JP2007278765A - Navigation device and map data updating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device for making road regulations or the like reflected and for guiding a user. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation device connected to a camera 10 for imaging the forward side of a vehicle comprises a storage device 3 for storing map data, where regulation information showing the existence of traffic regulation and the contents of the traffic regulation is matched to each link and road sign information, where data showing the traffic regulation indicated by the road sign or the like is matched to each image data showing the road sign or the like, and an arithmetic processing section 1. The arithmetic processing section 1 calculates the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle, recognizes the road sign or the like from an image by using the image photographed by the camera 10 and the road sign information, specifies the traffic regulation shown by the recognized road sign or the like, infers the link regulated by the recognized road sign or the like, and updates the regulation information matching the link estimated in the map data to the contents of the specified traffic regulation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a technique for updating map data used for an in-vehicle navigation device.

  Some conventional navigation devices capture the front of a vehicle with a camera, use the captured image, and present a road sign to the user (for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, an image recognition technique is used to recognize a road sign in an image taken by a camera and inform the user of the recognized road sign.

JP 59-127200 A

  By the way, the navigation device uses the map data to display the current position on the map or to search for a recommended route to the destination. However, it is difficult to accurately reflect road conditions such as traffic regulations that change every day in map data (for example, roads that have been available until now may be restricted). For this reason, the navigation device may guide a user by searching for a recommended route including a road that cannot be passed due to traffic restrictions or the like, or may be presented to the user as a road that can pass a road that is prohibited from entering. As a result, the navigation device may guide the user to the road just before the user cannot pass. In such a case, it is inconvenient for the user to check the detour and change the route to the detour. Therefore, it is desirable that the map data used in the navigation device reflects actual road conditions.

  The said patent document 1 can show that there is traffic regulation to a user, when it comes to the vicinity of the road where a vehicle cannot pass. However, in patent document 1, it does not consider in particular about guiding a user not to reach the road where traffic is regulated. Therefore, in patent document 1, it may guide to just before the road which a user cannot pass.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device capable of performing route search and route guidance reflecting road regulations and the like.

  In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is applied to a navigation device that is connected to a camera that images the front of a vehicle, presents a display screen showing the current position of the vehicle on a map, and guides the user. Is done.

  The navigation device stores, for each link constituting the road, means for storing map data that associates the presence / absence of traffic regulation and regulation information indicating the content of the traffic regulation, a current position where the vehicle is traveling, and A road sign in which detection means for calculating a traveling direction is associated with data indicating the content of traffic regulation indicated by the road sign or the like for each image data indicating a predetermined road sign and road sign (hereinafter referred to as “road sign or the like”). Means for storing information, and acquiring an image captured by the camera, recognizing a road sign or the like from the image using the acquired image and the road sign information, and corresponding to the recognized road sign or the like If the road sign etc. is recognized and the means for identifying the content of the traffic regulation that is present, the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle when the road sign etc. are detected are obtained from the detection means , A means for estimating a link regulated by the recognized road sign or the like using the current position, the traveling direction, and the map data, and associated with the estimated link in the map data Means for updating the restriction information using the contents of the specified traffic restriction.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the road constituting the road is associated with the restriction information indicating the presence / absence of traffic restriction and the contents thereof, the road sign is recognized from the image captured by the camera, the recognized road sign, etc. The regulation information of the link subject to regulation is updated. That is, according to the present invention, the restriction information of the map data of the area where the user is active can be made to reflect the actual road condition. Therefore, according to the present invention, route search and route guidance reflecting road regulations and the like can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device (hereinafter simply referred to as “navigation device”) to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in the figure, the navigation device includes an arithmetic processing unit 1, a display 2, a storage device 3 storing map data including link data constituting a road, a voice input / output device 4, an input device 5, and the like. The vehicle speed sensor 6, the gyro 8, the GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 9, and the camera 10 that captures an image ahead of the vehicle. The link data in the map data includes the presence / absence of traffic restrictions such as entry prohibition and restriction information indicating the contents thereof.

  The arithmetic processing unit 1 is a central unit for processing various types of information provided to the user by the navigation device. For example, the current position is detected based on information output from the various sensors 6 and 8 and the GPS receiver 9. The arithmetic processing unit 1 reads map data around the detected current position from the storage device 3, develops the read map data in graphics, and displays a mark indicating the current position on the display 2 in an overlapping manner. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 1 searches for a recommended route connecting the current position and the destination instructed by the user, and guides the user using the voice input / output device 4 and the display 2.

