JP2013069020A - Eco-driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an eco-driving support device capable of notifying precautions about eco-driving in consideration of the situation of the driver at that time.
An eco-driving support device that assists eco-driving by reporting an excessive fuel consumption state when a driver drives a vehicle, road data storage means for storing road data, and vehicle driving Attention point management means 302 for setting a point where excessive fuel consumption in the road data is generated as a point of interest based on the operation state (acceleration, deceleration, etc.) at the time, and the driver's careful driving A polite driving awareness estimation means 305 for estimating a polite driving awareness level that is a degree of consciousness to be performed, and when the vehicle approaches the caution point set by the caution point management means, according to the polite driving awareness degree At a certain level, a point-of-care-notification unit 304 that notifies the driver of a caution is provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an eco-driving support device that supports eco-driving by reporting an excessive fuel consumption state when a driver drives a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a support device that detects a state in which fuel is excessively consumed during vehicle driving and notifies the driver of this state so as to encourage eco-driving. As a conventional example of such a support device, for example, one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-66786 (Patent Document 1) is known.

  According to Patent Document 1, an excessive consumption point where fuel is likely to be excessively consumed is specified based on road data on which the vehicle travels and vehicle operation information, and further, based on the result of determining the driving characteristics of the driver, It is disclosed that a point requiring attention is selected from consumption points and notified to the driver.

JP 2010-66786 A

  However, in the conventional example disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the driving characteristics of the driver are determined based on the past driving performance of the driver, and the points to be alerted by applying the characteristics uniformly. Since the determination is made and this is notified to the driver, the basic propensity of the driver is taken into consideration, but it does not reflect the state of the driver at that time. Therefore, the precautions regarding eco-driving are notified regardless of the driver's consciousness and emotions, and it may be felt troublesome for the driver.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and the object of the present invention is to provide notices on eco-driving in consideration of the situation of the driver at that time. Is to provide a simple eco-driving support device.

  In order to achieve the above object, an eco-driving support device according to the present invention is an eco-driving support device that supports eco-driving by reporting an excessive energy consumption state when a driver drives a vehicle. A polite driving consciousness estimation means for estimating a polite driving consciousness level, which is a consciousness level to try polite driving, is provided. Furthermore, when the vehicle approaches a point requiring attention where excessive energy consumption is predicted, the vehicle is provided with a point-of-care notifying means for notifying the driver of a notice at a level corresponding to the level of careful driving awareness.

  In the eco-driving support device according to the present invention, the driver's careful driving awareness level is estimated, and when the careful driving awareness level is low, the driver can be surely notified that the vehicle is approaching a point requiring attention. . In addition, when the degree of careful driving awareness is high, it is possible to simplify the notification about the vehicle approaching the point of caution and avoid making the driver feel bothersome.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows processing operation | movement of the eco-drive assistance device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the method of pinpointing the important point of fuel excessive consumption from the data of the speed change of a vehicle of the eco-drive assistance device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which concerns on the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and shows the investigation data of whether it influences the driving | running | working when a passenger exists. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the distribution of the arrival time of the destination, and the stringency requested | required of the arrival time of the eco-drive assistance device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows processing operation | movement of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the map used when determining the urgency with respect to the destination arrival of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows processing operation | movement of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the eco-driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 5th Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Description of First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the eco-driving support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the eco-driving support device 101 includes vehicle information acquisition means 1 that acquires an operation state during vehicle travel such as a vehicle travel speed and a fuel injection amount, GPS (Global Positioning System), and autonomous navigation. Vehicle position measuring means 2 for measuring the vehicle position based on the vehicle position and outputting the position data, computing means 3 for executing various processes relating to eco-driving support, and road data storage means for storing road network configuration information as electronic data 4 and output means 5 for presenting various information related to eco-driving support to the driver in the form of images and sounds.

  The calculation means 3 includes an eco-driving diagnostic unit (eco-driving diagnostic unit) 301, a point-of-care point management unit 302, a travel route management unit (a travel route management unit) 303, and a point-of-care point notification unit (a point of interest notification unit ) 304 and a polite driving awareness estimation section (poor driving awareness estimation means) 305, and is an integrated computer comprising a central processing unit (CPU), storage means such as RAM, ROM, and hard disk, for example. It is configured as. Although not shown, the calculation means 3 includes a clock circuit (clock means, time measurement means) that recognizes the current time and measures the elapsed time of each process.

  The eco-driving diagnosis unit 301 uses the speed information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 1 to diagnose whether the driver can practice eco-driving. Specifically, as described later, it is determined whether or not the fuel is excessively consumed by operations such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, frequent acceleration / deceleration, etc. If it is in a state, diagnose that eco-driving is not practiced.

  When the ecological driving diagnosis unit 301 diagnoses that the ecological driving diagnosis unit 301 cannot practice ecological driving, the point-of-interest management unit 302 detects the position (based on the vehicle position information acquired by the vehicle positioning unit 2 at this time ( A point where eco-driving cannot be practiced is identified on the road data, and this is stored and managed as a point requiring attention.

