JP2008151507A - Apparatus and method for merge guidance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it has not been possible to clearly grasp a position in a road surface to be steered for a merge. <P>SOLUTION: Information indicating the movement of a self-vehicle is acquired. Information indicating the movements of other vehicles traveling in the periphery of the self-vehicle is acquired. A merge part for merging the self-vehicle to a travel lane of the other vehicles is specified on the basis of the movement of the self-vehicle and the movements of the other vehicles. Guidance is performed on a position in a road surface to be steered for merging the self-vehicle to the merge part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a merging guide apparatus and method for performing guidance for merging a host vehicle in a traveling lane of another vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for performing guidance for joining a host vehicle to a train of another vehicle is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for displaying a positional relationship between another vehicle and the host vehicle when the host vehicle reaches a joining point using a display device installed on a road surface.
JP 2002-260173 A

In the prior art, it was impossible to clearly grasp the position on the road surface on which steering for merging should be performed.
In other words, in a merging operation on an expressway or the like, in general, steering or the like is performed after performing a required operation such as accelerating the host vehicle on an acceleration lane. The position of the merging portion that can be merged varies depending on the position. Therefore, even if guidance is provided for a merging point whose position is limited in advance as in Patent Document 1, the position at which steering is actually performed does not match the merging point, and the driver performs steering for merging. The position on the road surface to be performed cannot be clearly understood.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to clearly present to the driver the position on the road surface on which steering for merging should be performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a merging portion for merging the own vehicle to the traveling lane of another vehicle is specified, and a position on the road surface for performing steering for merging the own vehicle to the merging portion. To guide you. Therefore, the driver can clearly grasp that the steering should be performed when the driver reaches the position.

  That is, the driver cannot clearly indicate at which position the steering should be performed only by guiding the acceleration amount of the own vehicle necessary for merging. However, according to the present invention, the position on the road surface to be steered can be clearly grasped, so that it is not necessary for the driver to determine the steering start position himself, and the burden on the driver can be extremely reduced.

  Here, the own vehicle operation acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire the operation of the own vehicle that can be compared with the other vehicle in order to identify the junction, and the other vehicle operation acquisition unit may What is necessary is just to be able to acquire operations of other vehicles that can be compared. Therefore, it is possible to acquire the operation of the host vehicle based on various information such as various sensors, cameras, and various communications. For example, the position, speed, acceleration, etc. of the vehicle are specified by a sensor or camera, the position of the vehicle, the vehicle's position, speed, A configuration for acquiring acceleration and the like can be employed.

  In the merging portion specifying means, it is only necessary to be able to specify the merging portion for merging the host vehicle with the traveling lane of another vehicle. For example, when an interval in which the host vehicle can enter is between another vehicle and the host vehicle is in a state where it can be moved to the side of the interval by accelerating / decelerating the vehicle. What is necessary is just to specify the position where a space | interval exists as a junction part. For this purpose, since it is necessary to specify the relationship between the own vehicle and the other vehicle and the relationship between the other vehicle and the other vehicle, these may be specified based on the operations of the own vehicle and the other vehicle. Of course, the merge part is not limited to other vehicles, and may be a space in front of or behind the other vehicle. If no other vehicle exists, an arbitrary position on the road surface may be the merge part.

  The steering position guide means only needs to be able to guide the position on the road surface on which the steering is performed to the driver. That is, when the merging portion is specified by the merging portion specifying means, it is possible to specify the position where the steering should be performed in order to join the own vehicle to the merging portion. For example, a position where the vehicle can run in parallel to the predicted position of the junction and the relative speed of the two can be reduced to a predetermined speed or less (for example, approximately “0”) is predicted, and this position is used for the steering. What is necessary is just to make it the position on the road surface to perform.

  In guiding the position on the road surface, it is only necessary to provide guidance so that the driver can clearly grasp the position where the steering is started, and various types of guidance means can be employed. In other words, it is only necessary to guide the position on the road surface so that the driver can recognize it visually or auditorily, but to guide the driver more clearly on the road surface, guide the driver so that the driver can recognize it visually. It is preferable.

