Vehicle mobility support system

Abstract

This vehicle mobility support device provides the ability to provide alternative route guidance to a vehicle upon the user's request if there is no suitable route available for the vehicle. [Solution] The vehicle mobility support device 1 includes an input unit 3 into which the departure point, destination, and vehicle identification information of the vehicle being used are input; a road information acquisition unit 6 that searches for a route and acquires road information for this route; a vehicle information acquisition unit 7 that acquires vehicle information for the vehicle being used; a comparison unit 8 that compares the road information for the route with the vehicle information for the vehicle being used and outputs a first comparison result; a determination unit 10 that, based on the first comparison result, outputs a first determination that the road is passable or a first determination that there are impassable sections; and an output unit 4 that outputs the corresponding route when the determination unit 10 outputs a first determination that the road is passable, and outputs a question about the action desired by the user when the determination unit 10 outputs a first determination that the road is impassable.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle movement support device that assists vehicle movement by comparing vehicle information and road information and guiding the vehicle along a passable route. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, when vehicles travel, route guidance systems have been widely used to select the shortest route or the route with the lowest toll fees from among multiple routes from the destination to the starting point. However, these route guidance systems are primarily designed for use by regular passenger cars and do not adequately consider road information such as road width and the height of bridges and overpasses. As a result, for example, large vehicles such as cranes and trucks may find that the suggested route is actually impassable, preventing them from reaching their destination. Therefore, in recent years, technologies have been developed that enable route searching that takes into account the attributes of roads and structures, the size of vehicles, etc., and inventions related to this have already been disclosed.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention related to a navigation device that searches for and guides a vehicle along a traversable route, under the name "Navigation Device." The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is characterized by comprising: an input means for inputting information including a destination; a storage means for storing road information necessary for route searching and route guidance; a vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information necessary for extracting drivable roads; a route search means for extracting drivable roads based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means and the road information stored by the storage means, and using the extracted drivable roads to search for a route to the destination input by the input means; and a route guidance means for providing route guidance according to the route search means. In this invention, route searching and guidance are performed based on vehicle information and road data, so that a drivable route can be searched and guided according to the vehicle. Therefore, the problem in which a navigation system may guide a vehicle along a route that is impossible or inappropriate to drive on, depending on the type of vehicle, is resolved. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-278157 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not address the output when no drivable route is found. In this case, if no guidance is given to the user, the vehicle user may become dissatisfied without knowing why they cannot reach their destination, or they may easily give up on reaching their destination. In addition, vehicle information such as the vehicle's overall length and width must be entered by the user themselves. Therefore, the operation for this input may become cumbersome.

[0006] This invention addresses the aforementioned conventional circumstances and aims to provide a vehicle mobility support device that not only outputs a route that the vehicle can travel, but also, if there is no route that the vehicle can travel, can provide alternative route guidance according to the user's wishes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the first invention is characterized by comprising: an input unit into which the origin, destination, and vehicle identification information identifying the vehicle used by the user are input; a road information acquisition unit that searches for a route from the origin to the destination using road information associated with location information and acquires road information for this route; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information for the vehicle used from vehicle information associated with vehicle identification information; a comparison unit that compares road information for the route with vehicle information for the vehicle used and outputs a first comparison result; a determination unit that determines whether there are any impassable sections on the route that the vehicle used cannot pass through based on the first comparison result and outputs a first passable determination that there are no impassable sections, or a first impassable determination that there are impassable sections; and an output unit that outputs the corresponding route when the determination unit outputs a first passable determination, and outputs a question about the action desired by the user when the determination unit outputs a first impassable determination.

[0008] In an invention with such a configuration, location information refers to, for example, latitude and longitude. Road information refers to road width, nodes indicating intersections and points of structural change in the road, links indicating roads, etc. In addition, vehicle identification information could include, for example, the vehicle model. Vehicle information could include, for example, the vehicle's width, height, and gross weight. In the invention with the above configuration, when the departure point and destination are input to the input unit, the road information acquisition unit searches for a route corresponding to the respective location information of the departure point and destination using road information associated with the location information. Furthermore, the road information acquisition unit acquires road information for the searched route.

