JP2698356B2 - Vehicle navigation system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular navigation device that provides guidance according to a course set before traveling, and more particularly, to guide intersection information about an intersection or a junction to be turned next. The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation device. [Prior Art] In a conventional navigation device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-256900 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-224020, when the current position of a vehicle approaches an intersection, the distance to the intersection is reported to the driver by a number or a graph. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such a conventional navigation device, when approaching an intersection to be turned next, the distance to the intersection is displayed in characters or the remaining distance is displayed in a graph, For example, what is displayed by characters must determine the displayed characters, and what is displayed by graphs must determine how long it is. However,
The driver cannot look at the screen contents for a long time while driving the vehicle and cannot look carefully at the display contents of the screen. However, in practice, it is difficult to read and understand such necessary information in a short time. Also, with the conventional navigation device, it is possible to confirm that the vehicle is approaching the intersection to be turned next, but in order to confirm how long after traveling there is an intersection to be turned next, for example, the guidance information to be notified is provided. It was necessary to pay close attention to the screen so as not to make a misjudgment or to not miss it. Therefore, the driver pays attention to driving and pays special attention to the guidance information to be notified, which causes a problem that a burden is imposed during driving. Therefore, the present invention is to solve the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle navigation device that allows a driver to instantly understand guidance information by changing a notification mode according to a remaining distance to an intersection to be turned next. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the vehicular navigation device of the present invention includes a measuring unit for measuring the position of the vehicle, and a remaining distance to an intersection or the like as guidance information on the intersection or the like. Storage means for storing guidance information relating to the vehicle, display means for displaying guidance information relating to the remaining distance to the intersection and the like, and providing guidance for an intersection and the like to be turned next, and a next position based on the vehicle position measured by the measurement means. The guidance information on the remaining distance to the intersection and the like is read from the storage means and displayed on the display means, and the display of the guidance information on the remaining distance to the intersection and the like is switched. The guide information on the remaining distance to the intersection or the like on the condition that the distance is set and the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. And control means for switching the display to display using a different display color. [Operation and Effect of the Invention] In the vehicular navigation apparatus of the present invention, the remaining distance from the vehicle position measured by the measuring means to the next intersection to be turned is determined, and the storage means guides the remaining distance to the intersection and the like. The information is read out and displayed on the display means, and a distance for switching the display of the guide information regarding the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is set. The intersection or the like is set on condition that the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. The display of the guidance information about the remaining distance up to is controlled to switch to the display using a different display color, so not only the change in the content of the guidance information about the remaining distance, but also when the remaining distance approaches the intersection etc. from the set distance, Different display colors are used for displaying the guidance information on the remaining distance. Therefore, the status of approaching an intersection or the like can be confirmed from the display of the guidance information on the remaining distance. However, even if the details of the guidance information on the remaining distance on the display screen are not checked, the accurate remaining at that time can be obtained by changing the display color. You can check the distance instantly. Therefore, even when the remaining distance to the intersection or the junction is reduced, the driving vehicle does not need to pay special attention to the screen, and can concentrate on driving and reduce the burden of driving. Embodiment An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining one embodiment of a vehicle navigation apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a processing flow of a character color setting routine, and FIG. 3 is a processing flow of a distance display routine. FIG. The vehicle navigation device according to the present invention is, for example, in the case of notifying the intersection information such as the distance to the next intersection or the junction to be turned or the direction thereof, particularly at a predetermined interval as the remaining distance to the intersection changes. The guide information is output in different modes. Thus, the driver can instantly recognize the distance to the next intersection to be turned and can quickly obtain necessary information, so that the driver can concentrate on driving. In addition, since it is not necessary to use extra nerves for the guidance information to be notified, the burden on the driver can be reduced. FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment in which guidance is output using different display colors as a specific example of the present invention. First, the overall processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. The character color is set by the character color setting routine shown in FIG. Next, it is checked whether or not the displayed color is different from the previously displayed character color. If it is the same, the process proceeds to the process. If it does, the entire character rewriting is set, and the distance to the intersection is displayed by the distance display routine shown in FIG. Save the currently displayed text color. According to the present invention, for example, in the case of display, the character color is set according to the distance to the intersection as described above, so that the driver can intuitively recognize the distance from the character color. Next, the character color setting routine will be described. Check if the distance to the next intersection is less than 100m. If YES, that is, if it is closer to 100 m, the character color is set to red (), and the process returns (returns to the main routine, that is, shifts to the process). But,
If NO, check whether the distance to the next intersection is shorter than 500m. If YES, that is, if it is closer than 500 m, the character color is set to yellow () and the routine returns. However, in the case of NO, the character color is set to blue () and the routine returns. As described above, when the next intersection is approaching, first display the distance to the next intersection in blue, switch the display color to yellow when approaching the remaining 500 m, and switch the display color to red when approaching the remaining 100 m Display, so the driver can
The remaining distance to the next intersection can be known instantly from the display color. As shown in FIG. 3, the distance display processing routine first checks whether the currently displayed character and the newly displayed character are the same. If the result is YES, the process directly returns. If so, display a new character and return. As described above, in the present invention, the data of the distance to the next intersection to be turned is constantly updated as the vehicle travels, and the display color is switched in accordance with the updated distance. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the display color is changed according to the distance, but the following may be adopted. (A) Change the background color of the distance display. (B) Blink the character or background of the distance display. (C) Change the color of the distance display into a bar graph. (D) Flash the distance display as a bar graph. (E) Change the color of the lamp or lamp-shaped display. (F) Blink the lamp or lamp-shaped display. Further, for example, the above (a) and (b), (c) and (d), and other combinations may be adopted. Further, in the case of blinking display, if the distance is long, the blinking interval is lengthened, and the shorter the distance is, the shorter the blinking interval is, so that the information can be transmitted more intuitively and smoothly. The present invention may be applied to an audio output mode in that different output modes are taken according to the remaining distance. In this case, for example, an intermittent sound is generated, and the interval is gradually shortened as the distance becomes shorter, the pitch is gradually changed from a low sound to a high sound, or "300 m
At the intersection. , Etc., may be output so as to be utterly faster. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a system configuration applied to the navigation device according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, 1 is a distance meter, 2 is a steering angle, 3 is an input unit, 4 is an input decoding unit, 5 is an input decoding table, 6 is a data processing control unit, 7 is an image output control unit, and 8 is a display unit. , 9 is an audio output control unit, 10 is a speaker, 11 to 14 are files stored in a storage unit, 11 is a navigation data file, 12 is an image data file, 13 is a photo file, 14
Indicates an audio data file. The distance meter 1 measures the traveling distance of the vehicle,
For example, a device that detects and measures the rotation of a wheel, a device that detects acceleration and integrates twice, and the like may be used, and other measuring means may be used. The steering angle meter 2 detects whether or not the vehicle has turned at an intersection or a branch point. For example, an optical rotation sensor mounted on a rotating portion of a steering wheel or a rotating resistance volume can be used. An angle sensor attached to the unit may be used, as long as it can detect the direction of the vehicle. The input unit 3 may be a joystick, a key, or a touch panel, or may be a unit that is combined with a screen of the display unit 8 to display a key or a menu on the screen and input from the screen. The input decoding unit 4 decodes data input from the input unit 3 with reference to the input decoding table 5. For example, when a course is set, when a current location or a destination is input by a code,
By referring to the input decoding table 5, the code is converted into the current location data and the destination data. Therefore, the input decoding table 5 is set corresponding to the data input from the input unit 3. The data processing control unit 6 is the center of the navigation device, and the input unit 3
When a course is selected and set from, the navigation data of the course stored in the file 11 is called and executed. Each of the navigation data stored in the storage unit displays a guide map on the screen of the display unit 8 along with the course on which the vehicle travels, displays a characteristic photograph at an intersection or on the course of the course, the remaining distance to the intersection, and other information. It is configured to display guidance information and to provide voice guidance from the speaker 10. The files 12 to 14 store the data of these images, photos and sounds. The output of the images to the display unit 8 is controlled by the image output control unit 7 and the output of the sounds to the speaker 10 is controlled. The control is performed by the audio output control unit 9. In the above navigation system, the input unit 3 is provided before traveling.
