Vehicle management system

Abstract

To provide a system capable of accurately determining a traveling lane of a vehicle traveling on a slope.SOLUTION: The management system 1 calculates the turning angle θ of the vehicles 3 in the turning section of the test course 200 and the horizontal distances R of the vehicles 3 from the turning center P based on the antenna height obtaining unit 3a that obtains the height H of the GNSS antenna 3d2 attached to the vehicles 3 and the position information of the vehicles 3 from the GNSS antenna 3a. A correction unit 3a that derives a height g θ (R) of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3d4 on the basis of the turning angle θ and the lateral distance R, and a traveling lane determination unit 3d5 that determines the traveling lanes 200a to 200c of the vehicles traveling in the test course 200 are provided, and the traveling lane 3d5 determines the traveling lanes 200a to 200c on the basis of the mounting height H of the antenna, the lateral distance R, and the height g θ (R) of the road surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle management system that determines the vehicle's driving lane using a satellite positioning system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems that use a satellite positioning system to manage the movement of a mobile object moving along a predetermined course have been known. For example, a movement management system described in Patent Document 1 has a terminal device that can receive signals from the satellite positioning system mounted on the mobile object, and the terminal device detects the position of the mobile object on behalf of the mobile object. The position information detected by the terminal device is sent to a server device, which thereby determines the position of the mobile object within the course. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-109354 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the system described in Patent Document 1, the course is formed by a slope. In this case, the attitude of a moving object traveling on a slope tilts, and therefore, when an attempt is made to detect the position of the moving object within the course using only position information from a satellite positioning system, an error corresponding to the bank angle occurs. As a result, for example, when monitoring the driving lane of a moving object traveling on a slope within the course, there is a risk that the position of the antenna mounted on the moving object will erroneously determine that the moving object is in a lane adjacent to the lane in which the moving object is actually traveling.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize a vehicle management system that uses a satellite positioning system to determine the vehicle's driving lane, and that can accurately determine the driving lane of a vehicle traveling on a slope. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle management system of the present invention, which is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a vehicle management system that uses a satellite positioning system to detect the position of a vehicle traveling within a predetermined course having a turning section formed by a turning circuit with an inclined road surface, and determines the driving lane of the vehicle within the course, and includes an antenna mounting height acquisition means that acquires the height from the road surface of an antenna of the satellite positioning system attached to the vehicle, and an antenna mounting height acquisition means that acquires the turning angle of the vehicle from a predetermined turning start position on the predetermined course and the turning angle from the turning center of the turning section based on the position information of the vehicle acquired from the satellite positioning system. a calculation means for calculating a horizontal distance, which is the horizontal distance of the vehicle, a derivation means for deriving the height of the road surface directly below the antenna in the vertical direction based on the turning angle and the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means, and a driving lane determination means for determining the driving lane of the vehicle traveling within the predetermined course, wherein the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane based on the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means, the mounting height of the antenna acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means, and the height of the road surface derived by the derivation means.

[0007] In the vehicle management system described above, the antenna mounting height acquisition means acquires the height of the antenna from the road surface, the calculation means calculates the horizontal distance of the vehicle from the turning center of the turning section, and the derivation means derives the height of the road surface directly below the antenna. Here, the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane based on the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means, the antenna mounting height acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means, and the road surface height derived by the derivation means. In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can determine the driving lane based on the horizontal distance of the vehicle from the turning center calculated from the position information acquired from the antenna, the antenna mounting height, and the road surface height directly below the antenna in the vertical direction. Therefore, compared to systems that determine the driving lane based only on the position information (horizontal distance) acquired from the antenna, it can accurately determine the lane of a vehicle traveling on a slope (turning section).

[0008] (2) The vehicle management system of the present invention includes a vehicle width information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle width information of the vehicle, and a deviation determination means for determining whether the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane, and the deviation determination means may determine whether the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane determined by the driving lane determination means based on the vehicle width information acquired by the vehicle width information acquisition means.

[0009] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention determines whether the vehicle has deviated from its driving lane taking the vehicle width into account, and can therefore accurately determine whether the vehicle has deviated from its driving lane.

[0010] (3) The driving lane determination means may determine the driving lane by correcting the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means based on the height of the road surface derived by the derivation means and the mounting height of the antenna acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means.

[0011] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can determine the vehicle's driving lane after correcting the vehicle's horizontal distance from the turning center based on the road surface height derived by the derivation means and the antenna mounting height acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means.

[0012] (4) The derivation means derives the height of the road surface based on a predetermined derivation formula in which the horizontal distance of the vehicle from the turning center is a variable, and the coefficients in the predetermined derivation formula are determined by a coefficient table predetermined according to the turning angle.

[0013] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can easily derive the height of the road surface directly below the antenna in the vertical direction based on a predetermined derivation formula. Furthermore, because the coefficients of the predetermined derivation formula are determined by a predetermined coefficient table, the vehicle management system of the present invention can more easily derive the height of the road surface based on the coefficient table.

[0014] (5) The vehicle management system of the present invention may further include a base station, and the vehicle location information may be corrected based on correction information transmitted from the base station.

[0015] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can more accurately determine the driving lane because the position information obtained from the antenna attached to the vehicle is corrected using correction information from the base station.

[0016] (6) The correction information from the base station may be transmitted using an LTE line.

[0017] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can correct the position information obtained from the antenna using an LTE line, which is inexpensive to use.