  Further, as an example of a configuration for guiding the position on the road surface by the steering position guide means, a configuration is adopted in which the guidance is continued until the vehicle reaches the position on the road surface before reaching the position on the road surface. Also good. According to this configuration, since the driver can recognize the position on the road surface to be steered before reaching the position on the road surface, sufficient confirmation such as visual confirmation before steering is performed is sufficient. Preparation can be done. Therefore, the burden on the driver can be extremely reduced.

  Furthermore, as an example of the configuration in which the steering position guide means guides the position on the road surface, a configuration in which guidance is displayed on the road surface by the light output means may be adopted. That is, if the light output means is configured to output light to the road surface and display information on the road surface, the position on the road surface on which the steering is to be performed is a position where the steering is actually performed. Information to be displayed can be displayed. Therefore, the driver can recognize the position for steering very easily while driving.

  It should be noted that various configurations can be adopted as the light output means, as long as the laser or other visible light can be output in the traveling direction of the host vehicle and information can be displayed on the road surface. Of course, the mounting position is not limited, and a configuration in which the light output direction is adjusted according to the operation of the host vehicle such as yaw, roll, and pitch in order to always display information at a specific position may be adopted.

  Further, as an example of a configuration in which the position on the road surface is guided by the steering position guide means, the position on the road surface on which the steering is performed is displayed by an image display means that displays an image of the road surface on which the host vehicle is traveling. May be adopted. That is, in the configuration in which the road surface is displayed by the image display means for carrying out navigation or the like of the host vehicle, an image indicating a steering position and an image of a structure that serves as a mark of the steering position are displayed. . As a result, the driver can recognize the steering position very easily while driving.

  In addition, in order to display an image of the structure serving as a mark around the steering position, the image information of the structure existing around the road is previously added to the map information used when navigating the host vehicle. In addition, when a position on the road surface on which the steering is performed is specified, an image of a structure around the position may be extracted. Of course, an image captured by the front camera may be displayed.

  Furthermore, as an example of a configuration for guiding the position on the road surface by the steering position guide means, a configuration for displaying information indicating the position on the road surface on the windshield of the host vehicle may be adopted. That is, in this configuration, if information indicating the steering position is displayed at the intersection of the line of sight and the windshield when the driver performs the steering operation, the steering operation is performed for the driver. It appears that information indicating the steering position is displayed on the road surface. Therefore, the driver can recognize the position for steering very easily while driving. Note that various configurations can be employed as the information display means. For example, a device that displays desired information on the windshield by a head-up display or a projector can be employed.

  Furthermore, the method of guiding the position on the road surface for performing the steering for merging as in the present invention can be applied as a program or a method. In addition, the above merging guide device, program, and method may be realized as a single merging guide device or may be realized by using parts shared with each part provided in the vehicle. The embodiment is included. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program including the above merging guide device. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the merging guide device. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation device:
(2) Confluence guidance processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 10 including a merging guide device according to the present invention. The navigation device 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like and a storage medium 30, and the control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the storage medium 30 or the ROM. In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 can be implemented as one of the programs, and the navigation program 21 implements merging guidance when merging the host vehicle with the traveling lane of another vehicle as one of its functions. It has a function.

  In order to realize the navigation program 21, the host vehicle (vehicle equipped with the navigation device 10) has a GPS receiver 40, a vehicle speed sensor 41, a camera 42, a rudder angle sensor 43, a laser output unit 44, a speaker 45, and a display unit. 46, and exchange of signals between these units and the control unit 20 is realized by an interface (not shown).

  The GPS receiver 40 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information for calculating the current position of the host vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels provided in the host vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown), and acquires the speed of the host vehicle. The camera 42 is attached to the host vehicle so that the rear of the host vehicle is included in the field of view, and outputs image data indicating the captured image. The control unit 20 acquires this image data through an interface (not shown) and specifies the operation of the other vehicle included in the field of view of the camera 42.

  The steering angle sensor 43 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering of the host vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown), and acquires information indicating the steering rotation angle. In the present embodiment, the steering angle sensor 43 is used to determine whether or not the steering for merging has been performed. The laser output unit 44 is a mechanism that outputs a laser toward a road surface outside the host vehicle, and outputs the laser toward an arbitrary position. Therefore, it is possible to project a desired shape such as characters and figures on the road surface by controlling the laser output direction.