  The travel route management unit 303 calculates and stores a travel route until the vehicle travels to a destination (including those statistically predicted based on a travel history or the like). Furthermore, when the vehicle position information detected by the vehicle position measurement means deviates from the assumed travel route, the travel route is calculated again to correct the travel route. In addition, a travel pattern for a travel route on which the vehicle has traveled in the past is stored. The travel pattern is, for example, information on the number of passengers, information on whether the passengers include children, elderly people, pregnant women, disabled persons, or destinations, destination attributes, and destinations. Information such as time.

  The point-of-interest notification unit 304 monitors the current vehicle position based on the output data of the vehicle position positioning means 2, and the travel route managed by the travel route management unit 303 and the point-of-interest management unit 302. Based on the information on the point requiring attention being managed, the point of interest present on the travel route of the vehicle and the vehicle approaching is detected. When the vehicle approaches a point requiring caution, precautions for practicing eco-driving when passing the point requiring caution are created as information presented to the driver, and the vehicle The presentation information is output to the output means 5 at an appropriate timing before reaching the point.

  The polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 estimates the degree of consciousness that the driver wants to perform polite driving (a polite driving awareness described later) based on a method described later, and according to the polite driving awareness, The notification level for notifying the driver of the cautions before the vehicle passes through the above-mentioned critical point is determined.

  The output means 5 is, for example, a display that displays video, a display lamp, or a speaker that outputs audio.

[Explaining polite driving awareness and notification level]
Hereinafter, the polite driving awareness level estimated by the polite driving awareness level estimation unit 305 will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, a driver's degree of consciousness to drive carefully (poor driving consciousness) is estimated, and this is set, for example, in three stages of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, and based on this When the vehicle approaches a point requiring attention (a point where excessive fuel consumption is estimated to occur), a notification level indicating how aggressively the driver is notified of this approach information (for example, “High”, “Medium”, and “Low” are determined.

  The polite driving awareness can be set by information such as whether or not a passenger is present. If there is a passenger, the polite driving awareness is high. It can be set to be low.

  And when the driver's awareness of polite driving is low, the possibility of excessive fuel consumption increases, so the notification level is set high and the driver is notified of the approach information to the point of caution so that the driver can be more easily noticed. . On the other hand, if the driver's awareness of polite driving is high, the possibility of excessive fuel consumption is low, so the notification level is set low, and the approach information to the point requiring attention is given so as not to bother the driver. Notice.

  As a specific example, the importance level is set for each point requiring attention (stored in the point-of-care management unit 302) that is set at a plurality of locations (the setting of “importance” will be described later). Based on the relationship between the importance level and the careful driving awareness level, it is possible to adopt a method for determining whether or not to notify the approaching point of interest. For example, if the driver's awareness of polite driving is high, the notification level is set low so that the driver is notified of the approach to the point of interest only when the importance is high. Can adopt a method of setting the notification level high so as to notify the driver of the approaching state to the point requiring attention regardless of the importance. In this embodiment, an example in which this method is employed will be described.

  Further, the notification level is set so that the notice is notified in a manner that the driver can easily recognize as the notification level increases. Specific examples include the following (A) to (C) in addition to the notification level described above.

(A) When the notification level is high, the number of times of notifying the driver is increased. When the notification level is low, the number of times of notifying the attention is decreased.

(B) When the notification level is high, the notification content of the notes is detailed and notified to specific advice, and when it is low, the notes are simplified (c) When the notification level is high Sends notices with signal sounds and visual information, and notices notices only with signal sounds when low.

[Explanation of importance at points requiring attention]
Next, the point of caution and the definition of its importance will be described. The point of caution is a point where fuel has been consumed excessively when the vehicle has traveled in the past (that is, a point where eco-driving could not be practiced), and in this embodiment, a point of caution is required based on changes in vehicle speed. An example of specifying the will be described.

  Examining the relationship between changes in vehicle speed and fuel consumption, the cases where fuel consumption significantly increases compared to driving with ideal speed changes include (a) rapid acceleration and (b) speed instability. It is known that there are three typical cases: vertical fluctuation and (c) rapid deceleration. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, first, a position where the absolute value Δv1 of the speed change (including increase and decrease) is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value d is detected.

  In the case of FIG. 3A, if Δv1 is an increase and the absolute value Δv2 of the subsequent decrease is less than the threshold value d, the time Δt required for the acceleration Δv1 is obtained, and the evaluation index e is set to “e = Δv1 / Δt ”. If the evaluation index e is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value α, the start point of the acceleration Δv1 is stored as a point requiring attention where sudden acceleration has occurred.

  In the case of FIG. 3B, when speed changes Δv1, Δv2,..., Δvn (n is 2 or more) whose absolute values are greater than or equal to the threshold value d occur continuously, these n speed changes were required. The total time Δt is obtained, and the evaluation index e is obtained by “e = (Δv1 + Δv2 +... + Δvn) / Δt”. If the evaluation index e is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value α, the starting point of the speed change Δv1 is stored as a point requiring attention where an unstable speed fluctuation has occurred.