  The arithmetic processing unit 1 also recognizes road signs and road markings (hereinafter referred to as “road signs and the like”) using image data captured by the camera 10. The arithmetic processing unit 1 identifies the restriction contents such as the recognized road sign and updates the restriction information of the link data stored in the storage device 3 using the restriction contents.

  The display 2 is a unit that displays the image data generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1 and includes a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like. The signal S1 between the arithmetic processing unit 1 and the display 2 is generally connected by an RGB signal or an NTSC (National TV Standards Committee) signal.

  The storage device 3 shows map data (FIG. 2) corresponding to a multi-stage scale map from a general map of the Japanese archipelago to a detailed map of each municipality nationwide, and road signs and road signs (hereinafter referred to as “road signs etc.”). It is a unit that stores data such as a restriction information table (see FIG. 3) in which data indicating the contents of traffic restrictions indicated by the road signs and the like are associated with each image data. As the storage device 3, for example, a DVD device or a hard disk device can be used.

  Here, the map data and the regulation information table will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the data structure of map data according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the drawing, the map data 310 is classified for each mesh region obtained by dividing the map into a plurality of parts. The map data 310 includes a mesh ID 311 for identifying a mesh area, and link data 312 of each link constituting a road included in the mesh area.

  The link data 312 includes a link ID 3121 for identifying a link, coordinate information 3122 of two nodes (start node and end node) constituting the link, link length information 3123 indicating the length of the link, The travel time (or travel time) information 3124, the link ID (connection link ID) of the link connected to each of the two nodes (start node and end node), and restriction information 3125 of the connection link are included.

  In the restriction information, the presence / absence of traffic restriction and the contents of the restriction are associated with each connection link (“start connection link” connected to the start node and “end connection link” connected to the end node). In the example shown in the figure, the link ID “xxxe” is connected to the start node of the link ID “xxxa”, indicating that there is no restriction information. In addition, it is indicated that three links with link IDs “xxxb”, “xxxc”, and “xxxd” are connected to the end node of the link with the link ID “xxxa”. The case where three links are connected refers to, for example, a case (intersection) as shown in FIG. 7 described later. Then, it is shown that among the three links connected to the end node, there is a “prohibition of entry” restriction on the link whose link ID is “xxxd”.

  Specifically, in the example of FIG. 2, it is possible to enter the links with the link IDs “xxxb” and “xxxc” from the link with the link ID “xxxa”, but the link ID “xxxa” from the link with the link ID “xxxa”. This indicates that the user cannot enter the link “xxxd”.

  Next, the restriction information table will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the data structure of the restriction information table according to the embodiment of this invention.

  As shown in the figure, the regulation information table 400 includes an entry 401 for storing an image pattern indicating a road sign and a road sign (hereinafter referred to as “road sign etc.”), and an image pattern such as a road sign stored in the entry 401. And an entry 402 for storing data indicating the contents of regulation indicated by the road sign or the like. The top entry 401 of the restriction information table shown in the figure stores an image pattern of a road sign indicating entry prohibition, and an entry 402 associated with the entry 401 stores data indicating entry prohibition. ing.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The voice input / output device 4 converts the message to the user generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1 into a voice signal and outputs it, recognizes the voice uttered by the user, and transfers the recognized content to the arithmetic processing unit 1. To do.

  The input device 5 is a unit that receives instructions from the user for selecting various functions of the navigation device, setting a destination, and the like. Hard switches such as a scroll key and a scale change key, Joystick, a touch panel pasted on the display 2, and the like Consists of.

  The sensors 6 and 8 and the GPS receiver 9 are used by the navigation device to detect the current position and the traveling direction. The vehicle speed sensor 6 measures the distance from the circumference of the wheel and the measured rotational speed of the wheel, and further measures the angle at which the moving body is bent from the rotational speed of the paired wheel. The gyro 8 is composed of an optical fiber gyro and a vibration gyro, and detects an angle at which the moving body rotates. The GPS receiver 9 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and measures the distance between the mobile body and the GSP satellite and the change rate of the distance with respect to three or more satellites, thereby moving the mobile body's current position, traveling direction, and traveling Measure orientation.

  The camera 10 is installed at a position where an image of the front of the vehicle (a range that can be seen by the driver) can be taken. The camera 10 captures an image of the front of the vehicle and outputs the captured image data to the arithmetic processing unit 1. For the camera 10, for example, a CCD camera can be used.

