Vehicle

Abstract

To more appropriately perform voice guidance that requires an operation of a driver.SOLUTION: An operation device that performs voice guidance with respect to a driver and accepts an operation by the driver in response to the voice guidance carries out predetermined voice guidance, estimates a stopping time of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped when performing the predetermined voice guidance to prompt the driver to perform an operation other than driving, and when the operation device determines that the vehicle stopping time is sufficient for the driver to complete the operation in response to the voice guidance, performs the predetermined voice guidance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle that provides audio guidance to a driver. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of vehicle, a vehicle that provides guidance when the vehicle is stopped has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this vehicle, by providing guidance when the vehicle is stopped, the driver of the vehicle is prevented from missing the guidance content, and the driver can perform operations such as scrolling the map according to the guidance content. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-107156 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned vehicle, even if guidance is started when the vehicle is stopped, if the vehicle departs in the middle of the guidance, the driver may miss the guidance. Also, if the driver needs to perform some operation in response to the guidance, and the vehicle must depart before completing the operation, the operation cannot be completed.

[0005] The vehicle of the present disclosure has a primary objective of providing more appropriate voice guidance that requires driver operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle of the present disclosure employs the following means to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The vehicle of the present disclosure includes: A vehicle equipped with an operation device that provides voice guidance to a driver and accepts an operation by the driver in response to the voice guidance, When the operation device provides predetermined voice guidance to prompt the driver to perform an operation other than driving, the operation device estimates a stopping time when the vehicle is stopped, and provides the predetermined voice guidance when it determines that the stopping time is sufficient for the driver to complete an operation in response to the voice guidance. It is characterized by:

[0008] In the vehicle of the present disclosure, the operating device that provides voice guidance to the driver and accepts driver operations in response to the voice guidance estimates the vehicle stop duration when the vehicle is stopped, and provides the voice guidance when it determines that the stop duration is sufficient for the driver to complete operations in response to the voice guidance. This allows the voice guidance and the associated driver operations to be completed while the vehicle is stopped. As a result, voice guidance requiring driver operations can be provided more appropriately.

[0009] In the vehicle of the present disclosure, the operation device may receive a traffic light waiting time and estimate the stopping time using the received traffic light waiting time. In this way, the stopping time can be more accurately estimated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an automobile 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a voice guidance process executed by the electronic control unit 30. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Next, a mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present disclosure will be described. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an automobile 20 as one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the automobile 20 of the embodiment includes a drive device 22, a display operation device 02, a communication device 72, and an electronic control unit 30.

[0012] The drive unit 22 is configured as a device that rotates and drives its output shaft 26, and includes, for example, a device equipped with a motor, an inverter, and a battery to make the automobile 20 an electric vehicle, a device equipped with an engine, an automatic transmission, and a fuel tank to make the automobile 20 a conventional engine-powered vehicle, a device equipped with an engine, a fuel tank, a motor, an inverter, and a battery to make the automobile 20 a hybrid vehicle, or a device equipped with a hydrogen tank, a fuel cell, a motor, and an inverter to make the automobile 20 a fuel cell vehicle. The output shaft 26 of the drive unit 22 is connected to drive wheels 28a, 28b via a differential gear 27. The drive unit 22 is controlled by an electronic control unit 30.

[0013] The electronic control unit 30 includes a microcomputer having a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a flash memory 34, and input / output and communication ports (not shown). Signals from various sensors are input to the electronic control unit 30 via the input ports. Examples of signals input to the electronic control unit 30 include an ignition signal from an ignition switch 40, a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 41, a shift position SP from a shift position sensor 43 that detects the position of a shifter 42, an accelerator opening Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor 47 that detects the depression amount of an accelerator pedal 46, and a brake pedal position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 49 that detects the depression amount of a brake pedal 48. Signals from various sensors required for controlling the operation of the drive system 22 are also included. Various control signals for controlling the operation of the drive system 22 are output from the electronic control unit 30 via the output ports. The electronic control unit 30 also communicates with a display / operation device 70 and a navigation device 60 via the communication ports.

[0014] The display and operation device 70 includes a speaker capable of audio output, a touch panel capable of display output and touch input, and a control device, and provides audio guidance and driver operation input based on signals from the electronic control unit 30.

[0015] The navigation device 60 includes a main body 62 with a built-in control unit, a GPS antenna 64 that receives information about the current location of the vehicle, and a display 66. The control unit of the main body 62 has a storage medium (e.g., a hard disk or SSD) that stores map information and the like, an input / output port, and a communication port. The map information includes service information (e.g., tourist information, parking lots, etc.) and road information for each driving section (e.g., between traffic lights and between intersections) stored as a database. The road information includes distance information, road width information, number of lanes information, area information (urban or suburban), type information (general road or expressway), gradient information, legal speed limit, number of traffic lights, turning radius of each curve, etc. The display 66 displays various information such as information about the current location of the vehicle and the planned driving route to the destination, and is configured as a touch panel display that allows the user to input various instructions. When a destination is set by the user operating the display 66, the main body 62 of the navigation device 60 sets a planned driving route from the current location of the vehicle to the destination based on map information stored in the main body 62 and the current location of the vehicle and the destination from the GPS antenna 64, and provides route guidance by displaying the set planned driving route on the display 66. Note that, although the display / operation device 70 and the navigation device 60 have been described as separate entities in the embodiment, they may also be integrated.

