Entry Permission Control Device

Abstract

To provide a new method for controlling the entry of automobiles into intersections. [Solution] In the entry / exit control device 1, the storage unit 170 stores inter-route conflict data 171 that determines whether or not the routes, which are combinations of entry and exit routes to and from an intersection, conflict with each other. The entry / exit control device 1 includes a driving information acquisition unit 151 that acquires driving information including the location information and route information of a vehicle from the vehicle, a priority setting unit 155 that sets a priority for vehicles that are scheduled to enter the intersection based on the driving information, a decision unit 157 that determines whether or not a target vehicle is allowed to enter the intersection by determining, based on the inter-route conflict data 171, whether or not the routes of the target vehicle among the vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection conflict with other vehicles scheduled to enter that have a higher priority than the target vehicle, and a decision information notification control unit 159 that controls the notification of the decision information to the target vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an entry permission control device that controls whether or not a vehicle can enter an intersection.

Background Art

[0002] At intersections, traffic signal control, which is the operation control of traffic signals for ensuring a smooth traffic flow, is performed. As one of the traffic signal controls, priority control is known in which signal control parameters are changed so that specific vehicles such as public vehicles like route buses can pass through preferentially (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, the technological development of automatic driving of vehicles capable of autonomous driving has been promoted. Automatic driving of vehicles has the feature that it can control the driving direction, driving speed, etc. without the intervention of a human hand. Therefore, if all vehicles passing through an intersection are vehicles with automatic driving, it would be extremely convenient to realize entry control for intersections that can pass through the intersections more smoothly and efficiently than before, which is also meaningful for the popularization of vehicles with automatic driving. Also, not limited to automatic driving, it would be extremely convenient if it were possible to notify whether or not a vehicle driven by a driver can enter an intersection so that the vehicle can pass through the intersection smoothly and efficiently.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a new method for entry control of a vehicle into an intersection or notification control related to entry.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The first invention for solving the above problem is: An entry / exclusion control device that controls whether or not a vehicle is allowed to enter a designated intersection, The aforementioned automobile is equipped with a communication control device that communicates with the entry permission control device, and an entry control device (for example, the driving control device 14 in Figure 1) that performs entry control or notification control related to entry into the intersection based on given ruling information received from the entry permission control device. A route conflict data storage means (for example, the storage unit 170 in Figure 14) stores route conflict data that determines whether or not the routes, which are combinations of routes for entering and exiting the aforementioned intersection, conflict with each other. A means for acquiring driving information (for example, the driving information acquisition unit 151 in Figure 14) that acquires driving information from the aforementioned vehicle, including the location information of the vehicle and information indicating the vehicle's path, Priority setting means (for example, priority setting unit 155 in Figure 14) that sets priority for vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection based on the aforementioned driving information, A ruling means (for example, ruling unit 157 in Figure 14) determines whether or not the target vehicle among the vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection is allowed to enter the intersection by determining, based on the inter-path conflict data, whether or not the paths of the target vehicle and the vehicle scheduled to enter the intersection have a higher priority than the target vehicle, A ruling information notification control means (for example, the ruling information notification control unit 159 in Figure 14) that controls the notification of the ruling information indicating the ruling result of the ruling means to the target vehicle, This is an entry permission / denial control device equipped with [a specific feature].

[0007] According to the first invention, a new method for controlling or notifying vehicles of their entry into an intersection can be realized. Specifically, the entry permission control device stores inter-path conflict data that pre-determines whether or not there is a conflict between paths at an intersection. Then, a priority is set for vehicles that are scheduled to enter the intersection, and based on the inter-path conflict data, a decision can be made on whether or not a target vehicle is permitted to enter the intersection by determining whether or not its path will conflict with a vehicle with a higher priority than the target vehicle. The decision result is notified to the target vehicle. Therefore, an autonomous vehicle can perform entry control into the intersection based on the notified decision result. In addition, a vehicle driven by a driver can perform notification control regarding entry into the intersection based on the notified decision result.

[0008] The second invention is, in the above invention, The aforementioned path-to-path conflict data is data in which the presence or absence of conflict is represented by 1 bit for each combination of paths. The ruling means determines whether or not to allow the target vehicle to enter the intersection by performing a logical operation on the 1-bit value for each of the paths of the vehicles scheduled to enter that have a higher priority than the target vehicle, with respect to the path of the target vehicle. This is an entry / exclusion control device.