  Next, functions of the arithmetic processing unit 1 of the navigation device described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a functional configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the arithmetic processing unit 1 includes a sign recognition unit 11, a regulated road estimation unit 12, a map data update unit 13, a setting unit 14, a current position detection unit 15, a route search unit 16, a route guidance unit 17, and a map. A display processing unit 18 is included.

  The sign recognition unit 11 recognizes road signs and the like (road signs and road markings) from the image data output from the camera 10, specifies the restriction contents such as the recognized road signs, and the specified restriction contents are the restriction road estimation part 12. Output to. Specifically, the sign recognition unit 11 reads the restriction information table 400 from the storage device 3. In addition, the sign recognition unit 11 receives image data output from the camera 10. Then, the sign recognition unit 11 performs image recognition processing by pattern matching using the received image data and the image pattern of the entry 401 of the restriction information table 400, and recognizes a road sign or the like from the image data from the camera 10. Perform the process. In addition, the process which recognizes a road sign etc. from image data shall be implement | achieved by the image recognition process of a prior art. Then, when a road sign or the like is recognized, the sign recognition unit 11 uses the restriction information table 400 to specify the restriction content indicated by the recognized road sign or the like, and the specified restriction content is sent to the restriction road estimation unit 12. Output.

  When the sign recognition unit 11 recognizes a road sign or the like, the restricted road estimation unit 12 estimates a link restricted by the road sign, and outputs the estimated link and restriction content to the map data update unit 13. The processing of the regulated road estimation unit 12 will be described in detail later.

  The map data update unit 13 accesses the map data 310 of the storage device 3 and updates the restriction information associated with the estimated link in the map data 310.

  The setting unit 14 receives a request from a user input via the input device 5 or the voice input / output device 4, and controls the arithmetic processing unit 1 so that processing corresponding to the requested content is executed. . For example, when a user requests a search for a recommended route to go to the destination via the input device 5, the user requests the route search unit 16 to search for a recommended route from the current position to the destination.

  The current position detection unit 15 uses the distance data and the angle data obtained as a result of integrating the distance pulse data S5 measured by the vehicle speed sensor 6 and the angular velocity data S7 measured by the gyro sensor 8, respectively. The current position (X ′, Y ′), which is the position after the vehicle travels, is periodically calculated from the initial value (X, Y).

  Then, the current position detection unit 15 outputs the calculated current position and traveling direction to the map display processing unit 18. Further, when the current position is requested from the route guidance unit 16, the current position detection unit 15 outputs the calculated current position and traveling direction to the route guidance unit 16. In addition, when the current position is requested by the restricted road estimation unit 12, the current position detection unit 15 outputs the calculated current position and traveling direction to the restricted road estimation unit 12.

  Further, as the current position detection unit 15 integrates the data S5 of the vehicle speed sensor 6 and the data S7 of the gyro 8, respectively, since errors accumulate, the position data S8 obtained from the GPS receiver 9 in a certain time is used. A process for canceling the originally accumulated error is performed to obtain data at the current position.

  The route search unit 16 uses the Dijkstra method or the like to use the link data 312 (see FIG. 2) for a recommended route that reaches the destination at an optimal cost connecting the two specified points (current position, destination). Explore. When searching for a recommended route, the route search unit 16 searches for a recommended route with reference to traffic regulation information (connection link and regulation information 3125) included in the link data 312. That is, the route search unit 16 obtains a recommended route so that a link that restricts traffic is not included in the links that constitute the recommended route.

  The route search unit 16 outputs data indicating the recommended route to the map display processing unit 16 in order to display the recommended route obtained as a result of the search on the display 2. In addition, the route search unit 16 outputs data indicating the searched recommended route to the route guide unit 17.

  The route guide unit 17 guides the user to reach the destination through the searched recommended route.

  The map display processing unit 18 reads the map data 310 in the area requested to be displayed on the display 2 from the storage device 3. The map display processing unit 18 receives the recommended route searched from the route search unit 14 and receives information on the current position from the current position detection unit 15. The map display processing unit 18 generates image data for displaying a road, other map components, a current position, a destination, and a mark such as an arrow for route guidance on the screen of the display 2, The image data is displayed on the second screen.

  Further, even when the recommended route is not searched, the map display processing unit 18 acquires the current position from the current position detection unit 15, generates image data for displaying the current position on the map, and displays the current position on the display 2. The image data is displayed on the screen.

