JP2006268480A - Vehicle information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing device for a vehicle that provides information that calls attention to a route that a driver is familiar with traveling.
[MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] A vehicle information providing device that is mounted on a vehicle and provides a driver with information corresponding to the traveling state of the own vehicle, a storage means for storing the traveling route of the own vehicle, and a current position of the own vehicle are detected. A current travel route of the host vehicle is calculated from the current position detection means that detects the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection, and the calculated current travel route of the host vehicle is stored in the storage means. Determining means for determining whether the past travel frequency of the current travel route is higher than a predetermined threshold in light of the travel route of the vehicle, and when the past travel frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold Alarm means for outputting an alarm intended to alert the vehicle driver to drive carefully.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an information providing apparatus that is mounted on a vehicle and provides a driver with information corresponding to the traveling state of the host vehicle, and in particular, provides information that calls attention to a route that the driver is used to traveling. The present invention relates to a vehicle information providing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicular information providing apparatus that provides a driver with information (for example, route guidance) according to the traveling state of the host vehicle is well known. In particular, a vehicular information providing apparatus that determines whether or not a travel route is a route familiar to the driver during route guidance is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a navigation device that regulates route guidance when a moving object moves a predetermined place more than a predetermined number of times based on movement history information of the moving object when moving in a predetermined area including the place. Is disclosed.

Patent Document 2 discloses a navigation device that simplifies the guidance of a road or area when there is a road or area that the user knows well on a part of the guide route.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-254771 JP 2003-57059 A

  However, the conventional devices as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 determine whether the driving route is a route familiar to the driver and then reduce / reduce guidance for the more familiar route. The determination result is used.

  It can be said that the driver is familiar with the route itself such as at which intersection to turn right and left, and the surroundings (the location of the store, etc.) about the route that is frequently used for commuting.

  However, on the other hand, there is a risk of “familiarity”. That is, there is an aspect that the driver's attention and concentration on the driving operation itself may decrease as the driver travels along a familiar route.

  It can be said that the conventional apparatus uses the determination result of whether or not it is a familiar route in order to reduce the amount and quality of information provision in the familiar route. No proposal has been made for measures to reduce the risk.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular information providing apparatus that provides information that calls attention to a route that a driver is familiar with traveling.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a vehicle information providing device that is mounted on a vehicle and provides a driver with information corresponding to the traveling state of the own vehicle, and stores the traveling route of the own vehicle. Storage means, current position detection means for detecting the current position of the host vehicle, a current travel route of the host vehicle is calculated from the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection, and the calculated host vehicle A determination means for determining whether or not the past travel frequency of the current travel route is higher than a predetermined threshold in light of the current travel route of the vehicle stored in the storage means; An information providing apparatus for a vehicle having alarm means for outputting an alarm when a past traffic frequency of a travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold.

  In this aspect, the current position detection means acquires the current position information of the host vehicle using a communication device such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.

  Moreover, in this one aspect, when the past travel frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold (for example, once a day on average, etc.), the determination means Since the travel route is frequently passed, it is intended to determine that the user is used to traveling on the route.

  Furthermore, in this one aspect, the alarm output from the alarm means is an alarm intended to alert a vehicle driver to drive carefully, and for example, as character information on a display It takes the form of a predetermined message that is displayed and / or outputted as audio information from a speaker.

  According to this aspect, since a warning for alerting is output while driving on a route that the driver is accustomed to, a reduction in attention and concentration due to familiarity is prevented.

  In this aspect, the vehicular information providing apparatus further includes driving state detecting means for detecting a driving state (for example, vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, etc.) of the host vehicle, and the storage means is a travel of the host vehicle. Along with the route, the driving state of the host vehicle at each node (for example, an intersection) in the travel route detected by the driving state detection unit is stored, and the warning unit detects the vehicle state detected by the current position detection unit. In light of the current position of the vehicle in the travel route of the host vehicle stored in the storage unit, it is determined that the host vehicle is approaching any node in the travel route of the host vehicle stored in the storage unit. Based on the driving state of the host vehicle stored in the storage means in relation to the node (for example, when a tendency of “insufficient deceleration” is observed, sufficient braking control is promoted, etc. ) It is preferable to output the broadcast.

  In this case, further, when the warning means determines that the past traffic frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold value by the determination means in consideration of the warning due to the above-mentioned familiarity (that is, (When it can be determined that the route is used), the alarm based on the driving state of the host vehicle is emphasized (for example, as voice information having a larger volume and / or Alternatively, it is more preferable to output the information as larger and more prominent character information) and / or at an earlier timing (that is, before the node).

