JP2010078563A - Car navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car navigation device showing highly reliable information on a fuel consumption estimated relative to traveling along each designated route from a start point to an arrival point. <P>SOLUTION: This car navigation device for guiding along a designated traveling route is provided with: a detection part for detecting a fuel consumption; a traveling data accumulation part for generating and accumulating traveling data including a traveling route and a fuel consumption result relative to each traveling of a vehicle by using a detection result; a start/arrival point designation reception part for receiving designation of a start/arrival point; a selection part for selecting a traveling route whose start/arrival point agrees approximately with the designated start/arrival point from among the traveling routes; a fuel information display part for displaying information based on the fuel consumption result in each selected traveling route by using each of traveling data; and a route designation reception part for receiving designation of some of the selected traveling routes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a car navigation apparatus that guides a route to a driver of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, car navigation devices (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as “car navigation devices”) that guide routes to vehicle drivers and the like have been widely used. According to the car navigation apparatus, any one of routes from a certain starting point to an arriving point is specified, for example, according to a user's designation, and this route is guided by a map display or the like. As a result, the driver can drive the vehicle as much as possible without getting lost as far as the destination, which is very convenient.

  Regarding the use of the vehicle, it is desirable that the amount of fuel such as gasoline used for traveling (fuel consumption) be suppressed as much as possible from the economical or environmental point of view. Under such circumstances, various techniques for contributing to the reduction of fuel consumption have been proposed.

For example, according to Patent Document 1, a technique is disclosed in which fuel consumption is monitored to warn or score rapid acceleration or deceleration. Further, according to Patent Document 2, a technique for predicting the amount of fuel used from road information, traffic jam information, and the like and reflecting it in route search is disclosed.
JP 2007-22505 A JP 2006-58085 A

  By the way, when a vehicle travels from a certain starting point to an arriving point, it can be said that the amount of fuel used varies depending on what route is selected. For example, if a route with a short distance (less detours, etc.), a well-developed route, or a route that is unlikely to be congested is selected, the amount of fuel used will be relatively low. The amount used will be relatively large.

  Therefore, in the car navigation system, when the user designates any one of the routes from the designated starting point to the arriving point, information on the fuel usage expected for the traveling of each route is shown to the user. Is desired. As a result, the user can easily specify the route in consideration of the fuel consumption, and as a result, the fuel consumption can be reduced.

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs warning and scoring according to the amount of fuel used, but does not provide information on the amount of fuel used in traveling on each route. Further, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the fuel usage is predicted based on road information or the like, it is possible to provide information on the fuel usage even for routes that have not traveled in the past. It is. However, the predicted amount of fuel used may be significantly different from the amount of fuel used in actual traveling of the vehicle unless the prediction accuracy is sufficient.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a car navigation device that can provide highly reliable information regarding the amount of fuel that is expected for the travel of each route from a specified departure point to an arrival point. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a car navigation apparatus according to the present invention includes a detection unit that detects the amount of fuel used for traveling of a vehicle, and a travel route for each travel of the vehicle using the detection result. A travel data storage unit that generates and accumulates travel data including actual fuel consumption, a departure / arrival point designation receiving unit that accepts designation of a departure / arrival point, and a departure / arrival point of the travel route that has been designated A selection unit that selects a point that substantially matches the point; a fuel information display unit that displays information based on the actual fuel consumption amount for each selected travel route using each of the travel data; and A route designation receiving unit that accepts designation of any of the travel routes, and guides the designated travel route.

  According to this configuration, travel data including the actual fuel consumption is used, and information based on the actual fuel usage of each route from the designated departure point to the arrival point is displayed. Therefore, it becomes possible to show highly reliable information regarding the fuel usage expected for the travel of each route.

  Further, in the above configuration, the fuel information display unit determines the rank order of the average value of the fuel usage amount in each of the selected travel routes, and performs the display in a manner in which the result of the determination is reflected. It is good also as a structure.

