JPH1151665A - Vehicle path estimation device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To accurately estimate a vehicle course based on road map data. A route section selecting unit (42) of a route estimation device.
2), when a road branch point appears on the road map data input from the navigation device (6), of the plurality of route section candidates related to the branch point, is set in advance in the route requirement setting unit (423). "Exclude one-way violators",
One route section candidate that satisfies the route requirements such as "priority selection of a candidate having the same road name as the current section" is selected. Then, a series of route sections are sequentially selected, and an accurate estimated route is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route estimating apparatus for estimating a route of a vehicle using road map data.

[0002]

[Related Background Art] Navigation devices include, for example,
The relative position and running trajectory of the vehicle obtained by the direction sensor and the distance sensor, the absolute position of the vehicle obtained by the satellite navigation system (GPS), and the road shape of the electronic map stored in the CD-ROM are displayed on the map of the vehicle. To find the position,
Generally, it is used for displaying a map around a traveling road and for guiding a route. As will be described later, the map data for navigation may be used for speed change control of the vehicle.

In automatic shifting, generally, a shift pattern suitable for road conditions such as an urban road and a mountain road is set in advance as a function of a throttle opening and a vehicle speed.
Detects throttle opening and vehicle speed while driving the vehicle and selects a shift pattern that matches the current road conditions,
Based on the detected throttle opening and vehicle speed, the target shift speed is determined from the selected shift pattern, and a necessary automatic shift is performed. When selecting this shift pattern, for example, in an urban area with many flat roads, an economy pattern that improves up fuel efficiency by upshifting early in a low vehicle speed range is selected, and there are many climbs and descents or mountainous / bent roads with many road bends. In this case, a sports pattern is selected in which a low gear is maintained up to a high vehicle speed range, a high engine output torque is extracted, and the effect of engine braking is improved. For this shift pattern selection, it is necessary to determine the condition of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling. For this reason, in general, a steering angle that changes according to the steering wheel operation and a lateral acceleration that acts on the vehicle during turning are detected, and road conditions are determined based on the steering angle, steering frequency, lateral acceleration, and the like obtained from the detection result. doing.

It is known to use a navigation device for the above automatic transmission. For example, Tokuhei 6-581
Japanese Patent Publication No. 41 proposes a device for performing a shift control using road information stored in a navigation device from the viewpoint that a sensor for determining a curve running or a low-friction coefficient road is not required. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
In order to reduce the load involved in the vehicle speed correction calculation for the shift control on flat roads, uphill roads, and downhill roads, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-133873 discloses a shift control that takes into account a travel road gradient determined based on map information of a navigation device. An apparatus for performing is disclosed.

[0005] However, in a transmission using a navigation device, there is a case where a gear suitable for a road condition cannot be properly selected. That is, in determining the road condition for the shift control, it is necessary to specify in advance the route on which the vehicle travels after the present time, but the conventional route determination function is not sufficient. For example,
The gear shift control device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 58141 uses a recommended route determined by a route guidance function of a navigation device as a route subject to gear shift control. Therefore, gear shift control is performed on the assumption that the navigation device is performing route guidance. It's just Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-272753 merely suggests that various types of shift control can be performed based on map information of a navigation device. On the other hand, roads are often branched in various ways. In this case, unlike when the vehicle is traveling on a route or a road without a branch, the vehicle route is not specified as one,
It is difficult to determine the road condition and to execute the shift control based on the determination result.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a route estimating device for accurately specifying a high-probability road on which a vehicle travels after the present time based on road map data.

[0007]

Each time a road branch point appears on road map data, the route estimating apparatus of the present invention replaces one of a plurality of route section candidates relating to the branch point with a route requirement that satisfies the route requirement. Is selected as the route section. That is, when estimating the vehicle course, when various branched roads appear,
For each of the forks at the fork, the likelihood of the vehicle passing through the fork is first determined in light of the course requirements. Then, based on the result of this determination, the branch road having the highest probability of vehicle passage (strictly, the first section) is selected as the next course section. A series of route sections sequentially selected in this way represents an accurate vehicle route as a whole. That is, even when the road is branched in various directions in the vehicle traveling direction, the estimation of the vehicle course is performed accurately.

