Vehicle information processing system
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-14
AI Technical Summary
【0006】 上記の車両の情報処理装置によれば、道路や地形に依存しない正確な進路変更を判定することが可能となるので、交差点や分岐点などでの右左折や転回を正確に記録することができる。
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Figure 2026131319000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to an information processing device for a vehicle.
Background Art
[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a system including a server and an in-vehicle information communication device. The in-vehicle information communication device transmits information regarding the current position of the vehicle to the server. The in-vehicle information communication device transmits the position information to the server during congestion such as when traffic jams occur, and suppresses the transmission of position information when there is no congestion. With such a configuration, the in-vehicle communication device can suppress the number of communications when there is no congestion and efficiently notify the position of the vehicle during congestion to inform the traffic congestion situation of the road.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] The position information of a vehicle can be used not only for grasping the traffic congestion situation but also for recording the driving history of the vehicle and traffic flow surveys. If the communication frequency between the information processing device mounted on the vehicle that transmits the position information of the vehicle to the server and the server is too low, the position of the vehicle cannot be accurately grasped. On the other hand, if the communication frequency between the information processing device and the server is too high, the load on the information processing device will increase.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0005] Hereinafter, the means for solving the above problems and their operational effects will be described. The vehicle information processing device for solving the above problems comprises a location information acquisition device that acquires information indicating the location of the vehicle, an information transmission device that periodically transmits the information indicating the location of the vehicle acquired by the location information acquisition device to a server, and a storage device. The vehicle information processing device sets the transmission interval for transmitting the information indicating the location of the vehicle to the server to be smaller the lower the vehicle speed. The vehicle information processing device determines whether a recording trigger condition has been met based on a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and if it is determined that the recording trigger condition has been met, it stores the information indicating the location of the vehicle at the time the recording trigger condition was met in the storage device. [Effects of the Invention]
[0006] According to the vehicle information processing device described above, it becomes possible to determine accurate lane changes that are independent of roads and terrain, allowing for accurate recording of right and left turns and U-turns at intersections and junctions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of an information processing system equipped with a vehicle information processing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the process flow for transmitting vehicle location information by the vehicle information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the processing flow using recording trigger conditions for the vehicle information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 illustrates whether the recording trigger condition was met when a right turn was made at an intersection. Figure 4(a) is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of a vehicle when making a right turn. Figure 4(b) is a time chart showing the vehicle's true direction over time. [Figure 5]Figure 5 illustrates whether the recording trigger condition was met when a vehicle changed lanes. Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of a vehicle when changing lanes. Figure 5(b) is a time chart showing the vehicle's true heading over time. [Figure 6] This figure illustrates an example of determining a vehicle's travel route using the vehicle information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the vehicle information processing device 10 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. <Configuration of the information processing device 10> As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 10 is mounted on the vehicle 100. The information processing device 10 is connected to the server 200 so that it can communicate with it. The information processing device 10 then transmits information indicating the current location of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. The information processing device 10, together with the server 200, constitutes the vehicle's information processing system. Based on the information indicating the location of the vehicle 100, the server 200 manages information such as road congestion and the vehicle 100's driving history. This information can be used for traffic flow surveys, etc. The server 200 collects and analyzes location data from many vehicles. The server 200 also organizes and provides the collected data.
[0009] As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 10 is configured to include a location information acquisition device 20, an information transmission device 30, and a storage device 40. The location information acquisition device 20 acquires information indicating the current location of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the location information acquisition device 20 acquires information indicating the current location of the vehicle 100 using radio waves from satellites received by a receiver of the satellite positioning system. Hereinafter, the information indicating the current location of the vehicle 100 will also be referred to as location information.
[0010] The information transmission device 30 periodically transmits the location information of the vehicle 100, acquired by the location information acquisition device 20, to the server 200. The transmission interval of the location information is set according to the speed of the vehicle 100. The transmission interval is the interval at which the information transmission device 30 transmits the location information of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. The transmission interval is set to be smaller the lower the speed of the vehicle 100. In other words, when the transmission interval is small, the frequency at which location information is transmitted to the server 200 is higher than when the transmission interval is large, and denser location information is transmitted to the server 200.
[0011] The storage device 40 is implemented by, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The storage device 40 stores information such as the location of the vehicle 100.