[0009] Furthermore, when vehicle identification information is entered into the input unit, the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires vehicle information about the vehicle being used. Subsequently, the comparison unit compares, for example, the width of the road along the route from the starting point to the destination with the width of the vehicle being used, and outputs a first comparison result at least once. In this example, the first comparison result would be something like, "The vehicle width is narrower than the road width," or "The vehicle width is greater than or equal to the road width."

[0010] Furthermore, in the example above, if the comparison result shows that the vehicle width at one or more location points along the route is narrower than the road width, the determination unit outputs a first passable determination indicating that there are no impassable sections. In this case, the output unit outputs the corresponding route, i.e., the route for which the first passable determination was output. This completes the processing of the vehicle movement support device. In response to this, if the comparison result shows that the vehicle width is greater than or equal to the road width for one or more location information points along the route, the determination unit outputs a first determination that there is an impassable section. In this case, the output unit outputs a question about the action the user desires. Possible questions include whether to terminate the determination of whether there are any impassable sections for the vehicle being used, whether to determine whether there are any impassable sections for an alternative route, or whether to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle.

[0011] The second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the question is whether or not it is possible to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle, the user's answer to the question is entered into the input unit, and if the answer is to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle, then small vehicle identification information, which identifies the smaller vehicle, is entered into the input unit as vehicle identification information.

[0012] In this configuration of the invention, in addition to the operation of the first invention, when small vehicle identification information is input to the input unit as vehicle identification information, the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires the small vehicle information. Subsequently, the comparison unit compares the road information for the route with the small vehicle information and outputs the comparison result. The determination unit then determines, based on the comparison results, whether there are any impassable sections on the route that small vehicles cannot pass through, and outputs either a first passable determination or a first impassable determination. Similarly, the output unit outputs a route that small vehicles can pass through, or outputs a question about the action the user desires. This question is output repeatedly if there are impassable sections that small vehicles cannot pass through.

[0013] The third invention is as follows: In the first invention, the question is whether the vehicle in use can be changed to a smaller vehicle than this vehicle in use. The user's answer to the question is input to the input unit. When this answer is not to change the vehicle in use to a smaller vehicle, the output unit outputs the position information corresponding to the impassable location. In such an invention, since the impassable location is any one of a plurality of position information on the route, the output unit can output the position information of the impassable location. Therefore, in the second invention, in addition to the first invention, when the impassable location is output, the processing of the vehicle movement support device ends. Further, the output unit may output the comparison result by the comparison unit in addition to the impassable location.

[0014] The fourth invention is as follows: In the first or second invention, it includes an arithmetic unit that calculates the angle formed by the first and second intersecting roads that make up an intersection on the route. The angle is calculated based on the position information of the intersection, the position information of the first node existing on the first intersecting road, and the position information of the second node existing on the second intersecting road. The comparison unit compares the angle with a pre-given intersection angle and outputs a second comparison result. The determination unit determines the presence or absence of an intersection where the vehicle in use cannot pass on the route based on the second comparison result, and outputs a second passable determination that there is no impassable intersection or a second impassable determination that there is an impassable intersection. When the determination unit outputs the first passable determination and the second passable determination, the output unit outputs the corresponding route. When the determination unit outputs the second impassable determination, the output unit outputs the position information corresponding to the impassable intersection.

[0015] In such an invention, the intersection and its position information, the first intersecting road and its position information, and the second intersecting road and its position information are included in the road information. Also, the arithmetic unit calculates the angle by using, for example, the inner product and magnitude of vectors with the intersection and the position coordinates of the first and second intersecting roads. In the invention with the above configuration, in addition to the operations of the first or second invention, the arithmetic unit calculates at least once the angle formed by the first intersecting road and the second intersecting road for the intersections on the route, and outputs the calculation result. Also, as the intersection angle, for example, a right angle is given in advance. In this example, the second comparison result output by the comparison unit will be something like the angle is a right angle or more, or the angle is less than a right angle.

[0016] Then, based on the second comparison result, the determination unit outputs a second passable determination that there is no impassable intersection, or a second impassable determination that there is an impassable intersection. Furthermore, the output unit outputs the corresponding route, that is, the route for which the first passable determination and the second passable determination are output, only when the determination unit outputs the first passable determination and the second passable determination. Also, when the determination unit outputs the second impassable determination, the output unit outputs the position information corresponding to the impassable intersection. Thus, in these cases, the processing of the vehicle movement support device ends. In addition, when the determination unit outputs the first impassable determination, similar to the first invention, the output unit outputs a question about the countermeasure desired by the user. In this case, the processing of the vehicle movement support device continues.

Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the first invention, since the comparison result is output from the comparison unit for the position information at one or more locations along the route, the determination unit can accurately determine the presence or absence of impassable locations on the route. Therefore, the route output by the output unit takes full account of the road information, and it is possible to prevent a situation where the guided route is actually impassable and the destination cannot be reached. Also, when the first impassable determination is output, a question about the countermeasure desired by the user is output. Therefore, depending on the answer to this question, the vehicle movement support device can continue to be used. Thus, the possibility that the user simply gives up reaching the destination is reduced. Furthermore, simply by entering the departure point, destination, and vehicle identification information, the system outputs routes that the vehicle can travel, making the input process easy and user-friendly.

[0018] According to the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, the determination unit determines whether there are any impassable areas where a small vehicle cannot pass, so the user can know in advance whether or not they can reach their destination when using a small vehicle. Furthermore, the question is output repeatedly if there are impassable areas where a small vehicle cannot pass, thus increasing the likelihood of reaching the destination compared to when there are no such areas.

[0019] According to the third invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, users can learn the location information of impassable areas, so it is expected that users will be more satisfied with the determination that they cannot reach their destination. Furthermore, when the comparison unit outputs comparison results, users can learn the reason why they cannot reach their destination, so it is expected that users will be even more satisfied.

[0020] According to the fourth invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second invention, the output unit outputs the corresponding route only when the determination unit outputs a first passability determination and a second passability determination. Therefore, a route is output that takes into account the shape of the intersection in addition to the road width, etc. As a result, users can know with greater accuracy whether or not their vehicle can reach its destination. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0021] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle mobility support device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the vehicle movement support method executed by the vehicle movement support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the vehicle movement support method executed by the vehicle movement support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the angle calculation method performed by the calculation unit. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the angle calculation method executed by the calculation unit. [Figure 6] This is the processing result of the vehicle movement assistance method executed by the vehicle movement assistance device. [Figure 7] This is the processing result of the vehicle movement assistance method executed by the vehicle movement assistance device. [Modes for carrying out the invention] [Examples]

[0022] A vehicle mobility support device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle mobility support device according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle movement support device 1 according to this embodiment is a vehicle movement support device that assists in the movement of a vehicle used by a user, and is a computer that incorporates a communication unit 2, an input unit 3, an output unit 4, a control unit 5, and a storage unit 11. Of these, the control unit 5 controls all operations of the vehicle movement support device 1 and includes a road information acquisition unit 6, a vehicle information acquisition unit 7, a comparison unit 8, a calculation unit 9, and a determination unit 10. In this application, "user" refers not only to the driver operating the vehicle, but also to a person who gives instructions or information to the driver regarding their work.

[0023] Furthermore, the vehicle mobility support device 1 is configured to communicate bidirectionally with the user's terminal 51, the road information storage unit 52 which stores road information, and the vehicle information storage unit 53 which stores vehicle information, via the network 50, through the communication unit 2. The road information is associated with location information, and the vehicle information is associated with vehicle identification information. The vehicle mobility support device 1 may be installed in the user's vehicle, or it may be installed in a vehicle other than the user's vehicle or in a building. In the vehicle mobility support device 1, the terminal 51 is specifically a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, etc., and is equipped with a display screen 51a. In addition, the road information storage unit 52 and the vehicle information storage unit 53 are specifically servers, or they may be built into the vehicle mobility support device 1. The following describes the various components of the vehicle mobility support device 1.

[0024] Input unit 3 receives input such as the departure point, destination, vehicle identification information to identify the vehicle used by the user, and responses from the user. The vehicle used can be, for example, a large, medium, or small crane or truck, or a regular passenger car. In addition, the vehicle identification information used may be, for example, the model number listed on the vehicle registration certificate. Furthermore, as will be described later, the output unit 4 outputs information such as routes that the vehicle can travel and questions about the actions the user desires, depending on the determination made by the determination unit 10.