According to the route estimating device of the second aspect, in the above-described route requirement judgment, a route section candidate that violates one-way traffic or a route section candidate with a narrow road width can be excluded. Or a route section candidate having a small road bending angle with the current route section can be preferentially selected. As a result, the path requirement determination and the path estimation are accurately performed.

According to the route estimating device of the third aspect, in the route requirement determination, the route section candidate corresponding to the recommended route by the route guidance can be preferentially selected, whereby the estimated route can be matched with the recommended route. become. Preferably,
In the course requirement determination, "priority selection of candidates corresponding to recommended routes", "exclusion of candidates that violate one-way traffic", "priority selection of candidates with the same road name as the current course section", "narrow road width" The requirements of "candidate exclusion" and "preferential selection of candidates giving a small road bending angle" are sequentially determined. In addition, these requirements are given priority in the order described above. In this case, the route estimation is optimized by selecting the recommended route with the highest priority.

According to the route estimating device of the present invention, one cycle of vehicle route estimation is completed when the selected route length, which is the sum of the sequentially selected route sections, exceeds a predetermined length. Thus, each time one estimation cycle ends, and thus as the vehicle progresses, the estimated vehicle course is updated accordingly,
The course estimation is properly performed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A route estimating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The estimated route obtained by the route estimation device of the present embodiment is used for controlling the operation characteristics of the vehicle automatic transmission by the shift control device, and more specifically, for estimating the road condition for controlling the operation characteristics (shift map selection). You.

Although not shown, the automatic transmission is disposed between an engine mounted on the vehicle and driving wheels of the vehicle, and includes a torque converter, a gear transmission, an electronically controlled hydraulic circuit, and the like. . The gear transmission includes, for example, a gear train of four forward steps and one reverse step, and a required number of shift elements for performing a shift operation by switching the gear ratio of the gear train. These speed change elements include a hydraulic multi-plate clutch, a hydraulic brake, and the like. The electronically controlled hydraulic circuit
It has a duty solenoid valve corresponding to each shift element, and operates each shift element independently.
That is, when the solenoid of the solenoid valve of the hydraulic circuit is energized and the solenoid valve is opened and hydraulic oil is supplied to a speed change element corresponding to the solenoid valve, for example, a hydraulic clutch, a piston in the clutch moves forward and the clutch moves. Are engaged, whereby the clutch is engaged. On the other hand, when the supply of the hydraulic oil is stopped, the piston moves backward while discharging the hydraulic oil by the spring force of the return spring in the clutch to disengage the friction engagement plates, and the clutch is disengaged. Become. As in the case of the hydraulic clutch, the hydraulic brake is also configured to be engaged or disengaged according to the supply and discharge of hydraulic oil. In gear transmissions,
One of the first to fourth speeds, the reverse speed, and the neutral speed is established in accordance with the combination of the engagement / disengagement states of the respective shift elements.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shift control device includes an electronic control unit 4 and a navigation device 6 as main elements, and controls the shift operation of the automatic transmission 2 configured as described above. ing. As best shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 6 includes a map data storage unit storing electronic road map data, for example, a CD-ROM 62.
A vehicle position detector 64 for detecting the current vehicle position; and a route guidance unit 66 for outputting route guidance data representing a recommended route.
And The road map stored in the CD-ROM 62 includes, for example, a very large number of mesh sections constituting the entire nationwide map, and the road data of each mesh section indicates the roads and road attributes in the mesh sections. Each of the roads includes a number of demarcation points (nodes) representing a road shape, and adjacent nodes define one road section. The road data includes node data such as the coordinate position of each node. For a branch point node or an intersection node, data representing a road connected to this node is included. The road attribute includes a name of the road, a road width, and the like.

The position detecting section 64 is provided with a satellite navigation system (G
PS), a GPS controller 642 that outputs data representing the absolute position of the vehicle by inputting a signal from the azimuth and the azimuth and wheel sensors 61 detected by the geomagnetic sensor 611.
Dead reckoning unit 64 that outputs data representing the relative position of the vehicle and the vehicle traveling locus based on the relative position detected by the second navigation unit 64
4 is included. In the map matching unit 646, the CD-R
The currently traveling road is specified based on the road shape on the map data input from the CD-ROM 62 via the OM controller 65 and the traveling locus from the dead reckoning section 644. Then, in the navigation unit 648, the absolute position data from the controller 642 and the map matching unit 6
The current vehicle position data is accurately obtained based on the output data from the controller 46.

