Display device

Abstract

Provided is a display device that notifies a driver of information relating to a merging point of group traveling vehicles and information relating to the time at which the vehicles arrive at the merging point. A display device (1) is provided with: a travel route acquisition unit (12) that acquires a travel route for a host vehicle to arrive at a destination; an other vehicle information acquisition unit (13) that acquires a travel route for the other vehicle to arrive at the destination and position information of the other vehicle; a merging point detection unit (14) that detects a merging point on the basis of the route along which the host vehicle arrives at the destination and the route along which the other vehicle arrives at the destination; a required time calculation unit (15) for calculating the required time for the vehicle, which is the time required for the vehicle to arrive at the joining point, and the required time for the other vehicle, which is the time required for the other vehicle to arrive at the joining point; a display information generation unit (16) that generates display information relating to the merging point, the time required by the host vehicle, and the time required by the other vehicles; and a display unit (40) that displays the display information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a display device. Background Technology

[0002] Normally, a vehicle's navigation system will display the driving route to the set destination and the estimated arrival time, thus providing route navigation to the destination.

[0003] For example, as such a technology, a method is proposed that calculates the predicted arrival time at the destination at predetermined intervals, and notifies the user of this information via a notification unit when the predicted arrival time calculated after the predetermined interval deviates from the predetermined time. (See, for example, Patent Document 1) Existing technical documents Patent documents Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-82795 Summary of the Invention

[0004] Technical issues However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, when vehicles from different origins travel together to the same destination, it is difficult to obtain information such as the travel route from the vehicles traveling together, so the driver cannot know the meeting point of the vehicles traveling together.

[0005] Furthermore, in the technology described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, since information regarding the arrival time of vehicles traveling in a group is not provided, it is difficult for drivers to determine whether they have sufficient time.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention was made in view of this problem, and its object is to provide a display device for providing drivers with information on the meeting point of a group of vehicles and the time of arrival at the meeting point.

[0007] Technical solution Method 1: One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a display device, characterized in that it comprises: a route acquisition unit for acquiring the route of a vehicle to a destination; a vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring the routes of other vehicles to destinations and the location information of other vehicles; a meeting point detection unit for detecting a meeting point based on the routes of the vehicle to the destination and the routes of other vehicles to the destination; a time calculation unit for calculating the time required for the vehicle to reach the meeting point and the time required for other vehicles to reach the meeting point; a display information generation unit for generating display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles; and a display unit for displaying the display information.

[0008] Method 4: One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a display device, characterized in that it comprises: one or more processors, one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, and a display unit, wherein the one or more processors include: a route acquisition unit for acquiring a route for a vehicle to reach a destination; a other vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring routes for other vehicles to reach destinations and location information of the other vehicles; a meeting point detection unit for detecting a meeting point based on the routes for the vehicle to reach the destination and the routes for other vehicles to reach the destination; a time calculation unit for calculating the time required for the vehicle to reach the meeting point and the time required for other vehicles to reach the meeting point; and a display information generation unit for generating display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles, wherein the display information is displayed on the display unit.

[0009] Invention Effects According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the present invention has the effect of notifying the driver of relevant information about the meeting point of a group of vehicles and the time of arrival at the meeting point. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a processor in a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the calculation of the meeting point by a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 4This is a diagram illustrating a display example of a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the processing flow of a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] 1…Display device, 10…Processor, 11…Location information acquisition unit, 12…Route acquisition unit, 13…Other vehicle information acquisition unit, 14…Meeting point detection unit, 15…Required time calculation unit, 16…Display information generation unit, 17…Control unit, 18…Meeting information transmission unit, 20…Memory, 30…Communication unit, 40…Display unit, 100…Navigation device Detailed Implementation

[0016] <Implementation Method> use Figures 1-5 The display device 1 of this embodiment will now be described.

[0017] <Composition of Display Device 1> like Figure 1 As shown, the display device 1 of this embodiment includes a processor 10, a memory 20, a communication unit 30, a display unit 40, and other parts.

[0018] The processor 10 displays information about the meeting point of the routes traveled by vehicles traveling towards the same destination group, as well as information about the time of arrival at the meeting point.

[0019] The configuration of processor 10 will be described later.

[0020] The memory 20 includes ROM (Read-Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), which are not shown.

[0021] The memory 20 stores, for example, control programs, map information, and various data received from the processor 10.

[0022] In this embodiment, when a group trip begins, the memory 20 stores group trip information that has been registered by the drivers in advance.

[0023] The aforementioned group travel information includes, for example, the identification numbers of each vehicle in the group, the destination information of the vehicles in the group, and the email addresses of each vehicle's driver.

[0024] The Communication Unit 30 is a wireless communication module that can connect to the Internet.