  In the case of FIG. 3C, if Δv1 is decreasing and the subsequent increase change Δv2 is less than the threshold value d or the vehicle speed reaches 0 as it is, the time Δt required for the deceleration Δv1 is obtained. The evaluation index e is obtained by “e = Δv1 / Δt”. If the evaluation index e is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value α, the start point of the deceleration Δv1 is stored as a point requiring attention where sudden deceleration has occurred.

  Further, the importance of each point requiring attention is determined by the magnitude of the evaluation index e. If the evaluation index e is small, the excessive consumption of fuel is small, and the larger the evaluation index e is, the more serious it is. For example, if α ≦ e <1.5α with respect to the threshold α. If the importance is “low”, 1.5α ≦ e <2α, the importance is set to “medium”, and if e ≧ 2α, the importance is set to “high”. Data indicating the importance is stored in the point-of-care point management unit 302.

[Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, the processing operation by the calculation means 3 of the eco-driving support device 101 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S201, the travel route management unit 303 calculates a travel route where the vehicle reaches a given destination. The destination may be input and set by the driver when the system is started, or the total departure location and the departure time zone are counted as the past driving history of the vehicle, and the current departure point is counted. In addition, referring to the departure time zone, the most frequent arrival point may be predicted as the current destination. Further, a location registered in the latest schedule from the current time in conjunction with a schedule management function shown in FIG.

  In step S202, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 estimates the extent to which the driver is conscious of careful driving based on information such as whether or not a passenger is present, for example, Guess the careful driving awareness that is this degree. For example, the polite driving awareness level is set in three stages of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, and it is determined which of these three is equivalent.

  In step S203, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 determines that the vehicle is a point requiring attention (a point where excessive fuel consumption is predicted to occur) based on the driver's polite driving awareness determined in step S202. When approaching, determine the notification level for notifying the driver of cautions. As an example, when the polite driving awareness estimated in the process of step S202 is low, the notification level is set to “high” regardless of the importance set for the point requiring attention. Also, if the driver's awareness of polite driving is high, the notification level is set to “high” only when the importance set for the target point of interest is “high”, otherwise ( When the importance level is “medium” or “low”), the notification level is set to “low”.

  In step S204, the travel route management unit 303 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling without departing from the previously obtained travel route, and if it is determined that the vehicle has deviated (NO in step S204). In step S205, the travel route of the vehicle is searched again, and the process returns to step S204. On the other hand, if it is determined that it has not deviated (YES in step S204), the process proceeds to step S206.

  In step S206, the caution point notification unit 304 determines whether or not there is a caution point in a range within a predetermined distance from the current vehicle position on the travel route of the vehicle. In this process, points requiring attention for which the processed flag has already been set to “ON” in the processes of steps S208 and S209 described later are excluded from the determination conditions. If it is determined that there is no point of interest (NO in step S206), the process returns to step S204, and if it is determined that a point of interest exists (YES in step S206), step The process proceeds to S207.

  In step S207, the caution point notifying unit 304 determines whether or not the notification level is “high”. If it is determined that the notification level is “high” (YES in step S207), the point-of-interest notification unit 304 notifies the caution in step S208, and indicates that this processing is completed. The completed flag is set to “ON”. For example, a voice message such as “I will pass the eco-driving caution point soon. Please keep in mind that it is eco-friendly!” Or a warning that lights up the lamp that says “Please keep eco-friendly”. Run.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the notification level is “medium” or “low” (NO in step S207), the point-of-interest notification unit 304 does not notify the caution in step S209, and the process ends. The processed flag indicating that this has been done is set to “ON”.

  When the notification level is set to “High” by the above processing, the driver can be surely notified that the point requiring attention is near and the notification level is set to “Medium” or “Low”. If it is set, no alert will be issued even if the vehicle is approaching a point requiring attention, and no warning will be issued to the driver who is careful about driving. Avoid making you feel it.

  In addition, regardless of whether the notification level is “high” or not, it is not determined whether or not the point requiring attention once the processing of step S208 or S209 is a notification target. The processed flag is set to “ON”. Accordingly, the point requiring attention with the processed flag set to “ON” is excluded from the process of step S206, and therefore, it is possible to prevent duplicate processes from being executed.

  In step S210, the caution point notification unit 304 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (NO in step S210), the process returns to step S204 and arrives. In such a case (YES in step S210), this process ends.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the notice is notified in the process of step S208 and the notice is not notified in the process of step S209 has been described. However, various notification contents can be changed according to the notification level. is there.