The display control and route guidance unit 66 uses a destination data set by the driver, road data from the CD-ROM 62, and the like to provide a road map around the traveling road and a recommendation from the current vehicle position to the destination. The route is displayed on the display device 68. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic control unit 4 includes a route estimating unit 42 for estimating a vehicle route based on road data, current position data, and recommended route data from the navigation device 6, and a road condition estimating unit 44. Is connected. The road condition estimating unit 44 estimates the road condition on the estimated route based on the estimated route data input from the route estimating unit 42 and the node data related to the estimated route. In the present embodiment, three types of road conditions, that is, a mountain / bent road, an urban road, and a standard road, are determined.

The shift pattern selecting section 46 selects a shift pattern that matches the road condition estimated by the route estimating section 42. In this embodiment, any one of the mountain / bent road shift pattern 461, the urban road shift pattern 462, and the standard road shift pattern 463 is selected. These shift patterns respectively correspond to the sports pattern, the mild pattern, and the standard pattern shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 with one shift line for each pattern, the sport pattern is set so that the low gear is held up to the high speed area so that high engine output can be obtained and the engine brake works well. The upshift is performed to improve fuel efficiency.

The shift position determining section 48 sets a target gear based on the shift pattern selected by the shift pattern selecting section 46 based on the throttle opening and the vehicle speed detected by the throttle opening sensor 481 and the vehicle speed sensor 482, respectively. The step is determined. When the current gear position detected by a sensor (not shown) is different from the target gear position, a shift command is sent from the shift position determining unit 48, and the solenoid valve of the electronically controlled hydraulic circuit of the automatic transmission 2 is sent according to the shift command. Are energized or de-energized, respectively, to establish the target shift speed in the automatic transmission 2.

The route estimating section 42 and the road condition estimating section 44 will be further described below with reference to FIGS. The map data input unit 421 of the route estimating unit 42 sequentially inputs node data included in the map data related to the position data according to the current vehicle position data from the position detecting unit 62 of the navigation device 6. I have. If the route guidance unit 66 of the navigation device 6 is performing the route guidance operation, the recommended route data from the route guidance unit 66 is supplied to the map data input unit 421.

One or more road sections (path section candidates) in the vehicle traveling direction are connected to the current node corresponding to the current vehicle position. That is, if the current node is not a junction node or an intersection node representing a road junction or an intersection, only one route section candidate is connected to the current node. On the other hand, if the current node is a branch node or an intersection node, two or more route section candidates are connected to the current node.

First, the case where the route is not being guided will be described. If the current node is not a branch node or an intersection node, and thus it is clear that the next section of the vehicle path is constituted by only one path section candidate following the current node, the path section selection unit 422 determines The section candidate is selected as the next route section. On the other hand, when the current node is a branch node or an intersection node and two or more route section candidates are connected to the current node, as described later in detail, the selection unit 422 outputs a plurality of route section candidates related to the current node. It is determined whether or not each of the route section candidates satisfies the route requirements set in the route requirement setting unit 423. And
According to this determination result, one of the route section candidates is selected as the next section of the vehicle route.

The node selecting section 424 selects one of one or more nodes adjacent to the current node in the traveling direction of the vehicle that defines the selected route section in cooperation with the current node. In the course length determination section 425, the course section selection section 42
The selected path length, which is the sum of the path sections sequentially selected in step 2, is determined, and it is determined whether the selected path length exceeds a predetermined road length. The predetermined road length is set to, for example, one kilometer. If the selected route length is longer than the predetermined road length, the route section selecting unit 422
The map data and the node data relating to each of the route sections and the nodes sequentially selected by are output from the estimated route data output unit 426 as the estimated route data, and the route estimation process ends. After the estimation process is completed, the route estimation unit 42
Starts a new course estimation process. Accordingly, the estimated course is updated as the vehicle travels.

On the other hand, during route guidance, regardless of whether the current node is a branch point node or an intersection node,
The vehicle route section following the current node is constituted by the section following the recommended route. Therefore, during route guidance, the route section selection unit 422 selects the next section of the recommended route as the next route section. The node selection unit 424 selects a node following the current node on the recommended route. The path length determination unit 425 determines whether or not the selected path length exceeds a predetermined road length, as in the case of non-route guidance. Then, when the selected route length exceeds the predetermined road length, the node data is output from the estimated route data output unit 426 as the estimated route data.

