JP2781360B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device for guiding and guiding a vehicle to a destination, and more particularly to setting a destination or a passing point as a desired guide point.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicular navigation apparatus that outputs guidance information for going to a destination displays various kinds of guidance information for going to the destination on a display so that a driver who is unfamiliar with geography can reach the destination. The course guidance is provided to the destination, and for that purpose, the departure point, the passing point, and the desired guidance point as the destination are input, and the route search is performed to reach the guide point, the passing point, and the destination as the guidance point. Is displayed on the display. With regard to input of a desired guide point which is a passing point or a destination, a conventional navigation device inputs a desired intersection or a name of a target,
Touch input of desired intersections and landmarks is performed on the map displayed on the display, but the user must be familiar with specific and detailed geography at the time of input,
It was difficult for a person who was unfamiliar with geography to accurately input a specific location.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 51000 proposes a method in which a registered intersection closest to input destination coordinates is automatically extracted and set as a destination intersection. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-134900, an area is set based on the current location and the position of a starting point, intersections with names included in the area are displayed in ascending order of distance, and the driver selects one of them. We propose a method to do it.

[0004]

However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 62-51000, the registered intersection closest to the input destination coordinates is automatically extracted and set as the destination intersection. Therefore, for example, when a golf course is set as a destination or a passing point, which is a desired guide point, an intersection closest to an input point around the golf course is set as the destination, and the user originally wants to be guided as the final guide point. It will be far from a point, for example, a parking lot of a golf course, and inappropriate guidance will be given. In addition, if the user inputs an unclear and ambiguous input near the input point, even if it is not the nearest intersection to the input point, for example, to a representative feature such as in front of a facility such as a government office or a station It is more appropriate to be guided.

Further, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-134900 has a problem that guidance is not performed if an intersection with a name cannot be searched in the area of the input point. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problem, and extracts a guide point that is as easy as possible for a user to find an arbitrary desired guide point that has been input, and extracts a destination or a passing point. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device capable of setting a route as a route and providing route guidance to the guide point.

[0007]

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a storage device for storing information on a map including at least position information on roads and intersections, and a departure place. And an input device for inputting the position of any desired guide point on the map, and searching for the position information on the intersection from the storage device, and comparing the position of the desired guide point and the position of the intersection input by the input device. An evaluation means for evaluating the relationship and the level information of the intersection, an intersection is selected based on the evaluation result by the evaluation means and set as a guide point, and a route from the departure point to the set guide point is searched for; An arithmetic processing unit for guiding a route is provided.

[0009]

[0010]

A navigation device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes a storage device for storing at least information on a map including position information and feature information on roads and intersections;
An input device for inputting the starting point and the position of an arbitrary desired guide point on a map; and a feature object that searches the storage device for the feature information and that is closest to the position of the desired guide point input by the input device. Is set as a guide point, a route from the departure point to the set guide point is searched for, and an arithmetic processing unit that guides the route based on the route is provided.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the relationship between the position of the desired guide point and the position of the intersection and the level information of the intersection are evaluated, and the intersection is determined based on the evaluation result. Since it is selected as a guide point, for example, if a high-level intersection near the input point could not be searched, a low-level intersection close to the input point can be selected. Even if the user specifies an ambiguous position that is not on the road, a route search can be performed using a point registered in advance as a destination or a passing point as a guide point, making it easy to understand Appropriate guidance to the point becomes possible.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, points of features such as facilities and parking lots which are easy for the user to understand are registered in advance as destinations and passing points which are guide points, and Even when an ambiguous position that is not on a road is designated, a route search can be performed using a point registered in advance as a destination or a passing point as a guide point, and appropriate guidance to a point that is easy to understand can be performed.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention. The navigation device includes an input device 1, a display device 2, a storage device 3, and an arithmetic processing device 4, which are essential components of the present invention, and a current position confirmation device 5, a communication device 6, and an information center 7, which are additional devices. ing. Details of each of the above devices will be described.

(Input Device 1) The touch panel 8 is like a transparent operation panel superimposed on the display device 2 as shown in FIG. 2, and is connected to the display device 2 via the transparent operation panel. The input can be made by touching the displayed menu or an arbitrary point. For example, a desired target can be input, such as selecting "Leisure, Inn" in (A), selecting "Golf course" in (B), and selecting a golf course name in (C). And Also,
Light pen 9 and mouse 1 instead of touch panel 5
0, the keyboard 11 or the like can be used for input.