[0018] (7) The vehicle management system of the present invention includes a driving lane determination table in which the range of the driving lane is defined as a range of horizontal distance from the turning center, and the driving lane determination table determines the range of the driving lane according to the turning angle, and the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane based on the value after correcting the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means and the driving lane determination table.

[0019] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can easily determine the vehicle's driving lane based on the corrected value of the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means and the driving lane determination table.

[0020] (8) The vehicle management system of the present invention may further include lane departure warning means for issuing a warning when the departure determining means determines that the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane.

[0021] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can accurately determine whether a vehicle has deviated from its driving lane, and therefore can accurately manage deviations from the vehicle's driving lane.

[0022] (9) The vehicle management system of the present invention may be provided with an upper limit speed setting for each driving lane of the specified course, and with an overspeed warning means that issues an alarm when the vehicle traveling in the driving lane determined by the driving lane determination means exceeds the upper limit speed for the driving lane.

[0023] In this way, the vehicle management system of the present invention can accurately determine the lane in which a vehicle is traveling, and therefore can accurately manage the speed of vehicles traveling in each lane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the present invention, in a vehicle management system that uses a satellite positioning system to determine the driving lane of a vehicle, it is possible to realize a system that can accurately determine the driving lane of a vehicle traveling on a slope. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a course used in a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the attitude of a vehicle traveling on a turning section (slope), and is a diagram for explaining the traveling position of the vehicle acquired using the vehicle GNSS and the actual position of the vehicle. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the turning center of a turning section and the turning angle of a vehicle. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the inclination of a turning section (a ramp), and is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the position of a vehicle. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bank approximation curve coefficient table. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lane position table. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a lane departure management process executed in the vehicle management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] <<Embodiment>> A vehicle management system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0027] The vehicle management system 1 of this embodiment manages, for example, the driving status of a test vehicle traveling on a test course 200 using a satellite positioning system. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle management system 1 includes a wireless base station 2, a test vehicle 3 (hereinafter simply referred to as "vehicle 3"), and a control room 4. Items managed by the vehicle management system 1 include, for example, management of driving lanes, management of speed, management of acceleration, etc.

[0028] The driving lane management is management of whether the vehicle 3 is driving in the designated driving lane 200a to 200c (see FIG. 2), and if the vehicle 3 deviates from the designated driving lane 200a to 200c, a warning is issued to the driver. The speed management is management of whether the vehicle 3 is driving without exceeding the upper speed limit set for the driving lane 200a to 200c, and if the vehicle 3 exceeds the upper speed limit, a warning is issued to the driver. The acceleration management is management of whether the vehicle 3 is driving without exceeding the upper acceleration limit set. In this embodiment, the configurations for realizing these managements will be described using the management of the driving lanes 200a to 200c and the speed management as examples.

[0029] (composition) The satellite positioning system may be a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), BeiDou (Beidou Navigation Satellite System), Galileo, NaviC (Navigation Indian Constellation), or Michibiki. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the position of the vehicle 3 is detected by relative positioning, with the fixed station being the wireless base station 2 and the mobile station being the vehicle 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position of the vehicle 3 may also be determined by standalone positioning, with only the vehicle 3 as a receiver.

[0030] The wireless base station 2 receives positioning information from a positioning satellite S of a satellite positioning system and transmits correction information to the vehicle 3. The wireless base station 2 includes a GNSS antenna 2a, a GNSS module 2b, and a control unit 2c. The GNSS module 2b calculates position information of the base station 2 based on a signal received by the GNSS antenna 2a from the positioning satellite S. The control unit 2c transmits correction information to the vehicle 3 for correcting the position of the vehicle 3 based on the position information calculated by the GNSS module 2b.

[0031] The vehicle 3 is equipped with a GNSS antenna 3a, an RTK-GNSS module 3b, a communication module 3c, and a microcomputer 3d that performs various calculations.

[0032] The GNSS antenna 3a receives positioning information from a positioning satellite S of a satellite positioning system. In this embodiment, the GNSS antenna 3a is attached to the roof of the vehicle 3 (see FIG. 3). Specifically, the GNSS antenna 3a is attached on the roof of the vehicle 3 at a central position in the vehicle width direction.

[0033] The RTK-GNSS module 3b calculates the position of the vehicle 3 based on the signal received by the GNSS antenna 3a. The RTK-GNSS module 3b also corrects the position of the vehicle 3 calculated based on the signal received by the GNSS antenna 3a based on correction information received by the communication module 3c (described later). In other words, in this embodiment, the position of the vehicle 3 is calculated by relative positioning based on the position information of the wireless base station 2 and the position information of the vehicle 3. The position of the vehicle 3 indicates the latitude, longitude, and height of the installation position of the GNSS antenna 3a. The RTK-GNSS module 3b calculates the height of the GNSS antenna 3a not as altitude but as height from the Earth ellipsoid. This makes it possible for the vehicle management system 1 of this embodiment to eliminate calculation errors in the height of the GNSS antenna 3a due to differences in mean sea level in the area being calculated.

[0034] The communication module 3c receives the correction information transmitted from the wireless base station 2. In this embodiment, communication between the wireless base station 2 and the vehicle 3 is performed using an LTE line. Note that the means of communication between the wireless base station 2 and the vehicle 3 is not limited to the LTE line and can be changed as appropriate.

