Reachable range drawing device, display device, and program

Abstract

To provide a reachable range drawing device and the like for easily drawing a reachable range of a moving body.SOLUTION: A reachable range drawing device 1 includes an extraction unit 2, a specification unit 4, and a drawing unit 4. The extraction unit 2 extracts as a route area 16 a rectangular area including a route 13 on which a moving body M can move in a road map 14 that indicates a route where the moving body can move with energy held therein and that is sectioned into a plurality of rectangular areas 15. The specification unit 4 specifies as an outline area 17 a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area. The drawing unit 4 generates drawing data 5a indicating a reachable range 7 of the moving body on which the outline area is drawn with an area line 18.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device that plots the reachable range of a moving object, taking into consideration the remaining amount of energy held by the moving object and the amount of energy consumed by the moving object for movement. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been devices that display the reachable range of a mobile object based on the amount of remaining energy of the mobile object. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing device that includes an identification unit that identifies whether a mobile object can reach each of a plurality of areas divided into map information, a contour extraction unit that extracts a contour of a reachable range of the mobile object from the map information based on the identification result by the identification unit, a completion unit that performs processing to increase the number of vertices included in the extracted contour, and a removal unit that removes frequency components above a predetermined frequency from the contour processed by the completion unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6047651 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is preferable that the reachable range displayed based on the energy held by the moving body be displayed with high accuracy so that the passenger does not make an erroneous judgment. However, displaying the reachable range with high accuracy usually requires a lot of processing, which makes it complicated. In other words, displaying the reachable range with high accuracy and easily processing the reachable range are usually contradictory.

[0005] Therefore, in one aspect, it is an object to provide a reachable range drawing device or the like that simultaneously satisfies these contradictory requirements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) A reachable range drawing device is characterized in that a road map showing a route that can be traveled using the energy held by a mobile body is divided into a plurality of rectangular areas, and the device is equipped with an extraction unit that extracts a rectangular area that includes the travelable route as a route area, an identification unit that identifies a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outline area, and a drawing unit that generates drawing data showing the reachable range of the mobile body by drawing the outline area with area lines.

[0007] (2) In such a reachable range drawing device, it is preferable that the extraction unit extracts the path area based on the magnitude of the inclination of the diagonal of the rectangular area and the inclination of the movable path.

[0008] (3) It is also preferable that the identification unit identifies the outer region by starting one of the rectangular regions adjacent to the outside of the route region and repeatedly proceeding through the rectangular regions adjacent to the route region one region at a time in a direction based on a predetermined priority.

[0009] (4) The display device is characterized by having a display unit that uses the drawing data obtained from the above-mentioned reachable range drawing device to display the inner range of the area line in a predetermined color and displays the water area of the inner range in a color different from the predetermined color, thereby indicating the reachable range of the moving body.

[0010] (5) The program causes a computer to execute a drawing process for drawing the reachable range of a moving body, and the drawing process is characterized by including the steps of dividing a road map showing a route that can be traveled using the energy held by the moving body into a plurality of rectangular areas, extracting the rectangular area containing the travelable route as a route area, identifying a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outline area, and generating drawing data showing the reachable range of the moving body by drawing the outline area with area lines. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The reachable range of a moving object can be output with simple processing, and the reachable range is highly visible. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a reachable range drawing device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a road map. [Figure 3] FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of the map information database, and FIG. 3b is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of the mobile object information. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a reachable range drawing device. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process flow of a reachable range drawing device. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a road map indicating a route that can be traveled and a state in which the road map is divided into rectangular areas; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an extracted route region. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for extracting a path area from a rectangular area. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a contour region. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for specifying an outline region. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline region including a corner portion. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which area lines are drawn. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for drawing an area line. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the reachable range of a moving object. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating layering. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [1. Brief description] (Introduction) A system including the reachable range drawing device of this embodiment searches for a route that can be traveled using the energy held by a mobile body, and draws the reachable range of the mobile body on a road map so as to surround the entire searched route.

[0014] (Mobile M)) In this embodiment, the moving object M (see FIG. 1) corresponds to a vehicle that can travel on public roads, such as a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, or even an electric kick scooter. The mobile object M also includes an EV (Electric Vehicle) that runs on electricity to drive a motor. Examples of EV include HV (Hybrid Vehicle), PHV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle), and FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle).

