JP7462000B2 - Map information creation device, map information creation method, and map information creation program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a map information creation device, a map information creation method, and a map information creation program for creating map information.

There are various road signs on roads, some of which have restrictions that extend over a certain range. One example is a speed limit sign. Such speed limit signs are to be installed at necessary points within a range of approximately 1 km apart, but the installation intervals may not be constant. It is desirable for road signs to be registered in map information for navigation, but if there is an omission, there is a possibility that a problem will occur in which the application range of the restrictions on the actual site and the restrictions on the map information will differ. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that provides driving assistance based on appropriate information from camera image information that captures the outside of the vehicle and car navigation information. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that recognizes road attributes such as the maximum speed limit of the road from an image of the vicinity of the vehicle acquired from a camera unit mounted on the vehicle, and identifies the start and end points of the road attributes.

JP 2022-060631 A JP 2007-172495 A

However, in the cases described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 above, camera image information of an actual vehicle traveling on the road is required, so there is a problem in that it is not realistic to collect camera images of all roads on the map information in order to identify the start and end points of road attributes.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a map information creation device, a map information creation method, and a map information creation program that can identify the range to which restrictions apply for road signs with restricted ranges and register the range in map information, even if there is no camera image information when a vehicle is traveling.

In order to solve the above problem, a map information creation device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first acquisition unit that acquires map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes, and in which road sign information is associated with a first road link; an extraction unit that extracts from the map information road signs to which the content regulated by the road sign applies within a predetermined range; a determination unit that determines the range in which the road sign regulation applies by extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from the position in the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds to the road sign to a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulation no longer applies; and a registration unit that registers the range determined by the determination unit as the range in which the road sign regulation applies in the map information.

In order to solve the above problem, a map information creation method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first acquisition step in which a computer acquires map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes, and in which road sign information is associated with a first road link; an extraction step in which a road sign to which a prescribed range of restrictions is applied is extracted from the map information; a determination step in which the range to which the road sign restrictions are applied is determined by extending the range to which the road sign restrictions are applied from the position to which the road sign of the first road link to which the road sign extracted in the extraction step is associated is associated until a prescribed position is identified in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign restrictions are no longer applied; and a registration step in which the range determined in the determination step is registered in the map information as the range to which the road sign restrictions are applied.

In order to solve the above problem, a map information creation program according to one embodiment of the present invention has a computer realize a first acquisition function that acquires map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes, and in which road sign information is associated with a first road link; an extraction function that extracts from the map information road signs to which the content regulated by the road sign applies within a predetermined range; a determination function that determines the range in which the road sign regulation applies by extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from the position in the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction function corresponds to the corresponding road sign until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulation no longer applies is identified; and a registration function that registers the range determined by the determination function as the range in which the road sign regulation applies in the map information.

In the map information creation device, the determination unit may further extend the range in which the road sign regulation applies from the position to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds in the opposite direction to the vehicle travel direction of the first road link to which the road sign corresponds, until a specified position is identified where the road sign regulation no longer applies.

In addition, in the map information creation device, the specified location may be a location to which a road sign of the same road sign type is associated that indicates a different regulation content from the road sign extracted by the extraction unit.

In addition, in the map information creation device, when an auxiliary sign indicating a start point or an end point is associated with a road sign, the determination unit may determine the position to which the auxiliary sign is associated as the start point or the end point of the range to which the road sign regulation applies, as the predetermined position.

In addition, in the map information creation device, the specified location may be an intersection with three or more intersections.

In addition, in the map information creation device, the determination unit may extend the range in which road sign regulations apply beyond intersections for second road links that are the same road or a road that follows the first road link and that do not have a corresponding road sign, by treating the second road link as the first road link.

In addition, in the map information creation device, the second acquisition unit acquires vehicle travel information of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled through the first road link and the intersection, and the determination unit may identify, based on the vehicle travel information, a second road link in which the change in traffic flow from the first road link to a second road link connected to the first road link across the intersection is within a predetermined range, as being the same road as the first road link or a road that follows the first road link.