  According to this configuration, the user can grasp the rank of the average value of fuel usage results (representing the fuel usage expected to be necessary normally) between the traveling routes. Therefore, it becomes easy for the user to specify a travel route that is expected to reduce the amount of fuel used.

  Further, in the above configuration, the fuel information display unit determines whether or not the number of travels exceeds a predetermined threshold for each of the selected travel routes, and reflects the result of the determination, It is good also as a structure which performs the said display.

  According to this configuration, the user can grasp which of the travel routes has the number of travels less than a predetermined threshold (the reliability of the information on the fuel usage is likely to be relatively low). Become.

  Further, in the above configuration, the travel data storage unit includes a predetermined travel condition for each travel of the vehicle in generating the travel data, and the fuel information display unit includes the travel data. It is good also as a structure which displays the information based on the fuel usage-amount result for every said driving | running route only using what corresponds to the designated driving | running conditions among each of data.

  According to this configuration, the user can grasp information on the fuel usage expected for the travel of each route under the designated travel conditions.

  More specifically, the driving condition may be one of a day of the week, a season, and the weather.

  More specifically, as the above configuration, the detection unit is based on a measurement result of any one of a fuel injection amount to the engine, an engine speed during traveling, an accelerator opening during traveling, and a traveling speed. The fuel usage amount may be detected.

  As described above, according to the car navigation apparatus of the present invention, travel data including the actual fuel consumption is used, and information based on the actual fuel consumption of each route from the designated starting point to the arrival point is obtained. Is displayed. Therefore, it becomes possible to show highly reliable information regarding the fuel usage expected for the travel of each route.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below by taking a car navigation device (car navigation device) mounted on a vehicle as an example. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the car navigation apparatus. As shown in the figure, the car navigation device 9 includes a calculation control unit 1, a position detection unit 2, a fuel usage amount detection unit 3, a map data storage unit 4, an operation input unit 5, a display unit 6, a memory 7, and the like. ing.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 is composed of a CPU [Central Processing Unit] and the like, and executes arithmetic processing and control processing required in the car navigation device 9. The arithmetic control unit 1 has a clock function and can recognize the current date, time, day of the week, and the like. The contents of main processing executed in the car navigation device 9 will be described again.

  The position detection unit 2 includes a GPS [Global Positioning System], a geomagnetic sensor, and the like, and detects the current location (that is, the position of the vehicle on which the car navigation device 9 is mounted). Information on the detected position is transmitted to the arithmetic control unit 1 as appropriate.

  The fuel usage amount detection unit 3 detects the fuel usage amount used for traveling of the vehicle by measuring the fuel injection amount to the engine during traveling of the vehicle. Information on the detected fuel usage is appropriately transmitted to the arithmetic control unit 1.

  In addition to the above, the fuel usage detection unit 3 similarly uses the fuel usage based on the measurement result of any of the engine speed during travel of the vehicle, the accelerator opening during travel, and the travel speed. It is also possible to detect In addition, since the technique itself for detecting the amount of fuel used in this way is known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The map data storage unit 4 is configured by, for example, a DVD or a hard disk, and stores map data representing a map. This map data is transmitted to the arithmetic control unit 1 as appropriate.

  The operation input unit 5 includes, for example, a push button switch operated by a user, and transmits the operation content to the arithmetic control unit 1. Thereby, the calculation control part 1 can perform the process reflecting a user's intention.

  The display unit 6 includes a display and performs various displays in accordance with instructions from the calculation control unit 1. The memory 7 is formed of, for example, a rewritable nonvolatile memory and stores various information. In particular, the information stored by the memory 7 includes a travel data table and a route data table.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the travel data table has one or a plurality of travel data generated for each travel of the vehicle on the route (registered route) registered in the memory 7. . Each traveling data includes a traveling number (reference number), traveling conditions (running day, day of the week, and weather) at that time, actual fuel usage (fuel usage detected by the fuel usage detector 3), and traveling time. It is formed from.