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the information provision apparatus for vehicles which provides the information which calls a driver | operator the route which the driver is accustomed to drive can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the basic concept, main hardware configuration, operating principle, basic control method, etc. of the vehicle information providing device that provides route guidance and safety information are known to those skilled in the art, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. To do.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle information providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  A vehicle information providing apparatus 100 mounted on a vehicle includes a current position detection unit 101 that detects a current position of the host vehicle. In the present embodiment, the current position detection unit 101 includes a GPS receiver, for example, and detects the current position of the host vehicle by receiving a GPS signal.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further includes a vehicle speed detection unit 102 that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and a vehicle acceleration detection unit 103 that detects acceleration (front and rear G and / or lateral G) of the host vehicle. In the present embodiment, for example, the vehicle speed detection unit 102 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from a wheel-side sensor, and the vehicle acceleration detection unit 103 detects the vehicle acceleration of the host vehicle from an acceleration sensor installed in the host vehicle.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further stores a node information storage unit 104 that stores and holds, for each node through which the host vehicle passes, the vehicle speed and vehicle acceleration of the host vehicle at the node as parameters representing the driving state of the host vehicle at the node. Have

  In the present embodiment, the node information storage unit 104 refers to the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 101 to determine node passing, and the vehicle speed and vehicle acceleration are determined by the vehicle speed detection unit 102 and the vehicle acceleration detection unit. 103 respectively.

  In addition, the node information storage unit 104 acquires the vehicle speed and the vehicle acceleration every time the same node passes, and stores and holds, for example, an average value of the values acquired so far as a parameter indicating the driving state in the node.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further includes a route assembly unit 105 that assembles passing nodes stored and held in the node information storage unit 104 to create a plurality of route patterns.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further includes a route pattern storage unit 106 that stores and holds a plurality of route patterns created by the route assembly unit 105.

  In the present embodiment, when a route pattern that is the same as the route pattern that is already stored and held is acquired from the route assembly unit 105, the route pattern storage unit 106 increments a counter stored in association with the route pattern and acquires the route pattern. Make sure you know how many times.

  In the present embodiment, the node information storage unit 104 and the route pattern storage unit 106 may be arbitrary storage media, respectively, and may be two storage areas provided in one storage medium. .

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further uses a known statistical method such as collective discrete analysis for the current travel route of the host vehicle calculated from the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 101. Then, it is determined whether or not there is a matching route pattern in light of the route pattern stored and held in the route pattern storage unit 106, and it can be said that there is a route pattern that matches (for example, 90% or more matches). The current travel route has a familiarity determination unit 107 that determines that the driver is familiar with the route.

  In the present embodiment, the familiarity determining unit 107, for example, compares the current travel route of the host vehicle with the route pattern stored and held in the route pattern storage unit 106 to determine the past traffic frequency of the current travel route of the host vehicle. When it is higher than a predetermined threshold (for example, once a day on average), it is determined that the current travel route of the host vehicle is a travel route that the driver is accustomed to.

  The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further outputs an alarm that is intended to alert the driver of the host vehicle to drive carefully as information for safe driving. Have

  More specifically, in this embodiment, when the information providing unit 108 receives a notification from the familiarity determining unit 107 that the current traveling route can be determined as “a route that the driver is accustomed to”, For example, a message such as “Intersections are not always the same. Please drive carefully” is output as a voice information from a speaker (not shown), for example. And / or displayed on a display (not shown) as character information.

  Here, the speaker may be dedicated to the apparatus, or may be shared with the car audio system. The display may be an independent display device, a display installed in an instrument panel, a head-up display, a dedicated display for the device, or a navigation. It can be shared with the system.

  In the present embodiment, the information providing unit 108 compares the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 101 with the node information stored and held in the node information storage unit 104, and the host vehicle is approaching. For a node, it is determined whether or not an operating state that may impair safety such as excessive speed or insufficient deceleration has been detected when passing through the node in the past. For example, a message such as “Attention was insufficient when you entered this intersection last time. Be sure to pause!” Is output.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the node to which the node-specific alarm is to be output is a node on the familiar travel route, the information providing unit 108 emphasizes the node-specific alarm (for example, larger). The output is made at a volume or with a larger and more prominent character and at an earlier timing (ie, before the node).

  A processing flow of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the familiar general alarm process of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the current travel route of the host vehicle is calculated by the familiarity determination unit 107 based on the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 101 (S201). Then, the calculated current travel route of the host vehicle is compared with the route pattern stored and held in the route pattern storage unit 106 (S202).