The map information creation device according to one aspect of the present invention can identify the range in which road sign regulations apply from information originally registered in the map information. This makes it possible to prevent a discrepancy between the range in which road sign regulations apply on the map information and the range of regulations recognized by the driver of a vehicle, etc., due to the location of the actual road sign.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a map information creation device; 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating examples of ranges to which road signs are applied. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating other examples of the range to which road signs are applied. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating yet another example of the range to which road signs are applied. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the map information creation device. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the map information creation device.

The map information creation device and route search device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment>
<Configuration of map information creation device>
A map information creation device (see 100 in FIG. 1 ) according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a first acquisition unit (see 105 in FIG. 1 ) that acquires map information (see 141 in FIG. 1 ) in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes, and the map information includes road sign information associated with a first road link; an extraction unit (see 105 in FIG. 1 ) that extracts, from the map information, road signs to which a range in which the road sign regulations apply that covers a predetermined range; a determination unit (see 105 in FIG. 1 ) that determines the range in which the road sign regulations apply by extending the range in which the road sign regulations apply from a position in the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds to the corresponding road sign until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulations no longer apply is identified; and a registration unit (see 105 in FIG. 1 ) that registers the range determined by the determination unit as the range in which the road sign regulations apply in the map information.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a map information creation device 100. As shown in Fig. 1, the map information creation device 100 includes a communication unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a storage unit 104, and a CPU 105.

The map information creation device 100 is a computer system realized by a server device, a PC, etc., but is not limited thereto, and may be realized by a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As an example, the map information creation device 100 may create map information used for route guidance (navigation), and in the case of a road sign with a regulated range on the map information, it identifies the regulated range of the road sign and registers the identified regulated range in the map information. As an example of a road sign with a regulated range, a speed limit sign is given, but is not limited thereto. As another example, a road sign with a regulated range may be a sign that describes a specific means of transportation, such as a sign for automobiles only or a sign for pedestrians only, or conversely, may be a sign that prohibits a specific means of transportation (for example, a bicycle no-entry sign). In addition, the regulated range is not limited to a linear section such as a road, but may extend to a planar section, and may be a restriction such as a zone 30, a pedestrian paradise, or a school zone.

The communication unit 101 has a function of transmitting and receiving information to and from other devices through wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 101 may receive vehicle driving information from, for example, an external device or a moving vehicle, and transmit the information to the CPU 105. As an example, the external device may be a server device that collects vehicle driving information, but is not limited to this.

Here, the vehicle travel information includes at least information indicating when (date and time information) and where (location information) the vehicle traveled, and may be realized by probe information, CAN (Control Area Network) information, etc., but is not limited to these. The vehicle travel information may be information that can identify the traffic flow on each road. The traffic flow may be information indicating how many vehicles are traveling and in which direction.

The input unit 102 has a function of accepting input from a user of the map information creation device 100 and transmitting it to the CPU 105. The input unit 102 can be realized, for example, by hardware keys provided on the map information creation device 100, or soft keys such as a touch panel or touch keys. Note that the input to the input unit 102 may be input by voice, in which case the input unit 102 is realized by a microphone. The input unit 102 may, for example, accept an input that confirms that the range to which the regulation of a road sign having a regulated range is to be applied is to be associated with the road and registered in the map information, and transmit the input to the CPU 105.

The output unit 103 has a function of outputting instructed data according to instructions from the CPU 105. The output unit 103 may output information indicating the range of the identified road sign, for example. The output of information by the output unit 103 may be output in the form of text or images to a monitor (display device) attached to or connected to the map information creation device 100, or may be output as sound from a speaker attached to or connected to the map information creation device 100, or may be output by communication to an external device via the communication unit 110.

The storage unit 104 is a recording medium that stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the map information creation device 100. The storage unit 104 is realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc.

The memory unit 104 stores map information 141. The map information 141 includes information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes, and road sign information is associated with the road links (first road links). The memory unit 104 may also store vehicle travel information for multiple vehicles. The memory unit 104 stores, for example, a program that specifies the extent of the restriction range of a road sign registered in the map information 141 from the road corresponding to the road sign.

The CPU 105 is a processor that uses the various programs and data stored in the memory unit 104 to execute the processes that the map information creation device 100 should execute.