[0009] According to the second invention, as inter-path conflict data, data representing the presence or absence of conflict for each combination of paths is stored as 1-bit data. Then, by performing a logical operation on the 1-bit value representing the presence or absence of conflict, it is possible to determine whether or not a path will conflict with an incoming vehicle with a higher priority, and to decide whether or not to allow entry to the intersection.

[0010] The third invention is, in the above invention, The aforementioned route conflict data storage means stores the route conflict data for each intersection for multiple intersections. The priority setting means sets a priority for each intersection, The determination means makes a determination on whether or not to allow entry for the target vehicle related to each intersection. It is an entry permission control device.

[0011] According to the third invention, an entry permission control device that performs entry control for a plurality of intersections can be realized. That is, route conflict data is stored for each intersection. And a priority order is set for each intersection, and it becomes possible to determine whether or not to allow entry using the corresponding route conflict data.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an application example of the entry permission control device. [Figure 2] A diagram showing a setting example of route conflict data. [Figure 3] A diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 4] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 5] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 6] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 7] A diagram showing another setting example of route conflict data. [Figure 8] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 9] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 10] Another diagram for explaining the setting of route conflict data. [Figure 11] A diagram for explaining the determination process of the vehicle scheduled to enter. [Figure 12] A diagram for explaining the priority setting process. [Figure 13] A diagram for explaining the determination process. [Figure 14] A block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the entry permission control device. [Figure 15]A flowchart illustrating the processing flow performed by the entry / exclusion control system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, nor are the applicable forms of the present invention limited to the embodiments described below. Furthermore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 shows an example of the application of the entry permission control device 1 in this embodiment. Figure 1 shows an example of an intersection (crossroads) IA having four directions E, W, S, and N. The entry permission control device 1 in this embodiment controls whether or not an autonomous vehicle 10 can enter the intersection at each intersection in the road network on which it is traveling.

[0015] In controlling entry permissions, the entry permission control device 1 communicates with vehicles 10 traveling on the roads via wireless base stations 3 installed at various locations so that the entire road network to be controlled is within its communication range. Specifically, the entry permission control device 1 receives driving information 32 from each vehicle 10. The driving information 32 is information related to the driving of the vehicle 10 and includes the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10, location information indicating the driving position, speed information indicating the driving speed, information on the distance to the nearest intersection (for example, the distance to the stop line at the intersection), and route information indicating the route taken at the intersection. Each vehicle 10 generates the latest driving information 32 at predetermined time intervals and transmits it to the entry permission control device 1 as needed.

[0016] The route information includes information on the approach route to the next intersection and information on the approach route to exit that intersection. For example, suppose that the planned route of car 10a traveling on route W in Figure 1 is a route that turns right at intersection IA. In that case, the driving information 32 generated by car 10a will include the approach route W to intersection IA and the approach route S to exit intersection IA, and will be transmitted to the entry permission control device 1.

[0017] The entry permission control device 1 then determines which vehicles 10 are scheduled to enter the intersection based on the driving information 32 received from each vehicle 10, and makes a decision on whether to allow the vehicle to enter the intersection. Subsequently, the entry permission control device 1 notifies the relevant vehicle 10 of the decision result, namely decision information 34. The decision information 34 includes the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10, the intersection ID of the intersection, and the decision result regarding whether to allow entry to the intersection. In this embodiment, the decision result is set to either "Entry permitted" or "Decision pending".

[0018] The vehicle 10 is equipped with a communication control device 12 that communicates wirelessly with the entry permission control device 1 via a wireless base station 3, and a driving control device 14 that has a driving control function for automatic driving. The driving control device 14 has a pre-set driving route by the occupants or by the entry permission control device 1, and along this pre-set driving route, the driving control device 14 generates driving information 32 of its own vehicle (vehicle 10) as needed and transmits it to the entry permission control device 1, and receives ruling information 34 from the entry permission control device 1 to control automatic driving. The driving control functions of the driving control device 14 include known functions that realize various driving controls such as preventing collisions and maintaining a safe distance by recognizing other vehicles based on images captured by an onboard camera and automatically operating the accelerator, brakes, and steering wheel.

