ROUTE SEARCH DEVICE

• US 20130006530A1
• Filed: 03/08/2010
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Nishiuma, Norihiro, Ikawa, Masahiko, Irie, Takashi, Nishikawa, Yasuhiro, Kinoshita, Ryusuke
• Granted Patent: US 9,074,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects

Abstract

A route search device capable of searching for a route with the lowest energy cost at a high speed even if the distance between start and end points is long. The route search device includes: a long distance search attribute calculation section for calculating, as an attribute of one long distance search link, the sum of upslope elevation differences of a plurality of short distance search links and the sum of downslope elevation differences of the short distance search links corresponding to the one long distance search link; and a link cost calculation section for calculating, based on the attribute of the long distance search link and vehicle characteristics, a link cost that is an energy consumption at a time when a vehicle travels in the long distance search link.

Claims

1. A route search device for searching for a route that connects a start point to an end point, said route search device comprising:

a map data section including short distance search road data that contains a short distance search link for use in a short distance search and long distance search road data that contains a long distance search link for use in a long distance search;

a long distance search attribute calculation section for calculating, as an attribute of one long distance search link, the sum of upslope elevation differences of a plurality of short distance search links and the sum of downslope elevation differences of said plurality of short distance search links corresponding to said one long distance search link;

a link cost calculation section for calculating a link cost that is an energy consumption at a time when a vehicle travels in said long distance search link, based on said attribute of said long distance search link and vehicle characteristics; and

a route search processing section for performing, based on said link cost, a process of obtaining such a route that the energy consumption is the lowest, or a process of calculating the energy consumption in a predetermined route.

2. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said attribute of said long distance search link calculated by said long distance search attribute calculation section is held in said long distance search road data.

3. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said predetermined route is either one of such a route that a travel distance of said route is the shortest and such a route that a traveling time of said route is the shortest.

4. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said link cost calculation section calculates, as said link cost, a basic consumption other than a consumption necessary for traveling, a consumption due to friction of a road surface, a consumption due to position energy, a consumption due to an air resistance, and a consumption due to acceleration and deceleration.

5. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said link cost calculation section calculates, as said link cost, a carbon dioxide emission, a fuel consumption, or a power consumption.

6. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said link cost calculation section also calculates a link cost that is an energy consumption at a time when a vehicle travels in said short distance search link, based on an attribute of said short distance search link and said vehicle characteristics.

7. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said long distance search attribute calculation section calculates, as an attribute of one long distance search link, the sum of traveling times, the sum of distances, said sum of upslope elevation differences, said sum of downslope elevation differences, and the total number of stops, of a plurality of short distance search links corresponding to said one long distance search link,

in accordance with a request from said route search processing section, said link cost calculation section calculates said link cost based on said attribute of said long distance search link and said vehicle characteristics.

8. The route search device according to claim 1, further comprising a number-of-stops estimation section for estimating the number of stops in each of a plurality of short distance search links corresponding to one long distance search link, wherein

said link cost calculation section calculates said link cost in a case where said total number of stops is the maximum and said link cost in a case where said total number of stops is the minimum, based on said total number of stops that is an attribute of said long distance search link,

said route search processing section calculates such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest when said total number of stops is the maximum and such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest when said total number of stops is the minimum.

9. The route search device according to claim 8, wherein

with respect to such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest when said total number of stops is the maximum as calculated by said route search processing section, said link cost calculation section calculates said link cost in a case where said total number of stops is the minimum, and with respect to such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest when said total number of stops is the minimum as calculated by said route search processing section, said link cost calculation section calculates said link cost in a case where said total number of stops is the maximum.

10. The route search device according to claim 8, wherein

instead of such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest, such a route that a travel distance of said route is the shortest or such a route that a traveling time of said route is the shortest is adopted.

11. The route search device according to claim 3, wherein

said route search processing section calculates said energy consumption of each of a plurality of routes and presents comparison among said energy consumptions of the respective routes, said plurality of routes including such a route that said energy consumption is the lowest, such a route that a travel distance of said route is the shortest, and such a route that a traveling time of said route is the shortest.

12. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein

said long distance search attribute calculation section is provided in a map generation system or a car navigation system.

13. A route search device for searching for a route that connects a start point to an end point, said route search device comprising:

a map data section including short distance search road data that contains a short distance search link for use in a short distance search and long distance search road data that contains a long distance search link for use in a long distance search;

a link cost calculation section for calculating a link cost that is an energy consumption at a time when a vehicle travels in said long distance search link, based on an attribute of said long distance search link and vehicle characteristics; and

a route search processing section for performing, based on said link cost, a process of obtaining such a route that the energy consumption is the lowest, or a process of calculating the energy consumption in a predetermined route,

wherein said long distance search road data holds, as an attribute thereof, the sum of upslope elevation differences and the sum of downslope elevation differences of a plurality of short distance search links corresponding to said long distance search link.