The CPU 105 executes a program stored in the memory unit 104 to identify the range of restrictions for road signs with restricted ranges and registers the range in the map information 141. The CPU 105 functions as a first acquisition unit, an extraction unit, a determination unit, and a registration unit. The CPU 105 may also function as a second acquisition unit.

The first acquisition unit acquires map information 141 from the storage unit 104. The first acquisition unit transmits the acquired map information 141 to the extraction unit.

The extraction unit extracts road signs from the map information 141, the road signs to which the restrictions apply over a predetermined range. The extraction unit also extracts the road links to which the extracted road signs correspond. The extraction unit transmits the extracted road signs and the road links (first road links) to which the road signs correspond to the determination unit.

The determination unit determines the range in which the road sign regulation applies by extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from the position of the road sign of the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds, until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulation no longer applies is identified. The determination unit determines whether to extend the regulation range from the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds, as the first road link, on a road link basis or to the road sign position on the road link. If the determination unit determines that the regulation range can be extended, the road link to which the regulation range is extended may also be treated as the first road link.

The determination unit also extends the range in which road sign regulations apply to the opposite direction to the vehicle's travel direction.

As an example, the determination unit extends the road sign restriction range from the installation position on the first road link where the road sign is installed until it first encounters a road sign of the same type as the road sign but with different restriction content. Road signs of the same type as the target road sign but with different restriction content may be, for example, speed limit signs, vehicle type restriction signs, vehicle height restriction signs, etc.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows the relationship between road links, nodes, and road signs in a part of a road 230 in the map information 141. As shown in FIG. 2(a), a part of the road 230 in the map information 141 is stored as a road consisting of a road link 210a, a node 220a, a road link 210b, a node 220b, a road link 210c, a node 220c, and a road link 210d, which are connected in this order. In addition, a road sign 201a is associated with the road link 210b, and a road sign 201b is associated with the road link 210d. In the map information 141, each road link, node, and road sign is associated with its own position information. In FIG. 2(a), the direction from the left side of the paper to the right side of the paper is the vehicle travel direction. In the example shown in FIG. 2(a), the road sign 201a shows an example of a speed limit sign with a maximum speed of 50 km/h.

Here, when the extraction unit extracts the road sign 201a, the determination unit extends the application range to which the regulation is applied from the position of the road sign 201a on the road link 210b to which the road sign 201a corresponds, where the road sign 201a is provided. Here, in FIG. 2(b), the determination unit extends the application range to which the regulation is applied in the vehicle travel direction, passing over the node 220b, the road link 210c, and the node 220c, and reaches the road sign 201b. Here, the road sign 201b is a speed limit sign with a maximum speed of 30 km/h, as shown in FIG. 2(b). That is, the road sign 201b is a road sign of the same type as the target road sign 201a, but has different regulation contents. Therefore, the determination unit specifies that the position of the road sign 201b is the end of the vehicle travel direction side to which the regulation of the road sign 201a is applied, and specifies the regulation range S1 shown in FIG. 2(b). The determination unit may be configured to extend the restriction range of the road sign 201a to a node set between the road sign 201a and a road sign 201b of the same type as the road sign 201a but with different restriction content. In other words, the section from the road sign 201a to the node 220b or the node 220c may be configured to be S1.

On the other hand, the determination unit may extend the restriction range from the road sign 201a to the opposite side of the vehicle travel direction. FIG. 2(c) is a diagram showing an example of a road on the opposite side of the vehicle travel direction from the road sign 201a. As shown in FIG. 2(c), a part of the road 230 is further formed by connecting the node 220d, the road link 210e, the node 220e, and the road link 210f in order from the road link 210a to the opposite side of the vehicle travel direction. The road link 210e is provided with the road sign 201c, which is a speed limit sign with a speed limit of 40 km/h. When extending the restriction range to the opposite side of the vehicle travel direction, the determination unit may be configured to extend the restriction range of the road sign 201a to a node that is set between the road sign 201c of the same type as the road sign 201a but with different restriction contents. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 2(c), the determination unit extends the range in which the regulation applies to the node 220d between the road sign 201a and the road sign 201c, which is the same type as the road sign 201a but has different regulation contents. Therefore, in this case, the range in which the regulation of the road sign determined by the determination unit applies is the section S2, and in addition to FIG. 2(b), the range of application is the section S1+S2. The determination unit may set the regulation range S2 to the node 220a, and set the area between the node 220a and the node 220d as a gray zone, that is, an area that cannot be interpreted as either. In addition, when guidance is provided using map information created by the map information creation device 100, and the vehicle is traveling in a section that is set as a gray zone, the navigation program may be configured to not provide guidance or to delay guidance until the vehicle leaves the gray zone.