[0025] The Communications Department 30, for example, communicates via the Internet and vehicles traveling in groups.

[0026] The display unit 40 displays the display information received from the processor 10, for example, through a display panel such as a liquid crystal display screen.

[0027] <Processor 10 Configuration> like Figure 2 As shown, the processor 10 includes a location information acquisition unit 11, a driving route acquisition unit 12, a other vehicle information acquisition unit 13, a meeting point detection unit 14, a required time calculation unit 15, a display information generation unit 16, a control unit 17, and a meeting information transmission unit 18.

[0028] The various parts of the processor 10 and the memory 20 receive and send various information via the bus BL.

[0029] The processor 10 of the display device 1 installed in this vehicle will now be described in relation to this vehicle and other vehicles traveling to the same destination group.

[0030] The location information acquisition unit 11 acquires the location information of the vehicle.

[0031] The location information acquisition unit 11 obtains the current location of the vehicle based on radio waves received from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites.

[0032] The location information acquisition unit 11 sends the acquired information related to the vehicle's driving route to the control unit 17, which will be described later, via the bus BL.

[0033] The route acquisition unit 12 acquires the route for the vehicle to reach its destination.

[0034] The route acquisition unit 12, for example, obtains relevant information about the route the vehicle takes to its destination by means of a navigation device 100 installed in the vehicle.

[0035] The route acquisition unit 12 sends the acquired information related to the vehicle's route to the control unit 17, which will be described later, via the bus BL.

[0036] Other vehicle information acquisition unit 13 acquires the travel routes of other vehicles to their destinations and the location information of other vehicles.

[0037] Other vehicle information acquisition unit 13 communicates with other vehicles registered in the group driving information stored in memory 20 via communication unit 30.

[0038] Other vehicle information acquisition unit 13 obtains information about the driving routes to the destination calculated by other vehicles and the location information of other vehicles via communication unit 30.

[0039] The other vehicle information acquisition unit 13 sends the driving routes and location information of other vehicles to the control unit 17 (described later) via the bus BL.

[0040] The meeting point detection unit 14 detects the meeting point based on the route taken by this vehicle to its destination and the routes taken by other vehicles to their destinations.

[0041] The meeting point detection unit 14 detects, for example, the point where the route of this vehicle to its destination and the route of other vehicles to their destination initially intersect as the meeting point.

[0042] like Figure 3 As shown, the meeting point detection unit 14 detects the meeting point, for example, at point A where the route of this vehicle to the destination and the route of other vehicles to the destination initially intersect.

[0043] The meeting point detection unit 14 sends the detected meeting point location information to the control unit 17, which will be described later, via the bus BL.

[0044] The time calculation unit 15 calculates the time required for this vehicle to reach the meeting point, the time required for other vehicles to reach the meeting point, and the time required for other vehicles to reach the meeting point.

[0045] The time calculation unit 15 calculates the distance the vehicle needs to travel from its current location to the meeting point based on the map information obtained from the memory 20, the vehicle's location information received from the control unit 17 (described later), and the location information of the meeting point.

[0046] The time calculation unit 15 calculates the time required for the vehicle, for example, based on the distance the vehicle travels from its current location to the meeting point and the vehicle's average speed.

[0047] The time calculation unit 15 calculates the travel distance of other vehicles from their current location to the meeting point based on the map information obtained from the memory 20, the location information of other vehicles received from the control unit 17, and the location information of the meeting point.

[0048] The time calculation unit 15 calculates the time required for other vehicles, for example, based on the distance other vehicles travel from their current location to the meeting point and the legal speed of other vehicles' routes.

[0049] In this embodiment, the required time calculation unit 15 calculates, for example, the time difference between the required time of this vehicle and the required time of other vehicles.

[0050] The required time calculation unit 15 sends the calculated required time for the vehicle, the required time for other vehicles, and the time difference between the required time for the vehicle and the required time for other vehicles to the control unit 17 via the bus BL.

[0051] The display information generation unit 16 generates display information related to the meeting point, the time required for this vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles.

[0052] The display information generation unit 16 generates display information related to the meeting point, the driving route of the vehicle, the driving routes of other vehicles, the location information of the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the driving time of other vehicles based on the location information of the vehicle, the driving route of the vehicle, the driving route of other vehicles, the location information of the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the driving time of other vehicles received from the control unit 17.

[0053] like Figure 4 As shown, the display information generation unit 16 generates display information indicating the location of the destination, the location of the vehicle, the locations of other vehicles, and the location of the meeting point.

[0054] The information generation unit 16 generates information such as "The meeting point with the group of vehicles is point A. This vehicle is expected to arrive at the meeting point five minutes earlier than the group of vehicles. Please drive at your own pace." This includes text information.