[0035] The microcomputer 3d manages the vehicle 3 based on the position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b. The microcomputer 3d includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs various calculations related to the management of the vehicle 3, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various programs and data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data. The driving area determination unit 3d1, antenna height acquisition unit 3d2, bank area determination unit 3d3, correction unit 3d4, driving lane determination unit 3d5, lane departure determination unit 3d6, and speeding determination unit 3d7, which will be described later, are all configured with the CPU. The memory unit 3d8 is configured with ROM and RAM.

[0036] The driving area determination unit 3d1 determines the area in which the vehicle 3 is driving. The antenna height acquisition unit 3d2 acquires the height of the GNSS antenna 3a attached to the vehicle 3. The bank area determination unit 3d3 determines the section of the test course 200 in which the vehicle 3 is driving. The correction unit 3d4 corrects the position in which the vehicle 3 is driving. The driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the lanes 200a to 200c in the test course 200 in which the vehicle 3 is driving. The lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from one of the driving lanes 200a to 200c. The speeding determination unit 3d7 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds a set upper speed limit. In this embodiment, the driving area determination unit 3d1, antenna height acquisition unit 3d2, bank area determination unit 3d3, correction unit 3d4, driving lane determination unit 3d5, lane departure determination unit 3d6, and speeding determination unit 3d7 are configured as a single CPU, but they may also be configured as separate CPUs.

[0037] The notification unit 3e issues an alarm to the driver of the vehicle 3 when the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines that the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lane or when the speeding determination unit 3d7 determines that the speed of the vehicle 3 exceeds the upper limit speed. The notification unit 3e is configured with a speaker, for example. However, the notification unit 3e is not limited to a speaker and may be anything that can notify the driver, such as by displaying an alarm on a monitor.

[0038] The speed sensor 3f detects the speed of the vehicle 3. A signal relating to the speed of the vehicle 3 detected by the speed sensor 3f is input to the microcomputer 3d and used for determination by the speed limit determination unit 3d7.

[0039] The control room 4 monitors the driving conditions of the vehicle 3 traveling on the test course 200 (see FIG. 2). Information necessary for management, such as the speed and acceleration of the vehicle 3, the position information of the vehicle 3, the lane 200a to 200c the vehicle 3 is traveling in, whether or not the vehicle is deviating from the lane, and whether or not the vehicle is speeding, is transmitted from the vehicle 3 to the control room 4. In this embodiment, communication between the vehicle 3 and the control room 4 is performed using an LTE line. Note that the means of communication between the vehicle 3 and the control room 4 is not limited to an LTE line and can be changed as appropriate.

[0040] The above is the configuration of the vehicle management system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and next, one embodiment of the operation of the vehicle management system 1 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 2 to 7. In addition to the operation, each configuration (each unit 3d1 to 43d7) of the microcomputer 3d mounted on the vehicle 3 will also be described.

[0041] (Vehicle management) The vehicle management system 1 of this embodiment remotely monitors the running status of a vehicle 3 running within a test course 200 from a management room 4, and manages the lanes 200a to 200c on which the vehicle 3 runs, the running speed, and the like.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 2, the test course of this embodiment is an oval course having a straight section and turning sections at both ends of the straight section. Starting from the center, the test course 200 is set out as a low-speed course (driving lane 200a), a medium-speed course (driving lane 200b), and a high-speed course (driving lane 200c). A maximum speed limit is set in advance for each of the driving lanes 200a-200c on each course. Furthermore, the turning sections of each of the lanes 200a-200c have an inclined road surface, and the vehicle 3 travels in the turning sections tilted at a predetermined angle α (bank angle α) from the vertical (see Fig. 3).

[0043] The position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b indicates information about the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the GNSS antenna 3a. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, if an attempt is made to determine the vehicle's travel lane 200a-200c by comparing the horizontal positions of the lanes 100a and 100b on both sides of the vehicle 3 that make up the travel lanes 200a-200c with the horizontal position (latitude, longitude) of the GNSS antenna 3a, there is a risk of erroneously determining that the vehicle 3 is traveling in an adjacent lane 200a-200c. FIG. 3 illustrates a situation in which an erroneous determination of the travel lane may occur when the vehicle 3's travel lane is determined based on the horizontal position information (latitude, longitude) of the position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b is corrected before determining the lane 200a-200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling.

[0044] In this embodiment, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the driving lane 200a to 200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling by comparing the horizontal positions of the lanes that make up the driving lane with the corrected horizontal position of the vehicle 3 (horizontal distance R+ΔR: FIG. 5). Here, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the driving lane of the vehicle 3 using a lane position table (see FIG. 7) in which lane positions are defined for each turning angle θ of the vehicle 3.

[0045] Therefore, in the following, a method for calculating the turning angle θ of the vehicle 3 will be explained, and then a method for correcting the position of the vehicle 3 will be explained with reference to Figs. 4 to 7, etc. Here, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the turning center P of the turning section and the turning angle θ of the vehicle 3, and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the inclination of the turning section (slope), and is a diagram for explaining a method for correcting the position of the vehicle 3. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a bank approximation curve coefficient table. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a lane position table.

[0046] The turning angle θ of the vehicle 3 is defined as a clockwise turning angle with the east direction (x direction) as the base, as shown in Fig. 4. In the lane position table, as shown in Fig. 7, the positions (horizontal distance from the turning center P) of the lanes (lanes 1 to 4 in Fig. 7) that define the ranges of the low-speed course (driving lane 200a), medium-speed course (driving lane 200b), and high-speed course (driving lane 200c) are set for each turning angle θ.