In the case of speed limit regulation, the determination unit may extend the regulation range from the road sign 201a in the opposite direction of the vehicle travel direction, and when the first road sign of the same type that is reached is a road sign that does not have the same restriction content, that is, in the case of the examples shown in Figures 2(a) to 2(c), the determination unit may not extend the regulation range in the opposite direction of the vehicle travel direction, and may specify that the regulation application range of the road sign 201a determined by the determination unit is the section S1. Alternatively, the section S1+S2 may be set as the range to which the regulation of the road sign 201a is applied, with the section S2 being between the road sign 201a and the road sign 201c. In addition, when the determination unit extends the regulation range in the opposite direction of the vehicle travel direction, in the section where the regulation content changes as shown in Figure 2(c) (a gray zone where the regulation applied as described above can be interpreted as either), when providing guidance using the map information 141 created by the map information creation device 100, the navigation program of the navigation device may be set not to provide guidance regarding the regulation of the road sign 201a.

As an example, when a road sign extracted by the extraction unit is associated with information indicating the start or end point of a restriction as an auxiliary sign, the determination unit identifies the area between the start and end points indicated on the auxiliary sign as the restriction range of the road sign. Some road signs are associated with auxiliary signs indicating the start and end points of the restriction that they apply to. Since such auxiliary signs clearly indicate the start and end positions of the restriction, in such cases the determination unit identifies the area between the start and end points indicated by the auxiliary sign as the range to which the road sign restriction applies.

A specific example will be described using FIG. 3. In FIG. 3 as well, the direction from the left side of the paper to the right side of the paper is the vehicle travel direction. In the example of FIG. 3(a), an auxiliary sign 202a is associated with road sign 201a, and an auxiliary sign 202b is associated with road sign 201b. In the example of FIG. 3(a), an example is shown in which the start and end positions of the regulation are indicated by arrows, and the direction indicated by the arrows indicates the direction in which the regulation of the road sign is applied. Therefore, the vehicle travel direction side as viewed from road sign 201a indicated by the arrow of auxiliary sign 202a is the direction in which the regulation of road sign 201a is applied. Similarly, the opposite direction to the vehicle travel direction as viewed from road sign 201b indicated by the arrow of auxiliary sign 202b is the direction in which the regulation of road sign 201b is applied. Therefore, when the determination unit receives information about road sign 201a from the extraction unit, it extends the range in which the regulations of road sign 201a apply to road sign 201b, which is the first road sign with the same content in the vehicle travel direction of road sign 201a and has an auxiliary sign indicating the opposite direction to the vehicle travel direction, and determines that section S3 is the range in which the regulations of road sign 201a apply.

Some auxiliary signs indicate the start and end positions of the restriction with words rather than arrows. The example in FIG. 3(b) shows an example in which auxiliary sign 202c, indicating the words "From here," is associated with road sign 201c as the start position, and auxiliary sign 202d, indicating the words "To here," is associated with road sign 201d as the end position. Therefore, in the example in FIG. 3(b), when road sign 201c is transmitted from the extraction unit, the determination unit identifies section S4 between road sign 201c and road sign 201d as the range to which the restriction of road sign 201c applies.