As shown in FIG. 3, the input control device 39 may display a map on the display device 2 and perform touch input. Instead of the touch panel 5, a light pen 9, a mouse 10, and a keyboard It is also possible to specify on the map using 11. In this case, the map can be enlarged or reduced by the input control buttons 40 to 41.

In addition to the information displayed on the display device 2, as shown in FIG. 4A, a destination name and the like are hard-copied on a map, a means for inputting using a guidebook 43, For example, a menu on the guidebook 43 is indicated by a barcode, which may be read and input to the input control device 44 by the barcode reader 12 (45) as shown in FIG. . Also, instead of a barcode reader, a character scanner 13
The characters on the guidebook may be directly read and input.

As shown in FIG. 5, by directly pointing (clicking) a destination or the like with an input pen 48 on an apparatus on which a map and a guidebook 47 are set on the digitizer 14 (49), The coordinate data of the clicked point may be input to the input control device 46.

In addition to the above-mentioned input means, another navigation apparatus having a part or all of the functions of the navigation apparatus is prepared, and this is connected to a television, a personal computer, or the like. The specified transit location and destination data are stored on a compact disc (CD) 15,
Store them on the floppy disk 16 and IC card 17,
The course may be designated by reproducing the data on the navigation device. For example, the sixth
As shown in the figure, the course is input to the input control device 50 by setting the IC card 52 in the IC card driver 51.

(Display device 2) The display device 2 displays information necessary for setting a guide course as information input to the input device 1. After being processed by an arithmetic processing device 4 described later, for example, the destination information is displayed as guide information. The CRT 18 and the liquid crystal display 19 are used to output the route to go to.

(Storage Device 3) As the storage device 3, for example, a floppy disk, CD-ROM, optical disk, magnetic tape, IC card, or optical card is used.

FIGS. 7 to 15 show the data structure stored in the storage device 3 (FIG. 1) used in the vehicular navigation system of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a region name list 20, and FIG. 7 (a) shows a region name, for example, a prefecture name list, which is relatively broadly summarized. For example, prefecture number 01 is "Aichi prefecture", and kanji and hiragana are used as data. In addition, it has a Romanized prefecture name, a city name list storage address (first address), a city name list data number, a representative intersection characteristic object number, and the like. FIG. 7B shows, for example, a ward name or a city name list, which is lower-level information of the area name. It has an intersection feature number and the like. FIG. 7 (c) shows a town name list which is further lower level information of the area name, and includes kanji,
Hiragana and Romaji town names, intersection list storage addresses (top addresses), intersection list data numbers, destination list storage addresses, destination list data numbers, feature list storage addresses, feature list data numbers, representative intersection feature object numbers, etc. have. By having such hierarchical structure data, input of departure place, present location or destination can be searched from prefecture name to town name, and representative intersections and features can be set by prefecture, city or town. Making it possible.

FIGS. 8 (a), (b) and (c) show an intersection list 21, a destination list 22, and a feature list 23 belonging to each town, where the intersection number, the destination number, and the feature number are respectively shown. Are listed. FIGS. 8D and 8E show Roman and hiragana sorting files 29 and 30. FIG. By arranging the place names in alphabetical order or the Japanese syllabary order and having corresponding data storage addresses, the place names can be sorted and the search time can be reduced.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the assignment of numbers for defining roads and intersections on a map. Intersection numbers are between 1 and 21 between the three towns, and road numbers are between 1 and 46 (numbers with ○) between the intersections. Roads that can reciprocate on one road are each assigned a road number, and one-way traffic is assigned a single road number. Further, destination numbers 101 to 103 are assigned, and feature numbers 201 to 206 are assigned.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the intersection data 25. The intersection name, coordinates (north latitude, east longitude) corresponding to the intersection number, and the road number with the smallest number among the roads where the intersection is the start point or the end point (See FIG. 9), the presence or absence of a signal,
The level (importance) of the intersection is stored, whereby the route search and various kinds of navigation information are displayed on the display.

FIG. 11 (a) shows an example of the destination data 26. The destination number (see FIG. 9) corresponds to the destination name, the coordinates, and the connecting intersection numbers 1 on both sides of the destination.
2 is provided, and FIG.
, And a feature object name (for example, a river name, a building name, a bridge name, etc.), coordinates, and connecting intersection numbers on both sides of the feature object are stored for the feature object number.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the road data 28. As shown in FIG. 9, roads are assigned road numbers. For each of the road numbers, the starting point and the ending point (intersection number), the road numbers having the same starting point are the following:
Among the road numbers having the same end point, the next number is the road number, the thickness of the road, information on prohibition of traffic (left turn, right turn prohibition), information unnecessary guidance (for example, when going from the road in FIG. 9, no guidance information is issued) , The photograph number of the intersection, whether or not the vehicle is one-way, and the name of the road. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, each road number has coordinate (latitude, longitude) data indicating a plurality of points from the start point to the end point of the road.