  According to FIG. 2, each of the travel data with the travel numbers 1 to 4 is generated by traveling on the route “commuting route 1” (that is, generated by traveling on the same route). Yes, the traveling data of the traveling number 5 is generated by traveling on the route “commuting route 2”.

  The route data table has one or a plurality of route data generated for each registered route, as shown in FIG. Each route data includes a route name, the number of times the route has been traveled in the past (which can also be viewed as the total number of travel data related to the route), and a value based on the actual fuel consumption (average of actual fuel consumption in each travel data) Value, maximum value, and minimum value), and average travel time. As shown in FIG. 3, each route of “commuting route 1”, “commuting route 2”, and “commuting route 3” belongs to the route category “for commuting”. Routes having the same route category have the same departure and arrival points (departure point and arrival point).

  The contents of the travel data table and the route data table described above are sequentially updated through a new route registration process and a route guidance process, which will be described later. The memory 7 also stores information such as the route on the map of each registered route and the position on the map of the departure / arrival point of each route category.

  The car navigation device 9 is configured as described above, and executes a process for guiding a route designated in advance (route guidance process) to the driver of the vehicle. In addition, processing for newly registering an unregistered route (new route registration processing) is executed. First, the contents of the new route registration process will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 starts the new route registration process when there is an instruction to execute the new route registration process by the user. First, the arithmetic control unit 1 accepts input of a route category name and a route name (step S1).

  In the process of step 1, when the input route name is the same as any of the route names of registered routes, the user is requested to input the route name again. This prevents the same route name from being assigned to different routes.

  Then, the arithmetic control unit 1 determines whether or not the input route category name is unregistered (whether or not it matches the route category name existing in the route data table) (step S2). If it is not registered (Y in step S2), an input of a departure / arrival point by the user is accepted (step S3). This process is realized by, for example, displaying a map on the display unit 6 and allowing the user to specify two points on the map.

  Through the processing from step S1 to step S3, the route category name, route name, and departure point of the new route to be registered are determined. If the input route category name has already been registered (N in Step S2), the information on the departure / arrival points already recorded at the time of past registration is read out and regarded as the arrival / departure point of the new route. .

  Thereafter, the calculation control unit 1 monitors whether or not the current location matches the departure point based on the departure point information and the detection information from the position detection unit 2 (step S4). Such monitoring will continue until the vehicle is moved to the departure point if the current location does not match the departure point.

  If it is determined that they match (Y in Step S4), the arithmetic control unit 1 displays a map on the display unit 6 and displays a history of the travel route from the departure point on the map (Step S4). S5). Further, the fuel usage amount detection unit 3 detects the fuel usage amount from the departure point (step S6).

  The arithmetic control unit 1 also monitors whether the current location matches the arrival point, that is, whether the vehicle has arrived at the arrival point, based on the arrival point information and the detection information from the position detection unit 2. (Step S7). While the vehicle has not yet arrived at the arrival point (N in Step S7), the processes in Steps S5 and S6 are continuously executed.

  As a result, the user can check at any time what route the user has followed from the starting point to the current location. The fuel usage amount detection unit 3 can detect the fuel usage amount while the vehicle travels from the departure point to the arrival point. The arithmetic control unit 1 monitors the travel time from the departure point to the arrival point.

As a result of the driver driving the vehicle, if the vehicle has arrived at the arrival point (Y in step S7), whether or not to register the route from the departure point to the arrival point that has been traveled so far as a new route. The user's instruction is accepted (step S8). As a result, when an instruction to register is given (Y in Step S8), various information relating to the current travel is recorded in the memory 7 (Step S9).
More specifically, the current travel date and day of the week and the weather (previously input by the user) are regarded as travel conditions, and the detection result of the fuel consumption in the travel from the departure point to the arrival point is the fuel usage amount. The time required for traveling from the starting point to the arrival point is regarded as a track record, and traveling data corresponding to the current traveling is created. The travel data is added to the travel data table. Along with this, the contents of the route data table are also updated. Also, the route on the map and the information of the arrival / departure points in this travel are recorded in the memory 7. Note that the recorded contents of the current run are displayed on the display unit 6 (step S10) and can be confirmed by the user.

