JP2001249024A - Automobile navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automobile navigation system which enables displaying of the position corresponding to a selected image data on a map or an image data corresponding to a designated position. SOLUTION: In the automobile navigation system which performs a running guide for a vehicle by displaying map information on a display means, an information acquisition means to acquire image information, a position information acquisition means to acquire positional information on a map corresponding to the image information, a memory means to store the image information and the positional information in correspondence to each other, an image designation means to designate a specified image from among the gained image information, a position retrieving means to retrieve the positional information corresponding to the image information designated by the position designation means from the memory means and an image position display means to display the positional information corresponding to the image information retrieved by the position retrieving means in correspondence to the map information shown on the display means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system for guiding a vehicle, and more particularly to a navigation system capable of displaying a relationship between a photographed image and its photographing position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a navigation device or the like for guiding a traveling route of a vehicle, the position of the vehicle is detected by a GPS system or the like, and the current position of the vehicle is specified by comparing it with map information recorded on a CD-ROM or the like. , Searching for a travel route to a designated destination and providing guidance.

In addition, a camera is installed in front of the vehicle, the state of the intersection at an intersection or the like is photographed and stored in a memory, and when the vehicle comes to the intersection again, the previously photographed image is navigated. There are some which display on a screen to make it easy to confirm the course of an intersection.

[0004]

In a conventional navigation device, image data that has been photographed and stored in a memory is read out and displayed as necessary, so that it is possible to compare new and old image data and determine whether or not it is necessary. And the reliability of image display is reduced. Another problem is that it is not possible to know where the image was when viewing the image.

According to the present invention, image data can be enriched, a position corresponding to the selected image data can be displayed on a map,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can display image data corresponding to a designated position.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a navigation apparatus for displaying map information on a display means to guide the driving of a vehicle. Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information on a map corresponding to the image information, storage means for storing the image information and the position information in association with each other, and a predetermined image from the acquired image information Image specifying means for specifying, position searching means for searching the storage means for the position information corresponding to the image information specified by the image specifying means, and a position corresponding to the image information searched by the position searching means An image position display means for displaying information corresponding to the map information displayed on the display means is provided.

Further, in a navigation device for displaying map information on a display means for guiding the vehicle, an image information acquiring means for acquiring image information, and a position for acquiring position information on a map corresponding to the image information. Information acquisition means;
A storage unit that stores the image information and the position information in association with each other; a position specification unit that specifies a predetermined position from the acquired position information; and a storage unit that corresponds to the position specified by the position specification unit. An image search means for searching for image information from the storage means, and an image information display means for displaying the image information searched for by the image search means on the display means.

The image information obtaining means is a video camera mounted on the vehicle, and the image information is extracted image information obtained by extracting one screen of moving image information taken by the video camera. The position information acquiring means is a position detecting means mounted on the vehicle and detecting a position of the vehicle.

The image information acquiring means is a television broadcast receiving means mounted on the vehicle for receiving a television broadcast, and the image information is equivalent to one screen of the television image information received by the television broadcast receiving means. Wherein the position information obtaining means is position manual input means for manually inputting a position corresponding to the received image information on a map screen of the display means. It is.

Further, when new image information is acquired while the image information has already been acquired at the same position by the image information acquiring means, the already acquired image information is entered with the newly acquired image information. It is characterized by comprising image information replacement means for replacement.

[0011] Further, when new image information is obtained when the image information has already been obtained at the same position by the image information obtaining means, the newly obtained image information is added to the already obtained image information. And an image information adding unit.

Further, position detecting means for detecting the position of the vehicle, and the image information corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the position detecting means while the vehicle is running, are searched for, and It is characterized in that a running image display means for displaying on the display means is provided.

Further, a route search means for searching for a traveling route of the vehicle, and the image information corresponding to the position of the vehicle on the route searched by the route search means are searched for, and A search route image display means for displaying on a display means is provided.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings.