[0019] Furthermore, the driving control function of the driving control device 14 in this embodiment includes a function to control entry into an intersection based on ruling information 34 from the entry permission control device 1. Specifically, if the ruling information 34 indicates "entry permitted," the driving control device 14 controls the vehicle to enter the intersection from the entry direction and proceed to the exit direction. On the other hand, if the ruling information 34 indicates "awaiting judgment," the driving control device 14 controls the vehicle to stop at a predetermined position (for example, the stop line of the intersection) without entering the intersection.

[0020] [detail] In this embodiment, for each intersection in the road network to be controlled, inter-lane conflict data 171 (see Figure 14) is prepared in advance and stored in the storage unit 170. The entry permission control device 1 performs entry permission control for each intersection related to the controlled object using the inter-lane conflict data 171 for that intersection. This entry permission control is performed repeatedly at a predetermined control cycle because the driving position and speed of the vehicle 10 change moment by moment.

[0021] Specifically, the entry permission control device 1 executes each of the following processes (1) to (4) for all intersections related to the control target at each control cycle. That is, the entry permission control device 1 executes (1) an entry planned vehicle determination process that determines which vehicles are scheduled to enter the intersection, (2) a priority setting process that sets a priority for the vehicles scheduled to enter, (3) a ruling process that determines whether to allow or deny entry to the intersection for the target vehicles among the vehicles scheduled to enter according to the priority, and (4) a ruling information notification control process that notifies the target vehicle of the ruling result 34 for the target vehicle. Below, we will focus on one intersection (for example, intersection IA in Figure 1) and explain each process.

[0022] 1. Data on competition between career paths Figure 2 shows an example of setting the inter-path conflict data 171 for the intersection IA of interest, and Figures 3 to 6 are diagrams that explain the setting of the inter-path conflict data 171 when the intersection is a cross intersection. Furthermore, Figure 7 shows another example of setting the inter-path conflict data 171, and Figures 8 to 10 are diagrams that explain the setting of the inter-path conflict data 171 for the intersection in Figure 7. The inter-path conflict data 171 determines whether or not the paths, which are combinations of entry and exit paths to a corresponding intersection, conflict with each other.

[0023] For example, as shown in Figure 3, in the case of a four-way intersection like intersection IA, there are four possible routes when using direction S as the entry direction: a route where direction W is the exit direction (left turn), a route where direction N is the exit direction (straight ahead), a route where direction E is the exit direction (right turn), and a route where direction S is the exit direction (U-turn). Since a four-way intersection has four directions E, W, S, and N, there are a total of 16 possible routes. The route conflict data 171 is prepared as a table of combinations for all combinations of these 16 routes, setting whether or not the routes in each combination conflict with each other.

[0024] More specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the presence or absence of conflict is represented by 1 bit, with "0" indicating conflict and "1" indicating no conflict. A table of combinations is then filled with "1" or "0" to create the inter-path conflict data 171. In Figure 2, the entry path and exit path are separated by a comma. For example, if the entry path is path E and the exit path is path N, the path is represented as E,N.

[0025] In this embodiment, when simultaneous entry into an intersection is permitted for two vehicles 10 traveling on two different paths, those two paths are considered "non-conflicting." Conversely, paths that are not permitted to enter simultaneously are considered "conflicting." Basically, opposite paths do not conflict, as in the combination of paths W,E and paths E,W shown in Figure 4, while intersecting paths do conflict, as in the combination of paths W,E and paths S,N shown in Figure 5. Although not shown, paths with the same entry direction but different exit directions do not conflict. On the other hand, paths with the same exit direction but different entry directions do conflict.

[0026] Furthermore, for some combinations of routes, it is possible to individually set whether or not they conflict at each intersection. For example, regarding the combination of routes W,S and routes N,E shown in Figure 6, for intersections where the road is wide enough to allow simultaneous entry of vehicles 10 traveling on each route, route conflict data 171 is prepared where the data for that combination does not conflict (the data is set to "1"). In cases where intersection IA is large (wide), it is conceivable to allow simultaneous entry of such routes. In Figure 2, the data related to the combination of routes N,E and routes W,S is shown with hatching, illustrating examples where each is set to "1".

[0027] However, even at similar intersections (in this case, cross-shaped intersections), there are intersections where simultaneous entry should be prohibited, such as those involving the intersection of narrow roads. In the inter-lane conflict data 171 for such intersections, the data related to that combination should be set to "0".