  On the other hand, if an instruction not to register is given in the process of step S8 (N of step S8), the processes of step S9 and step S10 are omitted.

  Next, the contents of the route guidance process will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 starts the route guidance process when there is an instruction to execute the route guidance process by the user. At this time, first, the arithmetic control unit 1 accepts designation of a route category by the user (step S11). Since the route category defines the departure / arrival point, the departure / arrival point is designated by designating the route category.

  When the designation is made, the calculation control unit 1 selects each registered route belonging to the designated route category (that is, one of the registered routes that matches the departure / arrival point designated). To do. Further, using the route data table and the travel data table stored in the memory 7, various data for each selected registered route is displayed on the display unit 6 (step S12).

  Here, FIG. 6 shows an example of the display by the process of step S12 when the “commuting” route category is selected. According to the display, for each registered route of “commuting route 1”, “commuting route 2”, and “commuting route 3” belonging to the route category of “commuting”, the route on the map is displayed on the display window. 6a. Similarly, for each registered route, each of the values (average value, maximum value, and minimum value of the actual fuel usage amount in each driving data) based on the number of times traveled, the average traveling time, and the actual fuel usage amount is It is displayed on the display windows (6b-6d).

  Such a display allows the user to compare and review the past fuel usage and travel time for each registered route belonging to the same route category, and which route should be specified. Judgment on what should be done is easy.

  In the display, the display windows (6b to 6d) showing the data of each route are in order from the route with the smallest average fuel consumption amount (here, “commuting route 3”, “commuting route 1”, In the order of “commuting route 2”, they are displayed preferentially (side by side). It can be seen that the ranking of the average value of the fuel usage results in each of the selected routes is determined in advance, and that each data is displayed in a manner that reflects this determination result. As described above, the display mode in which a route with a small average value of the amount of fuel used is recommended makes it easy for the user to specify a route that is expected to reduce the amount of fuel used.

  Further, in the display, the display windows (6b to 6d) showing the data of the route where the number of runnings is less than the predetermined threshold are lowered in priority (that is, lower than the display windows related to other routes). It may be displayed. In this case, for example, if the threshold is 3 times, the data display window of “commuting route 3” with the number of running times of 2 is more than the data display window of “commuting route 1” or “commuting route 2”. Will also be displayed below. This means that it is determined in advance whether or not the number of travels exceeds a predetermined threshold for each selected route, and that each data is displayed in a manner that reflects this determination result. be able to.

  In the route data with a small number of travels, the average value of the fuel consumption may be relatively large and the reliability of the data may be slightly inferior. Therefore, by lowering the display priority for such data, the user can easily select a route mainly considering highly reliable data.

  In addition, in the state where the display related to the process of step S12 is performed, the arithmetic control unit 1 accepts the designation of the route by the user (step S13). For example, in the display of FIG. 6, the user can select one of the display windows (6b to 6d), and when the display window 6b is selected, it is considered that the route of “commuting route 3” is designated, and the display window When 6c is selected, it is considered that the route of “commuting route 1” is designated, and when the display window 6d is selected, the route of “commuting route 2” is assumed to be designated. At this time, when the display window 6e is selected, the above-described new route registration process may be executed.

  Thereafter, the calculation control unit 1 monitors whether or not the current location matches the starting point of the designated route based on the detection information from the position detection unit 2 (step S14). Such monitoring will continue until the vehicle is moved to the departure point if the current location does not match the departure point.

  If it is determined that they match (Y in step S14), the arithmetic control unit 1 causes the display unit 6 to display a map, and on the map, the route of the designated route and the travel route from the starting point. Is displayed (step S15). Thereby, the guidance of the designated route with respect to the driver is realized. Further, the fuel usage amount detection unit 3 detects the fuel usage amount from the departure point (step S16).