  For example, the notification level can be set in three stages of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, and the higher the notification level, the more detailed the content of the cautions. In this case, the higher the notification level is, the more the driver can be reminded of the precautions when approaching the point requiring attention, and the driver can be encouraged to carefully drive. As another example, the higher the notification level, the higher the number of times of notification of notices can be set. For example, when the vehicle approaches a point requiring attention, if the notification level is “high”, the notice is repeated twice, and if the notification level is “medium”, the number of notice notifications If the notification level is “low” and the notification level is “low”, the notices are not notified, so that notification suitable for each notification level is possible.

  As described above, in the eco-driving support device 101 according to the first embodiment, when the driver's careful driving awareness level is low and it is estimated that excessive driving and fuel consumption occur due to rough driving, the notification level is set. By setting it high, the driver is actively notified that the vehicle is approaching a point requiring attention. On the other hand, if the driver's awareness of polite driving is high and it is estimated that gentle driving is practiced and excessive fuel consumption tends to be suppressed, the precautions can be simplified or the notification itself can be By avoiding this, it is avoided that the driver feels bothersome. As a result, for drivers who need to be alerted about eco-driving, they can be sure that they are approaching the point requiring attention, and for drivers who are practicing careful driving, Avoid annoying notifications of cautions and reduce annoyance.

  Accordingly, it is possible to notify the precautions regarding eco-driving in consideration of the situation of the driver at that time.

[Description of Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the eco-driving support device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the eco-driving support device 102 is different from the configuration of the eco-driving support device 101 shown in FIG. 1 described above in that a passenger identification unit 6 is added. The configuration is the same.

  Passenger identification means 6 identifies whether a passenger is on the passenger seat or rear seat of the vehicle, and further determines whether the passenger includes children, elderly people, pregnant women, and disabled persons. It has a function. The passenger identification means 6 is a pressure sensor that detects the presence or absence of an occupant for each seat of each seat, a seat belt wearing sensor, an indoor camera that identifies an occupant by video, an ID card sensor, and short-range wireless communication. A personal authentication device of a mobile phone can be used.

  Next, the operation of the eco-driving support device 102 according to the second embodiment will be described. The flowchart of the processing operation related to the eco-driving support device 102 according to the second embodiment is almost the same as the processing procedure shown in FIG. 2 described above, and only the processing in step S202 is different.

  That is, in the second embodiment, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 confirms whether or not there are passengers other than the driver by the passenger identification means 6 and, if there are, passengers. Then, when there is no passenger (when only the driver is on board), it is estimated that the driver's consciousness to try polite driving is low, and the polite driving awareness level is set low. That is, the notification level is set high in the process of step S203 of FIG. In addition, it is set so that the degree of careful driving awareness increases as the number of passengers increases. That is, in the process of step S203 in FIG. 2, the notification level is set low.

  FIG. 5 shows excerpts of interviews with 10 female drivers in their 30s and 50s conducted by the inventors. When 6 out of 10 people have passengers compared to when riding alone, some form is shown. By using an extremely simple method such as detecting the presence or absence of a passenger, it can be effective as a factor for estimating whether the driver's awareness of driving is high or low. Suggests that.

  Furthermore, in order to estimate the level of careful driving awareness with a higher degree of accuracy, the occupant's weight can be estimated based on the passenger weight detected by the seat pressure sensor, the image processing result of the indoor camera, or the identification result of a specific individual using an ID card sensor. Identify whether there are elderly people, pregnant women, disabled people, etc., and if these occupants are present, it can be assumed that the consciousness of careful driving will be higher, so set a high level of careful driving awareness. Is also possible.

  Then, in the eco-driving support device 102 according to the second embodiment, it is determined whether there is a passenger, and if there is a passenger, the number of persons, children, elderly people, pregnant women, and disabled persons are present. Since the careful driving awareness is set based on the information on whether or not to perform, it is possible to more accurately estimate whether or not the driver is careful driving.

  Therefore, by changing the notification level of the point requiring attention based on this polite driving awareness level, the driver is bothered by repeating the notification of approaching the point of interest despite the fact that eco-driving can be practiced. Can be avoided. In addition, the determination of whether or not a passenger is present can be detected immediately by simple means such as pressure on the seat surface or attachment / detachment of the seat belt, so that the desired effect is achieved at a relatively low cost. can do.

  In addition, children, elderly people, pregnant women, disabled people, etc. are on board, so that the driver is more active and gentle driving than if there are passengers such as general adults. By inferring and changing the notification level of the point of interest accordingly, it is possible to achieve a higher effect.

[Description of Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the eco-driving support device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the eco-driving support device 103 includes an arrival time distribution storage means 7 in addition to the configuration of the eco-driving support device 101 shown in FIG. The difference is that the schedule management unit 306 is provided, and the other configurations are the same.

  The schedule management unit 306 has a function of storing and managing the schedule of the driver of the vehicle, and stores, for example, a date, a destination and an arrival time thereof. For example, the destination is registered in a format in which the position can be specified on the map data (for example, a format to which position information such as latitude and longitude is added).

  The arrival time distribution storage means 7 has a function of storing a distribution state of arrival times (frequency distribution at the same time) for each arrival point based on the past travel history of the vehicle. A storage device integrated with the road data storage means 4 may be used.