[0047] The correction unit 3d4 calculates the turning angle θ as follows. That is, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the relative coordinates of the vehicle 3 with respect to the turning center P of the turning section, as shown in FIG. 4. Specifically, the correction unit 3d4 defines the east direction as the x-axis on the horizontal plane, and the north direction as the y-axis. Furthermore, the correction unit 3d4 defines the vertical direction as the z-axis. Then, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the relative coordinates of the vehicle 3 with respect to the turning center P of the turning section, as shown in FIG. 4. Based on the position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b, the coordinates (x, y) are calculated when the wireless base station 2 is set as the origin. The correction unit 3d4 also acquires the coordinates (x0, y0) of the turning center P when the wireless base station 2 is set as the origin. Here, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the relative coordinates (x θ ,y θ ) is calculated.

[0048] x θ can be calculated by the difference between the above x and x0 (x θ =x-x0). y θ can be calculated by the difference between the above y and y0 (y θ = y - y0). The coordinates (x0, y0) of the turning center P are stored in advance in, for example, the ROM of the microcomputer 3d.

[0049] The correction unit 3d4 calculates the relative coordinates (x θ ,y θ ) based on the above, the turning angle θ is calculated using the following equation (1). Turning angle θ=360°-atan2(x θ ,y θ)...Equation (1)

[0050] The correction unit 3d4 also calculates the relative coordinates (x θ ,y θ ), the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P (hereinafter referred to as horizontal distance R) is calculated. The horizontal distance R can be calculated by the following equation (2). R=√(x θ 2 +y θ 2 )...Equation (2) Here, the horizontal distance R corresponds to the distance in the horizontal direction from the turning center P to the GNSS antenna 3a (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0051] Furthermore, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the height g of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a in the vertical direction (z direction) based on the calculated horizontal distance R. θ Specifically, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the road surface height g (R) using the following equation (3): θ Derive (R). g θ (R)=A θ ×R 3 +B θ ×R 2 +C θ ×R+D θ ...Equation (3) where g θ (R) is the height of the road surface from the Earth ellipsoid.

[0052] A, the coefficient of equation (3) θ、 B θ、 C θ、 D θ is defined in, for example, a bank approximation curve coefficient table (see FIG. 6) stored in the ROM of the storage unit 3d8. In this table, each coefficient A is defined for each turning angle θ. θ ,B θ ,C θ ,D θ Therefore, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the number A corresponding to the calculated turning angle θ.θ ,B θ ,C θ ,D θ After extracting from the bank approximation curve coefficient table, the calculated horizontal distance R and each extracted coefficient A are used in the derivation formula (3). θ ,B θ ,C θ ,D θ By substituting and, the height of the road surface g θ Derive (R).

[0053] In this embodiment, the coefficients A for each turning angle θ are calculated based on the actual measured values ​​of position information (latitude, longitude, and altitude) when the vehicle 3 is traveling in each of the traveling lanes 200a to 200c. θ、 B θ、 C θ、 D θ However, each coefficient A θ、 B θ、 C θ、 D θ may be derived by a mathematical formula or the like based on curve data indicating the height of the road surface for each turning angle θ. Alternatively, the curve shape of the road surface in the turning section may be measured in advance using LiDAR or the like, and each coefficient A for each turning angle θ may be calculated based on the measurement. θ、 B θ、 C θ、 D θ may be determined.

[0054] 5, the position of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a in the vertical direction is designated as point A, the true position of the vehicle 3 on the road surface is designated as point B, and the position of the GNSS antenna 3a is designated as point C.

[0055] Here, the length M of point AC is the distance from the GNSS antenna 3a to the road surface directly below it in the vertical direction. The length M is calculated by the height information of the position information (latitude, longitude, height) of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b and the height g of the road surface derived from the derivation formula (3). θThat is, if the height of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b is Z, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the length M using the following equation (4): Length M=Zg θ (R)...Equation (4)

[0056] The length H of point CB corresponds to the height of the GNSS antenna 3a from the road surface on a flat road. Therefore, in this embodiment, the length H (height H) is obtained as follows.

[0057] For example, the flat road is set in the inner region 200d of the driving lanes 200a to 200c of the test course 200. Therefore, a parking space for the vehicle 3 in the inner region 200d, a stop line before moving into the driving lanes 200a to 200c, etc. are set as reference locations that form the flat road. Therefore, the driving area determination unit 3d1 determines whether the vehicle 3 is located on the test course, or whether it is located in a reference location (reference location) such as a parking space or in front of a stop line in the inner region 200d of the test course.

[0058] The antenna height acquisition unit 3d2 acquires the height H (see FIG. 5) of the GNSS antenna 3a on the condition that the traveling area determination unit 3d1 determines that the vehicle 3 is located at the reference location. The height H can be acquired, for example, by calculating the difference between the height included in the position information (latitude, longitude, and height) of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b at the reference location and the height of the road surface at that location. Here, the height of the road surface at the reference location is the height from the Earth ellipsoid, and is, for example, measured in advance and stored in the ROM of the storage unit 3d8. The antenna height acquisition unit 3d2 stores the acquired height H in a predetermined storage area, for example, in the RAM of the storage unit 3d8.

[0059] The method for acquiring the height H of the GNSS antenna 3a is not limited to this. For example, the height H of the GNSS antenna 3a calculated based on the known height of the vehicle 3 may be stored in advance in the ROM of the storage unit 3d8, and the antenna height acquisition unit 3d2 may acquire the height H from the storage unit 3d8.