The road condition estimating unit 44 includes an estimated route data input unit 440 for inputting estimated route data from the route estimation unit 42 and temporarily storing the estimated route data. Total inter-node distance calculation unit 441
Then, the coordinate position of each node constituting the estimated route is read from the estimated route data, and the distance l between the adjacent nodes is
i (i = 1, 2,...) is calculated. Further, a total inter-node distance L (= Σl) which is the sum of the inter-node distances li
i) is calculated. In addition, FIG. 11 illustrates an intersection node and a non-intersection node appearing on the estimated route (city street) and the distance li between the nodes.

The intersection total number determination section 442 extracts nodes and intersection nodes included in the estimated route data, and determines the total number Nc of intersections included in the estimated route. The total road bending angle calculation unit 443 calculates the angle (road bending angle) αi (i = i) between the straight line connecting the adjacent nodes on the estimated route and the straight line connecting the next adjacent nodes.
.. Are calculated from, for example, the coordinate positions of three related nodes, and further, the total road bending angle Α (= Σαi), which is the sum of the road bending angles αi, is calculated. FIG. 12 illustrates some nodes appearing on the estimated course (mountain / bent road) and road bending angles α1 to α6 and αn related to these nodes.

The road condition estimating unit 44 calculates an intersection density D (= Nc / L) on the estimated route by dividing the total number of intersections Nc by the total distance L between nodes.
And an average bending angle calculation unit 445 that calculates the average road bending angle αave by dividing the total road bending angle で by the total node distance L.
And The city street estimating unit 446 compares the intersection density D with the predetermined density Dref. If the intersection density D exceeds the predetermined density Dref, the city street estimation output is transmitted. The predetermined intersection density Dref is set to, for example, a density of about 5 to 10 places per kilometer. In the mountain / bent road estimating section 447, the average road bending angle α
ave and a predetermined average angle αref are compared, and the average bending angle αav
If e exceeds the predetermined angle αref, a mountain / bent road estimation output is transmitted. The predetermined average angle αref is set to, for example, an average angle of about 300 to 400 deg per kilometer. Furthermore, if the intersection density D is equal to or less than the predetermined density Dref and the average bending angle αave is equal to or less than the predetermined angle αref,
The standard road estimation output is sent from the standard road estimation unit 448.

The electronic control unit 4 includes the above-described course estimating unit 42, road condition estimating unit 44, and shift pattern selecting unit 46.
And a microcomputer having the function of the shift position determining unit 48. The microcomputer includes a central processing unit, a storage device, an input / output interface, and the like. When the control unit 4 is configured by a microcomputer, a control program for executing a processing routine corresponding to the various functions is mounted on the control unit 4.

The course estimation routine and the road condition estimation routine executed by the electronic control unit 4 will be described below with reference to FIGS. The processing routine for selecting the shift pattern and determining the shift position may be a conventionally known one, and a description of both routines will be omitted. In the course estimation routine shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the control unit 4 inputs map data related to the current vehicle position data according to the current vehicle position data from the position detection unit 62 of the navigation device 6, and sets the current vehicle position as the current vehicle position. Determine the corresponding current node. If the recommended route data has been sent from the route guidance unit 66 of the navigation device 6, the control unit 4 also inputs the recommended route data (step S10). Next, it is determined whether or not the recommended route data has been input, that is, whether or not route guidance is being performed (step S12). If the determination result is affirmative, the next node on the recommended route is selected (step S30 in FIG. 7), and the number of the selected node is stored (step S32). At this time, the node selected in step S30 becomes a new current node.

Next, the coordinate position of each of the node determined in step S10 and the node selected in step S30 is obtained from the associated node data, the distance l between the two nodes is calculated from the two coordinate positions, and the calculated distance l Is added to the total inter-node distance L obtained in the previous control cycle (the initial value is zero) to obtain a new total inter-node distance L (step S34). Then, it is determined whether or not the total distance L between nodes exceeds a predetermined road length Lref (step S3).
6) If the result of this determination is negative, the processing after step S12 is executed again. As described above, during route guidance, a series of nodes on the recommended route are sequentially selected while updating the total distance L between nodes.

