Vehicle Position Detection Device and Program

• US 20150149072A1
• Filed: 04/30/2013
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: Okada, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,733,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/408
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching

Abstract

To acquire a direction error of a vehicle so that a more appropriate result is acquired in subsequent processing, a vehicle position detection device includes: a start/end point calculation part for acquiring a turning start point on a pre-turning link, and acquiring a turning end point on a post-turning link; a virtual link generation part for acquiring a virtual link connecting between the turning start point and the turning end point; a link direction calculation part for calculating a virtual link direction that is a direction at a predetermined position on the virtual link; and an error calculation part for using the virtual link direction to calculate a direction error of a vehicle direction.

Claims

1. A vehicle position detection device, comprising:

a start/end point calculation part for acquiring a turning start point on a pre-turning link, and acquiring a turning end point on a post-turning link;

a virtual link generation part for acquiring a virtual link connecting between the turning start point and the turning end point;

a link direction calculation part for calculating a virtual link direction that is a direction at a predetermined position on the virtual link; and

an error calculation part for using the virtual link direction to calculate a direction error of a vehicle direction.

2. A vehicle position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual link generation part is configured to:

use a link width of the pre-turning link and a link width of the post-turning link to calculate a turning start distance defined by an interval from the turning start point to an end point of the pre-turning link; and

use the turning start distance to generate the virtual link.

3. A vehicle position detection device according to claim 2, wherein the virtual link generation part uses the link width of the pre-turning link, the link width of the post-turning link, a direction difference angle between the pre-turning link and the post-turning link, and a minimum turning radius between the pre-turning link and the post-turning link to generate the virtual link.

4. A vehicle position detection device according to claim 3, wherein the link direction calculation part is configured to extend a perpendicular line drawn from a virtual current position acquired by a sensor value to the pre-turning link, and calculate a direction at an intersection between an extension of the perpendicular line and the virtual link as the virtual link direction.

5. A vehicle position detection device according to claim 4, wherein the error calculation part is configured to:

use, when the vehicle direction is included in a predetermined range between the virtual link direction and a reference direction that is a direction of the pre-turning link, a predetermined value as the direction error; and

use, when the vehicle direction is not included in the predetermined range, a smaller one of a direction error between the vehicle direction and the reference direction and a direction error between the vehicle direction and the virtual link direction as the direction error.

6. A vehicle position detection device according to claim 5, wherein the virtual link generation part uses an arc of a circle that is externally tangent to the pre-turning link and the post-turning link to calculate the virtual link.

7. A program for causing a computer to function as a vehicle position detection device capable of calculating a direction error of a vehicle direction, the program causing the computer to execute:

a start/end point calculation step of acquiring a turning start point on a pre-turning link, and acquiring a turning end point on a post-turning link;

a virtual link generation step of acquiring a virtual link connecting between the turning start point and the turning end point;

a link direction calculation step of calculating a virtual link direction that is a direction at a predetermined position on the virtual link; and

an error calculation step of using the virtual link direction to calculate the direction error of the vehicle direction.

8. A program according to claim 7, wherein the virtual link generation step comprises:

using a link width of the pre-turning link and a link width of the post-turning link to calculate a turning start distance defined by an interval from the turning start point to an end point of the pre-turning link; and

using the turning start distance to generate the virtual link.

9. A program according to claim 8, wherein the virtual link generation step comprises using the link width of the pre-turning link, the link width of the post-turning link, a direction difference angle between the pre-turning link and the post-turning link, and a minimum turning radius between the pre-turning link and the post-turning link to generate the virtual link.

10. A program according to claim 9, wherein the link direction calculation step comprises extending a perpendicular line drawn from a virtual current position acquired by a sensor value to the pre-turning link, and calculating a direction at an intersection between an extension of the perpendicular line and the virtual link as the virtual link direction.

11. A program according to claim 10, wherein the error calculation step comprises:

using, when the vehicle direction is included in a predetermined range between the virtual link direction and a reference direction that is a direction of the pre-turning link, a predetermined value as the direction error; and

using, when the vehicle direction is not included in the predetermined range, a smaller one of a direction error between the vehicle direction and the reference direction and a direction error between the vehicle direction and the virtual link direction as the direction error.

12. A program according to claim 11, wherein the virtual link generation step comprises using an arc of a circle that is externally tangent to the pre-turning link and the post-turning link to calculate the virtual link.