The determination unit may also extend the range in which the regulation applies from the position where the transmitted road sign is located in the vehicle travel direction or in the opposite direction, up to a node located at an intersection with three or more intersections.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 4(a). When the road sign 201a is transmitted from the extraction unit, the determination unit extends the range in which the regulation applies from the position where the road sign 201a is provided in the vehicle travel direction (or the opposite direction). The determination unit passes over the node 220b, passes over the road link 210c, and reaches the node 220c. Here, the node 220c is a node provided at the intersection 400. Intersections are often partitioned on the map information 141. Therefore, the determination unit may extend the range in which the regulation of the road sign 201a applies from the road sign 201a to an intersection with three or more intersections. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 4(a), the determination unit may specify the section S5 as the range in which the regulation of the road sign 201a applies. Note that FIG. 4(a) shows an example in which two nodes 220c and 220d are set at the intersection 400. In this case where multiple nodes are set at one intersection, as described above, the nodes may be configured to extend to node 220c, which is closer to road sign 201a, or to node 220d, which is farther away, in order to extend further. When multiple nodes are set at an intersection, the operator of map information creation device 100 may decide which configuration to use for extending to the node closer to or farther from the road sign.

In addition, even if the determination unit reaches a three-way intersection, the determination unit may extend the range of restriction further to a road that is a straight road at the intersection. The straight road here may be specified from the road shape on the map information 141, and may be an exit road that has an exit angle within a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees left and right, but is not limited to this) to the left and right of the traveling direction as seen from the approach road to the intersection. In this case, the determination unit may extend the restriction application range along the straight road beyond the intersection when a different road sign is not associated with the straight road beyond the intersection (road link 210d in the case of FIG. 4(b)). Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the determination unit may extend the restriction range along the straight road beyond the intersection until it reaches a road sign of the same type as road sign 201a but with a different restriction content.

Explaining with reference to FIG. 4B, when the determination unit receives information on road sign 201a from the extraction unit, the determination unit extends the range in which the regulation applies from there in the vehicle travel direction. The determination unit passes through road link 210b, node 220b, and road link 210c, and reaches node 220c. As shown in the figure, node 220c is provided at an intersection. Here, the determination unit identifies from map information 141 that the road that follows road link 210c, which is the approach road to intersection 400, is road link 210d based on the road shape. Then, since no road sign is associated with that road link, the determination unit extends the range in which the regulation of road sign 201a applies to road link 210d. The determination unit passes through road link 210d, passes through node 220f, and reaches road link 210h. Here, road link 210h is associated with road sign 201e, which is the same type as road sign 201a and has the same regulation content. Therefore, the determination unit extends the range in which the regulation of road sign 201a applies from the position of road sign 201a to the position of road sign 201e. Thereafter, the determination unit may further extend the regulation range from road sign 201e in the vehicle travel direction. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 4(b), the determination unit determines that the range in the vehicle travel direction in which the regulation of road sign 201a applies is section S6.

As described above, the determination unit extends the scope of the restriction to a specified position where the restriction on the road sign can be applied. Here, the specified position corresponds to a position where a road sign of the same type as the target road sign but with a different restriction content is provided, as described using FIG. 2, a start position or end position determined by an auxiliary sign provided on the target road sign, as described using FIG. 3, an intersection with three or more intersections, as described using FIG. 4, etc.

The determination unit thus determines the traffic restriction range of the road sign. The determination unit transmits the determined traffic restriction range of the road sign to the registration unit.

The registration unit registers the restriction range of the road sign having the restriction range determined by the determination unit in the map information 141. At this time, if the restriction range has been registered in advance in the map information or the determination unit has already determined a restriction range for the road sign in the past, and when the determination unit reconsiders the restriction range, if the existing restriction range differs from the restriction range determined by the determination unit, it is not necessary to update it with the restriction range determined by the determination unit, or the operator of the map information creation device 100 may be asked which one to register, and the one determined by the operator of the map information creation device 100 may be registered in the map information 141.

The above is an example of the configuration of the map information creation device 100.

<Operation of map information creation device>
An example of the operation of the map information creation device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation when specifying the restriction range of a road sign having a restriction range and registering it in the map information 141.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first acquisition unit of the CPU 105 of the map information creation device 100 acquires the map information 141 from the storage unit 104 (step S501). The first acquisition unit transmits the map information 141 acquired from the storage unit 104 to the extraction unit.

When the map information 141 is transmitted to the extraction unit, the extraction unit extracts road signs in the map information 141 whose restricted ranges extend to a predetermined range (step S502). The extraction unit also extracts the first road link to which the extracted road signs correspond (step S503). The extraction unit transmits the extracted road signs and information on the corresponding first road links to the determination unit.