  By executing the navigation program 21, the control unit 20 specifies a merging unit for merging the host vehicle with the traveling lane of the other vehicle based on the various information acquired as described above, and Therefore, a position on the road surface for steering (hereinafter also referred to as a steering position) is guided. In this embodiment, the laser output unit 44 guides the steering position, and the speaker 45 and the display unit 46 provide guidance for assisting merging.

  That is, the control unit 20 predicts a position to be steered to join the joining unit, and outputs information for projecting a predetermined figure to the position to the laser output unit 44. Then, the laser output unit 44 projects the predetermined figure on the steering position based on this information. Further, the control unit 20 outputs a control signal for performing various types of guidance by voice to the speaker 45, and outputs a control signal for performing various types of guidance based on an image to the display unit 46. To output various guides indicating the steering position and necessary acceleration / deceleration.

  In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 guides the steering position, thereby causing the navigation device 10 to function as the navigation device according to the present invention. The navigation program 21 includes a host vehicle operation acquisition unit 21a, an other vehicle operation acquisition unit 21b, and a guidance processing unit 21c. Further, the storage medium 30 stores map information 30a for performing guidance by the navigation program 21. The map information 30a includes node data indicating nodes set on the road, link data indicating connection between nodes, data indicating targets, data indicating structures around the road surface, and the like. It is used for identification, identification of road surface shape, and guidance to the destination.

  The own vehicle operation acquisition unit 21a is a module that specifies the position of the own vehicle based on the signal output from the GPS receiving unit 40 and acquires the speed and acceleration of the own vehicle based on the signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 41. . The other vehicle operation acquisition unit 21b is a module that acquires the operation of the other vehicle based on the image acquired by the camera 42, and includes an image processing unit 21b1. That is, when the image processing unit 21b1 acquires an image around the host vehicle via the camera 42, the other vehicle operation acquisition unit 21b extracts an image of the other vehicle based on this image, and extracts the operation of the other vehicle. .

  More specifically, a lane that is a target for detecting another vehicle is extracted from the image, an image of the other vehicle is extracted from an image in the lane, and comparison between frames is performed. Then, based on the displacement of the image of the other vehicle between the frames, the operation of the other vehicle, that is, the position of the other vehicle (relative position with respect to the own vehicle), the speed, and the acceleration are detected.

  The guidance processing unit 21c specifies a steering position to be steered when joining the own vehicle to the merging unit based on information output from the own vehicle operation obtaining unit 21a and the other vehicle operation obtaining unit 21b, and determines the steering position. This is a module for guiding, and includes a merging portion specifying portion 21c1 and a steering position guiding portion 21c2. Junction part specific | specification part 21c1 specifies the confluence | merging part for joining the own vehicle to the travel lane of another vehicle. That is, an interval existing between other vehicles is specified based on the operation of the other vehicle, and an interval that can be reached without excessive acceleration / deceleration from an interval that is long enough to join the own vehicle is specified. It is a junction.

  The steering position guide unit 21c2 specifies the above-described steering position at which the host vehicle can be joined to the junction, and projects a figure indicating the steering position onto the road surface at this position. That is, information for projecting the figure is output to the laser output unit 44. In addition, the guidance processing unit 21c outputs information indicating these guidances to the speaker 45 and the display unit 46 in order to guide the acceleration / deceleration amount for causing the host vehicle to reach the junction.

(2) Confluence guidance processing:
Next, guidance processing performed by the navigation device 10 in the above configuration will be described. When the navigation program 21 is executed by the navigation device 10, the own vehicle operation acquisition unit 21a, the other vehicle operation acquisition unit 21b, and the guidance processing unit 21c perform the process shown in FIG.

  In this process, first, the own vehicle operation acquisition unit 21a acquires information related to the operation of the own vehicle (step S100). That is, the host vehicle operation acquisition unit 21a acquires the position of the host vehicle based on the output signal of the GPS receiver 40, and acquires information indicating the speed and acceleration based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 41. Next, with reference to the map information 30a, it is determined whether or not the position of the host vehicle exists within a merge area where the merge guidance is to be performed (for example, within an acceleration lane of an expressway) (step S105). If it is not determined in step S105 that the host vehicle is in the merge area, the process returns to step S100 and the process is repeated.