[0025] The road information acquisition unit 6 uses the road information associated with location information stored in the road information storage unit 52 to search for a route from the departure point to the destination entered from the input unit 3. This search method is a publicly known method. The road information acquisition unit 6 then acquires road information for the searched route. Here, location information refers to, for example, latitude and longitude. Road information refers to road width, vertical height along the vertical direction from the road surface to structures vertically above it, load limits, nodes on the road, links connecting nodes, etc., and is stored in the road information storage unit 52 as numerical values, points, or lines corresponding to the location information. In addition, the road information storage unit 52 also stores map information, which includes information on geographical features such as roads, mountains, rivers, forests, and buildings. This map information is associated with the location information of the road information.

[0026] The vehicle information acquisition unit 7 acquires vehicle information about the vehicle being used from the vehicle information associated with the vehicle identification information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 53. Vehicle information includes, for example, the vehicle's width, height, gross weight, etc., and is stored in the vehicle information storage unit 53 as numerical values ​​corresponding to the vehicle identification information.

[0027] The comparison unit 8 compares the road information for the route acquired by the road information acquisition unit 6 with the vehicle information for the vehicle used acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 7, and outputs a first comparison result. Furthermore, the calculation unit 9 calculates the angle θ (where 0 degrees < angle θ < 180 degrees) between the first and second intersecting roads that constitute the intersection on the route acquired by the road information acquisition unit 6. This calculation method will be explained in detail using Figures 4 and 5. Therefore, the comparison unit 8 compares the angle θ between the first and second intersecting roads calculated by the calculation unit 9 with a pre-given intersection angle and outputs a second comparison result.

[0028] Based on the first comparison result from the comparison unit 8, the determination unit 10 determines whether there are any impassable sections on the route that the vehicle using the route cannot pass through. The determination unit 10 then outputs a first passable determination, which indicates that there are no impassable sections, or a first impassable determination, which indicates that there are impassable sections. In addition, the determination unit 10 determines, based on the second comparison result from the comparison unit 8, whether or not there are intersections on the route that the vehicle cannot pass through. The determination unit 10 then outputs a second passable determination, which indicates that there are no intersections that the vehicle cannot pass through, or a second impassable determination, which indicates that there are intersections that the vehicle cannot pass through.

[0029] The memory unit 11 stores the first and second comparison results from the comparison unit 8, the calculation results from the calculation unit 9, the determination of whether or not there are impassable areas from the determination unit 10, and all output results output in each processing step of the vehicle movement support device 1.

[0030] Next, the vehicle movement support method performed by the vehicle movement support device 1 will be explained using Figures 2 and 3. Figures 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the processing steps of the vehicle movement support method performed by the vehicle movement support device according to the embodiment, respectively. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the vehicle movement support method 20 includes the input step of the starting point, etc. (S1) to the output step of the impassable location (S12). Each step will be described below.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, the departure point input process in S1 is a process in which the departure point and destination entered by the user on the display screen 51a are input to the input unit 3 via the network 50 and the communication unit 2. The vehicle identification information input process in S2 is the process by which the vehicle identification information of the vehicle being used is input to the input unit 3 via the network 50 and the communication unit 2. The input departure point, destination, and vehicle identification information are stored in the storage unit 11.

[0032] The road information acquisition process in S3 is a process in which the road information acquisition unit 6 searches for and determines a route from the input starting point to the destination based on the road information associated with the location information. The starting point and destination are recognized by the road information acquisition unit 6 as latitude (degrees) and longitude (degrees), respectively. Furthermore, the road information acquisition unit 6 acquires road information for the determined route. The determined route and its road information are stored in the storage unit 11.

[0033] The angle calculation process in S4 is the process in which the calculation unit 9 calculates the angle θ. This angle θ is calculated based on the location information of the intersection, the location information of the first node on the first intersecting road, and the location information of the second node on the second intersecting road. Each location information is expressed in terms of latitude (degrees) and longitude (degrees).

[0034] In the vehicle information acquisition step of S5, the vehicle information acquisition unit 7 acquires vehicle information (e.g., vehicle width, vehicle height) about the model of the vehicle being used from the vehicle information associated with the vehicle identification information. The acquired vehicle information is stored in the storage unit 11. However, the vehicle information acquisition step of S5 may be performed between the vehicle identification information input step of S2 and the road information acquisition step of S3.

