Calculation device

Abstract

To accurately calculate the center position of a vehicle traveling on a road with a gradient.SOLUTION: A calculation device 5 has a first acquisition unit 521 that acquires gradient information related to the gradient of a road on which a vehicle 1 is traveling, a second acquisition unit 522 that acquires the position of an antenna 21 mounted on the vehicle 1 on the basis of a radio wave received by the antenna 21, which receives the radio wave transmitted by a satellite, and a calculation unit 524 that calculates a first horizontal distance between an intersection of a road and a perpendicular line drawn from the center position of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction to the road and the position of the antenna 21 using the height and gradient information from the road to the antenna 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a calculation device for calculating a position of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for determining the position of a vehicle based on radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites orbiting the Earth. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining the position of a vehicle based on radio waves transmitted from each of a plurality of artificial satellites. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-49162 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the position determined based on radio waves from an artificial satellite is the position of the antenna that receives the radio waves. The antenna is provided on the top surface of the vehicle to facilitate reception of the radio waves. Therefore, when a tall vehicle such as a truck is traveling on a road with a cross gradient or on a slope, the position of the antenna will be misaligned with the center position of the vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to accurately calculate the center position of a vehicle traveling on a road with a slope. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, a calculation device is provided having a first acquisition unit that acquires gradient information regarding the gradient of a road on which a vehicle is traveling, a second acquisition unit that acquires a position of an antenna mounted on the vehicle, the position of which is determined based on radio waves received by an antenna that receives radio waves transmitted from an artificial satellite, and a calculation unit that uses the height from the road to the antenna and the gradient information to calculate a first horizontal distance between the intersection of the road and a perpendicular line drawn from a center position of the vehicle to the road, and the position of the antenna.

[0007] The calculation unit may calculate the first distance in the horizontal direction by multiplying the height from the road to the antenna installed on an upper surface of the vehicle by a value of a sine function determined by the gradient information.

[0008] The calculation unit may calculate a third distance from the center position to the central position by adding the second horizontal distance from the center position of the lane on the road in which the vehicle is traveling to the measured position of the antenna and the calculated first distance.

[0009] The calculation unit may calculate the first distance in the horizontal direction by multiplying a value of a sine function determined by the gradient information by the height, and calculate the third distance by adding the calculated first distance and the calculated second distance.

[0010] The calculation unit may calculate the third distance by adding a fourth distance between a position where the antenna is installed on the vehicle and the central position, the second distance, and the calculated first distance.

[0011] The calculation device may have a third acquisition unit that, when the lane boundary line is no longer detected from an image captured ahead of the vehicle in the direction of travel, acquires the center position based on the boundary line detected immediately before the boundary line is no longer detected, and the calculation unit may calculate the third distance from the acquired center position to the central position when the boundary line is no longer detected.

[0012] The calculation unit may perform a process of calculating the third distance by adding up the first distance and the second distance when the boundary line is not detected, and may stop the process of calculating the third distance by adding up the first distance and the second distance when the boundary line is detected again after the boundary line is no longer detected. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately calculate the center position of a vehicle traveling on a road having a slope. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle traveling on a road having a transverse slope. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a calculation device. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case where a positioning device is provided at a position different from the center position in the vehicle width direction. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for calculating a third distance. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] [Configuration of calculation device 5] The configuration of the calculation device 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle 1 traveling on a road RS having a cross gradient θ. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the calculation device 5. The calculation device 5 is mounted on the vehicle 1. In addition, the vehicle 1 on which the calculation device 5 is mounted is also equipped with a positioning device 2, a detection device 3, and a sensor 4.

[0016] The positioning device 2 is provided, for example, on the top surface of the vehicle 1, at a center position BC in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1. The positioning device 2 has an antenna 21 that receives radio waves transmitted from an artificial satellite. The positioning device 2 locates the position of the positioning device 2 based on the radio waves received by the antenna 21. Specifically, the positioning device 2 receives radio waves transmitted from a satellite of a GPS (Global Positioning System), and locates the position of the positioning device 2 based on the received radio waves.