3A, 3B, and 3C are overhead views illustrating the relationship between the host vehicle, another vehicle, and a junction. In these drawings, the acceleration lane L and the highway E are shown, and the host vehicle C ₀ on the acceleration lane L and the other vehicles C ₁ and C ₂ on the highway E are shown. In FIG. 3A, the field of view of the camera 42 mounted on the host vehicle C ₀ is indicated by a range V. In this example, when the host vehicle C ₀ exists on the acceleration lane L of the highway E as shown in FIG. 3A, it is determined in step S105 described above that the host vehicle C ₀ exists in the merge area.

  When it is determined in step S105 that the host vehicle is present in the merge area, the other vehicle operation acquisition unit 21b acquires information related to the operation of the other vehicle (step S110). That is, the position, speed, and acceleration of the other vehicle are acquired based on the output signal of the camera 42. More specifically, as described above, the image processing unit 21b1 acquires an image around the host vehicle via the camera 42, extracts an image of the other vehicle, performs a comparison between frames, and performs the position and speed of the other vehicle. And acceleration.

  If the information regarding the operation | movement of another vehicle is acquired in step S110, the junction part specific | specification part 21c1 will identify a junction part (step S115). That is, an interval existing between the other vehicles is specified based on the position of the other vehicle, and an interval having a length sufficient to join the own vehicle is specified. Further, an interval that can be reached without excessive acceleration / deceleration in the own vehicle within the sufficiently long interval is specified based on the speed and acceleration of the own vehicle and the speed and acceleration of the other vehicle. And

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, the position change of each interval can be predicted by the speed and acceleration of the other vehicles C ₁ and C ₂ , and the reachable position of the own vehicle is specified by the speed and acceleration of the own vehicle C _0. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the own vehicle C ₀ can reach the interval between the other vehicles C ₁ and C ₂ without excessive acceleration / deceleration. Therefore, when the host vehicle C ₀ can be reached at a specific interval, the interval is set as a junction M.

For example, FIG. 3C shows the situation of the expressway E at a time after FIG. 3A, and the positions of the other vehicles C ₁ and C ₂ change with the passage of time as shown in FIG. 3C. it is possible to predict the change in position of the gap formed between the other vehicle C _1, C ₂ if predict the location of the other vehicle C _1, C ₂ on the basis of the velocity and acceleration vehicle C _1, C _2. If the host vehicle C ₀ can be driven concurrently as shown in FIG. 3C with respect to the predicted interval without excessive acceleration / deceleration in the host vehicle C ₀ , this interval is set as the junction M. Can do. It should be noted that whether or not the vehicle is excessively accelerating or decelerating may be determined based on a predetermined threshold or the like in the specification of the above-described junction, and this threshold may be determined based on the vehicle type of the own vehicle, the speed or position of the own vehicle, or the like. It is possible to adopt various configurations such as changing according to.

When performing certain merging section at step S115, steering position guiding portion 21c2 determines the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle required to bring the vehicle C ₀ next to the junction section (step S120). That is, the amount of acceleration / deceleration required for the host vehicle to reach the predicted position of the junction M identified as described above is determined based on the speed and acceleration of the host vehicle C _{0 and} the speeds of the other vehicles C ₁ and C ₂ . Identify based on acceleration.

  Then, the steering position guide unit 21c2 instructs the laser output unit 44 to output a laser and display a graphic indicating the steering position at the steering position (step S125). In other words, the position of the host vehicle that can run the host vehicle without excessive acceleration / deceleration with respect to the merged part specified in step S115 is specified as shown in FIG. Is done. Since the timing at which the host vehicle is running side by side is the steering timing for merging, this position is the steering position.

  Therefore, the merge part specifying unit 21c1 acquires coordinates P indicating the predicted position of the host vehicle (for example, coordinates at a position on the acceleration lane adjacent to the predicted center part of the merge part M), and a predetermined position is obtained at this position. A signal for displaying a graphic is output to the laser output unit 44. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, a figure (arrow I in the example of FIG. 3B) indicating the steering position is projected onto the steering position.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the burden on the driver, guidance for guiding the host vehicle to the steering position is also performed, and the acceleration / deceleration amount necessary for the host vehicle for the guidance processing unit 21c to reach the steering position. (Acceleration / deceleration amount calculated in step S120) is guided (step S130). That is, sound corresponding to the acceleration / deceleration amount is output from the speaker 45 and information corresponding to the acceleration / deceleration amount is displayed on the display unit 46. For example, guidance such as “please accelerate”, “run as it is”, “decelerate” is given. Of course, the magnitude of acceleration / deceleration may be presented.