FIG. 14 shows the map database 24.
Main maps and guidance information for each region in Japan or around the world are prepared as a hierarchical structure, for example, for each CD and IC card, and as the lowest order information, for example, hotels, gas stations, rental cars, etc. A map and guidance information centering on a business office or the like are input.

FIG. 15 (a) shows the structure of the terrain data stored in the map database 24. The maximum and minimum latitudes and longitudes for the place names, and adjacent screens G1 to G shown in (b)
8, the relationship between the screen data shown in (c) and (d) and the color type, the wide area map number (reduced view information) including this area, and the enlarged view information included in this area are stored. ₁₁ ,
_Amn has land, sea, river, etc. in bitmap format and has color data.

(Processing unit 4) When information necessary for setting a guidance course such as a destination is input and designated by the input means 1, the external storage unit 3 is operated in accordance with the navigation program stored in the ROM 33 of the processing unit 4. The CPU 31 calls a map and guidance information data stored in the RAM 31 and stores them in the RAM 32.

(Current Position Confirmation Device 5) GPS (GLOBAL POSITION IN) for measuring the current position of the vehicle using an artificial satellite
G SISTEM) A receiving device 34, a beacon receiving device 36 for receiving positional information of a beacon placed on the road, a geomagnetic sensor 35, a distance sensor 37, and a steering sensor 38 are used. However, the GPS receiver 34 and the beacon receiver 36 can measure the position independently, but in other cases, the position of the vehicle is measured by the distance sensor 37 and the geomagnetic sensor 35 or the combination of the distance sensor 37 and the steering sensor 38. I do.

(Communication device 6 and information center 7) Instead of the storage device 3, the data is prepared in the information center 7, and the data is input via a telephone line by the communication device 6 such as an automobile telephone, and the modem is connected. RAM 32 of CPU 31
May be stored. Further, not only the data of the storage device 3 but also the course setting information of the input device 1 and the information of the current position confirmation device 5 may be transmitted. In this case, as the information center 7, a hotel, a gas station, a rental car office, or the like in the area is suitable, and it is also conceivable to provide a unified service in the center of the area or the metropolitan area.

Next, the processing of the control system of the navigation device according to the present invention will be described. Note that, in the present invention, the desired guidance point is a destination or a passing point that is input by the user, and the guidance point is a road or an intersection that can be guided according to the desired guidance point input by the user. This is a set point, specifically, an intersection, a facility, a parking lot, a feature, or the like that is easy for the user to understand.

FIG. 16 to FIG. 47 are diagrams for explaining the flow of processing of the control system which is one embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention. FIG. 16 shows a basic flow chart. First, in step 53-1, when the driver sets a guide course, the process proceeds to a guide course setting routine (described later) in step 53-2, where the destination and the like are set. When the guide course is set and the course data stored in the IC card or the like is used, the process proceeds to the set course load (53-3). In step 53-2, when the driver inputs a destination or the like, the mode is set to the route search mode, information for going to the destination is set for all points other than the destination, and the traveling direction at that point is changed. Output (Step 5
4).

When the start is input, the next intersection information is output (step 56). In the next step 57, when the intersection confirmation trigger is inputted automatically or by the driver, the process returns to step 56 and returns to the next intersection. The information for going to the destination is output, and when restarting is performed, the process returns to step 53-2 to execute the above routine. In other words, with this device, if you are traveling according to the guidance, a trigger is input every time you check the intersection, but if you notice that you have gone off the course to be guided and traveled to another intersection Executes the guidance course setting routine.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing of the guide course setting routine, in which one departure point, destination and a passing point on a desired course are inputted to set a guide course. First, when a destination, a departure place, and a passing point on the way are input, a route search is performed in step 61. In addition,
The departure location is the current location of the vehicle or the desired location. Next, in steps 62 to 67, the course setting mode is selected. That is, a mode 65 for setting the optimum course in the order of input of the passing points, a mode 66 for setting the optimum course by optimizing the order of the passing points, and the order in which the passing points are designated The mode 67 for setting the optimal course is selected in (rearrange). Then, in step 68, the set course is displayed, and in step 6
In steps 9 to 73, a course change process can be performed as desired, and when the course setting is completed, the set course is stored in an IC card or the like (step 74).