[0035] The first comparison step in S6 is a step in which the comparison unit 8 compares road information about the route with vehicle information about the vehicle used and outputs the first comparison result. Specifically, the road information used in this step is the road width d and the vertical height h along the vertical direction from the road surface to structures (bridges, overpasses, tunnel ceilings, etc.) that exist vertically above. Therefore, the vehicle information to be compared with the road width d and vertical height h is the vehicle width D and vehicle height H of the vehicle used. The comparison unit 8 then outputs as a first comparison result whether (a) the vehicle width D is smaller than the road width d, and (b) the vehicle height H is lower than the vertical height h. If the first comparison result is (a) and (b), the determination unit 10 outputs a first passability determination. After that, the second comparison step of S7 is performed.

[0036] In contrast, if the first comparison result is not (a) and (b), that is, at least one of (a) the vehicle width D is not smaller than the road width d, and (b) the vehicle height H is not lower than the vertical height h, the determination unit 10 outputs a first determination of impassability. After that, the questioning step of S9 is performed. The questioning step in S9 is the process in which the output unit 4 outputs a question to the user. This question is whether or not it is possible to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle, and the communication unit 2 transmits it to the terminal 51 via the network 50. The transmitted question is displayed on the display screen 51a, and the user replies by entering their answer to the question on the display screen 51a.

[0037] The second comparison step in S7 is a step in which the comparison unit 8 compares the angle θ with a predetermined intersection angle φ and outputs a second comparison result. Specifically, the predetermined intersection angle φ is a right angle. Therefore, the comparison unit 8 outputs whether the angle θ is a right angle, an obtuse angle, or an acute angle as the second comparison result. If the angle θ is a right angle or an obtuse angle, the determination unit 10 outputs a second passability determination, indicating that there are no impassable intersections. Thus, since the determination unit 10 has outputted both the first passability determination and the second passability determination, the route output step of S8 is executed. The route output process in S8 is a process in which the output unit 4 outputs a route that the vehicle can travel. The output route is transmitted by the communication unit 2 to the terminal 51 via the network 50 and displayed on the display screen 51a. After this process, the vehicle movement support method 20 ends.

[0038] In contrast, if the angle θ is acute, the determination unit 10 outputs a second determination that there is an impassable intersection. After this, the impassable intersection output step S10 is executed. The S10 process for outputting an impassable intersection is a process in which the output unit 4 outputs location information corresponding to an impassable intersection. The output location information of the intersection is transmitted by the communication unit 2 to the terminal 51 via the network 50 and displayed on the display screen 51a. After this process, the vehicle movement support method 20 ends.

[0039] As shown in Figure 3, the answer recognition step S11, which is performed immediately after the questioning step S9, is a step in which the determination unit 10 recognizes whether or not the answer indicates that the vehicle to be used should be changed to a smaller vehicle, after the user's answer to the question has been input to the input unit 3. If the determination unit 10 recognizes that the response indicates a change to a smaller vehicle, the output unit 4 outputs a message requesting the user to enter small vehicle identification information to identify the smaller vehicle. Subsequently, the small vehicle identification number entered by the user in response to the message on the display screen 51a is entered into the input unit 3 as vehicle identification information. As a result, the vehicle identification information input step S2 is executed again. After that, at least the vehicle information acquisition step S5 and the first comparison step S6 are repeated. The departure point input step S1, road information acquisition step S3, angle calculation step S4, second comparison step S7, and impassable intersection output step S10, which have already been executed, are not repeated.

[0040] In response, if the determination unit 10 recognizes that the response does not indicate a change to a smaller vehicle, the S12 process of outputting the impassable location is executed. In step S12, the process of outputting impassable locations, the output unit 4 outputs location information corresponding to the impassable location for the vehicle in use. The output location information is transmitted by the communication unit 2 to the terminal 51 via the network 50 and displayed on the display screen 51a. After this process, the vehicle movement support method 20 ends.