[0028] Here, we have used a four-way intersection as an example to explain how to set up the inter-path conflict data 171, but the same procedure can be used to set up the inter-path conflict data 171 for three-way, four-way, five-way, or more intersections. In other words, for all combinations of paths passing through the intersection, prepare inter-path conflict data 171 that contains data indicating whether or not those paths conflict (for example, 1 bit data indicating whether or not those paths conflict).

[0029] For example, Figure 7 shows an example of setting up route conflict data 171 when the intersection is a three-way intersection (Y-junction). Basically, routes that do not intersect with each other, such as routes A, B and routes B, C shown in Figure 8, do not conflict with each other, while routes that intersect with each other, such as routes B, A and routes A, C shown in Figure 9, do conflict with each other. Also, routes that have the same exit direction, such as routes A, B and routes C, B shown in Figure 10, also conflict with each other.

[0030] 2. Regarding the process for determining which vehicles are scheduled to enter the area. Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the process for determining which vehicles are scheduled to enter the intersection. In this process, the entry permission control device 1 determines that vehicles whose distance to the target intersection IA is within a predetermined distance are scheduled to enter the intersection IA, based on the driving information 32 received from each vehicle 10 (vehicle management information 173 updated and managed based on the driving information 32; see Figure 14). In Figure 11, the distance considered to be the distance for which a vehicle is scheduled to enter the intersection IA is shown as a target area in the shape of a dashed circle centered on the intersection IA. The entry permission control device 1 determines that vehicles 10 whose driving position is within the target area and which are traveling on the entry route are scheduled to enter the intersection IA, and designates these vehicles as vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection IA. It is also possible to determine whether a vehicle is scheduled to enter the intersection IA using the distance information to the next intersection from the received driving information 32. In the case of Figure 11, five vehicles 10a to 10e are determined to be scheduled to enter and are designated as vehicles scheduled to enter.

[0031] The size of the target area can be the same for all intersections, or it can be changed for each intersection. For example, the size of the target area to be applied to each intersection can be appropriately set according to the width of the intersection, the volume of traffic, etc.

[0032] 3. Management of vehicles scheduled to enter the area In this embodiment, a list of vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection 175 is prepared for each intersection (see Figure 14). The entry permission control device 1 manages the vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection by registering, rearranging, and deregistering vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection in the list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175 as needed.

[0033] First, the registration of vehicles scheduled to enter the planned entry list 175 is performed based on the results of the planned entry determination process described above. The planned entry list 175 is set with the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10 that has been determined to enter the planned entry in the planned entry determination process, the route of that vehicle at intersection IA, and the ruling result in a later process associated with it (see, for example, Figure 12(b)). If there is a vehicle 10 that has been newly determined to enter intersection IA in the planned entry determination process, the entry permission control device 1 registers its vehicle ID in the planned entry list 175 for intersection IA. At that time, the route is set to the route indicated by the route information in the driving information 32 received from the vehicle 10 in question. In addition, the ruling result is initially set to "awaiting judgment". The ruling result is rewritten to "entry permitted" when a ruling is made in a later ruling process that permits the vehicle to enter intersection IA.

[0034] Next, the order of vehicles scheduled to enter the area will be rearranged based on the results of the priority setting process described later.

[0035] The removal of a vehicle from the list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175 is performed when the vehicle in question 10 passes through the intersection. For example, the entry permission control device 1 monitors the driving position of a vehicle scheduled to enter. When the vehicle scheduled to enter passes through the target intersection IA and proceeds from the entry lane to the exit lane, the entry permission control device 1 deletes the record of the vehicle scheduled to enter from the list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175 for intersection IA, thereby removing it from registration.

[0036] 4. Priority setting process In the priority setting process, the entry permission control device 1 sets a priority for each vehicle that is determined to be entering in the entry vehicle determination process. Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the priority setting process, showing vehicles 10a to 10e that were determined to be entering vehicles in the preceding entry vehicle determination process (Figure 12(a)), and an example of rearranging the entry vehicles in the entry vehicle list 175 prepared for intersection IA (Figure 12(b)).

[0037] The entry permission control device 1 first sets the priority of the vehicles scheduled to enter, for example, to 1st place, for vehicles whose corresponding ruling result is "permission to enter". This includes vehicles scheduled to enter that have been granted permission to enter in previous ruling processes and have not yet passed through intersection IA.