[0012] <Process flow of information processing device 10 transmitting vehicle 100 location information> The following describes in detail the process flow by which the information processing device 10 transmits the location information of the vehicle 100, with reference to Figure 2. The series of processes shown in Figure 2 are repeatedly executed by the information processing device 10 while the vehicle 100 is in operation. As shown in Figure 2, when this series of processes is started, the information processing device 10 first acquires the location information of the vehicle 100 using the location information acquisition device 20 in step S100. Then, the information processing device 10 proceeds to step S110.
[0013] In step S110, the information processing device 10 checks the speed of the vehicle 100. The speed of the vehicle 100 can be obtained using a known method, such as the speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle 100 or the speed displayed on the vehicle 100's dashboard. The information processing device 10 then proceeds to step S120, in which it determines the transmission interval for sending the vehicle 100's location information to the server 200, according to the speed of the vehicle 100 obtained in step S110. Next, the information processing device 10 proceeds to step S130, in which it determines whether the transmission timing corresponding to the transmission interval determined in step S120 has arrived. If the information processing device 10 determines that the transmission timing corresponding to the transmission interval has arrived (step S130: YES), it proceeds to step S140. In step S140, the information processing device 10 transmits the vehicle 100's location information obtained through the process in step S100 to the server 200. On the other hand, if the information processing device 10 has not yet received the transmission timing corresponding to the transmission interval (step S130: NO), it repeats the process in step S130.
[0014] Then, the information processing device 10 returns this series of processes. <Processing flow using recording trigger conditions> The following describes in detail the process flow by which the information processing device 10 records the position of the vehicle 100 using a recording trigger condition, with reference to Figure 3. This series of processes is repeatedly executed by the information processing device 10 while the vehicle 100 is in operation. As shown in Figure 3, when this series of processes is started, the information processing device 10 first determines in step S200 whether the speed of the vehicle 100 is less than a default value. If the information processing device 10 determines in step S200 that the speed of the vehicle 100 is less than a default value (step S200: YES), it proceeds to step S210. On the other hand, if the information processing device 10 determines in step S200 that the speed of the vehicle 100 is greater than or equal to a default value (step S200: NO), it returns to the previous step.
[0015] When the information processing device 10 proceeds with the process to step S210, in the process of step S210, it determines whether the recording trigger condition is satisfied. In the present embodiment, the recording trigger condition is a condition for automatically starting to record information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 when a specific event or situation occurs. The recording trigger condition is, for example, a logical product condition of the following two conditions. That is, the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition is satisfied when both of the following two conditions are satisfied.
[0016] · There is a change between the true bearing immediately before the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 starts to change and the true bearing at the time when the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 stops changing. · The traveling direction has changed by 45 degrees or more between the start of the change in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 and the end of the change.
[0017] The true bearing is the azimuth angle measured based on true north, with the clockwise direction being the positive angle. When the traveling direction is indicated by the true bearing, northward travel is 0 degrees, eastward travel is 90 degrees, southward travel is 180 degrees, and westward travel is 270 degrees.
[0018] When the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition is satisfied in the process of step S210 (step S210: YES), it proceeds with the process to step S220, and in the process of step S220, it records the position information of the vehicle 100. Further, the information processing device 10 proceeds with the process to step S230, and in the process of step S230, it transmits the position information of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. Then, the information processing device 10 returns this series of processes.
[0019] On the other hand, when the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition is not satisfied in the process of step S210 (step S210: NO), it returns the process. <When the vehicle 100 makes a right turn at an intersection> Hereinafter, a specific example when the vehicle 100 makes a right turn at an intersection will be described while referring to FIG. 4.
[0020] In this embodiment, the change in the true orientation of the vehicle 100 is detected by detecting the turning of the vehicle 100. As a means of detecting the turning motion of the vehicle 100, known technologies can be used by utilizing various sensors mounted on the vehicle 100. For example, an angular velocity sensor can be used to measure the angular velocity when the vehicle turns in real time, and the turning motion of the vehicle can be detected from the measured value. Alternatively, an acceleration sensor can be used to measure the lateral acceleration (lateral G) generated when the vehicle turns in real time, thereby detecting that the vehicle is traveling on a curve, such as a right or left turn. Furthermore, a steering angle sensor can be used to measure the angle at which the driver turns the steering wheel, and the vehicle's turning motion can be predicted from the result to detect entry into a curve. In addition, a wheel speed sensor can be used to measure the difference in rotational speed between the inner and outer wheels of the vehicle in real time, thereby detecting the turning motion of the vehicle. As long as the turning of the vehicle can be detected, the specific method is not limited, and it is possible to arbitrarily combine the above-mentioned technologies or other technologies known as prior art.