A GPS 11 receives radio waves from artificial satellites (GPS satellites) and calculates position data from the signals.
It is a receiver. 12 is a CD-RO on which map information is recorded
M or DVD (Digital Video Dis
k) and a map database including the reading device and the like. Reference numeral 13 denotes a TV tuner with a video noise reduction (VNR) for acquiring image data from a television broadcast, which digitally converts the image data to extract an image (corresponding to a still image) for one frame, and performs a noise reduction process. Is what you do. Reference numeral 14 denotes a video camera mounted on a vehicle or the like for photographing surrounding scenery, buildings, and the like.
The image is input to the TV tuner 13 with R and converted into a still image. 2 is a process for specifying the position of the vehicle based on the position data from the GPS receiver 11 and the map information in the map database 12, a process for searching for a traveling route to the input destination,
The control unit includes a microcomputer that performs a process of guiding the vehicle along the searched route and the accompanying RAM, ROM, and the like. 31 converts map information (note data, link data, etc.) in a predetermined range into display data for drawing on a display unit 33 such as a liquid crystal display device based on a signal from the control unit 2 and converts the map information into video data (V-RAM or the like). ) 32
And the like, and output to the display unit 33 in response to a request. A display unit 33 includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying map information and image data, a driving circuit, and the like. Reference numeral 41 denotes a voice output unit for synthesizing voice for guidance based on an instruction from the control unit 2 and performing voice guidance using a speaker or the like. Reference numeral 5 denotes an operation unit including operation switches for performing destination setting, various types of image processing, and the like, a mouse for instructing with a cursor on the screen, and a touch panel for instructing with an operator's finger on the screen.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a database creation process performed by the control unit 2 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a processing designation screen diagram of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a diagram of a process designation screen for a new image, and (b) is a diagram of a process designation screen for a duplicate image. FIG. 4 is an image storage state diagram of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the database creation process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This processing is started from a point in time when the acquisition of image data is instructed during the operation of the navigation device.

In step S1, image data is obtained, and the process proceeds to step S2. That is, the user shoots a landscape, a building, and the like around the vehicle with the video camera 14 mounted on the vehicle. The captured image data (moving images) can be
The image is input to the television tuner 13 with a reduction (VNR) function, and a still image corresponding to one frame is extracted. Then, the still image is stored in a memory such as a RAM in the control unit 2. The TV tuner 13 with a VNR function converts the analog image data obtained by a television broadcast or the like into digital image data, and then performs noise reduction processing for each screen (one frame) to reduce the noise of the received image. It is. A still image can be obtained by the process of extracting one frame of image data.

Here, as a method of acquiring image data,
Although the case where a still image is acquired based on an image captured by the video camera 14 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to receive and obtain a still image in the same manner. In addition, the image data captured by the video camera 14 and recorded may be input to the television tuner 13 with the VNR function.

In step S2, position data is obtained, and the process proceeds to step S3. In other words, the GPS mounted on the vehicle
The position of the vehicle when the image data was acquired (photographed) by the receiver 11 is represented by position coordinates (x01 represented by latitude and longitude, x01,
y01 etc.). Note that the acquired position data in the case where a television broadcast such as a sightseeing spot is received by the TV tuner 13 with a VNR function (or the same applies to video reproduction) is irrelevant to the current position of the vehicle. Therefore, the display unit 3
When a tourist guide near Osaka Castle, for example, a tourist guide for Osaka Castle is broadcast, map data around Osaka Castle is displayed (TV broadcast screen and map screen are displayed on two screens).
Then, when the user designates a position corresponding to the image data on the map screen with a cursor or the like, the designated position is acquired as position data corresponding to the image data. Instead of using the position coordinates (x01, y01, etc.) as the position data, for example, a street name such as 3-chome Otemae, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi may be used. In this case, the position search is performed by the town name.

In step S3, image data corresponding to the acquired position is searched, and the flow advances to step S4. That is,
As described above, the image data corresponding to the current position of the vehicle acquired by the GPS receiver 11 or the position designated by the user is searched from the memory in the control unit 2. As shown in the image storage state diagram of FIG. 4, the memory in the control unit 2 stores an image number, image data, an acquisition position, a storage address on the memory, and the like for an image acquired in the past. The image data (image number) corresponding to the position is searched.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not image data already exists.
The process proceeds to step S5, and if there is no image data, the process proceeds to step S9.
That is, it is determined whether another image data has already been registered at a position corresponding to the image data acquired this time. This determination is made based on whether or not the position data matches.
Therefore, it is not to determine whether the image data at the same position is the same image data or different image data.