[0015] (Energy) Here, the energy is used for the travel of the moving body M, and may be, for example, combustion energy from fuel or electrical energy, or may be a combination of these energies. Combustion energy fuels include petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline and diesel, while alternative fuels include natural gas, methanol, ethanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), dimethyl ether (DME), biofuels, and hydrogen. Electrical energy can be generated, for example, from thermal, hydroelectric, wind, nuclear, solar, etc., or by burning the above-mentioned fuels to generate electricity. The energy held by the moving body M corresponds to, for example, the amount of fuel held in the fuel tank or the amount of power charged in the battery. The held energy may also be the amount of fuel held by the moving body M (in the fuel tank) for generating power. When these held energies are used in combination to provide energy for the traveling of the moving body M, the total amount of these may be used as the held energy.

[0016] [2.Each configuration] (System 10) First, the system will be described using Figure 1. Figure 1 shows a system 10. The system 10 comprises a reachable range drawing device 1 that generates drawing data 5a (see Figure 5a), and a display device 21 that acquires the drawing data 5a, is mounted on a moving object M, and displays the reachable range. Reference numeral 45 denotes a communication network.

[0017] (Reachable Range Drawing Device 1) The reachable range drawing device 1 generates drawing data 5a for drawing a reachable range in response to a request from the display device 21. The reachable range drawing device 1 mainly includes, for example, an extraction unit 2, an identification unit 3, and a drawing unit 4. It may further include a route search unit 11 and a grid unit 6. Note that the functions of the route search unit 11 and / or the grid unit 6 may be executed by another server.

[0018] (Route search unit 11) The route search unit 11 includes an acquisition unit 12. Based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 12, the route search unit 11 searches for a reachable route 13 within a cruising distance. In this embodiment, the search is performed using, for example, the Dijkstra algorithm. The method by which the route search unit 11 searches for a route will be described later. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a case where a travelable route 13 is superimposed on a road map 14.

[0019] (Acquisition part 12) The acquisition unit 12 acquires information 12a for searching for a route. The information 12a includes map data 9, a road map 14, a map information database 25, and mobile object information 40, which will be described later. For example, information such as road gradient can be obtained from the map information 14.

[0020] (Extraction part 2) The road map 14 shows a route 13 that can be traveled using the energy held by the moving body M (see the upper diagram in FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the road map 14 is divided in advance into a plurality of rectangular regions 15 each having a predetermined shape (see the lower diagram in FIG. 6). The extraction unit 2 extracts a rectangular area 15 including the movable path 12 as a path area 16 (see FIG. 7).

[0021] (Road Map 14) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a road map. In the road map 14 shown in FIG. 2, the circular frames indicated by the symbol ND are nodes. Each node is assigned an identification number ID, such as ND1 or ND2. In this embodiment, the nodes correspond to the locations where traffic lights are installed. Note that the locations of intersections may also be regarded as nodes. The arrowed line between two nodes indicated by the symbol L is a link. Each link is assigned an identification number ID, for example, L1, L2. The arrow indicates the direction of travel of the road. Link L is distinguished by two lanes, one going up and one going down. In FIG. 2, for ease of visibility, wide road areas are shown as two links L, L. On the other hand, narrow road areas are shown as a single link L for ease of visibility, and are not shown. In the case of one-way streets, there is only one link L, but in this embodiment, for improved visibility, no distinction is made between the link shown as a single link and a one-way link.

[0022] (Map Information Database 25) 3A is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of a map information database (hereinafter referred to as map information DB). The map information DB 25 shown in FIG. 3 shows map information. The map information consists of node information 26 and link information 27. The node information 26 is made up of a node ID 26a and coordinate information 26b. In this embodiment, the coordinate information 26b is made up of longitude and latitude, but any value that can be converted into this may be used. The link information 27 includes a link ID 27a, a start point 27b, an end point 27c, the number of lanes 27d, a road type 27e, and a road name 27f. Other items may also be included in the link information 27. The direction indicated by the link arrow corresponds to the direction from the start point 27b to the end point 27c. The number of lanes 27d indicates the number of lanes. The road type 27e indicates the type of road, such as a national road, a city road, or a private road. The road name 27f indicates the number / name of the national road, city road, or the like.

[0023] (Rectangular area 15) In this embodiment, the rectangular areas 15 (see the lower diagram in FIG. 6) are all squares and have the same shape. The vertical lines extending vertically in FIG. 6 are longitude lines 15a, and the horizontal lines extending horizontally are latitude lines 15b. The mesh-like shape made up of the longitude lines 15a and the latitude lines 15b and consisting of multiple rectangular areas 15 is a grid A.