Thereafter, when the total distance L between nodes exceeds the predetermined road length Lref, a series of selected node numbers sequentially selected are output as estimated route data (step S3).
8), the current course estimation processing cycle ends. In this case, the control flow returns to step S10, and a new course estimation processing cycle is started. If it is determined in step S12 of FIG. 6 that the current node is not “in the course of route guidance”, it is determined whether the current node is a branch node or an intersection node, that is, whether there is a branch road. (Step S14). If the result of this determination is negative, that is, if the current node is on one road and there is no branch from the current node, the next node on the road is selected (step S40 in FIG. 8). Next, the above-described steps S32, S34, S performed during route guidance
Steps respectively corresponding to 36 and S38 are sequentially performed. That is, the number of the node selected in step S40 is stored and the current node is updated (step S42), and the distance l between the previous node and the new current node is updated.
Is added to the total inter-node distance L up to the previous control cycle (step S44), and it is determined whether the new total inter-node distance L exceeds the predetermined road length Lref (step S46). If the result of this determination is negative, the control flow returns to step S12.

After it is determined in step S12 that the route is not being routed, if it is determined in step S14 that the current node is a branch node or an intersection node, and that there is one or more branch roads, the current node is determined. Based on the node data related to the node, a branch road that violates one-way is excluded from the one or more branch roads (step S16).
Next, it is determined whether or not a branch road having the same road name as the road to which the current node belongs is included in the remaining branch roads (step S18). , A node adjacent to the current node is selected (step S20). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S18 that there is no other branch road having the same road name as the road relating to the current node in the remaining branch roads after excluding the one-way violation branch road, the control flow is as shown in FIG. Step S of 9
The process proceeds to 50 to determine whether there are a plurality of the remaining branch roads. If the result of the determination in step S50 is negative, that is, if there is only one remaining branch, a node on the branch next to the current node is selected. Step S5
If the determination result of “0” is affirmative, that is, there is no branch road having the same road name as the road relating to the current node in the remaining branch roads after excluding the branch road that violates one-way traffic, and there are a plurality of the remaining branch roads If, it is determined whether the value of the flag F is "1" (step S54). If this determination result is negative, narrow branch roads (for example, 5 meters or less) are excluded from the remaining branch roads based on the road width data relating to the current node (step S56). Then, the flag F is set to a value “1” indicating the completion of the exclusion process in step S56 (step S58), and then the control flow proceeds to step S50 to branch after the narrow road is excluded. It is determined whether there are a plurality of roads. If the result of this determination is negative, the control flow proceeds to step S5
On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S50 is affirmative, while the result of the determination in step S50 is affirmative, the control flow proceeds to step S60 since the result of the determination in step S54 is affirmative. In step S60, first, an angle formed by a straight line connecting the current node and the node immediately before the current node and a straight line connecting the current node and a node adjacent to the current node in each of the remaining plurality of branches, that is, The road bending angle between the leading end section of the vehicle path estimated up to and the section adjacent to the leading end section of each branch road is calculated based on the coordinate positions of these nodes. Next, a branch that gives the minimum road bending angle is determined, and a node adjacent to the current node on the branch is selected. Thereafter, the flag F is reset to the value “0” in step S61.

When the node selection in step S20, S52 or S60 is completed, the control flow proceeds to step S42 (FIG. 8). As described above, it is determined that the total node distance L exceeds the predetermined road length Lref while the series of nodes representing the estimated vehicle course is sequentially selected while updating the total node distance L. Is determined, the node number of the node selected so far is output as estimated route data (step S48). Thus, the current course estimation processing cycle ends, the control flow proceeds to step S10, and a new course estimation processing cycle is started.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a road condition estimation routine executed by the electronic control unit 4 will be described. In the road condition estimation routine, the control unit 4 inputs the selected node number obtained in the route estimation routine shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 as estimated route data (step S1).
10).

Next, the coordinate position of each node constituting the estimated course represented by the selected node number is read from the associated node data, and the distance li between adjacent nodes is read.
(I = 1, 2,...) Are calculated, and further, a total inter-node distance L (= Σli) which is a sum of the inter-node distances li is calculated (step S112). Next step S11
In 4, the total number Nn of nodes included in the estimated route is determined from the selected node number, and the total number of intersections N included in the estimated route is determined based on the node data related to these selected nodes.
c is determined (step S114).