  While the vehicle has not yet arrived at the arrival point (N in Step S17), the processes in Steps S15 and S16 are continuously executed. As a result, the user can drive while confirming the remaining route to the arrival point, and can confirm at any time what route has been followed from the departure point to the current location. . The fuel usage amount detection unit 3 can detect the fuel usage amount while the vehicle travels from the departure point to the arrival point. The arithmetic control unit 1 monitors the travel time from the departure point to the arrival point.

  If the driver has driven the vehicle and the vehicle has arrived at the arrival point (Y in step S17), the calculation control unit 1 determines that the current travel route matches any of the registered routes. It is determined whether or not (step S18). If they match (Y in step S18), various information relating to the current travel is recorded in the memory 7 (step S19).

  More specifically, the travel data of the current travel is created in the same manner as the process of step S9 as one of the registered travel data of the registered route and added to the travel data table. Along with this, the route data table (the route data portion of the registered route) is updated.

  Then, the recorded content (updated content) by the process of step S19 is displayed on the display unit 6 (step S20). As a result, the user can check the contents of each information recorded by the current run.

  On the other hand, if the current travel route does not match any of the registered routes (N in step S18), the arithmetic control unit 1 determines whether or not to newly register the current travel route as a new route. An instruction is requested from the user (step S22). If an instruction to register is given (Y in step S22), an input of a route name is accepted (step S23). Also in this case, as in the process of step S1, if the input route name is the same as any of the route names of registered routes, the user is requested to input the route name again.

  Thereafter, various types of information regarding the current travel are recorded in the memory 7 (step S24). More specifically, travel data for the current travel is created in the same manner as the process of step S9 with the input route name, and is added to the travel data table. Along with this, the route data table (part relating to the route category specified in the processing of step S11) is updated. Further, the route on the map in this travel is recorded in the memory 7.

  Then, the recorded content (updated content) by the process of step S24 is displayed on the display unit 6 (step S25). Thereby, the recorded content can be confirmed by the user. In addition, when the process of step S20 or S25 is completed, or when the instruction | indication which does not register is given in the process of step S22 (step S22 N), a route guidance process is complete | finished.

  According to the route guidance process described above, information based on the actual fuel consumption amount for each registered route is displayed when the user designates a route (see step S12). Therefore, the user can designate a route to be guided by the car navigation device 9 while taking into account the fuel usage that is expected to be required for the future travel.

  The information based on the actual amount of fuel used is based on the detection result (actual result) of the amount of fuel used when the vehicle actually travels, and also reflects the driving performance and features unique to the vehicle. It can be said that. Therefore, the information more accurately represents the fuel usage expected to be required for the vehicle to travel than the information on the fuel usage estimated from, for example, general road information, and is highly reliable. It can be said. As a result, it is easy for the user to appropriately specify the route to be guided by the car navigation device 9.

  In addition to the processing described above, the processing in step S12 described above may be realized by a mode in which traveling conditions are considered (condition consideration mode), for example, according to a user request. According to this condition consideration mode, only the data that matches the specified travel condition among the travel data recorded in the memory 7 is used, and the information based on the fuel usage record for each selected route is used. Is displayed.

  In the normal processing of step S12, for example, when the travel data table is as shown in FIG. 2, each value (average value, maximum value, minimum value) of the actual fuel consumption amount for “commuting route 1” shown in FIG. In the calculation of the value, each piece of travel data having a travel number of 1 to 4 (all travel data belonging to “commuting route 1”) is used.

  However, in the process of step S12 in the condition consideration mode, for example, when the driving condition of “sunny” is designated, the driving of “sunny” is similarly used to calculate each value of the actual fuel consumption amount for “commuting route 1”. Only the running data with running numbers 1 and 2 that match the conditions will be used. In other words, the travel data relating to “rain” or “cloudy” is not taken into account in calculating the average value of the actual fuel consumption.

  Further, in the process of step S12 in the condition consideration mode, for example, when the travel condition of “Thursday” is designated, for the calculation of each value of the actual fuel consumption amount for “commuting route 1”, the travel of “Thursday” is performed. Only the running data with running numbers 1 and 4 that match the conditions will be used. That is, the travel data relating to other days of the week are not taken into account in calculating the average value of the actual fuel consumption.

