, the searched information is followed. Transmit to vehicle 1.
[0133]
On the other hand, in the following vehicle route guidance device, the base station receiving device 92 receives the number information, the vehicle type information, and the color information together with the peripheral vehicle ID information of the nearest destination to the destination of the following vehicle 1 (step). S91). Then, the route guidance device for the following vehicle sends the received information from the base station receiving device 92 to the drawing unit 52, and displays the number, type and color of the surrounding vehicle to follow, for example, as shown in FIG.
[0134]
[Effect of Fourth Embodiment]
As described above, according to the vehicle following system according to the fourth embodiment, among the destinations of the surrounding vehicles, the surrounding vehicle close to the destination set by the following vehicle 1 is determined by the base station 130, and the surrounding vehicle Since the number, vehicle type, color, and destination of surrounding vehicles are displayed, there is no need to detect the position and direction of surrounding vehicles to be followed by the route guidance device for following vehicles, realizing route guidance with a simpler functional configuration. can do.
[0135]
Note that the above embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other than the present embodiment, various modifications may be made according to the design and the like within a range not departing from the technical idea according to the present invention. Can be changed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a vehicle following system according to a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining that a following vehicle and a surrounding vehicle perform inter-vehicle communication.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a peripheral vehicle route guidance device in the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a route guidance device for a following vehicle in the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a schematic process of a route guidance process performed by the following vehicle route guidance device of the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating a surrounding vehicle position detection process performed by a following vehicle route guidance device of the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied, wherein FIG. (B) shows the positional relationship between the receiver of the following vehicle and the transmitter of the surrounding vehicle.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a latest destination vehicle discriminating process for discriminating a nearby vehicle having the closest destination to the destination of the following vehicle by the following vehicle route guidance device of the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart shown.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process for guiding a following vehicle by performing inter-vehicle communication in the vehicle following system according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a following vehicle and surrounding vehicles.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a following vehicle and surrounding vehicles followed by the following vehicle are displayed on an in-vehicle monitor, and a traveling direction display is further displayed.
FIG. 11 is another diagram showing a state in which a following vehicle and surrounding vehicles followed by the following vehicle are displayed on an in-vehicle monitor, and further a traveling direction display is displayed.
FIG. 12 is another diagram showing a state in which a following vehicle and surrounding vehicles followed by the following vehicle are displayed on an in-vehicle monitor, and a traveling direction display is further displayed.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing that the direction in which the following vehicle travels is indicated by an arrow.
FIG. 14 is another diagram showing a state in which a following vehicle and surrounding vehicles followed by the following vehicle are displayed on an in-vehicle monitor, and a traveling direction display is further displayed.
FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically illustrating a vehicle tracking system according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a base station side in a vehicle following system according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a following vehicle route guidance device in a vehicle following system according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining postal codes corresponding to areas stored in a postal code DB storage unit.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a process of guiding a following vehicle in a route in the vehicle following system according to the second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically illustrating a vehicle following system according to a third embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a base station in a vehicle tracking system according to a third embodiment to which the present invention has been applied.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a following vehicle route guidance device in a vehicle following system according to a third embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a process for guiding a following vehicle in a route in the vehicle following system according to the third embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 24 is a diagram schematically illustrating a vehicle following system according to a fourth embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a base station side in a vehicle following system according to a fourth embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a following vehicle route guidance device in a vehicle following system according to a fourth embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a process for guiding a following vehicle in a route in a vehicle following system according to a fourth embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining presenting vehicle information of a surrounding vehicle to be followed to a driver of the following vehicle.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Following vehicle
11 Navigation control unit
12 Destination setting device
13 GPS device
14 Map data storage
15 In-car monitor
16 blinker device
17 Inter-vehicle transmission device
18 Inter-vehicle receiver
21 Control unit
22 Own vehicle destination storage unit
23 Current position detector
24 hours setting
25 Map reading unit
26 Drawing unit
27 Blinker direction detector
28 ID storage unit
31, 90, 120, 150 control unit
32 Destination setting device
33 In-car monitor
34 Inter-vehicle transmission device
35 1st Inter-Vehicle Receiver
36 Second inter-vehicle receiving device
37 Third Inter-Vehicle Receiver
41 Peripheral vehicle ID request section
42 Time setting unit
43 Own vehicle destination memory
44 Comparison section
45 Current position acquisition unit
46 Peripheral vehicle destination acquisition unit
47 Receiving time detector
48 Blinker signal detector
49 Peripheral vehicle ID position detector
50 Peripheral vehicle ID acquisition unit
51 Distance calculator
52 Drawing unit
61 Shaded display
62 Black display
63 Running direction display
64, 65 arrow display
71,110,130 base station
72 Postal code DB storage unit
81 Base station side transmitter
82 Base station side receiver
83 position-postal code converter
91 Base station transmitter
92 Base station receiver
100 postal code map
101 area
102 postal code
111, 131 Comparison section
140 vehicle information DB storage unit
141 Number information database
142 Vehicle information database
143 color information database

Claims (14)

An inter-vehicle communication means for performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles in the vicinity,
Other vehicle destination information obtaining means for obtaining destination information set in another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Current position information obtaining means for obtaining current position information of another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Own vehicle destination setting means for setting the destination of the own vehicle;
The destination of the other vehicle obtained by the other vehicle destination information obtaining means, the current position of the other vehicle obtained by the current position information obtaining means, and the destination of the own vehicle set by the own vehicle destination setting means Based on the latest destination determining means for determining another vehicle that has set the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle,
Other vehicle detecting means for detecting the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle determined that the destination closest to the own vehicle's destination is set by the recent destination determining means,
A route guidance device comprising: a presentation unit that presents the position and direction of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle detection unit to a driver. An inter-vehicle communication means for performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles in the vicinity,
Other vehicle destination information obtaining means for obtaining destination information set in another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Current position information obtaining means for obtaining current position information of another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Own vehicle destination setting means for setting the destination of the own vehicle;
A base station having a latest destination determining means for determining, based on the destination and the current position of the other vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle, the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle is set; The other vehicle destination information acquired by the other vehicle destination information acquisition means, the current position information acquired by the current position information acquisition means and the destination information set by the own vehicle destination setting means Transmitting to the base station, inter-base station communication means for receiving the result determined by the recent destination determination means,
Other vehicle detecting means for detecting the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle of which the destination closest to the own vehicle received by the base station communication means is set,
A route guidance device comprising: a presentation unit configured to present a driver with a position and a direction of another vehicle detected by the another vehicle detection unit. The recent destination determining means determines the degree of coincidence between the destination area of the other vehicle and the destination area of the own vehicle, and determines the other vehicle whose destination closest to the own vehicle destination is set. The route guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the route is determined. The recent destination determining means determines the degree of coincidence of at least one of a local name, a prefectural name, a municipal name, or a combination thereof between the destination of the other vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle, and determines the degree of coincidence of the destination of the own vehicle. The route guidance device according to claim 3, wherein the other vehicle to which the closest destination is set is determined. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: means for determining a degree of coincidence between the area of the current position of the other vehicle and the area of the destination of the own vehicle to determine that the own vehicle is present at the destination. The route guidance device according to claim 2. The degree of coincidence of the current position of the other vehicle with at least one of the local name, prefecture name, and municipal name of the destination of the own vehicle or a combination thereof is determined, and it is determined that the own vehicle is present at the destination. The route guidance device according to claim 5, wherein: An inter-vehicle communication means for performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles in the vicinity,
Other vehicle destination information obtaining means for obtaining destination information set in another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Own vehicle destination setting means for setting the destination of the own vehicle;
Between a base station having position code storage means for storing a code corresponding to the position information, and a position code conversion means for converting the destination of another vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle into a code stored in the position code storage means. And the destination information acquired by the other vehicle destination information acquiring means, the destination information set by the own vehicle destination setting means are transmitted to the base station, and converted by the code converting means. Base station communication means for receiving the destination code of the other vehicle and the destination code of the own vehicle,
A latest vehicle that determines the other vehicle whose destination is closest to the vehicle's destination based on the vehicle's destination code and the vehicle's destination code received by the inter-base station communication means; Ground determination means;
Other vehicle detecting means for detecting the position and direction of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle, the destination of which is set closest to the destination of the own vehicle determined by the recent destination determining means,
A route guidance device comprising: a presentation unit configured to present a driver with a position and a direction of another vehicle detected by the another vehicle detection unit. The inter-base-station communication means stores the postal code or telephone number corresponding to the position information of the destination in the position code storage means, and uses the code conversion means to determine the destination of another vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle. Communicate with a base station that converts to a postal code or telephone number,
The recent destination determining means determines the other vehicle having the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle based on the degree of coincidence of the postal code or telephone number transmitted as the destination code. The route guidance device according to claim 7, wherein The other-vehicle detecting means is configured such that the inter-vehicle communication means includes at least three receivers, and a difference between a transmission time of a signal returned from the other vehicle and a reception time at the receiver is used to determine whether the own vehicle and the other vehicle are different. The route guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a distance to the other vehicle is calculated to detect a position of another vehicle. Other vehicle direction indicator signal detecting means for detecting the operated direction of the direction indicator of the other vehicle determined to be the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the own vehicle is set by the recent destination determining means When,
When the operation of the direction indicator is detected by the other vehicle direction indicator signal detecting means, the other vehicle direction indicator signal detecting means has priority over the direction of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle direction detecting means. The route guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a presentation control unit that controls the presentation unit so as to present an operation of the direction indicator. An inter-vehicle communication means for performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles in the vicinity,
Other vehicle destination information obtaining means for obtaining destination information set in another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
Own vehicle destination setting means for setting the destination of the own vehicle;
Current position information obtaining means for obtaining current position information of another vehicle from a signal received by the inter-vehicle communication means,
The latest destination determining means for determining the other vehicle for which the destination closest to the destination of the own vehicle is set based on the destination and the current position of the other vehicle and the destination of the own vehicle, and storing characteristics of the vehicle. A base having vehicle information storage means, and other vehicle information determination means for detecting, as vehicle information, characteristics of the other vehicle determined by the recent destination determination means with reference to the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information storage means; Communication with the station, the destination information obtained by the other vehicle destination information obtaining means, the current position information obtained by the current position information obtaining means, and the destination set by the own vehicle destination setting means. Transmitting information to the base station, inter-base station communication means for receiving vehicle information about other vehicles,
A route guidance device comprising: a presentation unit that presents vehicle information about another vehicle received by the inter-base-station communication unit. The route guidance device according to claim 11, wherein the vehicle information storage unit stores, as vehicle information, at least one or a combination of a number, a vehicle type, and a color of another vehicle. If the latest destination determining means detects another vehicle having a destination closer to the destination of the own vehicle than the other vehicle presenting the position and direction by the presenting means, 13. The route guidance device according to claim 1, wherein another vehicle presented to the means is changed. The route guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the inter-vehicle communication means performs inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle ahead in the same traveling direction as the own vehicle.

Images