Then, the intersection density D (= Nc / L) on the estimated course is calculated by dividing the total number Nc of intersections obtained in step S114 by the total distance L between nodes calculated in step S112 (step S116). Then, it is determined whether or not the intersection density D exceeds the predetermined density Dref (step S118). If the determination result in step S118 is negative, the road bending angle αi formed by the straight line connecting the adjacent nodes on the estimated route and the straight line connecting the next adjacent nodes is calculated. The total road bending angle Α (= Σαi), which is the sum of the angles αi, is calculated (step S120). Next, by dividing the total road bending angle 求 め obtained in step S120 by the total node distance L obtained in step S112, an average road bending angle αave in the estimated course is calculated (step S122). The road bending angle αave is a predetermined average bending angle αref
Is determined (step S12).
4).

If the result of the determination in step S124 is negative, that is, if the intersection density of the estimated route is less than a predetermined density and the average road bending angle on the estimated route is less than a predetermined bending angle,
It is determined that the road condition on the estimated route does not correspond to an urban road or a mountain / curved road, and a standard road estimation output is transmitted (step S126). In this case, the control unit 4 as the shift pattern selecting unit 46 selects the standard road shift pattern 463, and the control unit 4 as the shift position determining unit 48 refers to the standard road shift pattern 463 to open the throttle. The target shift speed is determined based on the degree and the vehicle speed, and the shift operation of the automatic transmission 2 is controlled.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S124 is affirmative, that is, if the intersection density of the estimated route is equal to or less than a predetermined density and the average road bending angle on the estimated route exceeds the predetermined bending angle, the road on the estimated route is determined. It is determined that the situation corresponds to a mountain / curved road, and a mountain / curved road estimation output is transmitted (step S128). In this case, the shift pattern selecting unit 46 selects a shift pattern (sports pattern) 461 for a mountain / curved road, and the shift position determining unit 48 selects a mountain / curved road.
The target shift speed is determined with reference to the bent road shift pattern. As a result, the low-speed gear is used even in the high-speed range, a high engine output is taken out, the drivability of the vehicle is improved, and the effectiveness of the engine brake is improved.

Further, if the result of the determination in step S118 is affirmative, that is, if the intersection density of the estimated route exceeds a predetermined density, it is determined that the road condition on the estimated route corresponds to an urban road, and the estimated output of the urban road is transmitted. Is performed (step S130). In this case, the shift pattern selecting unit 46 selects the urban road shift pattern (mild pattern) 462, and the shift position determining unit 48 determines the target shift speed with reference to the urban road shift pattern. As a result, even in the low-speed range, the high-speed gear is used to improve fuel efficiency.

To reiterate, in the vehicle route estimation of this embodiment, each time the estimated route approaches a junction or an intersection, a further route section is determined in light of the route requirements. These track requirements include "exclude one-way streets,"
"Preferential selection of forks with the same road name", "Exclusion of narrow forks", "Preferential selection of forks with small road bending angles", "Preferential selection of recommended routes by navigation device route guidance" Is included. These route requirements are in good agreement with the normal route selection criteria by the driver, and the route estimation is performed accurately.

FIG. 13 exemplifies a route estimation result by the route estimation device of this embodiment when the route is not being guided. Generally, various branched road groups appear in the vehicle traveling direction as shown. In FIG. 13, the current vehicle position is on “Route 23”. In this case, “Route 23” having the same road name as the road where the vehicle is currently located is selected as the estimated route section. In the case of FIG. 13, "Route 23" ends at the second intersection on the estimated route from the current vehicle position,
"Route 1" extends to the north and east, and "Route 259" extends to the south. In this case, "Route 23" and "North 1
Road, the eastern road No. 1 and the road 259 are determined. Here, since the angle between "Route 23" and "East Line 1" is the minimum, "East Line 1" is selected as the next estimated route section. In the estimated route, the fifth intersection from the current vehicle position is a five-way intersection, but a branch road “Line 1” having the same road name as the selected “Line 1” is selected as the next estimated route section. You.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. In the above embodiment, the route estimation uses the current vehicle position detection function, the map data storage function, and the map data transmission function according to the vehicle position of the navigation device. However, it is not essential to use the navigation device in the present invention. A current vehicle position detection unit, a map data storage unit, and a vehicle position-responsive map data output unit required for the route estimation according to the invention may be separately provided.

