US-12618689-B2 - Device, method, and computer program for managing map information, and map server

US12618689B2US 12618689 B2US12618689 B2US 12618689B2US-12618689-B2

Abstract

A map information managing device to be mounted on a vehicle includes a processor configured to set an area represented in map information including information used for autonomous driving control, depending on the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and the position of the vehicle, and request a map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a communication terminal mounted on the vehicle.

Inventors

Masahiro Tanaka

Assignees

WOVEN BY TOYOTA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230628
Priority Date: 20220726

Claims (9)

1 . A map information managing device to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising a processor configured to: set an area represented in map information including information used for autonomous driving control based on a level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and a position of the vehicle, the area being an area of a surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the position of the vehicle is determined by a satellite positioning device mounted on the vehicle, and the determined position of the vehicle is transmitted to the map information managing device via an in-vehicle network of the vehicle, request a map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a wireless communication terminal mounted on the vehicle, and receive the map information from the wireless communication terminal, wherein the map information is included in a downlink radio signal which the wireless communication terminal receives from a wireless base station connected to the map server via a communication network, wherein the processor is further configured to set the area to be a first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle does not require a driver to operate the vehicle, and set the area to be a second area larger than the first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle requires a driver to operate the vehicle, and wherein a size of the set area corresponds to an amount of data transmitted between the map information managing device, via the wireless communication terminal, and the map server.
2 . The map information managing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor sets a predetermined section ahead of the vehicle in a road being traveled by the vehicle or in a planned travel route leading to a destination of the vehicle as the first area, and sets a predetermined-shaped region including the first area as the second area.
3 . The map information managing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor sets the second area so as to include one or more locations reachable by traveling a predetermined distance from the current position of the vehicle.
4 . The map information managing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor sets the second area so as to exclude a road leading to a trajectory along which the vehicle has traveled from the second area.
5 . The map information managing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor sets the first area in the case where a driver is not required to operate the vehicle and control of the vehicle may be transferred to the driver at the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and where a road being traveled by the vehicle is an expressway, and sets the second area larger than the first area in the case where a driver is not required to operate the vehicle and control of the vehicle may be transferred to the driver at the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and where a road being traveled by the vehicle is an ordinary road.
6 . The map information managing device according to claim 1 , wherein further comprising a memory storing existing map information in a memory area, wherein, when the memory area is full and a new map information is received, the processor deletes or overwrites at least a portion of the existing map information in a predetermined order, and wherein the predetermined order is based on a frequency of travel corresponding to each road section within the existing map information.
7 . A method for managing map information executed in a map information managing device mounted on a vehicle, comprising: setting an area represented in map information including information used for autonomous driving control based on a level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and a position of the vehicle, the area being an area of the surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the position of the vehicle is determined by a satellite positioning device mounted on the vehicle, and the determined position of the vehicle is transmitted to the map information managing device via an in-vehicle network of the vehicle; requesting a map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a wireless communication terminal mounted on the vehicle; and receiving the map information from the wireless communication terminal, wherein the map information is included in a downlink radio signal which the wireless communication terminal receives from a wireless base station connected to the map server via a communication network, wherein the setting the area comprises setting the area to be a first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle does not require a driver to operate the vehicle, and setting the area to be a second area larger than the first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle requires a driver to operate the vehicle, and wherein a size of the set area corresponds to an amount of data transmitted between the map information managing device, via the wireless communication terminal, and the map server.
8 . A non-transitory recording medium that stores a computer program for managing map information, the computer program causing a processor of a map information managing device mounted on a vehicle to execute a process comprising: setting an area represented in map information including information used for autonomous driving control based on a level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and a position of the vehicle, the area being an area of the surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the position of the vehicle is determined by a satellite positioning device mounted on the vehicle, and the determined position of the vehicle is transmitted to the map information managing device via an in-vehicle network of the vehicle; requesting a map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a wireless communication terminal mounted on the vehicle; and receiving the map information from the wireless communication terminal, wherein the map information is included in a downlink radio signal which the wireless communication terminal receives from a wireless base station connected to the map server via a communication network, wherein the setting the area comprises setting the area to be a first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle does not require a driver to operate the vehicle, and setting the area to be a second area larger than the first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle requires a driver to operate the vehicle, and wherein a size of the set area corresponds to an amount of data transmitted between the map information managing device, via the wireless communication terminal, and the map server.
9 . A map server that delivers map information including information used for autonomous driving control, the map server comprising a processor configured to: set an area represented in map information to be delivered to a vehicle based on a level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and a position of the vehicle that are received from the vehicle via a communication interface, the area being an area of the surroundings of the vehicle, and deliver the map information of the set area to the vehicle via the communication interface, wherein the processor is further configured to set the area to be a first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle does not require a driver to operate the vehicle, and set the area to be a second area larger than the first area when the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle requires a driver to operate the vehicle, and wherein a size of the set area corresponds to an amount of data delivered to the vehicle, via the wireless communication terminal.