  Furthermore, when displaying the current position on the display 2, the map sign processing unit 18 according to the present embodiment may display a traffic-restricted road in an identifiable state. In this case, the map sign processing unit 18 determines whether or not a traffic-restricted link is included on the map displaying the current position. As a result of the above determination, the map marking processing unit 18 displays the traffic-restricted link (road) in an identifiable state on the display screen. For example, the mark of the road where the vehicle is currently traveling is changed as a reference color of the road where traffic is restricted, or the color of other roads is changed, or the traffic is restricted at the intersection. Is indicated.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1.

  As shown in the figure, the arithmetic processing unit 1 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22 that temporarily stores programs and data executed by the CPU 21, and the above-described units (label recognition unit 11). , A program for executing functions of the regulated road estimation unit 12, the map data update unit 13, the setting unit 14, the current position detection unit 15, the route search unit 16, the route guidance unit 17, and the map display processing unit 18). A ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 stored in advance, a DMA (Direct Memory Access) 24 that transfers data between the memories and between the memory and each device, and a drawing controller that executes graphic drawing and performs display control 25, a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory) 26 for storing graphics image data, and a color for converting the image data into RGB signals. -Palette 27, A / D converter 28 for converting an analog signal into a digital signal, SCI (Serial Communication Interface) 29 for converting a serial signal into a parallel signal synchronized with the bus, and a bus by synchronizing the parallel signal with the bus It has a PIO (Parallel Input / Output) 30 mounted thereon and a counter 31 that integrates a pulse signal. Then, each of the above parts (sign recognition unit 11, regulated road estimation unit 12, map data update unit 13, setting unit 14, current position detection unit 15, route search unit 16, route guidance unit 17, and map display processing unit 18). The function is realized by the CPU 21 loading a program for executing the function of each of the above-described units stored in the ROM 23 into the RAM 22 and executing it.

  Next, a process for updating the map data stored in the storage device 3 performed by the navigation device of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a flow of processing for updating map data performed by the navigation device of the present embodiment.

  First, image recognition processing for recognizing road signs and the like (road signs and road markings) is performed by the sign recognition unit 11 (S100 to 110). Specifically, the sign recognition unit 11 reads the restriction information table 400 from the storage device 3. The sign recognition unit 11 acquires image data captured by the camera 10, performs image recognition processing using the image data and the image pattern registered in the restriction information table, and acquires the image acquired from the camera 10. It is determined whether or not there are road signs in the data.

  When the sign recognition unit 11 determines that there is a road sign or the like (when a road sign or the like is recognized), the sign recognition unit 11 uses the restriction information table 400 to identify the restriction content indicated by the recognized road sign or the like. The sign recognition unit 11 outputs the specified restriction content to the restriction road estimation unit 12, and proceeds to the process of S120. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no road sign or the like (when the road sign or the like cannot be recognized), the sign recognition unit 11 repeats the processes of S100 to S110.

  In S120, the restricted road estimation unit 12 performs a process of estimating a target link restricted by the road sign or the like recognized in S110. Specifically, the restricted road estimation unit 12 acquires the current position and the traveling direction from the current position detection unit 15 when receiving the restriction contents such as the recognized road sign outputted by the sign recognition unit 11. In other words, the regulated road estimation unit 12 acquires the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle when the sign recognition unit 11 recognizes a road sign or the like.

  Further, the regulated road estimation unit 12 reads the map data 310 around the current position from the storage device 3 using the acquired current position. Then, the regulated road estimation unit 12 is regulated by a road sign recognized by the sign recognition unit 11 using the acquired “current position” and “traveling direction” and the read “map data 310”. Estimate the link. The restricted road estimation unit 12 outputs the estimated link and the restriction content to the map data update unit 13, and proceeds to the process of S130.

  In S130, the map data update unit 13 performs a process for updating the map data. Specifically, the map data update unit 13 accesses the map data 310 of the storage device 3, updates the restriction information of the corresponding link data 312 of the map data 310, and returns to the process of S100.

  Here, the process shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to an example in which the vehicle passes through an intersection. FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing processing for estimating a traffic-restricted link performed by the navigation device of the present embodiment.

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which a vehicle 500 equipped with the navigation device of the present embodiment travels on a link a toward an intersection 600 where four links a to d intersect. Further, a road sign 700 indicating a right turn prohibition is installed on the side of the road (or the upper part) of the link a so that the user of the vehicle 500 traveling on the link a can recognize.