[0055] The display information generation unit 16 generates, for example, display information including the estimated arrival times of the vehicle and other vehicles at the meeting point.

[0056] The display information generation unit 16 sends the generated display information to the control unit 17, which will be described later, via the bus BL.

[0057] The control unit 17 controls the entire display device 1 according to the control program stored in the memory 20.

[0058] In this embodiment, the control unit 17 determines, for example, whether group driving information has been input.

[0059] Control unit 17, for example, determines whether group driving information has been entered into the operation unit (not shown).

[0060] When the control unit 17 determines that group driving information has been input, it stores the received group driving information in the memory 20 via the bus BL.

[0061] In this embodiment, the control unit 17 controls the display unit 40 to display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles.

[0062] The control unit 17 sends the display information received from the display information generation unit 16 to the display unit 40.

[0063] In this embodiment, the control unit 17 controls the rendezvous information sending unit 18 (described later) to send information related to the rendezvous location, the time required for this vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to other vehicles.

[0064] The control unit 17 sends, for example, the location information of the vehicle, the location information of the rendezvous point, the time required for the vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to the rendezvous information transmission unit 18 (described later) via the bus BL.

[0065] The rendezvous information sending unit 18 sends information related to the rendezvous location, the time required for this vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to other vehicles.

[0066] The information transmission unit 18 sends, for example, the location information of the vehicle itself, the location information of the rendezvous point, the time required for the vehicle itself, and the time required for other vehicles to the communication unit 30, which is received from the control unit 17.

[0067] The information sending unit 18 can send the aforementioned information to the email addresses of drivers of other vehicles that have registered group driving information via the communication unit 30.

[0068] <Processing of Display Device 1> use Figure 5 The processing flow of display device 1 will be explained.

[0069] like Figure 5 As shown, the control unit 17 determines whether group driving information has been input (step S110).

[0070] If the control unit 17 determines that no group driving information has been entered (No in step S110), it returns the process and transfers to the standby state.

[0071] If the control unit 17 determines that group driving information has been entered ("Yes" in step S110), the process is transferred to step S120.

[0072] The control unit 17 sends an instruction to the other vehicle information acquisition unit 13 to acquire other vehicle information, and acquires the driving routes of other vehicles to their destination and the location information of other vehicles (step S120).

[0073] The control unit 17 sends an instruction to the route acquisition unit 12 to obtain the route for the vehicle to reach the destination, and obtains relevant information about the route for the vehicle to reach the destination from the navigation device 100 (step S130).

[0074] The control unit 17 sends the driving route of its own vehicle to the destination and the driving route of other vehicles to the destination to the meeting point detection unit 14, and detects the meeting point (step S140).

[0075] The control unit 17 sends the location information of the vehicle, the location information of other vehicles, and the location information of the meeting point to the time calculation unit 15, and calculates the time required for the vehicle and the time required for other vehicles (step S150).

[0076] The control unit 17 sends the vehicle's location information, the vehicle's driving route, the driving routes of other vehicles, the location information of the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the driving time of other vehicles to the display information generation unit 16, and generates display information (step S160).

[0077] The control unit 17 sends the location information of the rendezvous point, the time required for this vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to the rendezvous information sending unit 18, and sends information related to the rendezvous point, the time required for this vehicle, and the travel time of other vehicles to other vehicles (step S170), and ends the processing.

[0078] <Functions and Effects> As described above, the display device 1 of this embodiment includes: a route acquisition unit 12 for acquiring the route of the vehicle to its destination; a vehicle information acquisition unit 13 for acquiring the routes of other vehicles to their destinations and the location information of other vehicles; a meeting point detection unit 14 for detecting a meeting point based on the routes of the vehicle to its destination and the routes of other vehicles to their destinations; a time calculation unit 15 for calculating the time required for the vehicle to reach the meeting point and the time required for other vehicles to reach the meeting point; a display information generation unit 16 for generating display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles; and a display unit 40 for displaying the display information.

[0079] That is, the display device 1 detects the meeting point of the vehicle and other vehicles based on the driving route of the vehicle to the destination and the driving route of other vehicles to the destination, and displays information related to the detected meeting point on the display unit 40.

[0080] This allows the driver to determine the meeting point with other vehicles.

[0081] Based on the time required for this vehicle and the time required for other vehicles, the display device 1 displays information on the display unit 40 such as how much later or earlier this vehicle will arrive at the meeting point compared to other vehicles.

[0082] This allows the driver to monitor the driving status of each vehicle in a group.

[0083] For example, a driver can use the information displayed on the display unit 40 to determine if they have extra time to stop by a convenience store, thus making more efficient use of their time.

[0084] For example, if the display unit 40 shows that the vehicle has arrived at the meeting point ten minutes earlier than other vehicles, the driver can reduce the vehicle's speed for safe driving.