[0024] (Specific part 3) The identification unit 3 identifies the outline region 17 (see FIG. 9). The outline region 17 corresponds to a region of the rectangular region 15 that is adjacent to the outside of the route region 16 and surrounds the route region 16.

[0025] (Drawing section 4) The drawing unit 4 draws the outline region 17 with a region line 18 (see FIG. 12).

[0026] (Grid section 6) The grid section 6 divides the road map 14 into a plurality of rectangular areas 15 of a predetermined shape and size (see the lower diagram in FIG. 6).

[0027] (Display device 21) The display device 21 may be, for example, a device that displays a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display (see reference numeral 21a in FIGS. 1 and 4). Specifically, the display device 21 may be a communication device with a display function, such as an in-vehicle device or a smartphone.

[0028] (Display section 5) The display unit 5 displays the inner range 19 of the area line 18 in a predetermined color, and displays the water area 20 of the inner range 19 in a color different from the predetermined color (see FIG. 14). Here, the water area 20 corresponds to the sea, river, lake, marsh, or the like.

[0029] (Communication Network 45) The communication network 45 is, for example, a communication network of the Internet, a mobile phone, It is constructed using a line network, wireless communication paths, Ethernet (registered trademark), etc.

[0030] [3. Hardware configuration] Next, the hardware configuration of the reachable range drawing device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. In this embodiment, the hardware configuration of the display device 21 is almost the same as that of the reachable range drawing device 1, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the reachable range drawing device 1 of this embodiment uses, for example, a computer. The reachable range drawing device 1 includes a CPU (or GPU) 30. The CPU 30 is connected to, for example, a memory (hereinafter referred to as a storage unit) 31, a connection port 33 for connecting / reading a recording device 32 or the like, a communication circuit 34 for communicating with the outside via a network, and a screen display device 21a via a bus line 35. The storage unit 31 stores a program 36 for processing the system 10. It may also store a browser program 37 and an OS (operating system) 38. The program 36 is installed by the recording device 32. The storage unit 31 also stores a road map 14, a road information DB 25, and map data 9 (described later in FIG. 15). In the hardware configuration of the display device 21, the storage unit 31 includes moving body information 40 (see the dashed line). The hardware configuration of the display device 21 does not include the map data 9 indicated by the two-dot chain line in the storage unit 31. Furthermore, reference numeral 36a denotes a program for the display device 21.

[0032] In this embodiment, the program 36 (36a) may operate in cooperation with the functions of the OS 38 and the browser program 37. Note that the program 36 (36a) may also operate independently without using the browser program 37 or the OS 38.

[0033] In the above-described hardware configuration, the functions shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1 are realized, for example, using a CPU 30 and a program 36 (36a), but some or all of them may be sequence-controlled using a logic circuit such as a microcomputer or a PLC (programmable logic controller).

[0034] [4. Program] (Flowchart showing the processing of the reachable range drawing device 1 and the display device 12) Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the processing of the programs 36, 36a used by the reachable range drawing device 1 and the display device 12, respectively. In the following explanation of the flowchart, in addition to Figure 5, necessary drawings will be used for detailed explanation as appropriate. Reference numeral 22 in the figure indicates a method for drawing a reachable range.

[0035] (Q1: Request to send drawing data) The CPU 30 (see FIG. 4) of the display device 21 requests the reachable range drawing device 1 to transmit drawing data 5a. At the time of the request, the display device 21 transmits moving body information 40 such as the position information and remaining energy amount of the moving body M. The request may be automatically executed when a predetermined condition is met by an operation of the user of the moving body M or by the display device 21. The predetermined condition may be, for example, when the remaining energy amount becomes a predetermined amount (e.g., half), when a predetermined driving time is reached, etc.

[0036] (R1: Route search) The CPU 30 of the reachable range drawing device 1 (see FIG. 4) searches for a possible route 13. The upper diagram in FIG. 6 shows a schematic road map 14 indicating the possible route 13 (see the thick line in the diagram). The search method will be described later. For ease of explanation, the road map 14 shown in FIG. 6 is a map with a larger scale than the road map 14 in FIG. 2, and displays a wider range.

[0037] (S0: Road map division) The CPU 30 (see FIG. 4) of the reachable range drawing device 1 divides the road map 14 into a plurality of rectangular areas 15 (see the lower diagram of FIG. 6). The diagram shows the road map 14 divided into a plurality of rectangular areas 15. In this embodiment, the road map 14 is divided into rectangular areas 15 in advance. For example, the divided road map 14 is recorded in the memory unit 31 (see FIG. 4).