  When guidance for merging is performed as described above, the guidance processing unit 21c determines whether or not merging by the host vehicle has been completed (step S135). That is, the guidance processing unit 21c acquires a signal output from the rudder angle sensor 43, and determines whether or not steering is performed based on this signal. If it is not determined in step S135 that the merging has ended, the process returns to step S100 and the process is repeated. If it is determined in step S135 that the merging has ended, the process ends.

  In the above processing, the position at which steering is to be performed on the host vehicle in order to join the host vehicle to the junction is clearly indicated on the road surface by the laser. Therefore, the driver can recognize the steering position very easily and reliably while driving while visually checking the road surface ahead. As a result, the burden on the driver at the merge is extremely light.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the processes of steps S100 to S135 are performed until the own vehicle has actually entered the merging area (acceleration lane in the above example) and finished the merging. Will repeat. Therefore, in this embodiment, the steering position is clearly indicated on the road surface by the laser from before the host vehicle reaches the steering position until it reaches the steering position, and the driver continues to clearly recognize the steering position before steering. And the psychological burden is extremely light.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted as long as the steering position for performing the steering for merging can be clearly shown on the road surface. For example, in addition to the above-described guidance, driving operation assistance (for example, shift change, hold assistance, or brake operation assistance) that matches the guidance content may be performed.

  Furthermore, the camera 42 only needs to be able to capture the travel lane of another vehicle, and may be attached to any position of the host vehicle, and the number of cameras is not particularly limited. Furthermore, the sensor that can be used to acquire the operation of the host vehicle is not limited to the vehicle speed sensor, and a steering angle sensor or an acceleration sensor may be used. In addition, a device that can be used to acquire the operation of another vehicle is not limited to a camera, and a sensor such as a radar may be used. Moreover, you may acquire operation | movement of a vehicle using the locus | trajectory in the own vehicle on GPS, the communication between vehicles, between road vehicles, etc., and a map.

  That is, operations such as position, speed, acceleration, and the like related to the host vehicle and other vehicles can be acquired based on various sensors, cameras, and the like. Furthermore, various modes of use of the operation can be assumed. For example, you may limit the space | interval of the other vehicle used as the candidate of a junction part according to the length of an acceleration lane, the speed of an own vehicle, and another vehicle, and an acceleration.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the image of the other vehicle on the lane is specified by extracting the image of the lane from the image of the camera 42. However, other processing methods may be adopted as a matter of course. For example, a configuration in which a relationship between an image shown in each part on the image of the camera 42 and the host vehicle is specified in advance, and a processing target is extracted from the image of the camera 42 based on map information and position information of the host vehicle. May be adopted.

  Furthermore, since pitching, rolling, and yawing occur in accordance with the road surface and acceleration in the host vehicle, the behavior of the host vehicle is detected by a sensor (for example, a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor) for detecting the posture of the host vehicle. You may correct | amend the output light of a laser based on the behavior of the own vehicle. Furthermore, the output mode of the guidance by the guidance processing unit 21c is not limited to the above example, and other than the configuration in which the steering position is indicated by an arrow, for example, any other guidance such as graphics and characters can be adopted. As a method for presenting the steering position, a method other than laser, such as voice, can be employed.

  For example, information indicating the steering position may be displayed on a display unit in the navigation device. At this time, in order to clearly indicate the steering position on the road surface, a structure serving as a mark of the steering position is displayed near the steering position. This configuration can be realized by a configuration substantially similar to the configuration shown in FIG. However, the laser output unit 44 can be omitted. Further, in order to display the structure, the map information 30a includes information indicating the structure around the road surface and information for displaying the road surface and an image of the structure in addition to the information indicating the coordinates of the road surface. deep.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of guidance displayed on the display unit 46 in a configuration substantially similar to the configuration shown in FIG. In this example, the display unit 46 displays on the left screen for guiding the host vehicle to the destination, and the right screen displays for merging guidance. That is, in the screen on the right side, an image I indicating the steering position is superimposed on the road surface of the steering position in the image indicating the highway and the acceleration lane. In addition, an image Ii of the lighting device beside the acceleration lane is shown.