In step S5, if the image data processing method is determined and the image data is added, the process proceeds to step S5.
The process proceeds to step S7 if the process is to replace the new image data, and to step S8 if the new image data is to be discarded. This determination is made by the user in the “addition” displayed on the screen in the overlapping image processing designation screen image of FIG. 3B displayed on the display unit 33 when Y (Yes) is determined in step S4. , "Replacement", "discard"
In accordance with the processing method designated by the operation key 51 corresponding to.
Note that the display unit 33 may be configured by a touch panel, and the processing method may be designated by touching a predetermined position of “add”, “replace”, or “discard” displayed on the screen.

In step S6, the image data is added and the process is terminated. That is, since the operation key 51 corresponding to “add” is designated by the user, the newly acquired image data is additionally registered in the memory in the control unit 2. In this case, the same position (x = x
03, y = y03), a plurality of image data (image number 3 and image number 4) exist. In addition, this 2
The two image data may be the same image data (for example, a castle tower photographed from the front) or different image data (for example, a castle tower photographed from the front and a castle tower photographed from the side). When the position of the object to be photographed is close to or less than a unit of position data (a distance at which two distant points are regarded as the same position on the position data, for example, 100 m), the two image data are different. Image data of the object to be photographed.

In step S7, the image data is replaced, and the process ends. That is, the image data previously acquired and stored in the memory in the control unit 2 is deleted, and the newly acquired image data is registered. As described above, by performing the replacement process, there is an advantage that confusion with old image data acquired at the same point (position) can be prevented. For example,
When significant renovation or renovation work is performed at an intersection or tourist spot and the previously acquired image data differs greatly from the newly acquired image data, the old image data is deleted and replaced with new image data. Can prevent confusion. In addition, the memory can be used effectively.

In step S8, the new image data is discarded and the process is terminated. That is, the newly acquired image data is the same as the image data already stored in the memory in the control unit 2 and is redundantly discarded (not stored) because it is redundant. With this processing, the memory can be used effectively.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not the acquired image data is to be registered.
Move to 0, and if not registered, move to step S11. This determination is based on the “registration” displayed on the display screen by the user in the new image processing designation screen image of FIG. 3A displayed on the display unit 33 when N (No) is determined in step S4. , According to the processing method designated by the operation key 51 corresponding to “discard”. The display unit 33 may be configured by a touch panel, and the processing method may be designated by touching a predetermined position of “registration” or “discard” displayed on the screen.

In step S10, new image data is registered, and the process is terminated. That is, since the image data acquired this time is new image data without image data acquired in the past at the same position, the image data is newly registered in the memory in the control unit 2 in order to expand the database. In this manner, new image data is sequentially registered in correspondence with the position data as shown in the image storage state diagram of FIG.

In step S11, the acquired image data is discarded and the process is terminated. That is, the acquired image data is discarded because it has no value to store and is unnecessary (it is not stored in the memory in the control unit 2). With this processing, the memory can be used effectively.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a position display / image display process performed by the control unit 2 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display designation screen 1 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
(A) is a position display / image display designation screen diagram, (b)
Is an image designation screen view, and (c) is a position display screen view. FIGS. 7A and 7B are display designation screens of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
(B) is an image display screen diagram. Hereinafter, the position display / image display processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This processing is started from the point in time when the position display / image display is instructed during the operation of the navigation device.

In step S21, it is determined whether the image data acquisition position is to be displayed or the image data at the designated position is to be displayed. If the image data acquisition position is to be displayed, the process proceeds to step S22, where the designated image data acquisition position is displayed. If the image data at the position is to be displayed, the process proceeds to step S27. This determination is made according to the processing method designated by the operation key 51 corresponding to the “position” or “image” displayed on the display unit 33 in the position display / image display designation screen diagram of FIG. . The display unit 33 may be configured by a touch panel, and the processing method may be designated by touching a predetermined position of “position” or “image” displayed on the screen.

