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

Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device and a driving assistance method for a railway vehicle.

[0002] Conventional technology includes driver assistance technology (hereinafter referred to as "DAS" (Driver Advisory System)). DAS is a technology that wirelessly acquires route information, including stop stations and departure / arrival times from the first to last destination, at limited locations such as depots and stations, and uses the route information to generate and display optimal driving advice and driving assistance information to the driver while the train is in motion, supporting energy-saving driving. This enables on-time train operation and energy-saving driving.

[0003] Patent document 1 describes a vehicle operation support system that includes a processing unit, a storage device, a display device, an external operation management system with the function of changing vehicle operations, and a data transmission / reception means that can send and receive data between the system and a vehicle tracking system that can grasp the vehicle's location in real time, and that manages vehicle operations based on vehicle operation data stored in the storage device.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-82876

[0005] In driving assistance technology (DAS), driving assistance information is generated based on route information pre-stored in the vehicle and displayed to the driver. However, during commercial operation, when the train schedule is disrupted due to train delays or accidents, the train does not travel in accordance with the route information acquired in advance, and there are many cases where driving assistance information is not generated. As a result, there is a problem that the driving assistance information is not displayed to the driver for a long period of time.

[0006] On the other hand, although route information is acquired wirelessly by the vehicle in limited locations, it is technically possible for the vehicle to communicate with the ground while traveling within the range of radio waves. Therefore, when route information is updated and notified from the ground, the updated route information can be acquired. However, while traveling, there are sections where the communication situation is good as well as sections where it is unstable, and there is a problem that route information cannot be acquired accurately in sections where the communication situation is unstable.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a technology that, when route information is changed, acquires the changed route information while the vehicle is traveling, adopts the changed route information only when communication conditions are good, and displays driving support information generated based on this changed route information to the driver.

[0008] In order 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 for the 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, wherein the vehicle information processing unit, when receiving changed route information for the vehicle from outside the vehicle, notifies the driving assistance information generation unit of the changed route information and notifies the display unit of the driving assistance information generated by the driving assistance information generation unit, and the driving assistance information generation unit generates driving assistance information based on the changed route information when notified of the changed route information from the vehicle information processing unit, or based on the planned route information when notified of the changed route information.

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire route information that has changed while the train is running, and to generate driving support information by determining the most appropriate route information from the communication status. Therefore, even if the schedule is disrupted, the driving support information can be correctly conveyed to the driver, realizing energy-saving and safe driving. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the description of the following embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a driving assistance device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a driving assistance information generation procedure processed by a driving assistance device generation unit of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a driving assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a determination result generation procedure processed by a switching determination unit of the second embodiment; and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a driving assistance information generation procedure processed by a driving assistance device generation unit of the second embodiment.

[0011] Hereinafter, examples 1 and 2 will be described as embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In addition, in the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the configuration shown in Fig. 1 has a function of acquiring changed route information when route information is changed during travel, generating driving assistance information using the acquired route information and planned route information, and displaying the information to a driver.

[0013] The vehicle 101 is equipped with a vehicle information control device 102 and a receiving unit 103 that correspond to a driving assistance device.

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

[0015] Here, the communication form of the changed route information notified from the ground side is mainly assumed to be wireless communication, including Example 2 described below, but is not limited to this and also includes communication using track circuits, etc.

[0016] The vehicle information processing unit 106 processes various types of information, such as receiving information from each device inside the vehicle 101 and controlling the transmission of information to each device. Among these, with regard to driving assistance, it receives changed route information 111 from the receiving unit 103 and outputs changed route information 112 to the driving assistance information generating unit 105. It also receives driving assistance information 114 generated by the driving assistance information generating unit 105 and outputs it to the display unit 107 as driving assistance information 115 to be displayed to the driver.

[0017] In this way, the changed route information received from the ground side is notified to the driving support information generating unit 105 as changed route information 112.

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

[0019] The driving support information generating unit 105 has an internal determining unit that determines which route information to adopt from the planned route information 113 notified from the planned route information storage unit 104 and the changed route information 112 notified from the vehicle information processing unit 106, and generates driving support information 114 based on the adopted route information. The embodiment of the processing by the driving support information generating unit 105 will be described later in the description of FIG. 2.

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

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

[0022] 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating driving support information, which is processed by the driving support information generation unit 105. The processing entity of this flowchart is the driving support information generation unit 105, and therefore a description of the processing entity in each step will be omitted below.

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

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

[0025] In step S13, driving support information 114 is generated based on the planned route information 113 received from the planned route information storage unit 104, and the process returns to step S11 to constantly check whether new changed route information 112 has been received.

[0026] The above flowchart constantly checks whether changed route information is being received from the ground, and if it is received, the changed route information is adopted; if it is not received, the planned route information continues to be used, and driving assistance information is generated based on each.

[0027] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment has a function of adopting either changed route information or planned route information based on the results of judging from changed route information and communication status, and generating driving assistance information based on the adopted route information and displaying it to the driver.