[0041] Next, the angle calculation method executed in the angle calculation step of S4 will be described using FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the angle calculation method executed by the calculation unit. As shown in FIG. 4, at intersection 60, the first intersecting road R1 and the second intersecting road R2 intersect at an angle θ. Here, the first node N on the first intersecting road R1 A and the node N indicating the intersection 60 B through, the vector from node N A to node N B is taken as the first vector AB. Also, the node N B and the second node N on the second intersecting road R2 C through, the vector from node N B to the second node N C is taken as the second vector BC. Furthermore, the two-dimensional coordinates (latitude (degrees), longitude (degrees)) of nodes N A ~N C on the ground surface are A(x1,y1), B(x2,y3), C(x3,y3) respectively. Therefore, the angle θ is the angle formed by the first vector AB and the second vector BC. However, the range in which the angle θ can take is greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees. In addition, it is assumed that the vehicle 61 enters the intersection 60 along the first vector AB and moves away from the intersection 60 along the second vector BC. Also, the signs N on the first intersecting road R1 and the second intersecting road R2 are nodes other than nodes N A ~N C C C

[0042] Subsequently, the steps of the angle calculation method will be described using FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the angle calculation method executed by the calculation unit. As shown in FIG. 5, the angle calculation method 30 includes a unit conversion step of S4 - 1 to an angle calculation step of S4 - 4. Each step will be described below. The unit conversion step of S4 - 1 is that the calculation unit 9, for nodes N A ~N CThis is the process of converting the units of the two-dimensional coordinates in latitude and longitude coordinates from decimal (degrees) to the International System of Units (rad). Specifically, it involves converting the units of Node N extracted from the road information stored in the road information storage unit 52. A ~N C The two-dimensional coordinate values ​​are converted to radians by multiplying each by (π / 180).

[0043] In the two-dimensional coordinate transformation process of S4-2, the calculation unit 9 performs the operation on node N A ~N C This is the process of converting two-dimensional coordinates (x(rad), y(rad)) in latitude and longitude coordinates to two-dimensional coordinates (x(m), y(m)) in the Mercator projection. Specifically, x(m) is calculated by equation (1) and y(m) by equation (2). Here, φ is the latitude, λ is the longitude, and R is the radius of the Earth.

[0044]

number

[0045]

number

[0046] In the dot product calculation process of S4-3, the calculation unit 9 performs the calculation at node N A ~N C This process involves calculating the dot product and magnitude of vectors AB and BC using the two-dimensional coordinates (x(m), y(m)). The dot product of vector AB and vector BC is calculated using equation (3), and the magnitudes of vector AB and vector BC are calculated using equations (4) and (5), respectively.

[0047]

number

[0048]

number

[0049]

number

[0050] The angle calculation step in S4-4 is a process in which the calculation unit 9 calculates the cosine of the angle θ using equation (6), and then calculates the angle θ (rad) using equation (7), which is the inverse function of this cosine. The calculated angle θ (rad) is converted to an angle (degrees) in decimal form and stored in the storage unit 11, and used in the second comparison step in S7.

[0051]

number

[0052]

number

[0053] Furthermore, the processing results of the vehicle movement support method will be explained using Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 shows the processing results of the vehicle movement support method executed by the vehicle movement support device, when a route that the vehicle can travel is output. Figure 7 shows the processing results of the vehicle movement support method executed by the vehicle movement support device, when an impassable section on the route is output. As shown in Figure 6, the processing result of the vehicle movement support method 20 is displayed on the display screen 51a of the terminal 51. This processing result is the result of executing the departure point input process S1 to the route output process S8, and shows the departure point S and destination G entered by the user, the route K that the vehicle can travel, map information, and the message "Route K is passable". The message "Route K is passable" is based on the first passability determination and the second passability determination by the determination unit 10.

[0054] Next, Figure 7 shows the results after the input process for the departure point, etc. in S1, the second comparison process in S7, and the output process for impassable intersections in S10 have been executed. Figure 7 shows the departure point S and destination G, the route K that the vehicle cannot take, map information, and the messages "Route K is impassable" and "Reason: There is an impassable intersection (×)". The former message is based on the determination unit 10 outputting a second passability determination, while the latter message is based on the output unit 4 outputting location information corresponding to an impassable intersection.

[0055] As explained above, with the vehicle mobility support device 1, in the departure point input step S1 and the vehicle identification information input step S2 of the vehicle mobility support method 20, the user can find out the routes that the vehicle can travel simply by inputting the destination and vehicle identification information. Therefore, the operation for inputting the necessary information is simple and the device is easy to use. Furthermore, since the vehicle mobility support device 1 can be installed inside buildings other than the vehicle being used, users other than the driver can search for passable routes in advance before the driver actually starts the vehicle. This solves the conventional problem of discovering impassable routes after the driving operation has started, and allows the driving operation to be completed smoothly.