Enter the current location and destination from and select the course,
The data processing control unit 6 reads out and executes the navigation data in the file 11 corresponding to the course stored in the storage unit. According to the navigation data, the current position of the vehicle is obtained based on the measuring means from the measuring means composed of the distance meter 1 and the steering angle meter 2 according to the course, and the guidance of the course is provided through the display section 8 and the speaker 10 which constitute the notification section. The display of the figure and the current position, etc., the guidance of the feature on the way, the guidance of the intersection, etc. are performed. For example, in the middle of a course where the distance to the next intersection is long, in order to give the driver a sense of safety that he is not off the course, he will give voice guidance of features that are passing, such as "I will cross the bridge soon." Or display a picture of the passing feature on the screen. Also, the guide map and the current position are displayed. Then, when the intersection is near, the intersection information is output by a screen or voice by applying the intersection guidance method of the navigation device of the present invention as described above, and a voice instruction is output as appropriate. The navigation data incorporates from the files 12 to 14 which store such data for screen output and data for voice output, which data is to be used under what conditions. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of specific navigation data in C language to which the intersection guidance system of the navigation device according to the present invention is applied, in which, for example, b indicates a character color setting step, and c indicates a distance. Represents the steps of the display. As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, for example, when guidance information is displayed on the screen and notified, when the remaining distance to the next intersection to be turned is 500 m, the color is blue, and the remaining distance is 300 m. The color to be displayed is changed according to the remaining distance to the next intersection to turn, such as yellow when the distance is 100m and red when the remaining distance is 100m. When the guidance information is notified by voice, the notification speed of the voice is increased as the vehicle approaches the next intersection, or the pitch is increased as the vehicle approaches the next intersection. As described above, in the present invention, the driver can instantly understand the position of the intersection to be turned next by notifying the guidance information with different display colors or different sound qualities according to the remaining distance to the intersection to be turned next. Therefore, the driver does not need to pay special attention to the screen and the sound, and can concentrate on driving and reduce the burden of driving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view for explaining one embodiment of a vehicle navigation apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a processing flow of a character color setting routine, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a display routine, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a system configuration applied to the navigation device according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram to which an intersection guidance system of the navigation device according to the present invention is applied. It is a figure showing an example of concrete navigation data by C language. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... distance meter, 2 ... steering angle meter, 3 ... input part, 4 ... input decoding part, 5 ... input decoding table, 6 ... data processing control part, 7 ... image output control part, 8 …… Display unit, 9 ……
Voice output control unit, 10 ... speaker, 11-14 ... file.

Continuation of front page    (56) References JP-A-58-14182 (JP, A)                 JP-A-61-49300 (JP, A)                 JP-A-58-70117 (JP, A)                 JP-A-61-212718 (JP, A)                 JP-A-62-142216 (JP, A)                 JP-A-60-256900 (JP, A)                 JP-A-56-114712 (JP, A)                 Showa 60-163309 (JP, U)                 Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-27444 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Measuring means for measuring the position of the vehicle, storage means for storing guidance information about the remaining distance to an intersection or the like as guidance information about an intersection or the like, guidance information about the remaining distance to the intersection or the like should be displayed, and then a turn should be made. Display means for providing guidance information about an intersection, etc .; and obtaining the remaining distance from the vehicle position measured by the measuring means to the next intersection to be turned, reading guidance information on the remaining distance to the intersection, etc. from the storage means. Along with the display on the display means, a distance for switching the display of the guide information regarding the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is set, and the distance to the intersection or the like is set on condition that the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. Control means for switching the display of the guidance information relating to the remaining distance to a display using a different display color. Geshon apparatus. 2. The control means controls to switch to a display bar of the remaining distance to an intersection or the like using a different display color on condition that the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1. 3. The control means controls to switch to a display character of a remaining distance to an intersection or the like using a different display color on condition that the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1. 4. The control means switches the background of the display of the guide information regarding the remaining distance to the intersection or the like to a different display color on condition that the remaining distance to the intersection or the like is smaller than the set distance. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein