JP2006098243A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system capable of providing users with appropriate route guidance at all times by resetting guidance points determined by road conditions of intersections and improving reliability and safety by guidance precision. <P>SOLUTION: A guidance development part 44 determines whether intersections present in created route data 45 should be set as guidance points or not and performs the setting processing of guidance points. The guidance development part 44 first sets guidance points at the execution of route computations and performs the setting processing of guidance points again only on intersections which have not been set as guidance points at this time. In the case that nonguided routes in which exit angles from intersections are included in a prescribed direct advance range in exit roads from the intersections are detected at the resetting processing, the intersections are set as guidance points. The presence of route-dedicated lanes on which one can proceed in the direction of a guided route and non-route-dedicated lanes on which one can proceed in the direction of a nonguided route are confirmed. In the case that it is detected that the number of the non-route-dedicated lanes is equal to or exceeds the number of the route-dedicated lanes as a result of number comparison between both lanes, the intersections are also set as guidance points. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle or the like, and more particularly to a navigation device in which selection of a guide point that is a guidance point is improved.

  In general, in a navigation device, a predetermined destination point is set from a database of points recorded on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or on a map arbitrarily selected by a user. A route search is performed to obtain a guidance route. In addition, based on self-contained navigation using gyroscopes and vehicle speed pulses, and radio navigation using GPS and FM multiplexing, map matching is performed between the vehicle position and the guidance route obtained by route search. Display on the screen. At the same time, a guide point such as an intersection is set as a guide point, and when approaching this guide point, a route indicating the guide direction is output and a route is guided. The user can reliably follow the guidance route according to these route guidances and can arrive at the destination point without hesitation.

  By the way, although there are usually many intersections on the guidance route, not all intersections are used as guide points. This is because if the route guidance is performed for each intersection, the user not only feels annoyed but also causes a departure from the guidance route. Therefore, conventionally, only the intersections on which the route guidance is determined to be indispensable based on the road connection state obtained from the map data among the intersections on the guidance route are selected and set as the guide points. Yes. Such a guide point setting process is called guidance deployment.

  Here, an intersection that is not set as a guide point when performing guidance deployment will be described with reference to the drawings. At the intersection shown in FIG. 5, the guidance route (2) has a road rank at the same level as the approach route (1) to the intersection and has clear continuity before and after the intersection. ) Has a lower road rank. That is, the intersection shown in FIG. 5 shows a situation in which a guide route having a large width curves to the left and a non-guide route having a small width intersects the bent nose. At such a point, the user does not recognize the intersection as an intersection and determines that “the road should be followed”. Therefore, if voice guidance such as “XX meters ahead, right direction” is given as route guidance when approaching this intersection, the user will be confused and the reliability of route guidance may be reduced. .

  Further, at the intersection shown in FIG. 6, the escape angles of all the escape routes from the intersection are calculated, and only the escape angle in the guidance route (6) is included in the predetermined straight traveling range, and other non-guide routes (4 ), (5), and (7) indicate that the escape angle is not included in the straight-ahead range. Even at this intersection, it is determined that the guidance route is a road, so it is not set as a guide point. For this reason, route guidance is not performed even when approaching an intersection.

However, actual road conditions are complicated, and the selection of which intersection to use as a guide point is flexibly handled in accordance with the reality. For example, in the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, when the intersection of interest includes a branch portion to an attachment road for causing a vehicle traveling on the main line to leave the main line, the lanes before and after the intersection When the number decreases, it is determined that traveling guidance is necessary for the user, and the intersection is set as a guidance point.
JP 2000-266556 A

  By the way, although the intersection of FIG.5 and FIG.6 was mentioned as an example which is not set as a guidance point, when the intersection which is paying attention meets the following conditions, it is difficult to understand which route the user should proceed. there were. First, the road rank of the non-guide route (3) is lower than that of the guide route (2) at the intersection in FIG. 5, but the escape angle is included in the straight travel range. At this time, if conditions such that the user does not grasp the road rank and the widths of the guide route and the non-guide route are not significantly different from each other are added, whether the user goes straight in the direction of the non-guide route (3) or the guide route ( You will be at a loss as to whether you are heading in the direction of 2).

  Further, at the intersection of FIG. 5, the approach road (1) has two lanes, the right lane can travel only to the non-guide route (3) (non-route exclusive lane), and the left lane is the guide route (2). Assume that the lane can only travel to (route dedicated lane). Furthermore, at the intersection in FIG. 6, there are a plurality of lanes before the intersection, and the second lane from the right is a dedicated guidance lane, and if it is not traveling there, it can proceed in the direction of the guidance route (6). Suppose you can't. In such a case, if the intersection is not a guide point, the vehicle may enter the intersection while traveling on a non-route exclusive lane. At that time, the user was forced to change the lane from the non-route-only lane to the route-only lane immediately before the intersection, which was likely to cause an accident and was dangerous. In addition, when the advancing lane to the guidance route direction is limited, if a forced guidance flag is added to the intersection, it can be set as a guide point by referring to it. However, since the forced guidance flag may not be set depending on the data maintenance level, the above-described problem has occurred.