  That is, in the present embodiment, a process substantially similar to the process shown in FIG. 2 is performed, but a process for performing the display shown in FIG. 4 is performed instead of step S125. Specifically, the steering position is specified by predicting the position of the junction specified in step S115, and an image including the steering position is drawn on the display unit 46 with reference to the map information 30a. At this time, the image I indicating the steering position is superimposed at the steering position, and the image Ii of the illumination device is displayed at least around the image I.

  According to this display, the driver can clearly identify the steering position while comparing the lighting device on the side of the accelerating lane that is actually driving with the image of the lighting device displayed on the display unit 46. it can. Therefore, the burden imposed on the driver at the time of joining can be reduced. The structure displayed around the road surface only needs to be a mark for specifying the steering position, and is not limited to the lighting device, but can be configured to display any structure such as a building, a signboard, or a natural object as a mark. .

  Furthermore, when displaying information indicating the steering position on the display unit in the navigation device, an image acquired by the front camera may be used. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration for this purpose. The configuration shown in FIG. 5 is a configuration in which the laser output unit 44 is omitted and a front camera 440 is added to the configuration shown in FIG. The front camera 440 is attached to the host vehicle so that the front of the host vehicle is included in the field of view, and outputs captured image data.

  The steering position guide unit 21c2 is configured to acquire image data output from the front camera 440, and to perform processing for superimposing a graphic indicating the steering position and an image indicated by the image data on the display unit 46. . That is, in this embodiment, the road surface image at each position of the image of the front camera 440 is associated with the actual position in advance, and the image corresponding to the position on the road surface at an arbitrary distance from the host vehicle is displayed. The position can be specified.

  FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram for explaining this situation, and shows an example of an image Im photographed by the front camera 440. Since the direction of the front camera 440 is determined in advance, the position (distance from the host vehicle) in an actual space of an image (for example, a road surface image at the position Pa shown in FIG. 6A) existing at an arbitrary position in the image Im. Can be specified in advance.

  Therefore, after performing the same processing as steps S100 to S120 shown in FIG. 2 described above to identify the acceleration / deceleration amount necessary for the host vehicle to reach the predicted position of the merging portion M, the steering position guiding portion is determined in step S125. 21c2 displays a figure indicating the steering position together with the image of the front camera 440. That is, the steering position guide unit 21c2 acquires the coordinate P indicating the predicted position when the host vehicle is merged with the merge unit M in the same manner as the above-described process, and the coordinate P in the image acquired by the front camera 440 is obtained. The corresponding position is specified. Then, an image I indicating the steering position is superimposed on the position of this image and displayed on the display unit 46.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the display unit 46 displays an image of the structure around the road surface photographed by the front camera 440 together with the image I indicating the steering position. That is, as in the example shown in FIG. 6A, if there is a structure such as a building B around the road surface and this structure exists near the steering position, the display unit 46 displays the image I indicating the steering position. An image Ib of the building B is displayed in the vicinity. As a result, the driver can clearly identify the steering position while comparing the building B on the side of the accelerating lane that is actually driving with the image Ib of the building B displayed on the display unit 46. Therefore, the burden imposed on the driver at the time of joining can be reduced.

  In the above example, each position of the image of the front camera 440 and the position of the structure in the actual space are associated in advance, but here the structure existing in the image and the own vehicle What is necessary is just to be able to acquire a relative relationship. Therefore, the three-dimensional positional relationship of the structures included in the images may be analyzed based on a plurality of images acquired at different timings, and various configurations can be employed. Of course, the position on the road surface corresponding to the position in the above-described image may be corrected based on the behavior of the host vehicle.

  Furthermore, in the above example, the image acquired by the front camera 440 is displayed on the display unit 46. However, the image may be displayed after image processing is performed. For example, it is good also as a structure which displays the image which carried out the bird's-eye conversion of the image acquired with the front camera 440. FIG. That is, since the correspondence between the image of the road surface and the like existing at each position of the image of the front camera 440 and the position in the actual space can be specified in advance, the structure existing in the field of view of the front camera 440 It is also possible to associate the coordinates when the image is taken from above with each position of the image of the front camera 440.