  The sign recognition unit 11 of the navigation device mounted on the vehicle 500 performs the above-described processing of S100 to S110, recognizes an image of the road sign 700, and specifies that the road sign 700 is “right turn prohibited”.

  Subsequently, the restricted road estimation unit 12 acquires the “current position” and “traveling direction” acquired from the current position detection unit 15, the restriction content acquired from the sign recognition unit 11 (here, “right turn prohibited”), and the acquisition The link (here, link a) on which the vehicle is traveling is estimated using the map data around the “current position”.

  Next, the regulated road estimation unit 12 uses the map data 310 to identify links (here, links b to d) connected to the currently running “link a”. The restricted road estimation unit 12 includes the link data 312 of the traveling link a, the link data 312 of the links b to d connected to the traveling link a, the “traveling direction”, and the “regulation content (right turn prohibited)”. Is used to estimate the regulatory response link. In the illustrated example, the regulated road estimation unit 12 estimates that the link to be regulated is “link d” (here, “link a” is changed to “link d” due to the regulation indicated by the road sign 700). Because it can not proceed).

  In the above description, the regulated road estimation unit 12 uses the “current position” and “traveling direction” when the sign recognition unit 11 recognizes the road sign and the map data and the recognized road sign and the like. However, this is merely an example. For example, a position where a vehicle passes a road sign or the like may be determined, and a link regulated by the road sign or the like may be estimated using the passed position. In this case, when the sign recognition unit 11 recognizes a road sign or the like, the sign recognition unit 11 further uses the image from the camera 10 to determine whether or not the vehicle has passed a position where the road sign or the like exists (road sign). Etc., the recognized road sign etc. disappears from the image from the camera 10). When the sign recognition unit 11 determines that the recognized road sign or the like has passed a certain position, the sign recognition unit 11 notifies the restriction road estimation unit 12 to that effect. Then, the regulated road notification unit 12 acquires the “current position” and “traveling direction” when the road sign or the like passes a certain position from the current position detection unit 15. The regulated road notification unit 12 estimates the link regulated by the recognized road sign or the like using the “current position” and “traveling direction” when the road sign passes a certain position and the map data. It may be.

  Thereafter, the map data update unit 13 accesses the map data and updates the data of “connection link and regulation information 3125” included in the corresponding link data 312 in the map data 310. For example, the link ID of “link a” is “xxxa”, the link ID of “link b” is “xxxb”, the link ID of “link c” is “xxxc”, and the link ID of “link d” is “xxxd”. Suppose that there was (see FIG. 2). In this case, the map data update unit 13 cannot enter the restriction information of the “end connection link xxxd” of the “connection link and restriction information 3125” of the link data 312 of the link ID “xxxa” from “link a to link d”. To “data indicating that entry is prohibited” (in FIG. 2, “entry prohibited” is already registered). Further, the map data updating unit 13 sends the restriction information of “start connection link xxxa” of “connection link and restriction information 3125” of link data 312 (not shown) with the link ID “xxxd” from “link a to link d”. Is updated to “data indicating that entry is not allowed (prohibition of entry)”.

  As described above, the navigation device according to the present embodiment associates the restriction data indicating the presence / absence of traffic restriction and restriction information with the link data constituting the road, and uses the restriction image that is captured by the camera. I try to update it. That is, according to the present invention, the restriction information of the map data of the area where the user is active can be made to reflect the actual road condition. And the navigation apparatus of this embodiment performs a route search, route guidance, etc. using the link data containing regulation information. Therefore, according to the present invention, route search and route guidance reflecting road regulations and the like can be performed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the navigation device automatically updates the regulation information. Therefore, the user can update the regulation information included in the map data without performing a troublesome work for upgrading the map data.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible. For example, a distance sensor (infrared sensor or the like) is connected to the navigation device so that the distance to the road sign can be detected. Then, when the distance to the road sign can be detected, the intersection associated with the road sign is estimated using the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle and the distance to the road sign. Then, the navigation device may estimate the restriction target link from the link connected to the estimated intersection, the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the restriction content of the road sign recognized as an image.