  In the arrival time distribution storage means 7, for example, arrival time distribution data is stored in the format shown in FIG. The three types of distributions (A) to (C) shown in FIG. 7 show past driving histories of different drivers, and show the distribution of times of arrival at the destination. For example, in the case of the driver shown in FIG. 7 (A), it arrives at the destination in a widely dispersed manner from 9:35 to 10:05, and in the case of the driver shown in (B) The driver arrives at the destination concentrated around 9:50. In the case of the driver shown in (C), the driver arrives at the destination dispersed between 9:30 and 10:00. ing.

  Then, for each driver shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the average arrival time at the destination is 9:52 for each driver. The estimated arrival time is approximately a little before 10 o'clock.

  However, due to the difference in the distribution of arrival times for each driver, when arrival times are distributed over a relatively wide range as shown in (A), the arrival times are not so strictly required. It is guessed. On the other hand, when concentrated in a narrow time zone as shown in (B), there is a demand for strictness that should arrive at least at the latest time (9:56) of this distribution. Guessed.

  In addition, as shown in (C), when the distribution is relatively wide, but the distribution is unevenly distributed in the second half after the average time, the arrival time is still somewhat strict. Presumed to have been sought.

  In this embodiment, the degree of strictness with respect to the arrival time is estimated based on the arrival time distribution stored in the arrival time distribution storage means 7, and the careful driving awareness is set accordingly. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, when arrival times are concentrated, the strictness is set high (for example, the strictness is set to “high”), and as shown in FIG. If the arrival times are dispersed, the strictness is set low (for example, the strictness is set to “low”).

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the arrival abruptness indicating the degree of rushing for the driver to arrive at the destination is determined with reference to the map shown in FIG. Specifically, if the current time has not reached the expected arrival time (9:52 in the example shown in FIG. 7) and the severity is “high”, the arrival is set in three stages. If the urgency is “medium” and the severity is “low”, the arrival urgency is “low”. Also, if the current time is past the estimated arrival time and the severity is “High”, the arrival urgency is set to “High”, and if the strictness is “Low”, the arrival urgency is The degree is “medium”. Thus, the arrival urgency is set from the relationship between the strictness, the current time, and the assumed arrival time. The map shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305. In other words, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 has a function as an urgency determination unit that determines the urgency when the vehicle moves.

  And in this embodiment, it sets so that a notification level may become high, so that the arrival rapidity set as mentioned above is high. For example, if the arrival abruptness is “high”, there is a high possibility of driving without ecological driving (ie, low awareness of careful driving), so set the notification level to “high” and arrive When the urgency is “low”, there is a high possibility of paying attention to eco-driving (that is, the degree of careful driving awareness is high), so the notification level is set to “low”. Further, when the arrival urgency is “medium”, the notification level is set to “medium”.

[Operation of Third Embodiment]
Next, the processing operation of the eco-driving support device 103 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S801, the travel route management unit 303 calculates a travel route where the vehicle reaches a given destination. This destination is set based on the schedule stored in the schedule management unit 306. That is, as described above, the schedule management unit 306 recognizes the position coordinates of the destination because position information such as longitude and latitude is added and registered so that the destination can be specified on the map. be able to.

  Further, the estimated arrival time of the destination can be set as the start time of the schedule. That is, it can be assumed that the start time of the action after arriving at this destination is the arrival time of this destination. Further, when the next destination and its estimated arrival time can be predicted statistically, these arrival times can also be adopted.

  In step S802, the travel route management unit 303 refers to the past arrival time distribution for the destination set in the process of step S801, and sets the strictness required for the arrival time to, for example, “high” or “low”. The two stages are determined. In this process, the determination is made with reference to the arrival time distribution stored in the arrival time distribution storage means 7 as shown in FIG. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7A, the severity is set to “low”, and in the example shown in FIG. 7B, the severity is set to “high”.

  In step S803, the travel route management unit 303 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling without departing from the travel route obtained earlier, and if it is determined that the vehicle has deviated (NO in step S803). After re-searching the travel route of the vehicle in step S804, the process returns to step S803. On the other hand, if it is determined that the travel route is not deviated (YES in step S803), the process proceeds to step S805.

  In step S805, the caution point notification unit 304 determines whether or not there is a caution point within a predetermined distance from the current vehicle position on the travel route of the vehicle. In this process, points requiring attention where the processed flag is already “ON” in the processes of steps S808 and S809 described later are excluded from the determination conditions. If it is determined that there is no point of interest (NO in step S805), the process returns to step S803. If it is determined that a point of interest exists (YES in step S805), step The process proceeds to S806.