The determination unit identifies a position where the restriction is no longer applied in the vehicle travel direction and the opposite direction from the road sign transmitted from the extraction unit and the position of the first road link to which the road sign corresponds (step S504). The determination unit then extends the scope of application from the position of the road sign in the vehicle travel direction and the opposite direction to the position where the restriction of the road sign can be applied (step S505). This allows the determination unit to determine the scope of application of the road sign. The determination unit transmits the determined scope of application to the registration unit.

The registration unit registers the applicable range of the road sign transmitted from the determination unit in the map information 141 (step S506) and ends the process.

<Summary>
As described above, the map information creation device 100 can specify the restriction range of a road sign that has a restriction range from information that is originally included in the map information 141. As a result, when performing navigation using the map information 141 in which the restriction range specified by the map information creation device 100 is registered, it is possible to reduce the deviation from the installation state of road signs on the actual road, and it is possible to suppress confusion of the driver due to the deviation between the guidance by the navigation device and the road signs.

<Additional Information>
The map information creation device according to the above embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be realized by other methods. Various modifications will be described below.

(1) In the above embodiment, the determination unit of the map information creation device 100 extends the restriction range of a road sign to a road that is a straight road in the vehicle travel direction (or the opposite direction) beyond an intersection. In the above embodiment, however, whether the road is a straight road is estimated from the road shape of the map shown in the map information 141. However, the method of estimating whether a road on either side of an intersection is a straight road is not limited to this. The determination unit may estimate whether a road on either side of an intersection is a straight road as follows.

That is, the determination unit may determine which road is a straight road based on the traffic flow at the intersection. The traffic flow is information indicating which direction the vehicle is traveling on that road or intersection. The determination unit can determine the traffic flow by acquiring vehicle travel information of the vehicle via the communication unit 110. That is, the determination unit acquires multiple pieces of vehicle travel information that show signs of having passed through a first road link that is subject to road sign restrictions and an intersection accessed from the first road link. The vehicle travel information acquired here is vehicle travel information of different vehicles, and the determination unit acquires a number of pieces of vehicle travel information that are sufficient to estimate the traffic flow.

The determination unit then determines the traffic flow from the multiple pieces of vehicle travel information acquired. Specifically, the determination unit calculates the traffic flow (traffic volume) on the first road link entering the intersection and the road exiting the intersection, and calculates the range of change. If the calculated range of change is within a predetermined range, the exit road may be identified as a road that follows the road as seen from the first road link.

Alternatively, if a vehicle enters an intersection from the first road link and there are three roads from which the vehicle can exit the intersection, the determination unit counts the number of vehicles that have exited onto each road. The determination unit may then determine that the road with the largest number of counted vehicles is the road along the road seen from the first road link.

The determination unit may be used to determine the road to follow based on traffic flow when it is difficult to identify the road only from the road shape referenced in the map information 141.

(2) In the above embodiment, the determination unit extends the range in which the road sign regulation is applied to a linear section. However, as described above, the range in which the road sign regulation is applied may extend to a planar area. Whether the road sign regulation is a linear area or a planar area can be specified by storing a table (information) that classifies road signs in advance in the storage unit 104. In the case of such a road sign, the determination unit first specifies the range in which the regulation is applied in the road direction from the first road link corresponding to the road sign, as in the above embodiment. Then, after specifying the regulation range in the line direction, the determination unit specifies whether the regulation range can be extended in a direction perpendicular to the line. Specifically, the determination unit may specify an intersection included in the regulation range in the line direction, and specify whether the regulation range can be extended from the intersection in a direction perpendicular to the line direction (it does not have to be strictly perpendicular, and it is sufficient that the direction intersects with the regulation range specified in the line direction at the intersection) to specify the regulation range of the planar area.

(3) In the above embodiment, the method of identifying the range of road sign regulations in the map information creation device and registering it in the map information is specified by the processor of the map information creation device executing a predetermined program, etc., but this may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) in the device. In addition, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the functions of the multiple functional units shown in the above embodiment may be realized by one integrated circuit. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may be called a VLSI, a super LSI, an ultra LSI, etc. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the map information creation device 100 may be composed of a communication circuit 101a, an input circuit 102a, an output circuit 103a, a memory circuit 104a, and a control circuit 105a, which correspond to the communication unit 101, the input unit 102, the output unit 103, the memory unit 104, and the CPU 105, respectively.