[0017] The detection device 3 has an imaging unit 31 that captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction to generate a captured image. In FIG. 1, the area ahead of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction is the back side of the page. The detection device 3 detects the dividing lines of the road RS from the captured image. Specifically, the detection device 3 detects the dividing line indicating the boundary of the lane in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, among a plurality of dividing lines marked on the road RS. More specifically, the detection device 3 detects the lane boundary line, the outer side line, and the center line as the dividing lines indicating the boundary of the lane. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the lane boundary line, the outer side line, and the center line, they are referred to as lane boundary lines.

[0018] The sensor 4 detects the cross gradient θ of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. For example, the sensor 4 detects the inclination of the vehicle 1 with respect to the horizontal direction as the cross gradient θ. Specifically, the sensor 4 includes an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle 1 and a yaw rate sensor that detects the speed at which the rotation angle of the vehicle 1 changes, and detects the roll angle of the vehicle 1 as the cross gradient θ, which is calculated by substituting the gravitational acceleration g, the acceleration Ay in the vehicle width direction, the speed V of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction, and the yaw rate γ of the vehicle 1 into the following equation (1).

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[0019] When vehicle 1 is traveling on road RS with a cross gradient θ, the center position BC of vehicle 1 on road RS is an intersection point P between road RS and a perpendicular line G drawn from center position BC to road RS. On the other hand, the measured position of positioning device 2 on road RS is an intersection point A (hereinafter referred to as measured position A) between a straight line drawn vertically from the position of positioning device 2 and the road. In this way, when vehicle 1 is traveling on a road with a cross gradient θ, intersection point P, which is center position BC on road RS, and measured position A are in different positions.

[0020] Therefore, the calculation device 5 calculates a first horizontal distance V1 between the intersection P and the positioning position A using the height H from the road RS to the positioning device 2 and the cross gradient θ. The first distance V1 represents the horizontal deviation between the center position BC of the vehicle 1 on the road RS and the positioning position A. Therefore, the calculation device 5 can calculate the position of the intersection P, which is the center position BC of the vehicle 1 on the road RS, by moving the first distance V1 from the positioning position A. In other words, the calculation device 5 can accurately calculate the center position BC of the vehicle 1 on the road RS. The calculation device 5 will be described in detail below.

[0021] The calculation device 5 has a storage unit 51 and a control unit 52. The storage unit 51 is a storage medium including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, etc. The storage unit 51 stores a program executed by the control unit 52. The storage unit 51 also stores a height H from the road RS to the positioning device 2. The storage unit 51 may store the total height (i.e., vehicle height) from the underside of the wheels of the vehicle 1 to the highest point of the vehicle 1 as the height H.

[0022] The control unit 52 is a computation resource including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 52 executes a program stored in the storage unit 51 to realize functions as a first acquisition unit 521, a second acquisition unit 522, a third acquisition unit 523, and a calculation unit 524.

[0023] The first acquisition unit 521 acquires gradient information on the gradient of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. For example, the first acquisition unit 521 acquires the cross gradient θ detected by the sensor 4 as the gradient information. The first acquisition unit 521 may acquire the cross gradient θ from an external device instead of the cross gradient θ detected by the sensor 4. In this case, the first acquisition unit 521 acquires the cross gradient θ of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling from the external device (server) via a wireless communication module for transmitting and receiving information by wireless communication. Specifically, the first acquisition unit 521 acquires the cross gradient θ corresponding to the positioning position A from an external device that is a server that stores the cross gradient θ of each road or a server that stores the cross gradient θ in association with each of a plurality of pieces of position information. The first acquisition unit 521 notifies the calculation unit 524 of the acquired cross gradient θ.