[0038] Next, the entry permission control device 1 calculates the estimated arrival time at intersection IA for vehicles whose ruling result is "awaiting judgment". For example, based on the driving information 32 from the vehicle 10 in question, the entry permission control device 1 calculates the estimated arrival time of the vehicle 10 at intersection IA from its driving position and speed. Then, the entry permission control device 1 sorts each of the "awaiting judgment" vehicles in order of their estimated arrival time and sets priorities for second place and below.

[0039] 5. Regarding arbitration procedures Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the arbitration process and shows an example of the list of vehicles scheduled to enter after the arbitration process. In the arbitration process, the entry permission control device 1 sequentially selects vehicles scheduled to enter whose arbitration result is "awaiting judgment" as target vehicles and makes a ruling on whether or not to allow the target vehicles to enter intersection IA.

[0040] Here, the entry permission control device 1 identifies vehicles with a higher priority than the target vehicle from the list of scheduled vehicles 175 after the priority setting process shown in Figure 12(b), and determines whether there is a conflict of paths between the identified scheduled vehicles and the target vehicles based on the path conflict data 171. In this example, the entry permission control device 1 sequentially determines whether to allow entry to intersection IA for three scheduled vehicles with a priority of 2nd place or lower.

[0041] For example, if we consider the second-placed vehicle (vehicle 10c) as the target vehicle, there are two higher-ranking vehicles, so we determine whether the target vehicle and each of the other two vehicles have conflicting paths.

[0042] Specifically, the system first reads data from the inter-path conflict data 171 corresponding to each combination of the target vehicle's path S,N and the paths E,W and W,N of the top two vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection. Then, it performs a logical operation on the read data (a 1-bit value indicating the presence or absence of conflict). If the logical AND is "1", it makes a ruling that permits the target vehicle to enter intersection IA. If all the read data is "1", it means that the target vehicle's path does not conflict with any of the paths of the top two vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection. In this case, the ruling is "permission to enter". On the other hand, if the calculated logical AND is "0", that is, if some or all of the read data is "0", it does not make a ruling that permits the target vehicle to enter intersection IA. In this case, the ruling is "awaiting judgment". In this example, the inter-path competition data 171 in Figure 2 falls under the latter category, and as shown by the dashed line in Figure 13, the ruling for car 10c remains "awaiting judgment."

[0043] Furthermore, if we consider the third-placed vehicle (vehicle 10e) as the target vehicle, there are three higher-ranking vehicles, so we determine whether the target vehicle and each of those three vehicles have conflicting paths.

[0044] Specifically, the system first reads data from the inter-route conflict data 171 corresponding to each combination of the target vehicle's routes E and S and the routes E and W, W and N, and S and N of the top three vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection. Then, it determines whether entry to the intersection is permitted or not, based on whether the logical AND of the read data is "1" (entry permitted) or "0" (awaiting a decision). In this example, in the inter-route conflict data 171 in Figure 2, all the data for each combination is "1", so as shown enclosed by the dashed line in Figure 13, the ruling for vehicle 10e has been updated to "entry permitted". According to this process, although vehicle 10e has a lower initial priority because its estimated arrival time at intersection IA is later than vehicle 10c, it does not conflict with any of the higher-ranking vehicles scheduled to enter, so it is granted entry permission before vehicle 10c.

[0045] A similar judgment will be made regarding the vehicle scheduled to enter in fourth place, and a ruling will be made on whether or not it will be permitted to enter intersection IA.

[0046] 6. Arbitration Information Notification Control Processing In the ruling information notification control process, the entry permission control device 1 controls the target vehicle to notify it of ruling information 34 indicating the ruling result for that vehicle. As a result of this process, for vehicles 10 that have been permitted to enter intersection IA, ruling information 34 with "entry permitted" set as the ruling result is sent. For vehicles 10 that have been determined to be vehicles planning to enter and are subject to ruling processing, but have not been permitted to enter and remain awaiting a decision, ruling information 34 with the ruling result set to "awaiting decision" is sent.

[0047] [Functional Configuration] Figure 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the entry permission control device 1. As shown in Figure 14, the entry permission control device 1 comprises an operation input unit 110, a display unit 120, a communication unit 130, a processing unit 150, and a storage unit 170, and is configured as a type of computer system.

[0048] The operation input unit 110 is implemented by an input device such as a button switch or a touch panel, and outputs an operation signal to the processing unit 150 according to the operation input. The display unit 120 is implemented by a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a touch panel, and displays various information according to the display signal from the processing unit 150. The communication unit 130 is implemented by a wired or wireless communication device, and communicates with a given external device.