  In step S806, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 estimates the urgency of arrival at the destination. For example, based on the current time, the expected arrival time, and the strictness required for the arrival time at the destination determined in step S802, the current movement is referred to with reference to the map shown in FIG. To determine the driver's urgency in And if the urgency is “high”, it is assumed that the driver can not afford to pay attention to careful driving, so the awareness level of careful driving is low, so the notification level at the point requiring attention is low. Set to “High”. Further, if the urgency is “medium” or “low”, the awareness level of the polite driving is high, so the notification level of the point requiring attention is set to “medium” or “low”.

  In step S807, the caution point notification unit 304 determines whether or not the notification level is “high”. If it is determined that the notification level is “high” (YES in step S807), in step S808, the point-of-interest notification unit 304 notifies the caution and indicates that this process is completed. The processed flag is set to “ON”. For example, a voice message such as “I will pass the eco-driving caution point soon. Please keep in mind that it is eco-friendly!” Or a warning that lights up the lamp that says “Please keep eco-friendly”. Run.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the notification level is not “high” (NO in step S807), the point-of-interest notification unit 304 does not notify the caution in step S809, and indicates that this processing is completed. The completed flag is set to “ON”.

  When the notification level is set to “High” by the above processing, the driver can be surely notified that the point of interest is near and the notification level is set to “Medium” or “Low”. When set, it is possible to avoid annoying the driver who is careful about driving without alerting even if the vehicle is approaching a point requiring attention.

  In addition, regardless of whether the notification level is “high” or not, it is not determined whether or not the point requiring attention once the processing of step S808 or S809 is a notification target. The processed flag is set to “ON”. Accordingly, the point requiring attention with the processed flag set to “ON” is excluded from the process of step S806, and thus it is possible to avoid duplicate processes.

  In step S810, the caution point notifying unit 304 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (NO in step S810), the process returns to step S803 and arrives. In this case (YES in step S810), the process ends.

  In this way, the eco-driving support device 103 according to the third embodiment estimates a state that is reluctant to careful driving because of rushing to the destination, and according to the estimation result. By changing the notification level of the point of interest, the driver is more proactively approaching the point of interest when the driving tends to be violent and as a result there is a high possibility that eco-driving cannot be practiced. By notifying, the practice of eco-driving can be effectively supported.

  In addition, guess the time zone to arrive and how strictly the arrival time is required for customarily visited destinations, and change the notification level of the point requiring attention accordingly. Thus, even when the driver does not perform an input operation such as destination setting, the notification information of the point requiring attention can be optimized to support the practice of eco-driving.

  In addition, the direct means of time comparison is used to reliably estimate the urgency of movement, and by changing the notification level of the point requiring attention accordingly, attention is required in situations where driving tends to be violent. The effect of supporting eco-driving by enhancing the notification of the location can be realized more reliably.

[Description of Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the eco-driving support device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the eco-driving support device 104 has an eco-driving diagnosis performed by the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301 by the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 in contrast to the configuration of the eco-driving support device 101 shown in FIG. 1 described above. It is different in that the degree of consciousness about careful driving is estimated by referring to the results. That is, FIG. 10 is different in that a connection line for transmitting a signal from the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301 to the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 is added, and other than that, the eco-driving support device shown in FIG. 101 has the same configuration.

  In the fourth embodiment, it is diagnosed whether the driver is practicing eco-driving after driving for a predetermined time after starting driving or after driving for a predetermined distance after starting driving. Then, based on the diagnosis result, the careful driving awareness is estimated. Then, the notification level is determined based on the estimated careful driving awareness.

  At this time, various methods are considered as eco-driving diagnosis. In the present embodiment, as an example, diagnosis is performed based on the occurrence status and the importance level of points requiring attention. Specifically, each point requiring attention is given an importance based on the numerical value of the evaluation index e described above, and the deduction method increases the number of points to be deducted as the number of points requiring attention increases. In addition, the result of the eco-driving diagnosis of the target traveling section is obtained by a method in which the deduction value is increased as the importance is higher. Since the eco-driving diagnosis result is judged to be worse as the total deduction value is larger, the polite driving awareness is set lower. On the contrary, if the total deduction value is small, it is judged that the result of the eco-driving diagnosis is good. By adopting this method, the driving consciousness is carefully divided into three levels: “high”, “medium”, and “low”.

[Operation of Fourth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the processing operation of the eco-driving support device 104 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, importance (a degree determined by the “evaluation index e” described above) is set for a plurality of points requiring attention. To do.

  First, in step S1101, the travel route management unit 303 calculates a travel route where the vehicle reaches a given destination. The destination may be input and set by the driver when the system is started, or the total departure location and the departure time zone are counted as the past driving history of the vehicle, and the current departure point is counted. In addition, referring to the departure time zone, the most frequent arrival point may be predicted as the current destination.

  In step S1102, the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301 diagnoses whether or not eco-driving is practiced until a predetermined time elapses after the vehicle starts traveling or travels a predetermined distance. The diagnosis result is output to the careful driving awareness level estimation unit 305.

  At this time, it is desirable that the predetermined time or the predetermined distance is set appropriately for each departure point or departure time zone. When setting the target section for eco-driving diagnosis at a predetermined distance, when leaving the home, the approach from the home to the main trunk road first runs on almost the same road regardless of where the final destination is In many cases, this diagnosis result can be used effectively by making this section an object of eco-driving diagnosis.