[0024] The second acquisition unit 522 acquires the positioning position A measured by the positioning device 2. The second acquisition unit 522 may acquire the positioning position A by calculating the positioning position A based on information included in the radio waves received by the antenna 21, instead of the positioning position A measured by the positioning device 2. In this case, the second acquisition unit 522 acquires information included in the radio waves received by the antenna 21 from the positioning device 2, and acquires the positioning position A based on the acquired information. The second acquisition unit 522 notifies the calculation unit 524 of the acquired positioning position A.

[0025] The third acquisition unit 523 acquires a center position RC of the two lane boundary lines. For example, the third acquisition unit 523 acquires, as the center position RC, the position of the center of a line segment perpendicular to both the outer lane line and the center line of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. Furthermore, when a lane boundary line is no longer detected, the third acquisition unit 523 acquires, as the center position RC, the center of a perpendicular line drawn from the outer lane line detected immediately before the lane boundary line was no longer detected. The third acquisition unit 523 notifies the calculation unit 524 of the acquired center position RC.

[0026] The calculation unit 524 calculates the first distance V1 using the gradient information. For example, the calculation unit 524 calculates the first distance V1 using the height H stored in the storage unit 51 and the cross gradient θ acquired as the gradient information. Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates the first distance V1 by multiplying the height H by a value of a sine function determined by the cross gradient θ. More specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates the first distance V1 by substituting the height H stored in the storage unit 51 and the acquired cross gradient θ into the following formula (2).

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[0027] The calculation unit 524 may calculate the first distance V1 as a vector. In this case, the calculation unit 524 calculates a first vector indicating the first distance V1 from the positioning position A to the intersection point P. By calculating the first distance V1 as a vector, the calculation unit 524 can calculate in which direction in the horizontal direction the intersection point P is shifted from the positioning position A. Specifically, when a cross gradient rising to the right is provided with respect to the traveling direction, the formula (1) becomes a positive value, so that the intersection point P is a position moved by the first distance V1 to the right of the paper surface from the positioning position A in FIG. 1.

[0028] On the other hand, when a downward cross gradient is provided to the right with respect to the traveling direction, formula (2) takes a negative value, so the position moved the first distance V1 to the left of the paper surface from the positioning position A in Fig. 1 becomes the intersection point P. In this way, the calculation unit 524 can calculate the accurate position of the intersection point P by moving the first distance V1 in the horizontal direction from the positioning position A in a direction according to the positive or negative sign of formula (2).

[0029] (Process of calculating the third distance V3 between the center position RC of the lane and the intersection point P) When attempting to make the center position RC of the lane in which the vehicle 1 is traveling coincide with the intersection point P, which is the center position BC of the road RS, it is necessary to know how far the center position RC is from the intersection point P. Therefore, the calculation unit 524 calculates a third distance V3 between the intersection point P and the center position RC.

[0030] When calculating the third distance V3, the calculation unit 524 calculates a second distance V2 in the horizontal direction between the center position RC and the positioning position A. For example, the calculation unit 524 calculates the second distance V2 from the center position RC detected immediately before the lane boundary line becomes undetectable to the positioning position A. Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates a second vector indicating the second distance V2 in the horizontal direction from the center position RC to the positioning position A. By calculating the second vector indicating the second distance V2, the calculation unit 524 can grasp in which direction in the horizontal direction the positioning position A is separated from the center position RC. As a specific example, when the second vector is positive (to the right on the paper), the calculation unit 524 can grasp that the positioning position A is separated to the right from the center position RC, and when the second vector is negative (to the left on the paper), the calculation unit 524 can grasp that the positioning position A is separated to the left from the center position RC.

[0031] The calculation unit 524 calculates a third distance V3 by adding the first distance V1 and the second distance V2. Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates a third vector indicating the third distance V3 by adding a first vector indicating the first distance V1 and a second vector indicating the second distance V2. More specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates the third vector using the following formula (3).

