Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

Abstract

When route information used to generate driving assistance information is updated and communicated from the ground during travel, the updated route information cannot be accurately acquired in sections where communication conditions are unstable. Therefore, a driving assistance device is provided with a planned route information storage unit that stores planned route information for a vehicle, a vehicle information processing unit that processes various information used inside the vehicle, a driving assistance information generation unit that generates driving assistance information to assist the driving of the vehicle, and a display unit that displays the driving assistance information. The vehicle information processing unit notifies the driving assistance information generation unit of changed route information for the vehicle upon having received the changed route information from outside the vehicle, and notifies the display unit of driving assistance information generated by the driving assistance information generation unit in order to display the driving assistance information. The driving assistance information generation unit generates driving assistance information on the basis of changed route information when a notification of the changed route information has been received from the vehicle information processing unit, or on the basis of planned route information when a notification changed route information has not been received.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation support device and an operation support method for railway vehicles.

Background Art

[0002] There is a conventional operation support technology (hereinafter referred to as "DAS" (Driver Advisory System)). DAS wirelessly acquires route information including stop stations from start to end and departure / arrival times at limited locations such as vehicle bases and stations, and uses this route information during travel to generate operation support information for optimal driving advice and energy-saving operation and display it to the driver. This enables the scheduled operation and energy-saving operation of trains.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle operation business support system that includes data transmission / reception means capable of transmitting and receiving data between an arithmetic processing device, a storage device, a display device, an external operation management system having a function of changing vehicle operation, and a vehicle tracking system capable of grasping the vehicle position in real time, and manages vehicle operation based on vehicle operation data stored in the storage device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Driver assistance technology (DAS) generates and displays driver assistance information to the driver based on route information pre-stored in the vehicle. However, in commercial operation, disruptions to the schedule due to train delays or accidents often result in trains not following the pre-acquired route information, leading to situations where driver assistance information is not generated. This creates a problem where the driver may remain without access to driver assistance information.

[0006] On the other hand, while route information is acquired wirelessly by the vehicle in limited locations, it is technically possible to communicate with the ground while the vehicle is in motion, as long as the communication radio waves can reach. Therefore, if route information is updated and notified from the ground, the updated route information can be acquired. However, while driving, there are sections with good communication conditions as well as sections with unstable conditions, so there is a problem in that route information cannot be accurately acquired in sections with unstable communication conditions.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a technology that, when route information changes, acquires the changed route information while driving, adopts the changed route information only when the communication status is good, and displays driving support information generated based on this changed route information to the driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, one representative driving assistance device of the present invention comprises a planned route information storage unit that stores planned route information of a vehicle, a vehicle information processing unit that processes various information used inside the vehicle, a driving assistance information generation unit that generates driving assistance information to assist in driving the vehicle, and a display unit that displays the driving assistance information. The vehicle information processing unit notifies the driving assistance information generation unit of the changed route information when it receives changed route information from outside the vehicle, and notifies the display unit of the driving assistance information generation unit in order to display the driving assistance information generated by the driving assistance information generation unit. The driving assistance information generation unit generates driving assistance information based on the changed route information when it receives notification of changed route information from the vehicle information processing unit, or based on the planned route information when it does not receive notification of changed route information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire route information that has been changed during operation, and to generate driving support information by determining the optimal route information from the communication status. Therefore, even if the schedule is disrupted, driving support information can be correctly conveyed to the driver, enabling energy-saving and safe driving. Issues, structures, and effects other than those mentioned above will be clarified by the following explanation of the implementation methods. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows a flowchart of the driver assistance information generation procedure processed by the driver assistance device generation unit of Example 1. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 4] This diagram shows a flowchart of the procedure for generating a decision result processed by the switching decision unit in Example 2. [Figure 5] This diagram shows a flowchart of the driver assistance information generation procedure processed by the driver assistance device generation unit of Example 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, in the drawings, identical parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. [Examples]

[0012] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In Embodiment 1, with the configuration shown in FIG. 1, when the road information changes during driving, the changed road information is acquired, and driving support information is generated using the acquired road information and the planned road information, and is displayed to the driver.

[0013] Vehicle 101 is equipped with a vehicle information control device 102 and a receiving unit 103 corresponding to the driving support device.

[0014] When there is a change in the road information, the receiving unit 103 receives the changed road information notified from the ground side, and notifies the vehicle information processing unit 106 provided in the vehicle information control device 102 as the changed road information 111.

[0015] Here, as the communication form of the changed road information notified from the ground side, mainly wireless communication is assumed including Embodiment 2 to be described later, but it is not limited thereto, and for example, communication using a track circuit or the like is also included.

[0016] The vehicle information processing unit 106 processes various kinds of information such as controlling the reception of information from each device inside the vehicle 101 and the transmission of information to each device. Among them, regarding driving support, it receives the changed road information 111 from the receiving unit 103 and outputs the changed road information 112 to the driving support information generation unit 105. Also, it receives the driving support information 114 generated by the driving support information generation unit 105 and outputs it to the display unit 107 as the driving support information 115 for display to the driver.