[0038] (S1: Extraction of pathway area) The CPU 30 (see FIG. 4) of the reachable range drawing device 1 extracts the route area 16. The upper diagram in FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the route area extracted from the road map. The area colored gray corresponds to the route area 16. Note that in the lower diagram in FIG. 7, the road map 14 is omitted to make it easier to understand the extracted route area 16.

[0039] (Extraction method) Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a method for extracting a route area from a rectangular area. The figure shows an enlarged portion of grid A (see Fig. 7) formed on a road map 14 (see Fig. 2). The route area 16 is extracted in the following procedure. (1) Find the inclination of link L. (2) The inclination of the link L is compared with the inclination of the diagonal of the rectangular area 15. In this embodiment, since the rectangular area 15 is formed as a square, the diagonal (see the two-dot chain line indicated by reference numeral 15c) is 45°. Note that in this embodiment, the inclinations of the link L and the diagonal are acquired as absolute values. (3) When the inclination of the link is greater than the inclination of the diagonal line, the rectangular area 15 including the side (see the thick line indicated by reference numeral 15d) having the point where the link L intersects with the latitude line 15b (see the circle indicated by reference numeral 23) is defined as the route area 16. In the figure, the upper and lower rectangular areas 15, 15 having the latitude line 15b including the intersection point 23 as the common side 15d are defined as the route areas 16, 16. (4) On the other hand, if the slope of the link is smaller than the slope of the diagonal, a rectangular area 15 including the point (not shown) where the link L intersects with the longitude line 15a is defined as the route area 16. The left and right rectangular areas 15, 15 having the longitude line 15a including the intersection point 23 as their common side are defined as the route areas 16, 16. If the slope of the link and the slope of the diagonal are the same, the rectangular area 15 is extracted as the route area 16 in the same manner as when the slope of the link is larger and / or smaller than the slope of the diagonal. (5) In the figure, the route area 16 is extracted for one link L, but this is performed for all links L.

[0040] (S2: Identifying the outer region) The CPU 30 (see FIG. 4) of the reachable range drawing device 1 identifies an outline region 17 from the route region 16. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an outline region. In this embodiment, the outline region 17 shown in FIG. 9 is identified so that, for example, an area adjacent to the outside of the route region 16 can be enclosed with a single stroke.

[0041] (Identification method) Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a method for specifying an outline region. First, a method for specifying an outline region 17 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The outline region 17 is specified by the following procedure.

[0042] (Identifying the starting area) 10 shows a starting area 24, which is the area of the starting point for specifying the outline area 17 with a single stroke. Note that FIG. 10 shows a part of grid A. The range shown roughly corresponds to the range of the dashed double-dashed line frame in the upper diagram of FIG. 7. The start area 24 is shown in a dark color. The start area 24 is confirmed by searching grid A from the top row to each row until it hits the path area 16. The area of the path area 16 that hits at the top is confirmed. The rectangular area 15 adjacent to and above the top path area 16 is set as the start area 24.

[0043] (Identifying the outer area) Next, a method for identifying the outline region 17 will be described. Fig. 10 schematically shows how rectangular regions 15 to be used as the outline region 17 are sequentially identified starting from the start region 24. In this embodiment, the outline region 17 is identified so as to surround the path region 16 clockwise. Specifically, the outline region 17 is identified by repeatedly proceeding from the start region 24 to rectangular regions 15 adjacent to the path region 16 one region at a time in a direction based on a predetermined priority.

[0044] (T1) In this embodiment, the path area 16 is enclosed clockwise, so the direction of travel is from the start area 24 to the right in the drawing. The arrow in the drawing (see symbol B) indicates the direction of travel. The order of priority for the enclosing direction is "right → front → left → back" relative to the direction of travel. Since the path area 16 is to the right (bottom of the drawing) of the direction of travel (right in the drawing, in the direction of the arrow), it is not possible to proceed to the right. Therefore, in accordance with the priority, the path area 16 proceeds forward (right in the drawing, in the direction of the arrow). (T2) The rectangular area 15 to which the robot has moved forward is set as the outer area 17. Since there is no path area 16 to the right (bottom of the figure) of the moving direction, the robot moves to the right. (T3) The right rectangular area 15 is set as the outer area 17. Since there is a route area 16 to the right (bottom of the figure) of the direction of travel (downward of the figure, in the direction of the arrow), it is not possible to move to the right. Therefore, according to the priority, it moves forward (downward of the figure, in the direction of the arrow). (T4) The rectangular area 15 to which the robot has moved forward is set as the outer area 17. Since there are route areas 16 to the right, then forward, and then left of the direction of travel, the robot moves backward (opposite the arrow) according to the priority order. (T5) Nothing is done to the rectangular area 15 ahead, which has already been designated as the outline area 17. Since there is no route area 16 to the right of the direction of travel, the robot moves to the right in accordance with the priority order. (T6) The right rectangular region 15 is set as the outline region 17. Thereafter, the same procedure is repeated until returning to the start region 24, and the outline region 17 is specified by enclosing the periphery of the path region 16 with a single stroke.