[0060] Now, let us return to the explanation of the corrections in Figures 4 and 5. As shown in Figure 5, the horizontal correction amount for determining the true position of the vehicle 3 relative to the road surface is ΔR, and the bank angle of the vehicle 3 traveling on the slope is α. Also, the angle CBA is 90°. In this case, the relationship sinα = ΔR / H holds, and the relationship cosα = H / M holds. Furthermore, sin 2 α+cos 2 The relationship α=1 also holds.

[0061] Therefore, the correction unit 3d4 calculates ΔR using the following equation (5). ΔR=H×√(1-H 2 / M 2 )...Equation (5)

[0062] The correction unit 3d4 corrects the horizontal distance R calculated based on the horizontal position information (latitude, longitude) calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b, based on ΔR calculated as described above. That is, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the corrected horizontal distance Rc of the vehicle 3 from the turning center C using the following equation (6): Rc=R+ΔR···(6) formula

[0063] The correction by the correction unit 3d4 is performed when the vehicle 3 is traveling in a turning section of the test course 200. Therefore, in this embodiment, the bank area determination unit 3d3 determines which section (straight section, turning section) of the test course 200 the vehicle 3 is traveling in, based on the position information calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b. The correction unit 3d4 performs the above correction on the condition that the bank area determination unit 3d3 determines that the vehicle 3 is traveling in a turning section.

[0064] For this determination (determination of bank areas), for example, a map of the test course 200 including information on the latitude and longitude of the range of straight sections and information on the latitude and longitude of the range of turning sections is stored in the ROM of the storage unit 3d8. Here, the bank area determination unit 3d3 can determine the section on which the vehicle 3 is traveling based on this map and the horizontal position information (latitude, longitude) calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b.

[0065] The driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the driving lane of the vehicle 3 based on the position information of the vehicle 3 corrected by the correction unit 3d4. Specifically, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the lane 200a-200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling by comparing the horizontal position of the lanes that define each of the driving lanes 200a-200c with the corrected horizontal position of the vehicle 3. Here, the horizontal position of each lane is defined, for example, in a vehicle position table (FIG. 7). The lane position table defines the horizontal position (horizontal distance from the turning center P) of the lanes that separate each of the driving lanes 200a-200c for each turning angle θ. In FIG. 7, the section between lanes 1 and 2 is defined as the low-speed driving lane 200a, the section between lanes 2 and 3 is defined as the medium-speed driving lane 200b, and the section between lanes 3 and 4 is defined as the high-speed driving lane 200c. The lane position table is stored, for example, in the ROM of the storage unit 3d8.

[0066] The driving lane determination unit 3d5 extracts, from the lane position table (FIG. 7), position information (horizontal distance from the turning center P) of each of the lanes 1 to 4 that corresponds to the turning angle θ of the vehicle 3. The driving lane determination unit 3d5 also determines the lane 200a to 200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling, based on the extracted lane position information (horizontal distance from the turning center P) and the horizontal position of the vehicle 3 corrected by the correction unit 3d4 (horizontal distance Rc from the turning center P).

[0067] For example, suppose the turning angle θ calculated by the correction unit 3d4 is 342°, and the corrected horizontal distance Rc of the vehicle 3 calculated by the correction unit 3d4 is 298 [m]. In this case, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 extracts the horizontal distance from the turning center P of each of lanes 1 to 4 when the turning angle θ is 342°, and compares it with the horizontal distance Rc = 298 [m]. In this case, the horizontal distance Rc = 298 [m] is located between lane 3 and lane 4. Therefore, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines that the driving lane of the vehicle 3 is driving lane 200c on the expressway course.

[0068] The lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a-200c determined by the driving lane determination unit 3d5. At this time, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a-200c based on the corrected horizontal distance Rc calculated by the correction unit 3d4, the lane position table, and the vehicle width of the vehicle 3. For example, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 estimates the vehicle 3's existence area based on the corrected horizontal distance Rc of the vehicle 3 and the vehicle width information, and determines whether the estimated vehicle 3 existence area deviates from the range of the driving lanes 200a-200c defined by the lane position table (see FIG. 7).

[0069] Specifically, assuming that the vehicle width of vehicle 3 is VW, lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether vehicle 3 is deviating from one of lanes 200a-200c by determining the vehicle's existence region between Rc-VW / 2 and Rc+VW / 2. For example, assume that the turning angle θ calculated by correction unit 3d4 is 342°, and the corrected horizontal distance Rc of vehicle 3 calculated by correction unit 3d4 is 298 [m]. Also assume that the vehicle width information of vehicle 3 is 1.475 [m]. In this case, the vehicle's existence region is between (298-1.475 / 2)=297.2625 and (298+1.475 / 2)=298.7375. In this case, vehicle 3 is determined to be present between lane 3 and lane 4, as shown in the lane position table of FIG. 7, where the turning angle θ is 342°. Therefore, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines that the vehicle 3 has not deviated from the driving lane 200c of the expressway course. Note that the vehicle width information of the vehicle 3 is stored in advance in, for example, the ROM of the storage unit 3d8.

[0070] When it is determined that the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 transmits a control signal to the notification unit 3e to issue an alarm from the notification unit 3e.