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[0032] The calculation unit 524 can determine in which horizontal direction the intersection P is separated from the central position RC by calculating a third vector indicating the third distance V3. As a specific example, when the third vector is positive, the calculation unit 524 can determine that the intersection P is separated to the right from the central position RC, and when the third vector is negative, the calculation unit 524 can determine that the intersection P is separated to the left from the central position RC. This allows the calculation unit 524 to calculate the distance and the direction of movement required to make the intersection P coincide with the central position RC.

[0033] When the boundary line is detected again after it is no longer detected, the calculation unit 524 calculates a third distance V3 between the center position BC of the vehicle 1 and the center position RC based on the detected boundary line and the installation position of the imaging unit 31 in the vehicle 1. In this case, the calculation unit 524 stops the process of calculating the third distance V3 by adding the first distance V1 and the second distance V2. This enables the calculation unit 524 to suppress the execution of unnecessary processes and reduce the waste of calculation resources.

[0034] (When the positioning device 2 and the center position BC are misaligned) In the above description, the positioning device 2 is provided on the top surface of the vehicle 1, at the center position BC in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1. However, the positioning device 2 may be provided on the top surface of the vehicle 1 at a position different from the center position BC in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a case where the positioning device 2 is provided at a position different from the center position BC in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning device 2 is provided on the top surface of the vehicle 1, but at an installation position E that is moved a fourth distance V4 from the center position BC.

[0035] When the positioning device 2 is installed at an installation position E that is moved from the center position BC by a fourth distance V4, the intersection points F and P of a perpendicular line K drawn from the installation position E to the road RS and the road RS are shifted by the fourth distance V4. In this case, the calculation unit 524 calculates the third distance V3 by adding the first distance V1, the second distance V2, and the fourth distance V4. Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates the third vector by adding a fourth vector indicating the fourth distance V4 from the center position BC to the positioning device 2, the first vector, and the second vector. More specifically, the fourth vector with a negative sign added, the first distance V1, and the second distance V2 are added.

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[0036] In this way, the fourth vector with a negative sign added becomes a vector indicating the fourth distance from the positioning device 2 to the center position BC. In this way, the calculation unit 524 can accurately calculate the third distance V3 between the intersection P and the center position RC even if the positioning device 2 is provided on the right side or the left side of the center position BC on the top surface of the vehicle 1.

[0037] [Process of calculating the third distance V3] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for calculating the third distance V3. The process for calculating the third distance V3 is executed when the lane boundary line on which the vehicle 1 is traveling is no longer detected.

[0038] The first acquisition unit 521 acquires the cross gradient θ of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling (step S1). For example, the first acquisition unit 521 acquires the cross gradient θ detected by the sensor 4. The second acquisition unit 522 acquires the positioning position A measured by the positioning device 2 (step S2).

[0039] The calculation unit 524 calculates the first distance V1 by using the cross gradient θ (step S3). Specifically, the calculation unit 524 multiplies the height H from the road RS to the positioning position A by the value of a sine function determined by the acquired cross gradient θ to calculate a first vector indicating the first distance V1.

[0040] The calculation unit 524 calculates a second distance V2 in the horizontal direction between the center position RC of the lane and the positioning position A (step S4). Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates the second distance V2 from the center position RC detected immediately before the lane boundary line becomes undetectable to the positioning position A. More specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates a second vector indicating the second distance V2 from the center position RC to the positioning position A.

[0041] Next, the calculation unit 524 calculates a third distance V3 by adding the first distance V1 and the second distance V2 (step S5). Specifically, the calculation unit 524 calculates a third vector indicating the third distance V3 by adding the first vector and the second vector indicating the first distance V1.

[0042] After calculating the third distance V3, the calculation unit 524 determines whether or not a lane boundary line has been detected (step S6). If a lane boundary line has not been detected (No in step S6), the calculation unit 524 repeats steps S1 to S6 to continue calculating the third distance V3 until a lane boundary line is detected. If a lane boundary line is detected (Yes in step S6), the calculation unit 524 ends the process of calculating the third distance V3.