[0021] Figure 4(a) is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of vehicle 100 when making a right turn. As shown in Figure 4(a), in this example, vehicle 100 passes through the intersection while turning right along the hollow arrow. In Figure 4(a), the figure composed of a solid circle and a dashed cross is used to represent true direction. In this figure, the circle represents the reference point of direction, and the cross represents the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). Just before vehicle 100 enters the intersection, its direction of travel is north, and its true direction is 0 degrees. When vehicle 100 enters the intersection at time t1, it begins to turn to the right. Various sensors mounted on vehicle 100 begin to detect the change in the direction of travel of vehicle 100 from time t1. As vehicle 100 enters the intersection as indicated by the arrow, the direction of travel of vehicle 100 gradually shifts from north to east in a clockwise direction. The true bearing of vehicle 100 gradually increases clockwise from 0 degrees, reaching 30 degrees and then changing to 90 degrees. At time t2, immediately after vehicle 100 leaves the intersection, its direction of travel becomes eastward, and its true bearing becomes 90 degrees. From time t2 onward, the direction of travel of vehicle 100 stops changing. From time t2, when the various sensors mounted on vehicle 100 detect that the direction of travel of vehicle 100 has stopped changing, they terminate detection of the direction of travel at time t3, when the state of no change in direction of travel has continued for a predetermined period.
[0022] Figure 4(b) shows a time chart illustrating the true bearing of vehicle 100 over time. As shown in Figure 4(b), the true bearing begins to change from time t1. The true bearing of vehicle 100 becomes 90 degrees at time t2. From time t2, when the true bearing stops changing, the true bearing remains unchanged. At time t1, when the direction of travel of vehicle 100 begins to change, the true bearing is 0 degrees, and at time t2, when the direction of travel of vehicle 100 stops changing, the true bearing is 90 degrees. The true bearing remains at 90 degrees and does not change until time t3, when the predetermined period has continued.
[0023] In this case, the true bearing at time t1, just before the direction of travel of vehicle 100 begins to change, is 0 degrees, while the true bearing at time t2, when the direction of travel of vehicle 100 stops changing, is 90 degrees. Therefore, there is a change in true bearing. Moreover, between the time the direction of travel of vehicle 100 begins to change and the time it stops changing, the direction of travel changed from north to east, resulting in a 90-degree change. Thus, when vehicle 100 turns right at an intersection, the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition has been met at time t3, when the state of not changing true bearing has continued for a predetermined period (step S210: YES). However, the time when the recording trigger condition is met is t2, when the direction of travel of vehicle 100 stops changing. As a result, the information processing device 10 records this intersection as the position of vehicle 100 (processing in step S220).
[0024] <When vehicle 100 changes lanes> The following is a specific example of when vehicle 100 changes lanes, with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of vehicle 100 when changing lanes. As shown in Figure 5(a), in this example, vehicle 100 changes lanes along the hollow arrow. Up to time t1, vehicle 100 is traveling straight in its current lane, with a direction of travel to the east and a true bearing of 90 degrees. This state indicates that vehicle 100 is traveling stably in its current lane. At time t2, vehicle 100 begins to change lanes, its direction of travel changes from east to north, and its true bearing changes from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. At time t2, vehicle 100 leaves its current lane and begins to move into the adjacent lane. From time t2, the true bearing becomes 60 degrees and remains at a true bearing of 60 degrees until time t3. At time t4, vehicle 100 returns its direction of travel to the straight direction, and its direction of travel returns to east. At this point t4, the true bearing has returned to 90 degrees. From this point t4, vehicle 100 has moved to a straight-ahead position in a new lane.
[0025] Figure 5(b) is a time chart showing the behavior of vehicle 100 over time. Figure 5(b) shows the change in the true heading of vehicle 100 due to a lane change, and the duration during which the true heading does not change. Up to time t1, vehicle 100 maintained a direction of travel with a true heading of 90 degrees. This state indicates that vehicle 100 is currently traveling straight in the lane. Subsequently, from time t1 to time t2, the true heading of vehicle 100 gradually changed from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. This change in true heading indicates that vehicle 100 has started to change lanes. At time t2, the true heading of vehicle 100 became 60 degrees, and this state continued until time t3. The period from time t2 to time t3 indicates that vehicle 100 is entering the adjacent lane from its current lane. At time t3, the true heading of vehicle 100 changed again, and at time t4 it returned to 90 degrees. This behavior indicates that vehicle 100 has entered the adjacent lane and its direction of travel has shifted to eastward. From time t3 to time t4, the direction of travel remains unchanged, but the duration from time t3 to time t4 is shorter than the predetermined period. Therefore, the information processing device 10 has not yet terminated detection of the direction of travel. From time t4 onward, the direction of travel of vehicle 100 stops changing. The various sensors mounted on vehicle 100 terminate detection of the direction of travel at time t5, when the state of no change in direction of travel has continued for the predetermined period.