[0045] (Corner removal) Next, a method for removing corners will be explained using Figure 11. Figure 11 schematically shows an outline region 17 including a corner 28. In the figure, the corner 28 is shown in the darkest color. When identifying the outline region 17, the part of the outline region 17 that curves to the right with respect to the direction of travel B is taken as the corner 28. In the figure, a part of an arrow curved to the right is shown. Furthermore, the region indicated by the reference numeral 29 in the figure is a region that curves to the right after traveling forward (see T6 in Figure 10), and therefore is not formed as a corner. For this reason, it will not be removed.

[0046] (S3: Draw with area lines (generate drawing data)) The CPU 30 (see FIG. 4) of the reachable range drawing device 1 draws the area line 18 based on the outer area 17. FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the area line 18 drawn based on the outer area 17. In this embodiment, the area line 18 is drawn using a preset method. The drawn area line 18 is transmitted to the display device 21 as drawing data 5a. The drawing data 5a consists of position information for multiple drawing points. The area line 18 is formed by arranging multiple drawing points on the road map 14. The color and size of the drawing points may be registered in advance, or may be changeable. Reference numeral 19 corresponds to the internal range enclosed by the area line 18.

[0047] (Drawing method) Figures 13a, 13b, and 13c each show an example of a method for drawing an area line. The figures show a method for drawing an area line 18 that curves to the left. Note that when the area line 18 curves to the right, the only difference is that the curve direction is changed from left to right, and all other details are the same. Therefore, a description of the common details will be omitted.

[0048] (Turn left) 13a shows an example of drawing area line 18 by bending it to the left with respect to the direction of travel. In the figure, outline areas 17a, 17b, and 17c are lined up in order from the bottom left of the figure in an inverted L shape, and area line 18 travels in this order. Although not shown, route areas 16, 16, 16, and 16 are arranged below outline areas 17a and 17b and to the right of outline areas 17b and 17c. The area line 18 in the drawing is composed of a straight portion 18a and a curved portion 18b. The straight area line 18a is drawn in the outer area 17a, 17c. If one side of the outer area 17 is 1, the straight area line 18a is drawn at a position 0.25 from the path area 16 side. The dimension lines in the drawing are written with the ratio of lengths as dimension values, 1 and 0.25. Furthermore, a curved portion 18b is drawn in the outer region 17b. The curved portion 18b is drawn as an arc with a center at O and a radius of 0.75 when one side of the outer region 17 is 1. The center O is located at the upper portion of the common vertex of the outer regions 17a and 17b.

[0049] (Turn forward left) Figure 13b shows an example of drawing area line 18 curved forward and left relative to the direction of travel. In the figure, area line 18 is drawn passing through outline areas 17a, 17b, and 17d. Outline areas 17a, 17b, and 17d are arranged from the left of the figure diagonally upward to the upper right, and area line 18 travels in this order. The area line 18 in the figure is made up of a straight line portion 18a, a small curved portion 18c, and a diagonal portion 18d. A straight area line 18a is drawn in the outer area 17a. If one side of the outer area 17 is 1.0, the straight area line 18a is drawn at a position 0.25 from the path area 16 side. Furthermore, the outer areas 17b and 17d have diagonal portions 18d drawn along the diagonal lines of the respective areas. The straight portion 18a and the diagonal portion 18d are smoothly connected by a small curved portion 18c of the outer area 17b. Furthermore, the center O of the arc of the small curved portion 18c is located 0.884 to the left and below the upper left vertex of the upper left rectangular area 15 in the figure. The dimension value 0.884 is the length relative to the length of one side of the outer area 17 as 1.