  As described above, in the conventional navigation device, even when there is a non-guide route in the straight direction on the escape route from the intersection, or even when a dedicated lane in the route direction is provided, Sometimes leaked from the guide point. As a result, there is no route guidance even when the intersection is reached, and there is a possibility that the route selection may be lost. The present invention has been proposed in order to solve such problems, and its purpose is to re-set the guide point based on the road conditions at the intersection and to always give the user appropriate route guidance. It is possible to provide a navigation device that can improve the guidance accuracy and contribute to the improvement of reliability and safety.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is formed by obtaining a guidance route from a departure point to a destination point, performing route guidance along the guidance route, and connecting a non-guidance route to the guidance route. A navigation device that determines whether or not to use a predetermined route guidance when it is close to the intersection and sets the guidance point has the following characteristics.

The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the intersection is set as a guide point when a non-guide route in which the escape angle from the intersection is included in a predetermined straight traveling range is detected on the escape route from the intersection. Yes.
In the invention of claim 1 above, if there is a non-guidance route in which the traveling direction corresponds to the straight traveling direction in the escape route from the intersection, the escape route to the guidance route is curved from the intersection. By setting such an intersection as a guide point, it is possible to guide or guide the user on the direction in which the guide route bends or the like. Therefore, the user can reliably follow the guide route without going straight to the non-guide route side by mistake.

The invention of claim 2 confirms the existence of a route-dedicated lane that can proceed in the direction of the guidance route and a number of non-route-dedicated lanes that can proceed in the direction of the non-guidance route, and compares the number of both lanes to determine the route. When the number of non-path dedicated lanes equal to or greater than the number of lanes is detected, the intersection is set as a guide point.
In the invention of claim 2, if the number of non-path-only lanes that cannot travel in the direction of the guidance path is an intersection that is the same as or more than the number of dedicated lanes on the path side, guidance is provided there. Since it is set as a point, the user can be guided to a dedicated lane to the guidance route. Therefore, the user can safely proceed to the guidance route without making a sudden lane change toward the route dedicated lane near the intersection.

The invention according to claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein only the intersection that is not set as the guide point when the route calculation for obtaining the guide route is executed is targeted. It is characterized by performing the setting process.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the guide point setting process is performed only on the intersection that has not been set as the guide point when the route calculation is executed, the guide point can be set efficiently.

  As described above, according to the navigation device of the present invention, the guidance point is reset based on the route condition at the intersection, and there is a limited lane that can be advanced only in the route direction when there is a straight lane on the non-guide route. In this case, predetermined route guidance can be given to the user, and the drawbacks of conventional guidance point selection can be complemented, and guidance accuracy can be improved to contribute to improvements in reliability and safety.

  Hereinafter, an example of the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is realized by controlling a computer including a peripheral device by a program, and various implementation modes of hardware and programs can be changed. Moreover, the road data and the algorithm for route calculation can be freely selected. The navigation device of the present invention can be realized in various modes using a computer, and a program for controlling the computer or a computer-readable recording medium storing the program may be realized as an embodiment. This program realizes its operational effects by utilizing a physical processing device such as a CPU and various chip sets incorporated in the navigation device. 1 is a virtual circuit block, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a data storage state of the intersection shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a direction guide data frame.

[1. Constitution〕
[1-1. Overall configuration)
First, the configuration of the navigation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment includes an absolute position and direction detection unit 1, a relative direction detection unit 2, a vehicle speed detection unit 3, a main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4, a memory group M, a user interface unit 9, and a display unit 10. , Input unit 11, HDD control unit 12, FM multiplex reception and processing unit 13, and optical / beacon reception and processing unit 14.

  The absolute position and direction detection unit 1 is a means for calculating absolute position coordinates and directions on the surface of the vehicle by receiving GPS radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites using an antenna or a receiver. The relative azimuth detecting unit 2 is a part for detecting the relative azimuth of the own vehicle using a gyro, and the vehicle speed detecting unit 3 is a part for calculating the speed of the own vehicle by processing vehicle speed pulses obtained from the automobile.

  The main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are parts that serve as a control circuit that controls the entire navigation device of the present embodiment. The memory group M is various memories necessary for the operation of the apparatus, and includes a ROM 5 storing a BIOS and a bootup program, a DRAM 6 used for a work area and the like, and a nonvolatile memory for recording information such as a registration file. SRAM 7 as a volatile memory and VRAM 8 used for video display and the like are included.