[0017] Thus, the changed road information received from the ground side is notified to the driving support information generation unit 105 as the changed road information 112.

[0018] On the other hand, the planned road information storage unit 104 stores in advance the planned road information 113 for the road to be traveled.

[0019] The driving support information generation unit 105 determines the driving route information to be adopted from the planned driving route information 113 notified from the planned driving route information storage unit 104 and the changed driving route information 112 notified from the vehicle information processing unit 106 by the determination unit it has inside, and generates driving support information 114 based on the adopted driving route information. The implementation mode of the processing by the driving support information generation unit 105 will be described later in the description of FIG. 2.

[0020] The driving support information 114 output by the driving support information generation unit 105 is output to the vehicle information processing unit 106.

[0021] The display unit 107 receives the driving support information 115 from the vehicle information processing unit 106 and displays it to the driver.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the driving support information generation procedure processed by the driving support information generation unit 105. Since the processing entity of this flowchart is the driving support information generation unit 105, the description of the processing entity in the following each step is omitted.

[0023] In step S11, it is always confirmed whether the changed driving route information received from the ground side is received as the changed driving route information 112 via the vehicle information processing unit 106. If received (Yes), it proceeds to step S12, and if not received (No), it proceeds to step S13.

[0024] In step S12, driving support information 114 based on the received changed driving route information 112 is generated.

[0025] In step S13, driving support information 114 is generated based on the planned driving route information 113 received from the planned driving route information storage unit 104, and it returns to step S11 to always confirm whether new changed driving route information 112 has not been received.

[0026] The flowchart described above ensures that the system constantly checks whether route change information is being received from the ground. If it is received, the route change information is adopted; otherwise, the planned route information is used, and driving support information is generated based on each of these conditions. [Examples]

[0027] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driving assistance device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Example 2 employs a function that selects either the changed route information or the planned route information based on the results determined from the changed route information and the communication status, and generates and displays driver support information to the driver based on the selected route information.

[0028] Similar to Embodiment 1, the vehicle 101 is equipped with a vehicle information control device 102 and a receiving unit 103 that correspond to the driver assistance system. Embodiment 2 differs from Embodiment 1 in that a switching determination unit 108 is newly provided in the vehicle information control device 102.

[0029] When there is a change in the route information, the receiving unit 103 receives the changed route information notified from the ground side and notifies the vehicle information processing unit 106 of the vehicle information control device 102 as changed route information 111. Furthermore, the receiving unit 103 constantly monitors the communication status with the ground side and notifies the switching determination unit 108 of the communication status 116.

[0030] The switching determination unit 108 uses the communication status 116 notified from the receiving unit 103 to notify the vehicle information processing unit 106 of the determination result 117 of whether to adopt the planned route information 113 or the changed route information 112. The details of the procedure for generating this determination result will be described later in the explanation of Figure 4.

[0031] The vehicle information processing unit 106 processes various types of information, including controlling the reception of information from and transmission of information to various devices within the vehicle 101. Regarding driver assistance, it receives route change information 111 from the receiving unit 103 and judgment results 117 from the switching judgment unit 108, and outputs the route change information 112 and judgment results 117 to the driver assistance information generation unit 105. It also receives the driver assistance information 114 generated by the driver assistance information generation unit 105 and outputs it to the display unit 107 as driver assistance information 115 for display to the driver.

[0032] Thus, the route change information notified from the ground and the communication status 116 in the vehicle 101 are received by the driver support information generation unit 105 as the route change information 112 and the result of the switching decision 118 based on the communication status 116.

[0033] On the other hand, the planned route information storage unit 104 has planned route information 113 for the route to be traveled stored in advance, similar to the first embodiment.

[0034] The driver support information generation unit 105 has an internal determination unit that determines the route information to be adopted from the planned route information 113 received from the planned route information storage unit 104, the changed route information 112 notified from the vehicle information processing unit 106, and the determination result 117, and generates driver support information 114 based on the adopted route information. An embodiment of the processing by the driver support information generation unit 105 will be described later in the explanation of Figure 5.

[0035] The driver assistance information 114 output by the driver assistance information generation unit 105 is output to the vehicle information processing unit 106.

[0036] The display unit 107 receives driver assistance information 115 from the vehicle information processing unit 106 and displays it to the driver.

[0037] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating the decision result 117 processed by the switching decision unit 108. Since the main processing unit in this flowchart is the switching decision unit 108, the description of the main processing unit in each of the following steps will be omitted.

[0038] In step S21, it is determined whether the communication status 116 received from the receiving unit 103 is good or unstable. If the result is good (Yes), the process proceeds to step S22; if it is unstable (No), the process proceeds to step S23.

[0039] In step S22, it is determined whether the good communication condition has continued for a certain period of time. If the result is that it has continued for a certain period of time (Yes), proceed to step S24; otherwise, proceed to step S23.