  Therefore, if a calculation formula or table data that prescribes the correspondence between the coordinates of each pixel in the image acquired by the front camera 440 and the coordinates of each pixel in the image after overhead conversion is defined in advance, the front camera 440 can be defined. The image acquired in this way can be converted to a bird's-eye view. If this definition is used, it is possible to display an overhead-converted image on the display unit 46 as shown in FIG. 6C, so that an image I indicating the steering position is superimposed on this image and displayed. Also good. Of course, as described above, even if the map information 30a includes information for displaying an image of the structure around the road surface, such information is set as information for the overhead view display. The steering position may be guided.

  Furthermore, you may employ | adopt the structure which displays the information which shows a steering position on the windshield of the own vehicle. Of course, the display position may be corrected based on the behavior of the host vehicle in a configuration in which information indicating the steering position is displayed on the windshield. Hereinafter, the display position is corrected based on the behavior of the host vehicle and the windshield is corrected. A configuration for displaying the steering position will be described.

  This configuration can be realized with a configuration substantially similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but a HUD unit that displays desired information on the windshield instead of the laser output unit 44 is configured as a guide display method. Further, the steering position guide unit 21c2 is configured to acquire a signal from the gyro sensor or acceleration sensor or a signal from the steering angle sensor 43, and the behavior of the host vehicle is specified based on these signals. The other configuration is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the processing procedure is almost the same, but the processing shown in FIG. 7 is performed instead of step S125 shown in FIG.

  The HUD unit is a mechanism capable of projecting arbitrary information onto the windshield of the host vehicle by the output light from the projection unit mounted on the front grill, bumper, dashboard, etc. of the host vehicle. Information indicating the steering position can be displayed at a desired position on the windshield according to an instruction from the position guide 21c2. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the output position of information by the HUD unit that allows the driver to recognize as if the information indicating the steering position is displayed on the road surface of the steering position is adjusted.

  That is, in order for the driver to recognize that information indicating that the steering position is displayed on the road surface of the steering position, the intersection of the line of sight when the steering position is viewed from the driver and the windshield Information indicating the steering position may be displayed on the screen. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the steering position, the line of sight, and the driver's line of sight. FIG. 8A is an overhead view of the acceleration lane L on the highway, and FIG. It is the figure which looked at the own vehicle. When the driver D looks at the steering position (coordinates P in FIGS. 8A and 8B), the line of sight S is a straight line connecting the eyes of the driver D and the coordinates P. Therefore, if information is displayed on this straight line, the driver can recognize that the road surface positioned ahead of the displayed information is the steering position.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, coordinates indicating the position of the eyes when the driver is in a normal posture are specified in advance, and information indicating the coordinates is registered in the storage medium 30 in advance. In addition, coordinates indicating the surface of the windshield are registered in the storage medium 30 in advance. And after performing the process similar to step S100-S120 of FIG. 2 with the own vehicle operation | movement acquisition part 21a, the other vehicle operation | movement acquisition part 21b, and the guidance process part 21c, the flow shown in FIG. 7 is implemented.

In this process, first, coordinates indicating the driver's eye position registered as described above are acquired (step S200). Note that the origin of this coordinate system can be set at an arbitrary position with reference to the host vehicle. For example, in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the vehicle is set to the right front end of the host vehicle C ₀ and the lower end of the vehicle as the origin. The direction opposite to the traveling direction is the y axis, the left direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle is the x axis, and the upward direction with respect to the vehicle is the z axis.

  When the coordinates indicating the position of the driver's eyes are acquired, the steering position guide unit 21c2 acquires the output of each sensor described above to identify the behavior of the host vehicle, and the position of the eye that fluctuates with this behavior is determined. The coordinates are corrected so as to compensate for the fluctuation (step S210). Furthermore, the steering position guide part 21c2 predicts the position change of the joining part specified in the above-described step S115 (step S220), and allows the host vehicle to run in the joining part without excessive acceleration / deceleration. The steering position which becomes possible is specified and its coordinates are acquired (step S230).