  The display unit 10 is a part for outputting various information such as maps and operation menus using a liquid crystal display panel, a voice synthesizer, etc., and the input unit 11 is used by the user for various instructions such as commands and destinations. It is a part for inputting information. The user interface unit 9 connects the display unit 10 and the input unit 11 to the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 using an I / O control circuit or a driver.

  The HDD control unit 12 is means for reading various data such as a navigation program and road data from a database recorded on the hard disk. The FM multiplex reception and processing unit 13 is a part that receives an FM broadcast wave of radio by switching a plurality of antennas according to the reception state, and acquires VICS information from this broadcast wave. The light / beacon reception and processing unit 14 is a part that receives and processes identification information and VICS information of each beacon from an optical beacon and a radio beacon installed on the roadside.

[1-2. Role of main CPU and its peripheral circuits]
Further, the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are configured to serve as a vehicle position detection unit 40, a destination designation unit 41, a route calculation unit 42, a guidance processing unit 43, and a guidance and deployment unit 44. Among these, the own vehicle position detection unit 40 is means for sequentially calculating the own vehicle position by combining GPS navigation positioning and autonomous navigation positioning.

  The route calculation unit 42 performs route search using a route search algorithm such as Dijkstra method while reading out road data from the hard disk using the HDD control unit 12, and the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection unit 40. The route data 45 representing the route to the destination is created by calculating the route to the destination designated by the destination designation unit 41 based on the road data. The guidance processing unit 43 is a part that performs processing for guiding the calculated route and traffic information on a screen display or synthesized voice while displaying the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection unit 40 on a map. is there.

  The guiding and developing unit 44 is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, and is a means for determining whether or not an intersection existing on the created route data 45 is to be a guide point and performing a guide point setting process. . The guidance development unit 44 sets a predetermined intersection on the route data 45 as a guide point at the time of executing route calculation according to the conventional logic. The guide point setting process is performed again. More specifically, an area for guidance development is allocated in the DRAM 6, and a guidance type flag is set for distinguishing whether or not the intersection focused on here is used as a guide point.

  In the resetting process, when a non-guide route in which the escape angle from the intersection is included in a predetermined straight traveling range is detected on the escape route from the intersection, this intersection is set as a guide point. In addition, confirm the existence of a dedicated route lane that can travel in the direction of the guided route and a dedicated route lane that can travel in the non-guided route direction, and compare the number of both lanes to determine the number of dedicated lanes that are greater than the number of dedicated route lanes. Even when the number is detected, this intersection is set as a guide point.

  When the intersection shown in FIG. 5 is recorded on the hard disk, the map data is stored as shown in FIG. In this figure, an arrow represents a link, and a point at the lower end of the link represents a node. The lane information in the guidance route (2) is stored in the direction guide data frame in the route guidance data frame.

  FIG. 3 shows the structure of the direction guide data frame. That is, a direction guide attribute header and a guide point management list are stored in the direction guide data frame, and the number of lanes and the number of increased lanes when entering the two guidance routes are stored in the direction guide attribute header. There are as many guide point management lists as there are directions in which one exit direction can escape, and two guide point management lists exist at the intersection shown in FIG.

  Each guide point management list stores a guide point attribute header and connection node information, and among these, a link row data record identification information, an escape lane flag, the number of connection nodes, and intersection information are stored in the guide point attribute header. . By referring to the link string data record identification information, the guide point management list in the route direction can be specified. The escape lane flag is used to identify the lane corresponding to the guidance point management list.

  A guide code is stored in the number of connected nodes, and a forced guidance flag described in the problem of the prior art is stored therein. Further, the necessity of guidance and the intersection escape angle are stored in the intersection information. Therefore, out of the two guide point management lists, the exit angle in the direction of the guidance route (2) and the corresponding lane are obtained from the intersection exit angle included in one list, and the intersection exit angle included in the other list The escape angle in the direction of the guide route (3) and the corresponding lane can be obtained. The lane information obtained in this way is recorded in the ROM 5, DRAM 6, and SRAM 7 in the memory group M.

[2. Action)
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. First, route calculation is performed by the route calculation unit 42 to generate route data 45. At this time, the guide deployment unit 44 sets a guide point according to the conventional logic (STEP 1). Subsequently, by referring to the guidance type flag of the area in the DRAM 6 allocated for guidance development, it is confirmed whether or not the intersection of interest is a guidance point, that is, whether it is non-guidance (STEP2 ). If the intersection of interest is not non-guided (NO in STEP 2), it has already been set as a guide point, indicating that it has already been selected as a conventional guide point (STEP 7).