[0050] (Make a U-turn backwards) 13c shows an example in which the area line 18 is drawn by making a U-turn backward in the opposite direction to the direction of travel. The area line 18 is drawn passing through the outline areas 17a and 17b in order from the left of the figure. Although not shown, the route area 16 is arranged above and below the outline area 17a, and above, below, and to the right of the outline area 17b. The area line 18 in the figure consists of a straight section 18a and a turn section 18e. Two straight area lines 18a, 18a are drawn parallel to each other above and below in the outer area regions 17a, 17c. If one side of the outer area 17 is 1.0, the upper and lower area lines 18a, 18a are drawn at positions with lengths that are 0.25 and 0.25 from the upper and lower path areas 16, 16, respectively. In addition, a turn section 18e is drawn in the outer area region 17b. The turn section 18a is drawn as a semicircle with a radius that is 0.5, with the center (see symbol O) of the central part of the outer area region 17b being its center and if one side of the outer area region 17 is 1.0,

[0051] (Q2: Display of reachable range) The CPU 30 of the display device 21 (see FIG. 4) acquires the drawing data 5a and generates a reachable range of the moving object M. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the reachable range of the moving object M. The reference numeral 7 shown in FIG. 14 represents the reachable range. The reachable range 7 is shown in gray. On the other hand, the white range in the figure is an unreachable range 8 where there is insufficient energy and the moving object M cannot reach. In FIG. 14, the scale of the road map 14 is small and the rectangular areas 15 are set finely, so the boundary lines 18 have a different shape from the area lines 18 shown in FIG.

[0052] Next, a method for displaying the reachable range 7 will be explained. (U1) The CPU 30 of the display device 21 (see FIG. 4) displays the area line 18 on the road map 14 of the display device 21 by superimposing the drawing data 5a on the road map 14. (U2) The inner range 19 of the area line 18 is colored so as to be superimposed with a predetermined color on the road map 14. In the drawing, the inner range 19 is shown in gray. (U3) The water area 29a of the internal range 19, such as the sea, lake, or swamp, is colored a different color from the internal range 19 so as to be superimposed on top of the internal range 19. In the figure, the water area 19a is shown in dark gray (almost black). The color of the water area 19a may be the same color as the sea, lake, swamp, etc. on the road map 14.

[0053] [5. Search section] Next, the route search unit 11 (see FIG. 1) will be described. First, the search procedure will be described below. (V1) The search unit 11 calculates the cruising range based on various information 12a including the remaining amount of energy held by the moving body M acquired from the acquisition unit 12.

[0054] (Mobile Information 40) Fig. 3b is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of moving body information 40. The moving body information shown in Fig. 3b includes, for example, an identification number (vehicle ID) 41, location information 42 of the moving body M obtained from a GPS or the like, and vehicle information 43. The vehicle information 43 includes, for example, remaining energy amount 43a, information 43b on fuel efficiency of the moving body M, energy consumption amount 43c by in-vehicle devices such as air conditioner and audio, and speed and acceleration status 43d of the moving body M.

[0055] (V2) Returning to FIG. 1, the search unit 11 searches for the node ND (see FIG. 2) that has the longest remaining distance from the current position of the mobile unit M in terms of the range that can be traveled. (V3) The search unit 11 searches for a node ND that can be traced from the searched node ND. If the remaining distance here is less than 0 m, it will not be visited. (V4) Update the remaining distance for each node ND that has been searched. (V5) The above steps (V2) to (V4) are repeated until there are no more unvisited nodes ND whose remaining distance is greater than 0 m.

[0056] In a typical omnidirectional search, a search is performed on all roads within the cruising distance. However, because the reachable range 7 (see Figure 14) is vast, the number of roads that are the subject of the omnidirectional search is enormous. If a search is performed on all roads using Dijkstra's algorithm, the processing time will be long. For this reason, the technical objective of searching the reachable range 7 with high accuracy and the technical objective of shortening the search time are usually in conflict with each other. In this embodiment, in order to simultaneously satisfy these conflicting technical objectives, a hierarchical omnidirectional search is implemented.

[0057] (layering) FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining layering. The arrows in the figure indicate links L, and the moving object M moves in the direction indicated by the arrow. A node ND is located at the tip of the arrow (only a portion is shown). FIG. 15 shows three layers of layered map data 9. Note that S in the figure is the starting point of the search, and is the current location of the moving object M. The map data 9 is stored, for example, in the storage unit 31 (see FIG. 4). Generally, there are multiple map levels in the map data 9 according to the scale of the roads. For example, in this embodiment, map data 9a, 9b, and 9c of three levels, Level 2, Level 4, and Level 6, are used for the omnidirectional search.