[0049] The processing unit 150 is implemented by, for example, an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a control board including said arithmetic circuit, and controls the operation of the entry permission control device 1 by performing various arithmetic processes based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 170. In this embodiment, the processing unit 150 includes a driving information acquisition unit 151, an entry planned vehicle determination unit 153, a priority setting unit 155, a ruling unit 157, and a ruling information notification control unit 159. Each of these functional units may be an arithmetic processing block implemented as software by executing a program, or it may be a circuit block implemented by a signal processing circuit. In this embodiment, the processing unit 150 is described as an arithmetic processing block implemented as software by executing a predetermined program.

[0050] The driving information acquisition unit 151 acquires driving information from vehicles 10 traveling on the road network under control. Here, the driving information acquisition unit 151 receives driving information 32 from the vehicles 10 via communication through the communication unit 130. The driving information acquisition unit 151 then updates and manages the vehicle management information 173 based on the received driving information 32. For each vehicle 10, the vehicle management information 173 stores the driving position, driving speed, route, etc., obtained from the driving information 32, in association with the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10.

[0051] The incoming vehicle determination unit 153 is a functional unit that performs incoming vehicle determination processing, and for each intersection, it determines which vehicles are scheduled to enter that intersection.

[0052] The priority setting unit 155 is a functional unit that executes priority setting processing, and for each intersection, it sets a priority for each vehicle that is scheduled to enter the intersection, as determined by the vehicle entry determination unit 153.

[0053] The ruling unit 157 is a functional unit that performs ruling processing, and for each intersection, it makes a ruling on whether or not to allow entry to the intersection for vehicles that are scheduled to enter and whose ruling result is "awaiting judgment".

[0054] The ruling information notification control unit 159 is a functional unit that executes ruling information notification control processing, and controls the notification of ruling information 34, which contains the ruling result set by the ruling unit 157, to the target vehicle.

[0055] The storage unit 170 is implemented using a storage medium such as an IC memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 170 pre-stores programs for operating the entry permission control device 1 and realizing the various functions of the entry permission control device 1, as well as data used during the execution of said programs, or temporarily stores them each time processing is performed. In this embodiment, the storage unit 170 stores inter-route conflict data 171 (see Figures 2 and 7), vehicle management information 173, and a list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175 (see Figure 12, etc.). As described above, the inter-route conflict data 171 and the list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175 are prepared for each intersection.

[0056] [Process flow] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing the processing flow performed by the entry permission control device 1. Note that Figure 15 focuses on one intersection and shows the processing flow performed in one control cycle. In actual processing, the processing shown in Figure 15 is performed for all intersections related to the controlled object in each control cycle.

[0057] First, the incoming vehicle determination unit 153 determines which vehicles are scheduled to enter the target intersection (step S1). Here, the incoming vehicle determination unit 153 refers to the vehicle management information 173, which is updated and managed based on the driving information 32 from each vehicle 10, and determines that the vehicles 10 located on the approaching road of their own route within the target area of ​​the target intersection are scheduled to enter. If any new vehicles 10 are determined to be scheduled to enter, they are registered in the incoming vehicle list 175 for the target intersection.

[0058] Next, the priority setting unit 155 sets priorities for the vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection, as determined in step S1, based on the list of vehicles scheduled to enter 175. First, the priority setting unit 155 sets the priority of the vehicles scheduled to enter that have already been granted permission to enter in previous rulings to 1st place (step S3). Next, the priority setting unit 155 calculates the estimated arrival time at the target intersection for the remaining vehicles awaiting judgment, based on their driving position and speed (step S5). Then, the priority setting unit 155 sets priorities from 2nd place downwards for the vehicles awaiting judgment, in order of the estimated arrival time calculated in step S5 (step S7). After that, the processing of loop L is executed sequentially, with the vehicles awaiting judgment being the target vehicles (steps S9 to S17).

[0059] In other words, in loop L, first, the ruling unit 157 reads data from the path conflict data 171 to determine whether the paths related to each combination of paths between the target vehicle and each incoming vehicle with a higher priority than the target vehicle are in conflict (step S11).

[0060] Then, the ruling unit 157 determines whether the target vehicle is allowed to enter the corresponding intersection by determining, based on the data read in step S11, whether the paths of the target vehicle and each of the higher-ranking vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection conflict (step S13). Here, the ruling unit 157 makes a ruling to allow entry if the logical AND of the data read in step S11 (a 1-bit value representing whether or not there is a conflict between the paths of each combination) is "1". If the calculated logical AND is "0", the system remains awaiting a decision.