[0026] In this case, the true bearing of vehicle 100 immediately before its direction of travel begins to change is 90 degrees, and the true bearing of vehicle 100 when its direction of travel stops changing is also 90 degrees, so there is no change in true bearing. Also, the direction of travel of vehicle 100 at time t1 when its direction of travel begins to change is eastward, and the direction of travel at time t4 when its direction of travel stops changing is also eastward, so the change in direction of travel is 0 degrees. Thus, when vehicle 100 changes lanes, the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition is not met (step S210: NO). As a result, the information processing device 10 does not record the position of vehicle 100.
[0027] <Example of determining the travel route of vehicle 100 using information processing device 10> Next, an example of determining the travel path using the information processing device 10 will be explained using Figure 6. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the travel path of vehicle 100. In Figure 6, the solid line represents the actual path taken by vehicle 100, and the dashed line represents other possible paths taken by vehicle 100. The arrows shown in Figure 6 represent the vehicle's position transmitted from vehicle 100 to the server 200 at transmission intervals set according to the vehicle's speed. Since the server 200 collects only the positions indicated by these arrows, it can obtain the travel path as a dashed line connecting these positions. However, from this dashed line, it is not possible to determine whether the actual path taken by vehicle 100 was the solid line or the dashed line.
[0028] The information processing device 10 according to this embodiment determines that a recording trigger condition has been met at positions A, B, and C based on a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100. In the case of position A, the conditions are met that the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 has changed by 45 degrees or more, and that there is a change between the true bearing immediately before the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 begins to change and the true bearing at the time when the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 stops changing. Therefore, the information processing device 10 can determine that the recording trigger condition has been met if the vehicle 100 was traveling at position A. In this way, the information processing device 10 stores the position information of the vehicle 100 at position A in the storage device 40. The information processing device 10 also stores the information for positions B and C in the storage device 40 in the same way as for position A. In this way, the information processing device 10 can record the positions where important course changes such as right or left turns, U-turns, and course selection at branching points have occurred.
[0029] <Operation of this embodiment> The information processing device 10 includes a location information acquisition device 20 that acquires information indicating the position of the vehicle 100, an information transmission device 30 that periodically transmits the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the location information acquisition device 20 to the server 200, and a storage device 40. The information processing device 10 sets the transmission interval for transmitting the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 to be smaller the lower the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100. The information processing device 10 determines whether a recording trigger condition has been met based on the change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and if it determines that the recording trigger condition has been met, it stores the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at the time the recording trigger condition was met in the storage device 40.
[0030] The information processing device 10, as described above, sets a shorter transmission interval as the vehicle speed decreases, thereby transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 more frequently when moving at low speeds. The information processing device 10 then records information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 when a recording trigger condition based on a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 is met.
[0031] <Effects of this embodiment> (1) For example, in areas such as commercial districts and residential areas, facilities and houses are densely packed together, resulting in many intersections, and multiple routes often connect these intersections. When a vehicle 100 moves at a low speed in such an area, the information processing device 10 can shorten the transmission interval according to the vehicle speed, thereby transmitting the location of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 at a high frequency and providing detailed movement information.
[0032] Furthermore, when a recording trigger condition based on a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 is met, the information processing device 10 stores information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at that time in the storage device 40. In this way, the information processing device 10 can record the locations where important route changes such as right or left turns, U-turns, and route selection at junctions have occurred. For this reason, the information processing device 10 can provide accurate movement trajectory information even when the vehicle 100 is traveling in an area where multiple routes exist between intersections. As a result, the information processing device 10 can accurately determine route changes that are independent of roads and terrain, and can accurately record right or left turns and U-turns at intersections and junctions.
[0033] (2) The information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition has been met if both conditions are met: there is a change between the true bearing of the vehicle 100 just before it begins to change direction and the true bearing of the vehicle 100 when it stops changing direction, and the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 has changed by 45 degrees or more between the time it begins to change direction and the time it stops changing direction.
[0034] The information processing device 10 described above excludes temporary changes in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and sets a recording trigger condition only in the case of a clear change in direction of travel, such as turning right or left at an intersection. In this way, the recording trigger condition excludes minor changes in direction of travel due to lane changes or unevenness in the road.