[0071] The speeding determination unit 3d7 determines whether the vehicle 3 has exceeded the upper speed limit set for the driving lanes 200a to 200c determined by the driving lane determination unit 3d5. As described above, a different upper speed limit is set for each of the driving lanes 200a to 200c (low speed course, medium speed course, high speed course). Therefore, the speeding determination unit 3d7 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 3 acquired from the speed sensor 3f has exceeded the upper speed limit set for the driving lanes 200a to 200c determined by the driving lane determination unit 3d5.

[0072] When it is determined that the vehicle 3 is exceeding the upper speed limit of the lane 200a to 200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling, the speeding determination unit 3d7 transmits a control signal to the notification unit 3e to issue an alarm from the notification unit 3e.

[0073] (Lane departure management processing) Next, an example of the lane deviation management process executed by the vehicle management system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the lane deviation management process.

[0074] First, in step S1, the RTK-GNSS module 3b corrects the position information of the vehicle 3 acquired from the GNSS antenna 3a based on the correction information transmitted from the wireless base station 2, thereby acquiring the position information of the vehicle 3 (corrected position information).

[0075] In step S2, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P and the turning angle θ, provided that the bank area determination unit 3d3 has determined that the vehicle 3 is traveling in the turning section of the test course 200.

[0076] At this time, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the horizontal distance R using the above formula (2), and calculates the turning angle θ using the above formula (1).

[0077] In step S3, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the height g of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a in the vertical direction (Z direction) based on the calculated horizontal distance R and turning angle θ and the bank approximation curve coefficient table (see FIG. 6). θ At this time, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the road surface height g based on the above-mentioned formula (3). θ Derive (R).

[0078] In step S4, the corrector 3d4 calculates a horizontal correction amount ΔR for determining the true position of the vehicle 3 relative to the road surface, based on the distance M from the GNSS antenna 3a to the road surface directly below it in the vertical direction (the length M of point AC in FIG. 5) and the height H of the GNSS antenna 3a from the road surface on a flat road. At this time, the corrector 3d4 calculates the correction amount ΔR using the above formula (5).

[0079] At this time, the value acquired by the antenna height acquisition unit 3d2 and stored in the RAM of the storage unit 3d8 is used as the height H. In addition, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the distance M to the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a using the above formula (4).

[0080] In step S5, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the corrected horizontal distance Rc of the vehicle 3 based on the calculated horizontal distance R and the correction amount ΔR. At this time, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the corrected horizontal distance Rc using the above equation (6).

[0081] In step S6, the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the lane 200a to 200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling based on the corrected horizontal distance Rc calculated by the correction unit 3d4 and the lane position table (see Figure 7) stored in the ROM of the memory unit 3d8.

[0082] In step S7, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c determined by the driving lane determination unit 3d5. At this time, the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c based on the corrected horizontal distance Rc calculated by the correction unit 3d4, the lane position table, and the vehicle width of the vehicle 3.

[0083] In step S7, if the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines that the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c (YES in step S7), the notification unit 3e issues an alarm (step S8), and the process returns to step S1.

[0084] In step S7, if the lane departure determination unit 3d6 determines that the vehicle 3 has not deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c (NOS in step S7), the process returns to step S1 and lane departure management continues.

[0085] (Action and effect) The above is one embodiment of the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention. Next, the effects achieved by the vehicle management system 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0086] The above-described vehicle management system 1 has the following characteristic configuration: As a result, the vehicle management system 1 can achieve the following unique effects that cannot be achieved by conventional techniques.

[0087] (a) A vehicle management system 1 of the present invention is a vehicle management system that uses a satellite positioning system to detect the position of a vehicle traveling within a predetermined course having a turning section formed by a turning circuit with an inclined road surface, and determines the driving lane of the vehicle within the course, and is equipped with: antenna mounting height acquisition means that acquires the height of the antenna of the satellite positioning system attached to the vehicle from the road surface; calculation means that calculates, based on the position information of the vehicle acquired from the satellite positioning system, the turning angle of the vehicle from a predetermined turning start position on the predetermined course and a horizontal distance that is the horizontal distance of the vehicle from the turning center of the turning section; derivation means that derives the height of the road surface directly below the antenna in a vertical direction based on the turning angle and the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means; and driving lane determination means that determines the driving lane of the vehicle traveling within the predetermined course, and is characterized in that the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane based on the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means, the antenna mounting height acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means, and the road surface height derived by the derivation means.

[0088] Specifically, in steps S1 and S2, the vehicle management system 1 causes the correction unit 3d4 to calculate the turning angle θ of the turning section of the vehicle 3 and the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P based on the position information of the vehicle 3 calculated by the RTK-GNSS module 3b. Also, in step S3, the correction unit 3d4 calculates the height g of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a in the vertical direction based on the calculated turning angle θ and horizontal distance R. θIn addition, the mounting height H of the GNSS antenna 3a acquired by the antenna height acquisition unit 3d2, the horizontal distance R calculated by the correction unit 3d4 in step S2, and the road surface height g calculated by the correction unit in step S3 are used to derive the θ Based on (R), the driving lane determination unit 3d5 determines the lane 200a to 200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling.

[0089] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can calculate the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P and the height g of the road surface directly below the antenna in the vertical direction. θ The driving lane can be determined based on the horizontal distance R (R) and the mounting height H of the GNSS antenna 3a. Therefore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can accurately determine the driving lane 200a to 200c of the vehicle 3 traveling on a slope (turning section) compared to a system that determines the driving lane based only on the position information (horizontal distance R) acquired from the GNSS antenna 3a.