[0061] Then, the ruling information notification control unit 159 controls the target vehicle to notify it of ruling information 34 indicating the ruling result made in step S13 (step S15).

[0062] Once the processing for loop L has been executed for all vehicles awaiting a decision regarding their entry, the processing for the target intersection in this control cycle is terminated.

[0063] As explained above, according to this embodiment, for each intersection, route conflict data 171 is set for all combinations of routes passing through the intersection, determining whether or not those routes conflict with each other. Then, priority is set for vehicles that are scheduled to enter the intersection, and by using the route conflict data 171 for that intersection to determine whether or not the routes of vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection with those with higher priority, a decision can be made for each vehicle 10 regarding whether or not to allow it to enter the intersection. Vehicle 10 can then control its entry into the intersection according to the decision result, which is notified as decision information 34 at any time.

[0064] [Differentiation] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which entry control to an intersection is performed for each intersection in the road network on which the autonomous vehicle 10 is traveling. That is, the autonomous vehicle is notified of ruling information 34 (ruling result), and the vehicle's entry control device (driving control device 14) uses the ruling information 34 to perform entry control to the intersection. In contrast, this can also be applied when a driver-driven vehicle is performing notification control regarding entry to an intersection for each intersection in the road network on which it is traveling, and notifying the vehicle of entry to the intersection. In that case, the configuration of the entry permission control device 1 can be realized with the same configuration as in the above embodiment. On the other hand, the vehicle's entry control device (driving control device 14) performs so-called navigation with the destination and planned route set in advance by the occupants, and generates its own vehicle's driving information 32 as needed and transmits it to the entry permission control device 1. Then, based on the ruling information 34 received from the entry permission control device 1, it performs notification control regarding entry to the intersection through display or audio output. For example, if the vehicle's entry control device (driving control device 14) receives a ruling that "entry permitted," it will display a message on the display device instructing the vehicle to proceed straight into the next intersection and take the exit route. If the ruling is "awaiting judgment," it will display a message on the display device instructing the vehicle to stop without entering the intersection. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1...Entry permission control device 150... Processing Unit 151... Driving information acquisition unit 153... Vehicle entry determination unit 155...Priority setting section 157...Adjudication Department 159... Arbitration Information Notification Control Unit 170...Storage section 171…Data on competition between career paths 173…Car management information 175... List of vehicles scheduled to enter the area 10…Automobiles 12…Communication control device 14… Driving control device 3… Wireless base station 32…Driving Information 34…Arbitration information

Claims

1. An entry / exclusion control device that controls whether or not a vehicle is allowed to enter a designated intersection, The aforementioned automobile is equipped with a communication control device that communicates with the entry permission / denial control device, and an entry control device that performs entry control or notification control related to entry into the intersection based on given ruling information received from the entry permission / denial control device. A route conflict data storage means stores route conflict data that determines whether or not routes, which are combinations of routes entering and exiting the aforementioned intersection, conflict with each other. A means for acquiring driving information from the aforementioned vehicle, which includes the location information of the vehicle and information indicating the vehicle's path. A priority setting means that sets priority for vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection based on the aforementioned driving information, A ruling means for determining whether to allow a target vehicle to enter the intersection by determining, based on the inter-path conflict data, whether or not the paths of the target vehicle among the vehicles scheduled to enter the intersection and the vehicles scheduled to enter that have a higher priority than the target vehicle, A ruling information notification control means that controls the notification of the ruling information indicating the ruling result of the ruling means to the target vehicle, An entry permission / denial control device equipped with the following:

2. The aforementioned path-to-path conflict data is data in which the presence or absence of conflict is represented by 1 bit for each combination of paths. The ruling means determines whether or not to allow the target vehicle to enter the intersection by performing a logical operation on the 1-bit value for each of the paths of the vehicles scheduled to enter that have a higher priority than the target vehicle, with respect to the path of the target vehicle. The entry permit / denial control device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned route conflict data storage means stores the route conflict data for each intersection for multiple intersections. The priority setting means sets a priority for each intersection, The aforementioned ruling means makes a ruling on whether to permit entry for the subject vehicle at each intersection. The entry permit / denial control device according to claim 1 or 2.

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