In step S22, the image data is sequentially displayed, and the flow advances to step S23. That is, a plurality of image data stored in the memory in the control unit 2 are sequentially read out,
It is displayed on the screen of the display unit 33. For example, the images stored in the memory in the control unit 2 are sequentially displayed as shown in the image designation screen diagram of FIG.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not an image has been selected. If an image has been selected, the process proceeds to step S24. If no image has been selected, the process returns to step S22 to display the next image. The determination as to whether or not the selection has been made is made based on the operation states of the user's "OK" key, "Next" key, "Return" key and the like (see FIG. 6B). If there is a large amount of image data, step S22 and step S23
When the user operates the "OK" key when a desired image is displayed, for example, the image is sequentially updated and displayed at intervals of one second on the display unit 33, Selection becomes easy. In this case, if a desired image is missed, the image may be checked again using the “return” and “next” operation keys and selected (“enter” key operation).

In step S24, a position corresponding to the image data is searched, and the flow advances to step S25. That is, FIG.
The retrieval position (latitude / longitude data) stored in the memory of the control unit 2 in correspondence with the image data as described above is searched.

In step S25, a map near the search position is displayed, and the flow advances to step S26. That is, when the acquisition position (latitude / longitude) corresponding to the image data, for example, the image data of image number 1 in FIG. 4 is selected (determined),
Acquisition position corresponding to this image data (x = x01, y =
y01) is obtained, and a map of the surrounding area including this position is read out from the map database 12 and displayed on the display unit 33.
Note that the map is displayed at a preset scale, and then adjusted to a required scale by the user.

In step S26, the search position is superimposed on the map and the process is terminated. That is, the acquisition position of the image corresponding to the searched image data (x = x01, y = y0
1) is superimposed on the map displayed on the display unit 33 as shown in FIG.

In step S27, a map screen is displayed, and the flow advances to step S28. That is, FIG.
A road map is displayed as shown in FIG. Note that a wide-area map is set in advance so that a position desired by the user can be specified, and then the necessary scale and area (by scrolling) are adjusted by the user.

In step S28, it is determined whether or not the position designation is completed. If the position designation is completed, step S29 is performed.
And waits if the position designation is not completed. That is,
The user designates a position on the map screen by a cursor or the like.

In step S29, the image data corresponding to the designated position is retrieved from the memory in the control section 2, and the flow advances to step S30. That is, the position designated by the cursor is made to correspond to the position (x, y) on the map, and the image data at that position is stored in the memory of the control unit 2 in FIG.
From the image storage state diagram of FIG.

In step S30, the searched image is displayed on the display screen, and the process ends. That is, the searched image data is displayed on the display unit 33 as shown in the image display screen diagram of FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, new registration, addition, replacement, and disposal of image data can be freely performed, and new image data can be sequentially expanded to enhance the database. Further, since the position data corresponding to the image data is stored, the position corresponding to the selected image data can be displayed on the map, or the image data corresponding to the designated position can be displayed.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of a navigation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8A is a flowchart of a running image display process performed by the control unit 2, and FIG. FIG. Hereinafter, the image display processing during traveling will be described. This processing is continuously executed during the operation of the navigation device. Further, in the present embodiment, the position where the vehicle is traveling and the image data are displayed on the screen in comparison with each other, and the traveling route does not necessarily need to be set in advance.

In step S31, the current position is detected, and the flow advances to step S32. That is, the position of the vehicle (point A in FIG. 8B) is detected by the GPS receiver 11.

In step S32, image data corresponding to the detected vehicle position is searched, and the flow advances to step S33.
That is, it is checked against the positions of a plurality of image data stored in the memory in the control unit 2.

In step S33, it is determined whether or not there is image data at a position around the current position. If there is image data, the process proceeds to step S34. If there is no image data, the process returns to step S31 to continue position detection. (Positions with image data are points B, C, and D in FIG. 8B).

In step S34, the searched image data is displayed, and the flow advances to step S35. That is, the display unit 33
The image data retrieved as shown in FIG. 8B is displayed above. As a display method, there is a method of replacing the navigation screen with image data for a certain period of time, a method of dividing the navigation screen and the search image into two screens, and displaying the two screens.