[0090] (b) The vehicle management system 1 of the present invention comprises a vehicle width information acquisition means (lane departure judgment unit 3d6) that acquires vehicle width information of the vehicle 3, and a deviation judgment means (lane departure judgment unit 3d6) that judges whether the vehicle has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c, and the deviation judgment means (lane departure judgment unit 3d6) judges whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lanes 200a to 200c judged by the driving lane judgment means (driving lane judgment unit 3d5) based on the vehicle width information acquired by the vehicle width information acquisition means (lane departure judgment unit 3d6).

[0091] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention determines whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lane 200a to 200c by taking the vehicle width into account, and can therefore accurately determine whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the driving lane 200a to 200c.

[0092] (c) The driving lane determination means (driving lane determination unit 3d5) multiplies the horizontal distance R calculated by the calculation means (correction unit 3d4) by the road surface height g derived by the derivation means (correction unit 3d4). θThe driving lanes 200a to 200c may be determined by correcting the driving lanes based on (R) and the mounting height H of the antenna (GNSS antenna 3a) acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means (antenna height acquisition unit 3d2).

[0093] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention calculates the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P by multiplying the road surface height g derived by the deriving means (correction unit 3d4). θ After correcting based on (R) and the mounting height H of the antenna (GNSS antenna 3a) acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means (antenna height acquisition unit 3d2), the traveling lane 200a to 200c of the vehicle 3 can be determined.

[0094] Incidentally, a conventional technique for accurately detecting the position of a moving object such as a vehicle by taking into account tilt is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-236156 (Patent Document 2). In the technique described in this document, the position of a motorcycle moving within a test course is detected by a radio wave positioning device. Here, the tilt of the motorcycle is detected by a gyro sensor, a steering angle sensor, etc., and the position of the motorcycle is corrected based on the detected tilt.

[0095] Furthermore, as a technology for detecting the inclination state of the road surface on which a moving body is traveling, which is necessary to accurately detect the position of a moving body traveling on a slope, there is a conventional technology described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-236238 (Patent Document 3). In the technology described in this document, the inclination angle of the road surface on which a moving body is traveling is estimated based on the lateral acceleration, vehicle speed, yaw rate, and gravitational acceleration of the vehicle.

[0096] In contrast to these techniques, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention corrects the position (horizontal position) of the vehicle 3 based on the correction amount ΔR calculated by the correction unit 3d4. This correction is performed by the CPU of the microcomputer 3d, and does not require the gyro sensor or steering angle sensor used for the correction in Patent Document 2, or the acceleration sensor or yaw rate detection means used to estimate the tilt angle in Patent Document 3. Furthermore, the correction by the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention is performed based on simple calculation formulas such as the above formulas (1) to (6). Therefore, an expensive computer required for complex calculations is not required. Therefore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can accurately determine the driving lanes 200a to 200c of the vehicle 3 at low cost.

[0097] (d) The derivation means (correction unit 3d4) calculates the road surface height g based on a predetermined derivation formula (formula (3)) in which the horizontal distance R of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P is a variable. θ (R) is derived, and the coefficient A in the given derivation formula is θ , B θ , C θ , D θ is preferably determined from a coefficient table (bank approximation curve coefficient table: FIG. 6) that is predetermined according to the turning angle θ.

[0098] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention calculates the height g of the road surface directly below the GNSS antenna 3a in the vertical direction based on a predetermined derivation formula (formula (3)). θ (R) can be easily derived. In addition, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can easily derive the coefficient A θ , B θ , C θ , D θ is determined by a predetermined coefficient table (bank approximation curve coefficient table). Therefore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can more easily determine the road surface height g based on the coefficient table. θ (R) can be derived.

[0099] Furthermore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention calculates the road surface height g using a bank approximation curve coefficient table in which each coefficient is defined for each turning angle θ. θ In this way, the amount of data stored in the storage unit 3d8 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the road surface height gθ(R) is derived based on three-dimensional data of the road surface in the turning section measured in advance by LiDAR or the like.

[0100] (e) The vehicle management system 1 of the present invention may further include a base station (wireless base station 2), and the position information of the vehicle 3 may be corrected based on correction information transmitted from the base station.

[0101] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention corrects the position information obtained from the antenna (GNSS antenna 3a) attached to the vehicle 3 using correction information from the wireless base station 2, thereby enabling more accurate determination of the driving lanes 200a to 200c.

[0102] (f) The correction information from the base station (wireless base station 2) may be transmitted using an LTE line.

[0103] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can correct the position information obtained from the antenna (GNSS antenna 3a) using an LTE line that can be used inexpensively.

[0104] (g) Information from the vehicle 3 to the control room 4 may be transmitted using an LTE line.

[0105] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can perform communication between the vehicle 3 and the management room 4 using an LTE line, which is inexpensive to use.

[0106] (h) The vehicle management system 1 of the present invention is provided with a driving lane determination table (lane position table: FIG. 7) in which the range of the driving lanes 200a to 200c is defined as a range of horizontal distance from the turning center P, and the driving lane determination table (lane position table) defines the range of the driving lane according to the turning angle θ, and the driving lane determination means (driving lane determination unit 3d5) determines the driving lane 200a to 200c based on a value (corrected horizontal distance Rc) obtained after correcting the horizontal distance R calculated by the calculation means (correction unit 3d4) and the driving lane determination table (lane position table).