[0056] Furthermore, with the vehicle mobility support device 1, when the determination unit 10 outputs a first impassable determination, the questioning step S9 is executed to determine whether there is a passable route for the small vehicle, allowing for repeated route searches according to the user's wishes. Therefore, it is expected that cases where users easily give up on reaching their destination will decrease, contributing to the acceptance and completion of business orders. In addition to vehicle information, the second comparison step of S7 also considers the angle θ of intersections along the route, and this angle θ is included in node N of the road information. A ~N C Because the calculation is performed using location information, users can know with greater accuracy whether or not their vehicle can reach its destination.

[0057] It should be noted that the vehicle movement support device according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the embodiments. For example, the vehicle movement support device 1 does not need to include a calculation unit 9. In this case, the angle calculation step in S4 and the second comparison step in S7 of the vehicle movement support method 20 are omitted. Also, in the first comparison step in S6 of the vehicle movement support method 20, the comparison unit 8 only needs to compare at least one piece of road information, such as road width, vertical height to structures, and load limits, with the vehicle information (vehicle width, vehicle height, gross weight) corresponding to this road information. Furthermore, the output unit 4 may or may not output the first comparison result and the second comparison result from the comparison unit 8. [Industrial applicability]

[0058] The present invention can be used as a vehicle movement support device to assist in the movement of a vehicle. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0059] 1...Vehicle movement support device 2...Communication unit 3...Input unit 4...Output unit 5...Control unit 6...Road information acquisition unit 7...Vehicle information acquisition unit 8...Comparison unit 9...Calculation unit 10...Determination unit 11...Storage unit 20...Vehicle movement support method 30...Angle calculation method 50...Network 51...Terminal 51a...Display screen 52...Road information storage unit 53...Vehicle information storage unit 60...Intersection 61...Vehicles used

Claims

1. An input section where the departure point, destination, and vehicle identification information identifying the vehicle used by the user are entered, A road information acquisition unit searches for a route from the departure point to the destination using road information associated with location information, and acquires the road information for this route. A vehicle information acquisition unit acquires the vehicle information for the vehicle being used from the vehicle information associated with the vehicle identification information, A comparison unit compares the road information for the aforementioned route with the vehicle information for the aforementioned vehicle and outputs a first comparison result. Based on the first comparison result, a determination unit determines whether there are any impassable sections on the route that the vehicle using the route cannot pass through, and outputs a first passable determination that there are no impassable sections, or a first impassable determination that there are impassable sections. A vehicle mobility support device characterized by comprising an output unit that outputs the corresponding route when the determination unit outputs the first passable determination, and an output unit that outputs a question about the action desired by the user when the determination unit outputs the first passable determination.

2. The question above concerns whether it is permissible to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle than the one currently being used. The vehicle movement support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the user's answer to the question is input to the input unit, and if the answer is to change the vehicle being used to the small vehicle, small vehicle identification information identifying the small vehicle is input to the input unit as the vehicle identification information.

3. The question above concerns whether it is permissible to change the vehicle being used to a smaller vehicle than the one currently being used. The vehicle movement support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the user's answer to the question is input to the input unit, and if the answer does not indicate a change in the vehicle being used to the small vehicle, the output unit outputs the location information corresponding to the impassable location.

4. The system includes a calculation unit that calculates the angle between the first and second intersecting roads that constitute an intersection on the aforementioned route. The angle is calculated based on the position information of the intersection, the position information of the first node located on the first intersecting road, and the position information of the second node located on the second intersecting road. The comparison unit compares the angle with a predetermined intersection angle and outputs a second comparison result. Based on the second comparison result, the determination unit determines whether there are any intersections on the route that the vehicle using cannot pass through, and outputs a second passable determination that there are no intersections that the vehicle cannot pass through, or a second impassable determination that there are intersections that the vehicle cannot pass through. The vehicle movement support device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the output unit outputs the corresponding route when the determination unit outputs the first passable determination and the second passable determination, and when the determination unit outputs the second impassable determination, the output unit outputs the location information corresponding to the impassable intersection.

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