[0028] As in the first embodiment, the vehicle 101 is equipped with a vehicle information control device 102 corresponding to the driving assistance device and a receiving unit 103. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment 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 changed route information notified from the ground side and notifies the changed route information to the vehicle information processing unit 106 provided in the vehicle information control device 102 as changed route information 111. In addition, 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 decision unit 108 uses the communication status 116 notified from the receiving unit 103 to notify the vehicle information processing unit 106 of a decision result 117 as to whether to adopt the planned route information 113 or the changed route information 112. The procedure for generating this decision result will be described later in the description of FIG. 4.

[0031] The vehicle information processing unit 106 processes various types of information, such as receiving information from each device inside the vehicle 101 and controlling the transmission of information to each device. Among these, with regard to driving assistance, the vehicle information processing unit 106 receives changed route information 111 from the receiving unit 103 and a determination result 117 from the switching determination unit 108, and outputs changed route information 112 and the determination result 117 to the driving assistance information generation unit 105. The vehicle information processing unit 106 also receives driving assistance information 114 generated by the driving assistance information generation unit 105 and outputs it to the display unit 107 as driving assistance information 115 to be displayed to the driver.

[0032] In this way, the changed route information notified from the ground and the communication state 116 in the vehicle 101 are received by the driving assistance information generation unit 105 as a switching decision result 118 based on the changed route information 112 and the communication state 116.

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

[0034] The driving support information generating unit 105 has an internal determining unit that determines which route information to adopt based on 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 driving support information 114 based on the adopted route information. The embodiment of the processing by the driving support information generating unit 105 will be described later in the description of FIG. 5.

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

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

[0037] 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating the determination result 117 processed by the switching determination unit 108. The processing subject of this flowchart is the switching determination unit 108, and therefore a description of the processing subject in each step will be omitted below.

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

[0039] In step S22, it is determined whether or not the good communication state has continued for a certain period of time. If the result of the determination is that the good communication state has continued for a certain period of time (Yes), the process proceeds to step S24, and if the good communication state has not continued for a certain period of time (No), the process proceeds to step S23.

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

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

[0042] 5 is a flowchart of the driving support information generation procedure processed by the driving support information generation unit 105. The processing subject of this flowchart is the driving support information generation unit 105, and therefore a description of the processing subject in each step will be omitted below.

[0043] In step S31, if the judgment result 118 notified from the vehicle information processing unit 106 is a judgment to adopt the changed route information 112 (Yes), proceed to step S32, and if the judgment is to adopt the planned route information 113 (No), proceed to step S33.

[0044] In step S32, it is always checked whether the changed route information 112 has been received, and if it has been received (Yes), the process proceeds to step S34, and if it has not been received (No), the process proceeds 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 constantly check whether or not changed route information 112 has been received.

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

[0047] According to the above flowchart, based on the judgment result 117 judged by the switching judgment unit 108, the changed route information 112 is adopted only when the communication conditions during driving remain good for a certain period of time, thereby making it possible to generate driving assistance information 114 based on the correctly received route information.

[0048] It is also possible to use information useful for determining whether to adopt route information from among the various types of vehicle information held by the vehicle information processing unit 106, and this can also be added as an additional condition, not limited to the conditional branch of 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 within the scope of the present invention.

[0050] For example, the two embodiments described above have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0051] The above-described configurations, functions, and processing units may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The above-described configurations and functions may also be implemented in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that implements each function. Information such as the programs, tables, and files that implement each function may be stored in a storage device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a storage medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0052] 101... vehicle, 102... vehicle information control device, 103... receiving unit, 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. An operation support device mounted on a railway vehicle, comprising: a planned route information storage unit that stores planned route information of the railway vehicle; a vehicle information processing unit that processes various information used inside the railway vehicle; an operation support information generation unit that generates operation support information for supporting the operation of the railway vehicle; a display unit that displays the operation support information; a switching determination unit that determines a communication state when receiving information from outside the railway vehicle and when receiving changed route information of the railway vehicle from outside the railway vehicle, the switching determination unit generates a determination result of adopting the changed route information when the good state of the communication state continues for a certain period of time, and adopting the planned route information when the good state does not continue for a certain period of time, and notifies the determination result to the vehicle information processing unit; the vehicle information processing unit notifies the changed route information and the determination result to the operation support information generation unit, and notifies the operation support information generated by the operation support information generation unit to the display unit in order to display the operation support information; when the determination result is to adopt the changed route information and the vehicle information processing unit receives the notification of the changed route information, the operation support information generation unit generates the operation support information based on the changed route information, or even when the determination result is to adopt the changed route information but the notification of the changed route information is not received and when the determination result is to adopt the planned route information, the operation support information generation unit generates the operation support information based on the planned route information An operation support device characterized by the above.

2. (Deleted)

3. (Deleted)

4. (Deleted)

5. A railway vehicle equipped with the operation support device according to Claim 1.

6. Storing planned route information planned in advance for a railway vehicle, determining whether or not a good state of a communication state received from outside the railway vehicle continues for a certain period of time, when receiving changed route information of the railway vehicle from outside the railway vehicle in a state where the good state continues for the certain period of time, generating operation support information of the railway vehicle based on the changed route information, or when receiving the changed route information in a state where the good state does not continue for the certain period of time and when not receiving the changed route information, generating operation support information of the railway vehicle based on the planned route information and displaying the generated operation support information An operation support method characterized by the above.