[0058] (level) The levels (Lv) of the map data 9 used in this embodiment will be described below. The map size of Level 2 map data 9a is approximately 4.5km x 5.5km (width x height). All roads except for minor streets are registered as data. The map size of Level 4 map data 9b is approximately 17.5 km x 22 km. The area of Level 4 map data 9b is approximately 16 times the area of Level 2 map data 9a. Prefectural roads, major regional roads, national highways, expressways, etc. are registered as data. The map size of Level 6 map data 9c is approximately 73.5 km x 91.5 km. The area of Level 6 map data 9c is approximately 16 times the area of Level 4 map data 9b. National highways, expressways, etc. are registered as data. These three map data 9 are associated with each other. For example, arrows indicated by reference numeral 39 indicate corresponding nodes ND between map data 9 at different levels.

[0059] (Hierarchical omnidirectional search method) First, a search is performed using level 2 road data 9a. (1) Within a range of 10 km from the current position of the mobile unit M (i.e., until the cruising range is reduced by 10 km), a search is performed on all roads using the Level 2 map data 9a. (2) When the range of the mobile unit M is within 80 km of its current location (i.e., until the cruising distance decreases by 80 km), the mobile unit M uses Level 6 map data 9b to search only for larger roads such as prefectural roads, major regional roads, national highways, and expressways. (3) When the moving body M is more than 80 km away from its current location (i.e., the cruising range is reduced by more than 80 km), the search is performed using Level 6 map data 9c, targeting only major roads such as national highways and expressways. Here, some nodes ND are linked between levels (see reference numeral 39 in FIG. 15). When a linked node ND is searched, a search can be made to map data 9 at a higher level. By gradually increasing the range of the map data 9 and narrowing down the roads to be searched to larger roads, the processing time for drawing the area line 18 can be reduced.

[0060] 6. Other Embodiments Next, we will explain other embodiments of the system 10. The other embodiments explained below are almost the same as the system 10 described above, so the same parts are given the same reference numerals and their explanation will be omitted.

[0061] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be a system that appropriately combines the configurations of the following embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention may be realized by allocating some of the functions of the reachable range drawing device 1 to another external server. (1) The rectangular regions 15 may have a shape other than a square, such as a rectangle, a parallelogram, or a diamond, or may have a triangle or a pentagon or more corners. Furthermore, the shapes of all rectangular regions 15 in grid A do not have to be the same. (2) In the above-described system 10, the road map 14 is divided into rectangular regions 15 in advance (preparation step S0), but a separate step of dividing the road map 14 into rectangular regions 15 of a predetermined size may be provided. (3) Other known methods may be used to extract the route area (see S1 in FIG. 3), identify the outline area (see S2 in FIG. 3), and draw the area line (see S3 in FIG. 3). (4) When the square of the rectangular area 15 is replaced with a diamond, either the line sloping to the right or the line sloping to the left in the figure is the longitude line 15a, and the other is the latitude line 15b. The direction in which the longitude line 15a extends is the up-down direction, and the direction in which the latitude line 15b extends is the left-right direction. (5) In the case of a diamond, the starting area 24 is searched for inward from the diagonal column or row at the end of the grid A, as in the above-described embodiment, and the outline area 17 is identified. (6) When specifying the outer region 17, the region line 18 may be drawn without removing the corners 28 (see FIG. 11). (7) Furthermore, when specifying the start region 24 when specifying the outline region 17, the region that meets the path region 16 may be identified from the bottommost column of grid A, and the rectangular region 15 above the bottommost region may be set as the start region 24. Similarly, grid A may be checked row by row from the leftmost or rightmost part toward the center, and the region that meets the path region 16 may be identified, and the rectangular region 15 further to the right or left of that region may be set as the start region 24. (8) In the route search by the route search unit 11, other known methods may be used. (9) The layered map data 9 may have two layers or four or more layers in addition to three layers. (10) The map data levels may be a combination other than Level 2, Level 4, and Level 6. (11) The information stored in the storage unit 31 (see FIG. 4) may be provided in an external server connected via a network. (12) The reachable range drawing device 1 and the display device 21 are separate devices, but the display device 21 may be integrated with the functions of the reachable range drawing device 1. (13) The outline region 17 may be specified by surrounding the path region 16 counterclockwise.

[0062] [7. Summary]

[0063] (1) The reachable range drawing device 1 is characterized in that a road map 14 showing a route that can be traveled using the energy held by a moving body M is divided into a plurality of rectangular areas 15, and the device is equipped with an extraction unit 2 that extracts a rectangular area including a moveable route 13 as a route area 16, an identification unit 3 that identifies a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outline area 17, and a drawing unit 4 that generates drawing data 5a showing the reachable range 7 of the moving body, in which the outline area is drawn with area lines 18. This allows for highly accurate and easy generation of drawing data.