[0043] (Modification) In the above embodiment, the calculation device 5 calculates the first distance, which is the deviation in the vehicle width direction, by using the cross gradient when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a road with a cross gradient. Without being limited to this, the calculation device 5 may calculate the first distance V1, which is the deviation in the traveling direction between the center position of the vehicle and the measured position, while the vehicle 1 is traveling on a road with a gradient in the traveling direction. In other words, the calculation device 5 calculates the first distance V1 between the intersection P and the measured position A when the vehicle 1 is traveling uphill or downhill. In this way, the calculation device 5 can calculate the deviation between the center position of the vehicle 1 and the measured position not only while the vehicle 1 is traveling on a road with a cross gradient, but also while the vehicle 1 is traveling uphill or downhill.

[0044] [Effects of Calculation Device 5] As described above, first, the calculation device 5 acquires the cross gradient θ of the road RS on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and the positioning position A based on the radio waves received by the antenna 21 that receives radio waves from an artificial satellite. Then, the calculation device 5 calculates the first distance V1 in the horizontal direction between the intersection P of the road RS and the perpendicular line G drawn from the center position BC of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction to the road RS, and the positioning position A, using the height H from the road RS to the antenna 21 and the acquired cross gradient θ. In this way, by calculating the first distance V1, the calculation device 5 can calculate the position of the intersection P by moving the vehicle 1 from the positioning position A by the first distance V1. In other words, the calculation device 5 can accurately calculate the center position BC of the vehicle 1 on the road RS, even if the positioning position A and the intersection P are shifted due to traveling on a road RS with a cross gradient θ.

[0045] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination combines the effect of the original embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 vehicle 2 Positioning device 3. Detection device 4 Sensors 5. Calculation device 21 Antenna 31 Imaging unit 51 Storage section 52 Control section 521 First acquisition part 522 Second Acquisition Department 523 Third Acquisition Department 524 Calculation Department

Claims

1. A first acquisition unit that acquires gradient information regarding a gradient of a road on which a vehicle is traveling; a second acquisition unit that acquires a position of an antenna mounted on the vehicle, the position being determined based on radio waves received by the antenna that receives radio waves transmitted from an artificial satellite; a calculation unit that calculates a first distance in a horizontal direction between an intersection of a perpendicular line drawn from a center position of the vehicle to the road and the road, and a position of the antenna, using information on the height from the road to the antenna and the gradient information; A computing device having:

2. the calculation unit calculates the first distance in the horizontal direction by multiplying the height from the road to the antenna installed on the upper surface of the vehicle by a value of a sine function determined by the gradient information; The computing device of claim 1 .

3. the calculation unit calculates a third distance from the center position to the central position by adding the second distance in the horizontal direction from a center position of a lane on the road in which the vehicle is traveling to the measured position of the antenna and the calculated first distance. The computing device of claim 1 .

4. the calculation unit multiplies a value of a sine function determined by the gradient information by the height to calculate the first distance in the horizontal direction, and calculates the third distance by adding the calculated first distance and the calculated second distance.

4. The calculation device of claim 3.

5. the calculation unit calculates the third distance by adding a fourth distance between a position where the antenna is installed on the vehicle and the center position, the second distance, and the calculated first distance.

5. A calculation device according to claim 3 or 4.

6. a third acquisition unit that acquires, when the lane boundary line is no longer detected from an image captured in a forward traveling direction of the vehicle, the center position based on the boundary line detected immediately before the boundary line is no longer detected; the calculation unit calculates the third distance from the acquired center position to the central position when the boundary line is no longer detected.

5. A calculation device according to claim 3 or 4.

7. the calculation unit executes a process of calculating the third distance by adding up the first distance and the second distance when the boundary line is not detected, and stops the process of calculating the third distance by adding up the first distance and the second distance when the boundary line is detected again after the boundary line is no longer detected.

7. The computing device of claim 6.

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