The destination input process in step 58 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 18 shows an example of an input screen, in which the driver operates a zoom-in / zoom-out button to display a desired screen, and when a destination is touch-inputted on the touch panel, the destination is displayed on the screen. . At this time, the destination point may be displayed blinking.

The process will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. First, after obtaining coordinate data P0 of the input point in step 75, as shown in FIG. First within ₀ (m)
The destination data shown in FIG. 1 is searched, and it is determined in step 77 whether or not there is destination data. If there is no destination data, return to step 75 and repeat the input.
If there is destination data, select the destination closest to P0,
It is displayed (steps 78 to 80), one destination is searched, and the connecting intersection (for example, 103 in FIG. 20) of the destination is set as the destination (step 82).

FIGS. 21 to 23 show the departure place input processing in step 59 in FIG. 17, except that the intersection closest to the input point is selected. Since the processing is the same as that described above, the description is omitted.

Next, FIG. 24 to FIG.
The process of inputting a passing point in step 60 in the figure will be described. FIG. 24 shows an example of the input screen, in which the vicinity of the destination,
After pressing a selection input button for the vicinity of a feature, an area, an intersection, a road, and the like, a touch input near the passing point is made on the touch panel. FIG. 25 shows the vicinity of the destination, the vicinity of the feature, the area,
The flow which sets a passing point by selection input of an intersection, a road, etc. is shown. 26 and 27 show the passing point setting process near the destination in step 97 in FIG. FIG. 28 shows the passing point setting process near the feature in step 98 in FIG. The contents are the same as those in the processing of FIG.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing step 9 in FIG.
9 shows a process of setting a passing point in the designated area 9. First,
After obtaining the coordinate data P of the input point in step 120, the test distance ra from the point P is obtained in step 121.
Search for a representative intersection in the area within (m), and
In steps 2 and 123, it is determined whether there is one representative intersection. If not, the process returns to step 120 and the input is repeated. If there is one representative intersection, the area name is displayed and confirmed (steps 123 to 125), and the corresponding representative intersection is set as a passing point P (i) (step 126). .

FIGS. 30 and 31 (a) show the process of setting the designated intersection at step 100 in FIG. 25 as a passing point. First, after obtaining the coordinate data P of the input point in step 127, searches the intersection with the assay distance r _p (m) within the region from the point P in Step 128, the level of intersection in step 129 to 130 (Severity = (Intelligibility), an intersection having a higher level is selected, the intersection closest to the point P is displayed and checked in steps 132 to 134, and the intersection is determined as a passing point P
_i (step 136). FIG. 31 (b) shows an example of the intersection level. In this case, if there is a signal at the intersection and there is a name, it is set to level 2; if there is any one, it is set to level 1; otherwise, it is set to level 0.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing step 1 in FIG.
The process of setting a passing point on the designated road No. 01 is shown. First, in step 137, after obtaining coordinate data P of the input point, in step 138, the nearest road within the test distance rd (m) from the point P is searched. Judge,
If YES, this is displayed and the process returns to step 137,
If NO, the corresponding road is displayed and confirmed (step 14).
1, 142), the starting point intersection is set as the passing point P (i), the ending point intersection is set as the passing point P (i + 1), and the thickness data of the corresponding road is set to 2 (steps 143 to 145). The reason why the thickness data is set to 2 is to use this data in a route search described later. Next, the start point is P (i + 1) and the end point is P
The road as (i) is detected, and the thickness data of the road is set to 2 (steps 146 to 147). And step 148
The above process is repeated.

Also, in FIG.
As shown at 44, a temporary intersection can be set on the road. In the above-described search at the destination, the departure point, and the passing point, a corresponding point within the test distance from the input coordinates as a base point is detected.
It is also possible to detect a block having block data and having input coordinates, and set a passing point for a destination, an intersection, a road, and the like included therein. However, in this case, it is necessary to add destination data and road data to the block data.

If a target is selected by menu input as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, it is possible to obtain the coordinates or intersection of the target as an input point from the data structure shown in FIG. It is possible to set the above-mentioned passing point based on the obtained point as a base point or to use the obtained intersection itself as a passing point.