  When the coordinates of the steering position are acquired, the coordinates are converted into the coordinate system shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. As a result, the coordinates indicating the position of the driver's eyes and the coordinates indicating the steering position are expressed in the same coordinate system. Therefore, the line of sight S when the driver sees the steering position is specified based on the coordinates indicating the position of the driver's eyes and the coordinates indicating the steering position, and the line of sight is determined based on the coordinates indicating the surface of the windshield. The coordinates of the intersection of S and the windshield are specified (step S240). Then, the guidance processing unit 21c instructs the HUD unit to display information indicating the steering position on this intersection (step S250).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, an arrow I indicating the steering position is projected on the surface of the windshield by the HUD unit. As a result, the driver can recognize the arrow I and the road surface around the coordinates P at a glance as if the arrow Im is displayed on the road surface ahead of the arrow I. Therefore, the driver can clearly recognize the steering position, and the burden on the driver is extremely light.

  In the present embodiment, various configurations can be adopted as the configuration for acquiring the coordinates indicating the eye position. For example, it may be specified based on the height of the driver or the position of the driver's seat, or the calibration information is projected on the windshield by the HUB unit, and the calibration information is viewed by an interactive input interface or the like May be input to the driver to specify the coordinates of the eye position. Of course, instead of specifying the coordinates of the eye position, the position of the line of sight may be specified by calibration.

  Moreover, you may provide the sensor for detecting the position of eyes in the own vehicle. Furthermore, the position where the HUD unit is mounted is arbitrary, and various configurations can be adopted as long as information indicating the steering position can be displayed on the line of sight when the steering position is viewed by outputting visible light. It is. For example, the output light of the light source may be projected directly, or the output light of the light source may be adjusted and projected by a projector or the like.

It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a merging guide apparatus. It is a flowchart of a guidance process. (3A), (3B), and (3C) are overhead views illustrating the relationship between the own vehicle, another vehicle, and a junction. It is a figure which shows the example of guidance output. It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a merging guide apparatus. It is a figure explaining the process with respect to the image image | photographed with the front camera. It is a flowchart of a guidance process. (8A) and (8B) are diagrams showing the relationship between the eye position and the steering position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Navigation program, 21a ... Own vehicle operation | movement acquisition part, 21b ... Other vehicle operation | movement acquisition part, 21b1 ... Image processing part, 21c ... Guidance processing part, 21c1 ... Junction part specific | specification part, 21c2 ... steering position guide unit, 30 ... storage medium, 30a ... map information, 40 ... GPS receiving unit, 41 ... vehicle speed sensor, 42 ... camera, 43 ... steer angle sensor, 44 ... laser output unit, 45 ... speaker, 46 ... Display section

Claims (6)

Own vehicle operation acquisition means for acquiring information indicating the operation of the own vehicle;
Other vehicle operation acquisition means for acquiring information indicating the operation of another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
A merging portion specifying means for specifying a merging portion for merging the host vehicle with a traveling lane of the other vehicle based on the operation of the host vehicle and the operation of the other vehicle;
Steering position guide means for guiding a position on the road surface for steering to join the own vehicle to the merging portion;
A merging guide device comprising: The steering position guiding means continues the guidance until the host vehicle reaches a position on the road surface before reaching the position on the road surface.
The merging guide device according to claim 1. Comprising light output means for outputting light to the road surface;
The steering position guide means outputs light from the light output means and displays information indicating the steering position on a road surface;
The merging guide device according to claim 1. Image display means for displaying an image of a road surface on which the host vehicle is traveling;
The steering position guide means superimposes an image indicating the position to perform the steering on the road surface image, and displays an image of the structure that serves as a mark of the steering position at least around the position to perform the steering. Let
The merging guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Comprising information display means for displaying information on the windshield of the host vehicle;
The steering position guide means displays information indicating the position of the steering at the intersection of the line of sight when the steering position is viewed from the driver of the host vehicle and the windshield.
The merging guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A host vehicle operation acquisition step of acquiring information indicating the operation of the host vehicle;
Other vehicle operation acquisition step of acquiring information indicating the operation of another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle,
A merging portion identifying step for identifying a merging portion for merging the own vehicle with a traveling lane of the other vehicle based on the operation of the own vehicle and the operation of the other vehicle;
A steering position guiding step for guiding a position on a road surface for performing steering for joining the host vehicle to the joining portion;
Confluence guidance method including.

Images