[0085] The display information generation unit 16 generates display information indicating the location of the destination, the location of the vehicle, the locations of other vehicles, and the location of the meeting point.

[0086] In other words, display device 1 visualizes the location of the destination, the location of the vehicle, the locations of other vehicles, and the location of the meeting point on the map.

[0087] As a result, the driver can easily determine the meeting point and the driving positions of other vehicles.

[0088] The display device 1 of this embodiment is provided with a rendezvous information sending unit 18 that sends relevant information such as the rendezvous point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to the rendezvous point to other vehicles.

[0089] Therefore, since drivers of other vehicles can obtain information about the location of the meeting point, the time required for their own vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles, they can share driving information among the vehicles.

[0090] The display device 1 in this embodiment automatically sends information related to the meeting point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles to other vehicles, allowing the driver to drive while recognizing the driving status of other vehicles.

[0091] <Variation Example 1> The processor of the navigation device 100 can execute the processing of the other vehicle information acquisition unit 13, meeting point detection unit 14, required time calculation unit 15, display information generation unit 16, and control unit 17 of the display device 1 of this embodiment, thereby constituting the display device 1.

[0092] <Variation Example 2> The display device 1 of the above embodiment can update relevant information such as the time required for this vehicle and the time required for other vehicles at predetermined intervals.

[0093] As a result, drivers can continuously monitor changes in driving conditions.

[0094] <Variation Example 3> The display device 1 of this embodiment, for example, if the time required to reach the meeting point is different from the calculated time due to traffic congestion, can update the time required for its own vehicle and the time required for other vehicles, and notify the driver of the updated information.

[0095] As a result, drivers can continuously monitor changes in driving conditions.

[0096] <Variation Example 4> When the display device 1 of the above embodiment displays information related to the meeting point, the time required for the vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles on the display unit 40, it can also provide sound-based information.

[0097] As a result, the driver can easily determine the meeting point and the driving positions of other vehicles.

[0098] <Variation Example 5> The display device 1 of the above embodiment can allow the driver to customize the display style of the display unit 40.

[0099] Therefore, since the information displayed on the display unit 40 is displayed in a way that suits the driver's preferences, the driver can more easily grasp the driving situation.

[0100] The display device 1 of the present invention can be realized by recording the processing of the meeting point detection unit 14, the required time calculation unit 15, the display information generation unit 16, and the control unit 17 on a computer-readable recording medium, and by reading the program recorded in this recording medium into the memory and executing it.

[0101] The computer system here includes hardware such as the operating system or peripheral devices.

[0102] When the aforementioned computer system uses the WWW (World Wide Web) system, it is considered to also include a homepage providing environment (or display environment).

[0103] The aforementioned program can be transmitted from a computer system that stores the program in a storage device or the like to other computer systems via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium.

[0104] The transmission medium of the above transmission program refers to a medium with the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) like the Internet or a communication line (communication line) like a telephone line.

[0105] The above program can be a program used to implement some of the aforementioned functions.

[0106] The aforementioned program can be combined with programs already stored in the computer system to achieve the aforementioned functions; this is known as a differential file (differential program).

[0107] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but their specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and also include designs that do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A display device, characterized in that, have: The route acquisition department obtains the route for the vehicle to reach its destination; Other vehicle information acquisition unit, which acquires the driving routes of other vehicles to the destination and the location information of the other vehicles; The meeting point detection unit detects the meeting point based on the driving route of the vehicle to the destination and the driving routes of other vehicles to the destination. The required time calculation unit calculates the time required for the vehicle to reach the meeting point, the time required for the other vehicles to reach the meeting point, and the time required for the other vehicles to reach the meeting point. The display information generation unit generates display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles; and The display unit displays the aforementioned information.

2. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display information generation unit generates display information to indicate the location of the destination, the location of the vehicle, the locations of the other vehicles, and the location of the meeting point.

3. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A rendezvous information sending unit is equipped to send rendezvous information related to the rendezvous point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for the other vehicles to the other vehicles.

4. A display device, characterized in that, have: One or more processors, one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, and a display unit. The one or more processors include: The route acquisition department obtains the route for the vehicle to reach its destination; Other vehicle information acquisition unit, which acquires the driving routes of other vehicles to the destination and the location information of the other vehicles; The meeting point detection unit detects the meeting point based on the driving route of the vehicle to the destination and the driving routes of other vehicles to the destination. The time calculation unit calculates the time required for the vehicle to reach the meeting point, the time required for the other vehicles to reach the meeting point, and the time required for the other vehicles to reach the meeting point; and The display information generation unit generates display information related to the meeting point, the time required for the current vehicle, and the time required for other vehicles. The display information is displayed on the display unit.

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