  On the other hand, if the intersection of interest does not correspond to the guide point in the conventional logic and is non-guided (YES in STEP 2), the guide development unit 44 performs the following processing. First, the presence / absence of lane information is determined from the number of intersection approaching lanes stored in the direction guide data (STEP 3). If the number of approaching lanes at the intersection is 0, it is determined that there is no lane information (NO in STEP 3). In this case, the intersection does not hit the guidance point and is not guided (STEP 8) as in the conventional logic. ). On the other hand, if the number of lanes entering the intersection is 1 or more and it is determined that there is lane information (YES in STEP 3), the escape angles of all non-guide routes at the intersection are confirmed (STEP 4). If there is a straight lane included in the straight determination area in the non-guide route (YES in STEP 4), the intersection is set as a guide point and selected as a guide point for lane consideration (STEP 6).

  Also, if there are no straight lanes on all non-guide routes at the intersection (NO in STEP 4), a route-only lane that can only travel in the guide route direction and a route that can only travel in the non-guide route direction (that is, in the guide route direction) Confirm the existence of the non-path dedicated lane number. In addition, when the number of lanes is compared and the number of non-path-dedicated lanes is equal to or greater than the number of path-dedicated lanes (YES in STEP 5), for example, if the path-dedicated lane is 1 and the non-path-dedicated lane is 1, An intersection is set as a guide point and selected as a guidance point in consideration of the lane (STEP 6). On the other hand, when the number of route-dedicated lanes is larger than the number of non-route-dedicated lanes (NO in STEP 5), the guidance point is not set as in the conventional logic, and is not guided (STEP 8).

[3. effect〕
As described above, in the present embodiment, when a straight lane belongs in the non-guide route direction at an intersection, this intersection is set as a guide point and selected as a guide point in consideration of the lane. Therefore, it is possible to give the user route guidance that the guidance route is a curve lane before entering the intersection. As a result, even if the user does not know the road rank or the width of the guide route and the non-guide route is not significantly different, as long as a straight lane is included in the non-guide route, the intersection is used as a guide point. Guidance guidance can be implemented, and the user can reliably follow the guidance route without accidentally going to the non-guidance route.

  In the present embodiment, even if there is no straight lane on the non-guide route, this intersection is used as a guide point even when there is a dedicated lane in the route direction and the number of non-route dedicated lanes is greater than or equal to the number of route dedicated lanes. And is selected as a guidance point for lane consideration. Therefore, even when the guidance route belongs to a straight lane, if there is a dedicated lane in the route direction before entering the intersection, this can be notified to the user. As a result, the user does not enter the intersection while traveling on the non-route dedicated lane, and can safely proceed to the guidance route because there is no fear of sudden lane changes. In addition, in this embodiment, the guide point resetting process is performed only for the intersections that were not set as guide points at the time of the first route calculation, so that the guide points can be set efficiently and quickly.

[4. Other Embodiments]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can apply not only to what is called a car navigation apparatus mounted in a motor vehicle but other types of mobile bodies, such as a two-wheeled vehicle, and a portable navigation apparatus. Moreover, it can be used not only for an onboard type in which navigation data is placed in a vehicle, but also for an offboard type that receives data provided via a wireless communication network.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the data storage state of the intersection shown in FIG. Structure diagram of a direction guide data frame. The flowchart in this embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the intersection which is not conventionally set as a guidance point. Explanatory drawing of the intersection which is not conventionally set as a guidance point.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Absolute position and direction detection part 2 ... Relative direction detection part 3 ... Vehicle speed detection part 4 ... Main CPU and its peripheral circuit M ... Memory group 5 ... ROM
6 ... DRAM
7 ... SRAM
8 ... VRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... User interface part 10 ... Display part 11 ... Input part 12 ... Disk control part 13 ... FM multiplex reception and processing part 14 ... Light / beacon reception and processing part 40 ... Own vehicle position detection part 41 ... Destination designation part 42 ... Route calculation unit 43 ... guidance processing unit 44 ... guidance development unit 45 ... route data

Claims (3)

A guidance route from a departure point to a destination point is obtained, route guidance is performed along the guidance route, and a predetermined point is obtained when an intersection formed by connecting a non-guidance route to the guidance route is close to the intersection. In a navigation device that determines whether to set a guide point by determining whether or not to make a route guide for
A navigation device characterized in that, when a non-guide route in which an escape angle from the intersection is included in a predetermined straight traveling range is detected on the escape route from the intersection, the intersection is set as a guide point. A guidance route from a departure point to a destination point is obtained, route guidance is performed along the guidance route, and a predetermined point is obtained when an intersection formed by connecting a non-guidance route to the guidance route is close to the intersection. In a navigation device that determines whether to set a guide point by determining whether or not to make a route guide for
Confirm the existence of a path-only lane that can travel in the direction of the guided path and a non-path-only lane that can travel in the direction of the non-guided path, and compare the number of both lanes to determine the number of non-path-only lanes A navigation device characterized in that, when a number is detected, the intersection is set as a guide point.   The navigation according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide point setting process is performed only for an intersection that has not been set as the guide point when the route calculation for obtaining the guide route is executed. apparatus.

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