Description

FIELD The present invention relates to a map information managing device to be mounted on a vehicle, a method and a computer program for managing map information, and a map server that delivers map information to a vehicle. BACKGROUND A technique for a vehicle to download map information from a server has been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP2003-232644A). In a method of download disclosed in JP2003-232644A, map data transmitted from a download center is downloaded. The map data is selected by the download center, depending on the state of travel of an automobile indicated by, for example, a road being traveled by the automobile or an average travel speed of the automobile. SUMMARY As the area represented by map information transmitted from a server to a vehicle is larger, the amount of data of the map information and the communication load between the server and the vehicle increase. On the other hand, if the area represented by map information transmitted from a server to a vehicle is too limited, the vehicle may go out of the area represented by the map information in a short time, which requires the vehicle to receive map information from the server again. It is an object of the present invention to provide a map information managing device that can appropriately set the area represented in map information received from a map server. According to an embodiment, a map information managing device to be mounted on a vehicle is provided. The map information managing device includes a processor configured to: set an area represented in map information to be obtained from a map server including information used for autonomous driving control, depending on the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and the position of the vehicle, and request the map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a communication terminal mounted on the vehicle. When the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle does not require a driver to operate the vehicle, the processor of the map information managing device preferably sets a first area. When the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle requires a driver to operate the vehicle, the processor preferably sets a second area larger than the first area. In this case, the processor preferably sets a predetermined section ahead of the vehicle in a road being traveled by the vehicle or in a planned travel route leading to a destination of the vehicle as the first area, and sets a predetermined-shaped region including the first area as the second area. Alternatively, the processor preferably sets the second area so as to include one or more locations reachable by traveling a predetermined distance from the current position of the vehicle. Alternatively, the processor preferably sets the second area so as to exclude a road leading to a trajectory along which the vehicle has traveled from the second area. In addition, the processor of the map information managing device preferably sets a first area in the case where a driver is not required to operate the vehicle and control of the vehicle may be transferred to the driver at the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and where a road being traveled by the vehicle is an expressway. The processor preferably sets a second area larger than the first area in the case where a driver is not required to operate the vehicle and control of the vehicle may be transferred to the driver at the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and where a road being traveled by the vehicle is an ordinary road. According to another embodiment, a method for managing map information executed in a vehicle is provided. The method includes setting an area represented in map information to be obtained from a map server including information used for autonomous driving control, depending on the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and the position of the vehicle; and requesting the map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a communication terminal mounted on the vehicle. According to still another embodiment, a non-transitory recording medium that stores a computer program for managing map information is provided. The computer program includes instructions causing a processor mounted on a vehicle to execute a process including setting an area represented in map information to be obtained from a map server including information used for autonomous driving control, depending on the level of autonomous driving control applied to the vehicle and the position of the vehicle; and requesting the map server to deliver the map information of the set area, via a communication terminal mounted on the vehicle. According to yet another embodiment, a map server that delivers map information including information used for autonomous driving control is provided. The map server includes a processor configured to