  In addition, when setting the target section for eco-driving diagnosis at a predetermined time, it is easier to make the diagnosis conditions the same at the same starting point and in the same time zone. Thus, the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301 diagnoses the eco-driving practice level for the section that has just traveled and outputs the diagnosis result to the polite driving consciousness estimation unit 305 at the end of traveling for a predetermined time or a predetermined distance. To do.

  In step S1103, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 estimates the driver's polite driving awareness based on the above-described method based on the eco-driving diagnosis result. For example, the polite driving awareness level is set in three stages of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, and it is determined which of these three is equivalent.

  In step S1104, the polite driving awareness estimation unit 305 determines that the vehicle approaches a point requiring attention (a point where excessive fuel consumption occurs) based on the driver's polite driving awareness determined in step S1103. In addition, the notification level for notifying the driver of the precautions is determined. For example, when the careful driving awareness estimated in the process of step S1103 is “low”, the notification level is set to “high” regardless of the importance set for the target point of interest, When the polite driving awareness is “high”, the notification level is set to “high” only when the importance set for the target point requiring attention is “high”.

  In step S1105, the travel route management unit 303 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling without departing from the travel route obtained earlier, and if it is determined that the vehicle has deviated (NO in step S1105). In step S1106, the travel route of the vehicle is searched again, and the process returns to step S1105. On the other hand, if it is determined that the travel route is not deviated (YES in step S1105), the process proceeds to step S1107.

  In step S1107, the caution point notification unit 304 determines whether or not there is a caution point within a predetermined distance from the current vehicle position on the travel route of the vehicle. In this process, points requiring attention where the processed flag is set to “ON” in the processes of steps S1109 and S1110 described later are excluded from the determination conditions. If it is determined that there is no point of interest (NO in step S1107), the process returns to step S1105, and if it is determined that a point of interest exists (YES in step S1107), step The process proceeds to S1108.

  In step S1108, the caution point notifying unit 304 determines whether or not the notification level determined in the process of step S1104 is “high”. When it is determined that the notification level is “high” (YES in step S1108), in step S1109, the point-of-care-notification unit 304 notifies the driver of the cautions, and the process ends. The processed flag indicating that this has been done is set to “ON”. For example, a voice message such as “I will pass the eco-driving caution point soon. Please keep in mind that it is eco-friendly!” Or a warning that lights up the lamp that says “Please keep eco-friendly”. Run.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the notification level is not “high” (NO in step S1108), in step S1110, the point-of-care-notification unit 304 does not notify the driver of the caution, and the process ends. The processed flag indicating that this has been done is set to “ON”.

  By the above processing, when the notification level is set to “high”, it is possible to reliably notify the driver that the point requiring attention is near, and the notification level is set to “low”. In this case, even if the vehicle is approaching a point requiring attention, it is possible to avoid annoying the driver who cares about careful driving without performing alerting.

  In addition, regardless of whether or not the notification level is “high”, it is not determined whether the point requiring attention once the processing of step S1109 or S1110 is a target of notification. The processed flag is set to “ON”. Accordingly, the point requiring attention with the processed flag set to “ON” is excluded from the process of step S1107, and therefore, it is possible to avoid duplicate processes.

  Thereafter, in step S1111, the point-of-care-notification unit 304 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (NO in step S1111), the process returns to step S1105, If it has arrived (YES in step S1111), this process ends.

As described above, the eco-driving support device 104 according to the fourth embodiment directly estimates the politeness of the driving that changes according to the situation of the driver at that time directly from the latest driving performance, and requires the driving accordingly. Since the notification level of the caution point is changed, the notification level can be set very directly in accordance with the actual driving situation of the driver. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately notify the notice at the point requiring attention (* effect of claim 7).
[Description of Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the eco-driving support device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the eco-driving support device 105 is configured such that the computing means 3 has a consciousness rule management unit (consciousness rule) in contrast to the configuration of the eco-driving support device 102 shown in FIG. 4 (second embodiment) described above. Management means) 307, and the point that the consciousness rule management unit 307 inputs the output signal of the passenger identification means 6 and the output signal of the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301.

  The consciousness rule management unit 307 displays information on the person who was traveling at the time of past vehicle travel, information on the destination, type of travel, and travel time, and information on the travel time. And from the travel route management unit 303.

  Furthermore, every time one run is completed, the diagnosis result of the current driving is acquired from the eco-driving diagnosis unit 301, the passenger information and the destination / travel time information are the prerequisite parameters, and the eco-driving diagnosis result at that time As a result section parameter, a rule that eco-driving has been practiced to this extent is generated and stored in such a driving situation.