The result of the route estimation by the route estimation device of the present invention is not only used for road condition estimation for selecting a shift map of the automatic transmission, but also for a four-wheel steering device for steering rear wheels during front wheel steering. The present invention can be used for road condition estimation for controlling operation characteristics of various in-vehicle devices such as an electric power steering device for variably adjusting a steering force and an active suspension system for variably adjusting suspension characteristics.

It is not essential to provide the road condition estimation result of the estimated route to the operation characteristic control, and the estimated road condition may be simply displayed as a reference for the driver to select a route. It is not essential to provide the estimation result about the vehicle course to the road condition estimation. For example, vehicles
When it is possible to determine the road traffic situation such as the degree of congestion by using information obtained by bidirectional communication between roads and map data in combination, the route estimation result should be provided to determine the road traffic condition for the estimated route. May be.

[0043]

The route estimating apparatus of the present invention selects one of a plurality of route section candidates relating to a road branch point appearing on the road map data, which satisfies the route requirement, as the next route section. It is possible to sequentially select a series of route sections representing various vehicle routes, and it is possible to estimate an accurate vehicle route even when the road is branched in various ways.

According to the route estimating device of the second aspect, when determining the route requirement for each of the route section candidates related to the branch point appearing on the road map data, the route section candidate that causes a one-way violation or the narrow route width. Section candidates can be excluded, and a path section candidate having the same road name as the current path section or having a small road bending angle with the current path section can be preferentially selected, and the path requirement judgment and the path estimation can be accurately performed. I can do it.

According to the route estimating device of the third aspect, the recommended route by route guidance can be preferentially selected as the estimated route in the route requirement determination, and the estimated route can be matched with the recommended route. According to the route estimating device of the fourth aspect, one vehicle route estimation cycle ends when the selected route length exceeds a predetermined length, so that the estimated vehicle route can be appropriately updated as the vehicle advances. The estimation can be performed properly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a shift control device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the navigation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a course estimating unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a road condition estimation unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows one of shift lines constituting each of a sport pattern, a mild pattern and a standard pattern used as a shift pattern for a mountain / curved road, an urban road and a standard road, as a function of a throttle opening and a vehicle speed. It is a graph shown.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of a course estimation routine executed by an electronic control unit constituted by a microcomputer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a portion following the route estimation routine of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another part of the course estimation routine following FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the rest of the course estimation routine.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a road condition estimation routine executed by the electronic control unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an intersection node, a non-intersection node, and a distance between nodes on an estimated route;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a road bending angle associated with each of nodes on an estimated route;

13 is a diagram exemplifying a route estimation result by the route estimation device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Automatic transmission 4 Electronic control unit 6 Navigation device 42 Route estimation unit 44 Road condition estimation unit 46 Shift pattern selection unit 48 Shift position determination unit 62 CD-ROM 64 Vehicle position detection unit 66 Route guidance unit 421 Map data input unit 422 Route Section selection unit 423 Route requirement setting unit 424 Node selection unit 425 Route length determination unit 426 Estimated route data output unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] A vehicle position detecting unit for detecting a current vehicle position; a map data inputting unit for reading road map data according to the detected current vehicle position and inputting a current vehicle position into the map data; Each time a road branch point appears on the generated road map data, a route section selection unit that selects one of a plurality of route section candidates related to the road branch point that satisfies the route requirement as a route section; And an estimated route data output unit that outputs, as estimated route data, road map data relating to a series of route sections sequentially selected by the above method. 2. A first requirement that the route requirement excludes a route section candidate that violates one way, and that a route section candidate having the same road name as a current route section to which the current vehicle position belongs is preferentially selected. Of the second requirement, the third requirement of excluding a narrow path width candidate, and the fourth requirement of preferentially selecting a path section candidate having a small road bending angle with the current path section. The route estimating device for a vehicle according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the following. 3. A route guidance unit for outputting route data indicating a recommended route from the current vehicle position to a destination, wherein the route requirement corresponds to the first to fourth requirements and the recommended route. The route estimating device for a vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising at least one of a fifth requirement that a route section candidate to be selected is preferentially selected. 4. A route length determining unit for determining a selected route length, which is a total of the route segments sequentially selected by the route segment selecting unit, and determining whether the selected route length exceeds a predetermined length. When the route length determining unit determines that the selected route length exceeds the predetermined length, the route data output unit outputs the estimated route data and ends the one route estimation cycle. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Vehicle route estimating apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.