[0064] (2) In such a reachable range drawing device 1, the extraction unit 2 extracts the route area 16 based on the magnitude of the inclination of the diagonal of the rectangular area 15 and the inclination of the movable route 13, thereby reducing processing time.

[0065] (3) Furthermore, the identification unit 3 identifies the outer region by repeatedly selecting one of the rectangular regions 15 adjacent to the outside of the route region 16 as the starting region 24 and proceeding through the rectangular regions adjacent to the route region 17 one region at a time in a direction based on a predetermined priority, thereby further reducing processing time.

[0066] (4) The display device 21 is characterized by having a display unit 5 that uses drawing data 5a acquired from the reachable range drawing device 1 to display the inner range 19 of the area line 18 in a predetermined color and displays the water area 19a of the inner range in a color different from the predetermined color, thereby indicating the reachable range 7 of the moving body M. This allows the reachable range of a moving object to be output with simple processing, and the reachable range is highly visible.

[0067] (5) The program 36 causes a computer to execute a drawing process 22 for drawing the reachable range 7 of a moving body M, and the drawing process is characterized by including the steps of dividing a road map 14 showing a route 13 that can be traveled using the energy held by the moving body into a plurality of rectangular areas 15, extracting the rectangular area containing the travelable route as a route area 16, identifying a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outline area 17, and generating drawing data 5a showing the reachable range 7 of the moving body in which the outline area is drawn with area lines 18. Therefore, the drawing data 5a can be generated easily and with high accuracy. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1. Reachable range drawing device 2 Extraction part 3 Specific part 4. Drawing section 5 Display section 5a Drawing data 6 Grid section 7. Reachable range 8 Unreachable Range 9 Map data 9a Lv2 map data 9b Lv4 map data 9c Lv6 map data 10 Systems 11 Route search section 12 Acquisition Department 12a Information 13 Possible routes 14 Road Map 15 rectangular area 15a Longitude lines 15b latitude line 15c diagonal 15d Common Edge 16 Pathway Area 17 Outline area 17a Outline area 17b Outline area 17c Outline area 17e External area 18 Area line 18a Straight section 18b Curved section 18c Diagonal 18d Small curved part 18e Turn section 19 Inner Range 20 Water area 21 Display device 21a Screen display device 22 Drawing method 23 intersection 24 Starting area 25 Map Information Database (Map Information DB) 26 Node Information 27 Link Information 27a Link ID 27b Starting point 27c End 27d Number of lanes 27e Road type 27f Road name 28 Corner 29 Corner parts that should not be removed 30 CPU 31 Memory (storage section) 32 Recording Devices 33 connection ports 34 Communication Circuit 35 Bus Line 36 Programs 37 Browser Program 38 OS 39 Corresponding Department 40 Mobile Information 41 Identification number 42 Location information 43 Vehicle Information 43a Remaining energy 43b Fuel economy information 43c Energy Expenditure 43d Speed and acceleration conditions 45 Communication Network A Grid B Direction of travel ND node L Link M Mobile object O Center

Claims

1. A road map showing routes that can be traveled using the energy held by the mobile unit is divided into a plurality of rectangular areas, an extraction unit that extracts a rectangular area including the movable route as a route area; a specifying unit that specifies a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outer area; a drawing unit that generates drawing data indicating a reachable range of the moving object by drawing the outer shape area with area lines; A reachable range drawing device comprising:

2. The reachable range drawing device according to claim 1 , wherein the extraction unit extracts the route area based on the magnitude of the inclination of the diagonal of the rectangular area and the inclination of the movable route.

3. the specifying unit sets one of the rectangular areas adjacent to the outside of the path area as a start area, 2. The reachable range drawing device according to claim 1, wherein the outer region is identified by repeatedly moving through the rectangular regions adjacent to the route region one region at a time in a direction based on a predetermined priority.

4. A display device comprising a display unit that uses the drawing data acquired from the reachable range drawing device described in claim 1 to display the inner range of the area line in a predetermined color and to display the water area of the inner range in a color different from the predetermined color, thereby indicating the reachable range of the moving body.

5. A program that causes a computer to execute a drawing process for drawing a reachable range of a moving object, The drawing process includes: A step of dividing a road map showing a route that can be traveled using the energy held by the moving body into a plurality of rectangular areas; extracting a rectangular area including the movable route as a route area; identifying a rectangular area that is outside the route area and surrounds the route area as an outline area; generating drawing data showing a reachable range of the moving object by drawing the outer shape area with area lines; Programs including.

Images