Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Automatic route guidance vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-25
2003-07-08
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Automatic route guidance vehicle
C701S024000, C701S202000, C701S208000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06591172
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for automatic-drive traveling of a vehicle in techniques relating to intelligent transport systems (ITS) and, more particularly, to a technique for registering an automatic traveling route for a vehicle by using a navigation system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, techniques have been realized which relate to intelligent transport systems (ITS) in which automatic toll payment and collection operations (in an automatic toll collection system) are performed by transmitting and receiving data between a vehicle and apparatuses installed on roads by mobile communication system. Studies of other techniques relating to ITS, i.e., techniques for support to careful driving, optimization of traffic control, etc. have also been advanced. In particular, studies of a kind of automatic guidance system relating to automatic traveling are being advanced by experiments based on traveling of actual vehicles. In the automatic guidance system, a driver does not perform driving operations but traveling of a vehicle such as a automobile in which the driver is riding is controlled in guiding the traveling vehicle.
For realization of such an automatic guidance system, building of infrastructures including roads is required as well as providing special-purpose equipment in vehicles. Possible forms of roads on which automatic traveling is performed include one in which particular travel paths are set as automatic traveling sections in which only vehicles capable of complete automatic traveling can be made to travel, and one in which an automatic traveling section and a non-automatic traveling section in which vehicles travel ordinarily by being operated by drivers are set in parallel with each other. That is, even if an automatic guidance system is realized, automatic traveling of all vehicles in operation is not possible at an initial stage of implementation of the system or automatic traveling cannot be performed on some roads, and conventional sections in which vehicles are manually driven by drivers and vehicles driven by drivers in the conventional manner coexist. For this reason, the above-described forms of roads are conceivable.
Therefore, techniques for changeover between automatic traveling and non-automatic traveling are considered particularly important among techniques for realizing automatic traveling at an initial stage of implementation of an automatic guidance system. Techniques for changeover between automatic traveling and non-automatic traveling are known, which include a typical automatic operation control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-276690.
The conventional automatic operation control apparatus, however, requires a driver's operation for changing the vehicle traveling mode from the automatic-drive traveling mode to the normal-drive traveling mode during automatic-drive traveling. If the driver misses a point at which changeover from automatic-drive traveling to normal-drive traveling should be made, there is a possibility that the vehicle cannot travel the route on which the vehicle should travel.
Also, it is thought that in the case where a driver previously sets points at which the vehicle traveling mode should be changed from automatic-drive traveling to normal-drive traveling, troublesome operations for setting of an exit point etc. are required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vehicle guidance system in which an automatic traveling section in which a vehicle travels can be easily registered by using the results of a route search performed by navigation when the vehicle travels in the automatic traveling section.
The above object of present invention can be achieved by an automatic vehicle guidance system of the present invention. The automatic vehicle system for guiding a vehicle which travels in an automatic traveling manner without being operated by a driver in an automatic traveling section which is an automatic traveling path is provided with: a control device for managing the automatic traveling section, and controlling the vehicle traveling in the automatic traveling section; an acquisition device for obtaining present position data indicating the present position of the vehicle, and destination data indicating a destination to be reached by the vehicle; a route search device for making a search for a travel route to the destination on the basis of the present position data and the destination data relating to the vehicle; and a registration device for registering the automatic traveling path which is included in the travel route if at least part of the automatic traveling section is included in the travel route as a result of the route search, and the control device controls automatic traveling of the vehicle along the registered automatic traveling path to perform automatic guidance of the vehicle.
According to the present invention, if at least part of the automatic traveling section is used as a travel route as a result of the route search for a travel route to the destination which is to be reached by the vehicle, the automatic traveling path to be used is registered and automatic traveling of the vehicle is controlled by a control apparatus along the automatic traveling path when the vehicle travels in the automatic traveling section, thereby performing automatic guidance of the vehicle.
Accordingly, in the case where at least part of the automatic traveling section is included in the traveling route for the vehicle, the automatic traveling path for automatic traveling of the vehicle can be registered without any troublesome operation at the time of entry into the automatic traveling section or exit from the automatic traveling section. Therefore, the operability for the user can be improved and improved user support can be ensured.
Since the result of the search for the route to the destination is used at the time of setting of the automatic traveling path, the automatic traveling path can be registered with reliability.
In one aspect of the present invention, the automatic vehicle guidance system is further provided with: a re-search device for making at least a re-search for a travel route for the vehicle on the basis of the destination data while the vehicle is traveling in the automatic traveling section, and if a travel route to the destination is set by the re-search while the vehicle is traveling in the automatic traveling section, the registration device reregisters the automatic traveling path on the basis of the travel route set by the re-search.
According to the present invention, if a travel route to the destination is set by the re-search while the vehicle is traveling in the automatic traveling section, the registration device reregisters the automatic traveling path on the basis of the travel route set by the re-search.
Accordingly, the automatic traveling path can be reregistered according to the re-search result, even if the section through which automatic traveling is performed is changed, for example, by exit point of the automatic traveling section is changed, as a result of a re-search, a change in registration can be easily made. Therefore, the operability for the user can be improved and improved user support can be ensured.
In one aspect of the present invention, the automatic vehicle guidance system is further provided with: when the registration device registers the automatic traveling path, it registers at least one of the identification data of the vehicle, entry point data indicating an entry point at which the vehicle enters the automatic traveling section, and exit point data indicating an exit point at which the vehicle exits from the automatic traveling section.
According to the present invention, when at least part of the automatic traveling section is used as a result of a search for a vehicle traveling route, at least one of the vehicle identification data, the entry point at which the vehicle enters the automat
Oda Tamami
Sato Tsuyoshi
Watanabe Tomo
LandOfFree
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