  In the condition consideration mode, only the data that matches the current travel condition among the travel data recorded in the memory 7 is used, and information based on the actual fuel usage amount for each travel route is displayed. It may be.

  In this case, in the process of step S12, for example, when the travel condition category “day of the week” is designated, it is first determined which day of the week the current time is. If the current time is “Thursday”, the values of the fuel consumption results for “commuting route 1” shown in FIG. Only the driving data of 1 and 4 will be used. In other words, travel data relating to days other than “Thursday” is not taken into account in calculating the average value of the actual fuel consumption.

  If the condition consideration mode is provided in this way, the user grasps the route that the fuel consumption is expected to be reduced on a rainy day, for example, if the current weather is rainy, and the route is displayed on the car navigation device 9. Can be designated as a route to be guided. Depending on the road conditions, for example, traffic congestion is likely to occur on Sundays (fuel consumption increases), but other days of the week are relatively empty (fuel consumption is low). Since it may fluctuate, it can be said that it is useful to provide a condition consideration mode.

  The driving conditions considered in the condition consideration mode include the day of the week and the season when driving (for example, spring in March to May, summer in June to August, autumn in September to November, winter in December to February) And other conditions may be adopted.

  As described above, the car navigation apparatus 9 includes the fuel usage amount detection unit 3 (detection unit) that detects the fuel usage amount used for traveling the vehicle. In addition, using this detection result, every time the vehicle travels, a function for generating and storing travel data including the travel route and the actual fuel consumption, a function for accepting designation of a departure point, and a function for the travel route Of these, each of the functions has a function of selecting a departure / arrival point that substantially matches the designated departure / arrival point. Furthermore, it has a function of displaying information based on the actual fuel consumption amount for each selected travel route using each of the travel data, and a function of accepting designation of any of the selected travel routes. It is intended to guide the designated driving route.

  For this reason, it is possible to show highly reliable information regarding the amount of fuel used that is expected for the travel of each route from the designated departure point to the arrival point.

  As described above, an example of the embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this content. The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used in the field of car navigation devices and the like.

It is a lineblock diagram of a car navigation device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding a driving | running | working data table. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route data table. It is a flowchart regarding a new route registration process. It is a flowchart regarding route guidance processing. It is explanatory drawing regarding the process of step S12.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computation control part 2 Position detection part 3 Fuel usage detection part 4 Map data memory | storage part 5 Operation input part 6 Display part 6a-6e Display window 7 Memory 9 Car navigation apparatus

Claims (6)

A detector for detecting the amount of fuel used for driving the vehicle;
A travel data storage unit that generates and stores travel data including a travel route and a fuel usage record for each travel of the vehicle using the detection result;
A departure and arrival point designation receiving unit that accepts designation of a departure and arrival point;
A selection unit for selecting a traveling point that substantially matches the designated landing point;
A fuel information display unit that displays information based on the actual fuel consumption for each selected travel route using each of the travel data;
A route designation receiving unit for accepting designation of any of the selected travel routes;
With
A car navigation device characterized by guiding the designated travel route. The fuel information display section
Determine the rank order of the average value of the fuel usage results between the selected traveling routes,
The car navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed according to an aspect in which a result of the determination is reflected. The fuel information display section
For each selected travel route, determine whether the number of travels exceeds a predetermined threshold,
The car navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed according to an aspect in which a result of the determination is reflected. The travel data storage unit
In generating the travel data, the travel data includes a predetermined travel condition for each travel of the vehicle,
The fuel information display section
The information based on the actual fuel consumption amount for each of the selected travel routes is displayed using only the travel data that matches a specified travel condition. The car navigation device described.   The car navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the traveling condition is any one of a day of the week, a season, and weather. The detector is
The fuel consumption is detected based on a measurement result of any of an amount of fuel injected into the engine, an engine speed during traveling, an accelerator opening during traveling, and a traveling speed. The car navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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