[0040] In step S23, if the communication status 116 is not good (No in step S21), or if the communication status 116 is good but does not continue for a certain period of time (No in step S21), it is determined that the changed route information 112 cannot be accurately acquired and the correct driving support information 114 cannot be generated. The determination result 117 notifies the vehicle information processing unit 106 of the decision to switch to the planned route information 113. In addition, the process returns to step S21 to always check the communication status 116.

[0041] In step S24, if it is confirmed that the communication status 116 is good and has continued for a certain period of time, the vehicle information processing unit 106 is notified of the decision result 117 to switch to the changed route information 112.

[0042] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating driver assistance information processed by the driver assistance information generation unit 105. Since the driver assistance information generation unit 105 is the main processor in this flowchart, the description of the main processor in each step below will be omitted.

[0043] If the decision result 118 notified by the vehicle information processing unit 106 in step S31 is to adopt the changed route information 112 (Yes), the process proceeds to step S32. If the decision is to adopt the planned route information 113 (No), the process proceeds to step S33.

[0044] In step S32, it is always checked whether the route change information 112 has been received. If it has been received (Yes), proceed to step S34; otherwise, proceed to step S33.

[0045] In step S33, driving support information 114 is generated based on the planned route information 113. In addition, the process returns to step S31 to always check whether changed route information 112 has been received.

[0046] In step S34, driving support information 114 is generated based on the changed route information 112.

[0047] Based on the flowchart described above, the change route information 112 is adopted only when the communication conditions during driving remain good for a certain period of time, based on the determination result 117 made by the switching determination unit 108. This makes it possible to generate driving support information 114 based on correctly received route information.

[0048] Furthermore, it is possible to use information useful for determining the adoption of route information from among the various types of vehicle information held by the vehicle information processing unit 106, and it is possible to add additional conditions in addition to the conditional branching in step S31 shown in Figure 5.

[0049] Although Examples 1 and 2 have been described above as embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to Examples 1 and 2, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0050] For example, the two embodiments described above are detailed explanations provided to illustrate the present invention clearly, and are not necessarily limited to those comprising all the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with those of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add configurations from other embodiments to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment with those of other embodiments.

[0051] Each of the above-described configurations, functions, and processing units may be implemented in hardware, in whole or in part, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Alternatively, each of the above-described configurations and functions may be implemented in software by having the processor interpret and execute programs that implement each function. Information such as programs, tables, and files that implement each function can be stored in recording devices such as memory, hard disks, and SSDs (Solid State Drives), or on recording media such as IC cards, SD cards, and DVDs. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0052] 101...Vehicle, 102...Vehicle information control device, 103...Receiver, 104...Planned route information storage unit, 105...Driving support information generation unit, 106...Vehicle information processing unit, 107...Display unit, 108...Switching judgment unit, 111,112...Changed route information, 113...Planned route information, 114,115...Driving support information, 116...Communication status, 117,118...Judgment result

Claims

1. A driver assistance device installed in a railway vehicle, A planned route information storage unit that stores the planned route information of the aforementioned railway vehicle, A vehicle information processing unit that processes various types of information used inside the aforementioned railway vehicle, A driver support information generation unit generates driver support information to assist in the operation of the aforementioned railway vehicle, A display unit that displays the aforementioned driving assistance information, A switching determination unit that determines the communication status when information is received from outside the aforementioned railway vehicle. Equipped with, When the vehicle information processing unit receives information about a change in the railway vehicle's route from outside the railway vehicle, it notifies the driver support information generation unit of the change in route information. The switching determination unit generates a determination result that adopts the changed route information if the good communication state continues for a certain period of time, and adopts the planned route information if the good state does not continue for a certain period of time, and notifies the vehicle information processing unit of the determination result. The vehicle information processing unit notifies the driver support information generation unit of the changed route information and the judgment result, The driver support information generation unit generates the driver support information based on the changed route information if the determination result adopts the changed route information and the vehicle information processing unit has received notification of the changed route information. On the other hand, if the determination result adopts the changed route information but no notification of the changed route information has been received, or if the determination result adopts the planned route information, the driver support information is generated based on the planned route information. The vehicle information processing unit notifies the display unit of the driver assistance information generated by the driver assistance information generation unit in order to display the driver assistance information. A driving assistance device characterized by the following features.

2. A railway vehicle equipped with the driver assistance device described in claim 1.

3. It stores pre-planned route information for railway vehicles. It is determined whether a good communication status received from outside the aforementioned railway vehicle will continue for a certain period of time. If it is determined that the favorable conditions have continued for the specified period of time and route change information for the railway vehicle is received from outside the railway vehicle, then driver support information for the railway vehicle is generated based on the route change information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the favorable conditions have continued for the specified period of time but route change information is not received, or if it is determined that the favorable conditions have not continued for the specified period of time, then driver support information for the railway vehicle is generated based on the planned route information. Display the generated driving support information. A driving assistance method characterized by the following features.

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