[0107] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can easily determine the driving lane 200a to 200c of the vehicle 3 based on the horizontal distance of the vehicle 3 from the turning center P (the corrected horizontal distance Rc) and the driving lane determination table (lane position table).

[0108] Incidentally, it is also possible to determine the vehicle's driving lane after detecting the positions of the lanes that define the driving lanes using a camera. However, in this case, a camera and a CPU capable of executing image processing for detecting the lanes are required. However, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention determines the positions of the lanes that define the driving lanes 200a-200c using a driving lane determination table (lane position table) without using a camera. Therefore, the vehicle management system 1 can determine the lanes 200a-200c in which the vehicle 3 is traveling and determine lane deviation at low cost without using a camera or an expensive CPU capable of executing image processing. Furthermore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can determine the vehicle's driving lanes 200a-200c and determine lane deviation even when the lane marks are fading or the lane positions cannot be determined using a camera due to bad weather, etc.

[0109] (i) The vehicle management system 1 of the present invention may be provided with a lane departure warning means (alert unit 3e) that issues an alarm when the deviation judgment means (lane deviation judgment unit 3d6) judges that the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane 200a to 200c.

[0110] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can accurately determine whether the vehicle 3 has deviated from the travel lanes 200a to 200c, and therefore can accurately manage the deviation of the vehicle 3 from the travel lanes 200a to 200c.

[0111] (j) The vehicle management system 1 of the present invention may be provided with an upper limit speed setting for each of the driving lanes 200a to 200c of the predetermined course (test course 200), and may be provided with an excess speed warning means (alert unit 3e) that issues a warning when the vehicle 3 traveling in the driving lane 200a to 200c determined by the driving lane determination means (driving lane determination unit 3d5) exceeds the upper limit speed for the driving lane 200a to 200c.

[0112] In this way, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention can accurately determine the travel lanes 200a to 200c of the vehicle 3, and therefore can accurately manage the speed of the vehicle 3 traveling in each of the travel lanes 200a to 200c.

[0113] The above are the effects of the vehicle management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, but the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified in various ways. In other words, the vehicle management system 1 described above merely illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, and the configuration can be appropriately changed, omitted, or added as long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention. In other words, the vehicle management system 1 can be one that does not include some or all of the configurations described in (a) to (j) above, one that includes other configurations, or one that implements the configurations described in (a) to (j) above differently from those exemplified in the above embodiment, all within the spirit of the present invention.

[0114] For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the position information of the vehicle 3 obtained by the GNSS antenna 3a attached to the vehicle 3 is corrected based on the correction information transmitted from the wireless base station 2, but such correction does not have to be performed. In other words, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention may manage the driving lanes 200a to 200c and the speed based on the unit positioning information obtained by the GNSS antenna 3a attached to the vehicle 3.

[0115] Furthermore, the vehicle management system 1 of the present invention is not limited to the test course 200, but can be applied to various courses that have a turning course with an inclined road surface.

[0116] In the above embodiment, the GNSS antenna 3a is mounted on the roof of the vehicle 3 at the center in the vehicle width direction, but the mounting position of the GNSS antenna 3a can be changed as appropriate. For example, it does not have to be on the roof, and it may be mounted at any position on the roof. In this case, it is advisable to calculate and correct the offset amount from the mounting position in the above embodiment.

[0117] The above is an embodiment of the vehicle management system 1 according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the examples given in the above-described embodiments, and it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the claims and the teachings and spirit of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0118] The present invention can be suitably used in general vehicle management systems that determine the vehicle's driving lane using a satellite positioning system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] 1: Vehicle management system 3: Vehicle 3a: GNSS antenna (antenna) 3d2: Antenna height acquisition unit (antenna installation height acquisition means) 3d4: Correction unit (calculation means, derivation means) 3d5: Driving lane determination unit (driving lane determination means) 3d6: Lane departure determination unit (vehicle width information acquisition means, departure determination means) 200: Test course (prescribed course) 200a~200c: Traveling lanes P: Center of rotation θ: Turning angle R: Horizontal distance

Claims

1. A vehicle management system that detects the position of a vehicle traveling within a predetermined course having a turning section formed by a turning circuit with an inclined road surface using a satellite positioning system, and determines the driving lane of the vehicle within the course, an antenna mounting height acquisition means for acquiring the height of the antenna of the satellite positioning system mounted on the vehicle from the road surface; a calculation means for calculating a turning angle from a predetermined turning start position in the predetermined course of the vehicle and a horizontal distance that is a distance of the vehicle in a horizontal direction from a turning center of the turning section, based on position information of the vehicle acquired from the satellite positioning system; a deriving means for deriving the height of a road surface directly below the antenna in a vertical direction based on the turning angle and the horizontal distance calculated by the calculating means; a driving lane determination means for determining a driving lane of the vehicle traveling within the predetermined course, The vehicle management system is characterized in that the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane based on the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means, the antenna installation height acquired by the antenna installation height acquisition means, and the road surface height derived by the derivation means.

2. a vehicle width information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle width information of the vehicle; a departure determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane, 2. The vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the deviation determination means determines whether the vehicle has deviated from the driving lane determined by the driving lane determination means based on the vehicle width information acquired by the vehicle width information acquisition means.

3. The vehicle management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the driving lane determination means determines the driving lane by correcting the horizontal distance calculated by the calculation means based on the height of the road surface derived by the derivation means and the mounting height of the antenna acquired by the antenna mounting height acquisition means.

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