[0035] (3) The information processing device 10 determines whether the recording trigger condition has been met when the vehicle 100 stops changing its direction of travel and the state of the vehicle 100 remaining unchanged for a predetermined period of time. If it determines that the recording trigger condition has been met, the point in time when the vehicle stops changing is set as the point in time when the recording trigger condition has been met.
[0036] In the case of a lane change, the direction of travel is changed towards the destination lane, and this direction of travel may be maintained for a short period until the vehicle moves into the destination lane. Once the vehicle has moved into the destination lane, the direction of travel returns to its original direction. In the above configuration, the recording trigger condition is determined to be met based on the fact that the state of no change in direction of travel continues for a predetermined period. Therefore, it is possible to avoid recording the two short-term changes in direction of travel that occur during a lane change.
[0037] (4) When the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition has been met, it sends information to the server 200 indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at the time the recording trigger condition was met. The information processing device 10 immediately transmits information about the location where a change in direction occurred to the server 200. This allows the information processing device 10 to build a foundation for generating accurate driving routes in real time in response to changes in the direction of the vehicle 100, thereby contributing to the advancement of traffic situation analysis.
[0038] <Example of changes> This embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.
[0039] In the above embodiment, when the information processing device 10 determines that the recording trigger condition has been met, it sends information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at the time the recording trigger condition was met to the server 200. However, the timing of sending the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at the time the recording trigger condition was met may be changed. For example, the information processing device 10 sends to the server 200, along with information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at that time, at a transmission timing corresponding to a transmission interval defined by the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100, the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 at the time the recording trigger condition was met, which is stored in the storage device 40.
[0040] In this case, when the recording trigger condition is met, the information processing device 10 does not immediately send information indicating the location of the vehicle 100 to the server 200, but rather sends it in batches at timings based on the transmission interval. In areas where the direction of travel changes frequently, there is a high probability that the recording trigger condition will be met repeatedly. By adopting this configuration, the information processing device 10 can suppress the number of transmissions by temporarily holding the recorded content in the storage device 40 and sending it in batches according to the transmission interval corresponding to the vehicle speed. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the load on the information processing device 10.
[0041] In this embodiment, if it is determined that the speed of vehicle 100 is less than a predetermined value (step S200: YES), it is determined whether or not the recording trigger condition has been met. However, it is also possible to determine whether or not the recording trigger condition has been met throughout the entire operation of vehicle 100, regardless of the speed of vehicle 100.
[0042] In this embodiment, true bearing is used to determine changes in the direction of travel. However, as long as changes in the direction of travel can be determined, left-handed and right-handed coordinate systems and relative direction data can also be used. For example, changes in the direction of travel can be determined without using true bearing by utilizing relative bearing or direction of travel data acquired by vehicle sensors. [Explanation of symbols]
[0043] 10…Information Processing Devices 20…location information acquisition device 30…Information transmission device 40…Storage device 100...vehicles 200... Server
Claims
1. A location information acquisition device that acquires information indicating the location of a vehicle, An information transmission device that periodically transmits information indicating the location of the vehicle, acquired by the location information acquisition device, to a server, A vehicle information processing device equipped with a storage device, The lower the vehicle's speed, the shorter the transmission interval for sending information indicating the vehicle's position to the server. The system determines whether the recording trigger condition has been met based on the change in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and if it is determined that the recording trigger condition has been met, it stores information indicating the position of the vehicle at the time the recording trigger condition was met in the storage device. Vehicle information processing device.
2. The recording trigger condition is determined to be met if both of the following conditions are met: there is a change in the true bearing of the vehicle immediately before it begins to change direction and the true bearing of the vehicle when it stops changing direction, and the direction of travel changed by 45 degrees or more between the time it began to change direction and the time it stopped changing direction. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 1.
3. When the vehicle's direction of travel stops changing and this state of no change in direction continues for a predetermined period of time, it is determined whether the recording trigger condition has been met. If it is determined that the recording trigger condition has been met, the point at which the direction of travel stops changing will be considered the point at which the recording trigger condition has been met. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 2.
4. When it is determined that the recording trigger condition has been met, information indicating the vehicle's position at the time the recording trigger condition was met is sent to the server. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 1.
5. At a transmission timing corresponding to the transmission interval defined by the vehicle speed, information indicating the vehicle's position at that time, along with information indicating the vehicle's position when the recording trigger condition stored in the storage device is met, is transmitted to the server. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 1.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Vehicle and information management system
JP2022143024A