[0016] Next, the operation of the automobile 20 of this embodiment configured as described above, particularly the operation when providing voice guidance, will be described. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the voice guidance process executed by the electronic control unit 30. This process is executed when a request for voice guidance is made.

[0017] When the voice guidance process is executed, the electronic control unit 30 first determines whether the voice guidance requires an operation by the driver, particularly an operation other than a driving operation by the driver (step S100). If it is determined that the voice guidance does not require an operation by the driver, the electronic control unit 30 immediately starts the voice guidance (step S170) and ends this process.

[0018] If it is determined in step S100 that the voice guidance requires an operation by the driver, the system inputs vehicle data while waiting until the vehicle is waiting at a traffic light (steps S110, S120). Examples of vehicle data include data for determining whether the vehicle is stopped (such as vehicle speed V) and data for determining whether the vehicle is waiting at a traffic light (such as image data from a front camera). If it is determined that the vehicle is waiting at a traffic light, the system obtains the signal waiting time for the relevant signal from a road information center or the like via communication device 72 (step S130), and estimates the stop time Tstop (step S140). The stop time Tstop can be estimated based on the obtained signal waiting time and the number of vehicles waiting at a traffic light ahead of the vehicle.

[0019] Next, the required time Top required to complete the voice guidance and the operations performed by the driver in response to this voice guidance is calculated (step S150). The required time Top can be calculated as the sum of the time required for the operations performed by the driver during the voice guidance plus a margin of time (for example, 1, 2, or 3 seconds). The time required for the operations performed by the driver can be obtained by experimentation, machine learning, or the like depending on the content of the operations.

[0020] Next, it is determined whether the stopping time Tstop is equal to or greater than the required time Top (step S160). If it is determined that the stopping time Tstop is less than the required time Top, the process returns to the process of inputting vehicle data in steps S110 and S120 and waiting until the vehicle is waiting at a traffic light. On the other hand, if it is determined that the stopping time Tstop is equal to or greater than the required time Top, voice guidance is started (step S170) and the process ends.

[0021] In the automobile 20 of the embodiment described above, when providing voice guidance that requires operations other than driving operations by the driver, the stopping time Tstop is estimated and the required time Top required for the voice guidance and the operations performed by the driver in response to this voice guidance are calculated, and voice guidance is started when the stopping time Tstop is equal to or greater than the required time Top. This makes it possible to prevent the vehicle from departing before the driver has completed operations in response to the voice guidance. As a result, voice guidance that requires operations by the driver can be provided more appropriately.

[0022] In the automobile of the embodiment, when the voice guidance requires an operation by the driver, the stopping time Tstop is estimated and the required time Top is calculated, and the voice guidance is started when the stopping time Tstop is equal to or greater than the required time Top. However, it is also possible to estimate the stopping time Tstop and calculate the required time Top only when the voice guidance requires an operation other than a driving operation by the driver, and to start the voice guidance when the stopping time Tstop is equal to or greater than the required time Top.

[0023] In the automobile 20 of the embodiment, the drive ECU 23 is used to control the drive device 22, and the brake ECU 25 is used to control the brake device 24. However, all or part of the functions of the drive ECU 23 and the brake ECU 25 may be performed by the electronic control unit 30.

[0024] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained below. In the embodiment, the electronic control unit 30 and the display / operation device 70 correspond to the "operation device."

[0025] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, since the embodiments are examples for specifically explaining the mode for implementing the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiments are merely specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0026] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment in any way, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out in various forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0027] The present invention can be used in the automobile manufacturing industry and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 20 automobile, 22 drive unit, 26 output shaft, 27 differential gear, 28a, 28b drive wheels, 30 electronic control unit, 31 CPU, 32 ROM, 33 RAM, 34 flash memory, 40 ignition switch, 41 vehicle speed sensor, 42 shift lever, 43 shift position sensor, 44 accelerator pedal, 45 accelerator pedal position sensor, 46 brake pedal, 47 brake pedal position sensor, 60 navigation device, 62 main body, 64 GPS antenna, 66 display, 70 display operation device, 72 communication device.

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle equipped with an operation device that provides voice guidance to a driver and accepts an operation by the driver in response to the voice guidance, When the operation device provides predetermined voice guidance to prompt the driver to perform an operation other than driving, the operation device estimates a stopping time when the vehicle is stopped, and provides the predetermined voice guidance when it determines that the stopping time is sufficient for the driver to complete an operation in response to the voice guidance. A vehicle characterized by:

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