  At this time, whenever a new situation occurs in which the precondition parameter is the same, the result parameter may be rewritten to the latest value, or may be updated by taking an average with the previous value stored. . When starting a new run, specifically, in the careful driving awareness estimation process described in the process of step S202 of the flowchart shown in FIG. Check the location and travel time information, search for rules that match the premise parameters from the ones stored so far, and use eco-driving as a result of the same driving conditions as the consequent parameters. Acquire data indicating whether or not

  And if the performance of eco-driving in the same situation is good, the consciousness to try polite driving is also high this time, and conversely, if the performance is bad, the awareness of eco-driving is also low this time. Determine the degree.

  In this way, in the eco-driving support device 105 according to the fifth embodiment, in addition to the effects shown in the second embodiment described above, the past driving performance is associated with the objective parameter to form a rule. If the driver is driving according to past trends by guessing the politeness of driving that can be applied and changing the notification level at the point of caution, it is necessary to be careful only by checking the objective parameters. It is possible to optimize the presentation of information regarding points.

  In addition, not only simple conditions such as the presence or absence of passengers, but also by creating and applying rules that take into account diversity such as who and who was riding, The effect on politeness can be grasped more accurately and information presentation can be optimized.

  Furthermore, by creating and applying rules that take into account diversity, such as where, what kind of place, when and when, what kind of driving, the influence of the purpose of movement on the politeness of driving It is possible to accurately grasp the information presentation.

  As mentioned above, although the eco-driving support device of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each part is replaced with an arbitrary configuration having the same function. be able to.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, as an example of reducing excessive consumption of energy, an example of reducing fuel consumption in a vehicle using an internal combustion engine has been described. However, a vehicle that travels using electric power as energy (for example, an electric vehicle) For), support for reducing excessive power consumption can be provided.

  The present invention can be used to alert the driver to avoid driving that consumes excessive fuel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle information acquisition means 2 Vehicle position positioning means 3 Calculation means 4 Road data storage means 5 Output means 6 Passenger identification means 7 Arrival time distribution storage means 101,102,103,104,105 Eco driving support device 301 Eco driving diagnosis part 302 Point-of-interest management unit 303 Travel route management unit 304 Point-of-interest notification unit 305 Careful driving awareness level estimation unit 306 Schedule management unit 307 Consciousness rule management unit

Claims (10)

In the eco-driving support device that supports the eco-driving by informing the excessive energy consumption state when the driver drives the vehicle,
A polite driving consciousness estimation means for estimating a polite driving consciousness that is a degree of consciousness of the driver trying to drive carefully,
When the vehicle approaches a cautionary point where excessive energy consumption is predicted, a cautionary point notifying unit that notifies the driver of cautions at a level corresponding to the polite driving awareness level; and
An eco-driving support device characterized by comprising:   The eco-driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the polite driving awareness estimation means estimates that the polite driving awareness is high when a passenger is present in the vehicle.   Passenger identification means for confirming at least one of a child, pregnant woman, elderly person, and disabled person who rides in the vehicle, and the polite driving awareness estimation means includes the child, pregnant woman, elderly person, and disabled person. The eco-driving support device according to claim 2, wherein when at least one person is on board, it is estimated that the degree of careful driving awareness is high.   2. The quickness determination means for determining the quickness when the vehicle moves, wherein the polite driving awareness estimation means estimates the polite driving awareness based on the quickness. The eco-drive support device described. Vehicle positioning means for detecting the position of the vehicle, destination estimating means for estimating the destination to which the vehicle is headed, and clock means for detecting the current time,
The urgency determination means estimates the strictness of the time of arrival at the destination from the current position of the vehicle, the position of the destination, and the distribution of past arrival times when the vehicle arrived at the destination. The ecological driving support device according to claim 4, wherein the urgency is determined based on an estimation result. Vehicle positioning means for detecting the position of the vehicle, destination estimating means for estimating the destination to which the vehicle is headed, and clock means for detecting the current time,
5. The urgency determining means calculates a required time from a current time to an arrival time when the vehicle is assumed to arrive at a destination, and determines the urgency based on the required time. The eco-driving support device described in 1. Eco-driving diagnosis means for diagnosing whether or not the vehicle is eco-driving, and time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time after the vehicle starts to travel,
The attentive driving awareness estimation means estimates the attentive driving awareness based on an eco-driving diagnosis result with respect to vehicle traveling within a predetermined time or a predetermined distance from the start of traveling. Item 2. The eco-driving support device according to item 1. A travel route management means for managing a travel route and a travel pattern when the vehicle has traveled in the past, and a consciousness rule management means for managing rules of consciousness during vehicle travel,
The attentive driving awareness estimation means estimates the attentive driving awareness based on a rule derived from a relationship between a past travel pattern and an eco-driving diagnosis result at that time. The eco-drive support device described.   The travel pattern in the past is set based on the number of passengers of the vehicle and whether or not the passengers include children, elderly people, pregnant women, and disabled persons. Eco driving support device.   9. The eco-driving support apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the driving pattern in the past is set based on at least one of a destination, an attribute of the destination, and a visit time to the destination.

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