  Further, a communication unit may be provided in the navigation device so that it can communicate with a management center that manages map data. In this case, the navigation device transmits the link to be regulated and the regulation content estimated by the sign recognition unit 11 and the regulation road estimation unit 12 to the management center using the communication means. In the management center, the map data is updated using the data sent from the navigation device. Further, the management center may transmit the updated map data to the navigation device in accordance with a request from the navigation device.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the restriction information is managed in association with the connection link connected to the link, but this is not a limitation. The data structure of the link data 312 is merely an example. The link data 312 only needs to be associated with the presence / absence of restriction and the content of restriction for each link.

  In the description of the above embodiment, the cases of “prohibition of entry” and “prohibition of right turn” are illustrated as the contents of traffic regulation, but this is only an example. For example, the restriction content indicated by a road sign or the like may include “time restriction or day restriction”. In this case, the navigation device is provided with a clock function for providing date and time information. Then, the route search unit 16 and the map display processing unit 18 use the clock function to perform route search and map marking reflecting traffic regulations in consideration of time and day of the week.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the map data of embodiment of this invention in simulation. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the regulation information table of embodiment of this invention in simulation. It is a figure for demonstrating the function structure of the arithmetic processing part 1 of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the arithmetic processing part 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the process which updates the map data which the navigation apparatus of embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which estimates the link by which the navigation apparatus of this embodiment is regulated by traffic.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Arithmetic processing part, 2 ... Display, 3 ... Memory | storage device, 4 ... Voice input / output device, 5 ... Input device, 6 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 8 ... Gyro, 9 ... GPS receiver, 10 ... Camera, 11 ... Sign recognition , 12 ... Restricted road estimation unit, 13 ... Map data update unit, 14 ... Setting unit, 15 ... Current position detection unit, 16 ... Route search unit, 17 ... Route guidance unit, 18 ... Map marking processing unit, 21 ... CPU 22 ... RAM, 23 ... ROM, 24 ... DMA, 25 ... drawing controller, 26 ... VRAM, 27 ... color palette, 28 ... A / D converter, 29 ... SCI, 30 ... PIO, 31 ... counter

Claims (4)

A navigation device that is connected to a camera that images the front of the vehicle, presents a display screen showing the current position of the vehicle on a map, and guides the user,
Means for storing map data that associates the restriction information indicating the presence or absence of traffic regulation and the content of the traffic regulation for each link constituting the road;
Detecting means for calculating a current position and a traveling direction of the vehicle,
Means for storing road sign information in which data indicating the content of traffic regulation indicated by the road sign or the like is associated with each image data indicating a predetermined road sign and road sign (hereinafter referred to as “road sign or the like”);
Acquire the image captured by the camera, recognize the road sign from the image using the acquired image and the road sign information, and specify the traffic regulation content associated with the recognized road sign Means to
When recognizing the road sign or the like, obtain the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle when the road sign or the like is detected from the detection means, using the current position, the traveling direction, and the map data, Means for estimating a link regulated by the recognized road sign or the like;
A navigation apparatus comprising: means for updating restriction information associated with the estimated link in the map data using the content of the specified traffic restriction. The navigation device according to claim 1,
Route search means for receiving a destination input from a user and searching for a recommended route from the calculated current position to the destination using the map data;
Route guidance means for presenting the searched recommended route to the user and guiding the user to the destination;
The route searching means searches for a recommended route that does not include a traffic-restricted link using restriction information of the map data. The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2,
When presenting a display screen showing the current position of a vehicle on a map, the map data is used to determine whether or not a traffic-restricted link is included on the displayed map, and the traffic-restricted link A navigation device comprising means for presenting the traffic-restricted link and the content of the restriction on the display screen. Map data that is connected to a camera that images the front of the vehicle and that is performed by a navigation device that holds map data that associates the restriction information indicating the presence or absence of traffic regulation and the content of the traffic regulation for each link that configures the road An update method,
The navigation device
Calculating the current position and direction of travel of the vehicle;
Obtaining an image captured by the camera;
Road sign information in which data indicating the content of traffic regulation indicated by the road sign or the like is associated with image data indicating a predetermined road sign and road sign (hereinafter referred to as “road sign or the like”) stored in advance; Using the acquired image and recognizing a road sign or the like from the image and identifying the traffic regulation content associated with the recognized road sign or the like;
When the road sign or the like is recognized, the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle when the road sign or the like is recognized are obtained, and the detected position is detected using the current position, the traveling direction, and the map data. Estimating links regulated by road signs, etc .;
Updating the restriction information associated with the estimated link in the map data using the content of the specified traffic restriction.

Images