  When it is determined by the familiarity determination unit 107 that the current travel route of the host vehicle is the “travel route familiar to the driver” (“YES” in S203), the driver is warned about the familiarity as described above. An alarm is output (S204).

  If it is determined that the route is not a familiar route (“NO” in S203), a warning about general familiarity is not output.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the node specific alarm process of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, based on the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 101, it is determined whether the host vehicle has passed a node (for example, an intersection) (S301). When the vehicle passes through the node (“YES” in S301), the vehicle speed and vehicle acceleration of the host vehicle at the node are associated with the node and stored in the node information storage unit 104 (S302).

  Next, a route pattern is assembled from the node information stored in the node information storage unit 104 by the route assembly unit 105 and stored in the route pattern storage unit 106 (S303).

  Next, the information providing unit 108 determines whether or not the host vehicle is approaching the node based on the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detecting unit 101 (S304).

  When the host vehicle is approaching the node (“YES” in S304), information related to the driving state of the host vehicle in the past node, that is, the vehicle speed and the vehicle acceleration, is called from the node information storage unit 104 (S305).

  Next, it is determined whether or not there are signs such as overspeed or underdeceleration as a tendency inherent in the node from the past driving state in the called node. It is then determined whether or not an alarm is required for this (S306).

  When it is determined that a node-specific alert is necessary for the approaching node from the past driving state (“YES” in S306), the information providing unit 108 then determines the result of the familiarity determining unit 107 (see FIG. 2), it is determined whether or not the node is a node in the route familiar to the driver (S307).

  When the approaching node to be alerted is not a node on the familiar route (“NO” in S307), the node-specific alarm as described above is output (S309).

  On the other hand, when the approaching node to be alerted is a node in the familiar route (“YES” in S307), the above node-specific alarm is emphasized more than in the normal case (S309) (for example, The voice information is output as voice information of a larger volume and / or as more noticeable character information) and / or at an earlier timing (ie, before the node) (S308).

  In other words, the alarm output in S308 can be said to be a case where the node-specific alarm and the general alarm are applied in a superimposed manner.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, an alarm for alerting is output while traveling on a travel route determined to be accustomed to the driver from the past travel history. Reduced attention and concentration.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, when approaching a node that the driver is determined to be aware of from the past driving state, a warning for alerting the node is output. The trend is improved.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, in the travel route determined to be familiar to the driver, the node-specific warning is emphasized and / or outputted at an earlier timing, so that a warning due to familiarity occurs. It is possible to guide to safe node passage more securely in a node that may be present.

  The present invention can be used for a vehicle information providing apparatus. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a schematic block diagram of the information provision apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the familiar general alarm process of the information provision apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the node specific alarm process of the information provision apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle information provision apparatus 101 Current position detection part 102 Vehicle speed detection part 103 Acceleration detection part 104 Node information storage part 105 Path | route assembly part 106 Path | route pattern storage part 107 Familiarity determination part 108 Information provision part

Claims (4)

A vehicle information providing device that is mounted on a vehicle and provides information to the driver according to the traveling state of the host vehicle,
Storage means for storing the travel route of the host vehicle;
Current position detection means for detecting the current position of the host vehicle;
The current travel route of the host vehicle is calculated from the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection, and the calculated current travel route of the host vehicle is used as the travel route of the host vehicle stored in the storage unit. A determination means for determining whether or not the past traffic frequency of the current travel route is higher than a predetermined threshold in light of;
An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: alarm means for outputting an alarm when a past traffic frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold. The vehicle information providing device according to claim 1,
It further has driving state detection means for detecting the driving state of the host vehicle,
The storage means stores the driving state of the host vehicle at each node in the driving route detected by the driving state detection unit together with the driving route of the host vehicle.
The warning means compares the current position of the host vehicle detected by the current position detection means with the travel route of the host vehicle stored in the storage means, and the host vehicle travels the host vehicle stored in the storage means. A vehicle that outputs an alarm based on a driving state of the host vehicle stored in the storage means in relation to the node when it is determined that the node is approaching any node in the route. Information provision device. The vehicle information providing device according to claim 2,
The warning means, when the determination means determines that the past travel frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold, compared to when it is not determined high, the driving state of the host vehicle An information providing device for a vehicle, which emphasizes and outputs an alarm based on the above. The vehicle information providing device according to claim 2 or 3,
When the determination means determines that the past traffic frequency of the current travel route is higher than the predetermined threshold, the warning means is compared with a case where it is not determined that the driving frequency of the host vehicle is higher. An information providing device for a vehicle, characterized in that an alarm based on the above is output at an earlier timing.

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