In step S35, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the process is terminated. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination (point E in FIG. 8B), step S31 is performed.
And the position detection is continued. If the vehicle is traveling without setting a search route in advance, this process is not performed, and the process returns from step S34 to step S31 and continues until the operation of the navigation device stops.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if the image data is stored in the database according to the traveling of the vehicle, the image data corresponding to the vehicle traveling position is displayed on the display unit 33.
Can be displayed. For this reason, even if the surrounding scenery, buildings, etc. cannot be seen at night or the like, if the vehicle comes to the position where the image data is present, the image data is automatically displayed on the screen of the navigation device, so that the drive without boring. Can be.

In this embodiment, the vehicle is actually driven, and the image data corresponding to the vehicle position is retrieved from the memory and displayed. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
If there is image data corresponding to a position near the searched route on the route from the current position to the destination previously searched by the navigation device or the like, the image data may be displayed.
For example, a search route is displayed on the display unit 33, an arbitrary point is manually set on the search route, and the presence or absence of image data is searched near that point (within a predetermined distance). If it is displayed, the scenery and buildings along the search route can be seen without actually driving the vehicle. In addition, a plurality of points are set at predetermined distance intervals from the departure point to the destination on the search route, the points are switched at a constant speed, and the presence or absence of image data near each point (within a predetermined distance) is searched. If the searched image data is displayed, it is possible to sequentially view the scenery and buildings along the road corresponding to the pseudo running of the vehicle.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the image data can be enriched, and the position corresponding to the selected image data can be displayed on the map or the image data corresponding to the specified position can be displayed. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a navigation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a database creation process performed by a control unit 2 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process designation screen of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an image storage state diagram of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a position display / image display process performed by the control unit 2 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a display designation screen diagram 1 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a display designation screen FIG. 2 of the navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a navigation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 11 ··· GPS receiver 32 ··· Video memory 12 ··· Map database 3
3 Display unit 13 TV tuner with VNR 41 Audio output unit 14 Video camera 5 Operation unit 2 Control unit, 51, operation keys, 31
... Display control unit.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device for displaying map information on a display means for guiding a vehicle to travel, comprising: an image information acquisition means for acquiring image information; and a position for acquiring position information on a map corresponding to the image information. Information acquisition means, storage means for storing the image information and the position information in association with each other, image designation means for designating a predetermined image from the acquired image information, and designation by the image designation means Position search means for searching the position information corresponding to the image information from the storage means; and position information corresponding to the image information searched by the position search means, corresponding to the map information displayed on the display means. A navigation device comprising an image position display means for displaying an image. 2. A navigation device for displaying map information on a display means for guiding a vehicle to travel, comprising: an image information acquisition means for acquiring image information; and a position for acquiring position information on a map corresponding to the image information. Information acquisition means, storage means for storing the image information and the position information in association with each other, position designation means for designating a predetermined position from the acquired position information, and designation by the position designation means A navigation device comprising: an image search unit that searches the storage unit for the image information corresponding to a position; and an image information display unit that displays the image information searched by the image search unit on the display unit. . 3. The image information acquiring unit is a video camera mounted on the vehicle, wherein the image information is extracted image information obtained by extracting one screen of moving image information captured by the video camera, The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the position information acquisition unit is a position detection unit mounted on the vehicle and configured to detect a position of the vehicle. 4. The image information acquiring means is a television broadcast receiving means mounted on the vehicle for receiving a television broadcast, wherein the image information is equivalent to one screen of the television image information received by the television broadcast receiving means. The position information obtaining means is a position manual input means for manually inputting a position corresponding to the received image information on a map screen of the display means. The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2. 5. When newly obtained image information is obtained while image information has already been obtained at the same position by the image information obtaining means, the already obtained image information is entered with the newly obtained image information. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising an image information exchange unit for changing the image information. 6. When newly obtained image information is obtained when image information has already been obtained at the same position by the image information obtaining means, newly obtained image information is added to the already obtained image information. 2. An image information adding unit according to claim 1, further comprising:
Navigation device. 7. A position detecting means for detecting a position of the vehicle, and searching for the image information corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the position detecting means while the vehicle is running, and 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a traveling image display means for displaying on the display means. 8. A route searching means for searching for a traveling route of a vehicle, and searching for the image information corresponding to a position of the vehicle on the route searched by the route searching means, and searching the searched image information for the vehicle. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a search route image display means for displaying on the display means.