The program may be recorded on a processor-readable recording medium, and the recording medium may be a "non-transient tangible medium" such as a tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, or programmable logic circuit. The program may be supplied to the processor via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). In other words, the program may be downloaded from a network and executed using an information processing device such as a smartphone. The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The above program can be implemented using, for example, scripting languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), and object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C, Java (registered trademark), C++, Python, and R, but these languages are just examples.

(4) The various examples shown in the above embodiment and the various examples shown in the <Supplementary Note> may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the execution order of each operation shown in the flowchart may be changed or they may be executed in parallel if there is no resulting contradiction. For example, the execution timing of the process of step S501 and the process of step S502 shown in FIG. 5 may be different. For example, the process from S502 onwards may be executed one month after the process of step S501.

100 Map information creation device 101 Communication unit 102 Input unit 103 Output unit 104 Storage unit 105 CPU (first acquisition unit, extraction unit, decision unit, registration unit, second acquisition unit)

Claims (7)

Map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes,
a first acquisition unit that acquires map information in which road sign information is associated with a first road link;
an extraction unit that extracts, from the map information, road signs to which regulations apply that cover a predetermined range;
a determination unit that determines a range in which the road sign regulation applies by extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from a position of the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds, until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulation does not apply is identified; and
a registration unit that registers the range determined by the determination unit in the map information as a range to which the road sign regulation is applied;
Equipped with
The determination unit further extends the range in which the road sign regulations apply in the opposite direction of the vehicle travel direction of the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction unit corresponds, from the position to which the road sign corresponds, until a specified position is identified where the road sign regulations no longer apply. The map information creation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined location is a location to which a road sign of the same type as the road sign extracted by the extraction unit is associated, the road sign indicating a different regulation content from the road sign of the same type as the road sign extracted by the extraction unit. The map information creation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when an auxiliary sign indicating a start point or an end point is associated with the road sign, the determination unit determines the position to which the auxiliary sign is associated as the specified position as the start point or the end point of a range to which the regulation of the road sign applies. 2. The map information generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined position is an intersection with three or more intersections. The map information creation device according to claim 4, characterized in that, for a second road link that is the same road or a road that follows the first road link and has no corresponding road sign, the determination unit extends the range in which the road sign regulations apply beyond the intersection, treating the second road link as the first road link. The computer
Map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes,
a first acquisition step of acquiring map information in which road sign information is associated with a first road link;
an extraction step of extracting, from the map information, road signs to which regulations apply that cover a predetermined range;
a determining step of determining a range in which the regulation of the road sign applies by extending the range in which the regulation of the road sign applies from a position of the road sign of a first road link to which the road sign extracted in the extracting step corresponds, until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the regulation of the road sign does not apply is identified;
a registration step of registering the range determined in the determination step in the map information as a range to which the road sign regulation is applied;
Run
The determination step further includes extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from the position to which the road sign extracted in the extraction step corresponds in the opposite direction to the vehicle travel direction of the first road link to which the road sign corresponds, until a specified position is identified where the road sign regulation no longer applies. On the computer,
Map information in which roads are represented by road links and road connection points are represented by nodes,
a first acquisition function for acquiring map information in which road sign information is associated with a first road link;
an extraction function for extracting, from the map information, road signs to which regulations apply that cover a predetermined range;
a determination function that determines a range in which the road sign regulation applies by extending the range in which the road sign regulation applies from a position of the first road link to which the road sign extracted by the extraction function corresponds, until a predetermined position in the vehicle travel direction of the first road link where the road sign regulation does not apply is identified; and
a registration function for registering the range determined by the determination function in the map information as a range to which the road sign regulation is applied;
Realize this ,
The determination function further extends the range in which the road sign regulations apply from the position to which the road sign extracted by the extraction function corresponds in the opposite direction of the vehicle travel direction of the first road link to which the road sign corresponds, until a specified position is identified where the road sign regulations no longer apply.

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