Next, FIG. 33 to FIG.
The processing of the route search A in step 61 in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 33 (a) shows the entire flow. First, the process of route search area setting A is performed, and then the process of route search data setting A is performed. In the processing of the route search area setting A, as shown in FIG. 33 (b) and FIG. 34, a point PF farthest from the starting point is obtained from the destination point and the passing point (step 151), and then departure. A straight line distance L between the point and the point PF is obtained, and a circle having a radius of k × L (k is a coefficient of 1 or more) around the starting point is stored as the route search area SAA (steps 152 and 153).

FIG. 35 shows the processing of the route search data setting A in FIG. 33 (A). Step 154
, All the intersection data in the route search area SAA are detected.
Using (i) as a route end point, a direction to reach the passing point P (i) is searched at each intersection in the route search area SAA to create route search data (detailed in FIG. 37), and steps 161 to 161 are performed.
At 63, route search data from the last pass point to the destination is created. FIG. 36 is an example in which the route search data when the destination is the route end point is illustrated.

FIG. 37 shows the process of creating route search data in step 157 of FIG. First, in step 164, the distance L (c) from the departure point is set to FF for all intersections, and the search flag F (c) is set to 0 (not searched).
Save (initial setting). In step 165, the distance from the departure point is input to the intersection number on both sides of the departure place, and the search flag 1 (during search) is inserted into the intersection number on both sides. Further, the user inputs the road number that has passed from the departure place.
In step 166, the intersection number C0 at which the search flag is not 2 (the search is completed) and the distance L (c) is the minimum.
Find out. In steps 167 and 168, a surrounding road (see FIG. 9) is searched. If there is a surrounding road, an optimal route condition setting subroutine is executed (step 169). In step 170, the intersection number C of the end point of the road is determined.
1. Let L be the length of this road. Then step 171
, The distance L (c0) from the departure point is added, and if the distance P is greater than or equal to the distance L (c1) from the departure point in step 172, this is set as the distance from the departure point and the search flag is set to 1
(Searching) and input the road number (step 17).
3). The processes in steps 167 to 173 are executed. If it is determined in step 168 that there is no surrounding road, the search flag is set to 2, and the end condition confirmation subroutine is executed and the process ends (steps 174 to 176). In this way, the shortest route from the departure point to the destination is set.

FIG. 38 is a flow chart showing step 16 in FIG.
8 shows the processing of a surrounding road search subroutine of FIG. First, at step 177, it is determined whether or not the search for surrounding roads is the first time. If it is the first time, at step 178, the road number starting from the current intersection is extracted from the intersection data and stored. Then step 179
In step 180, the forbidden road corresponding to the road coming to this intersection is extracted from the road data. In step 180, it is determined whether the extracted road is the prohibited road described in FIG. 12. If YES, the process proceeds to step 182. , N
If O, the road taken out this time is stored as the surrounding road. If the search of the surrounding road is not the first time in step 177 and if the result of step 180 is YES, step 18
In step 2, a road number having the same starting point as the previously searched road and having the next number is extracted from the road data.
It is determined whether or not the road searched first and the road taken out this time match, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step 179. If they match, there is no surrounding road in step 184.

FIG. 39 is a flow chart showing step 16 in FIG.
9 shows the processing of an optimum route condition setting subroutine of No. 9. First, the thickness and length of the surrounding road are read from the road data, and it is determined whether the thickness is, for example, 1 m or less (steps 185 and 186). If the thickness exceeds 1 m, the process directly proceeds to step 188. If the thickness is 1 m or less, the length of the road is doubled, for example, and guidance unnecessary data of the road that has come to the intersection currently being searched is read from the road data. (Steps 187, 188). Then, step 18
In step 9, it is determined whether or not guidance-unnecessary data is present on the surrounding road. If there is, the process proceeds to step 191;
, The virtual distance P 'of the intersection currently being searched from the departure point
To the virtual distance P at the intersection ahead of the surrounding road.

Next, FIG. 40 to FIG.
The optimum course setting processing 65, 66, 67 in FIG. 7 will be described. FIGS. 40 to 43 show a process 65 for setting the optimum course in the order in which the passing points have been input. After setting the departure point as the first route start point in step 192, an optimum course setting process up to the first pass point is performed in step 194 (FIG. 42A). An optimum course up to the second pass point is set (steps 195 to 197) (FIG. 42, b). Thereafter, when there are no more passing points, at step 198, the optimal course to the destination is set with the last passing point as the route start point (FIG. 43C), and step 19
In step 9, all the optimum courses are combined in the order of creation to set the optimum course from the starting point to the destination (Fig. 43 d).

FIG. 41 shows the processing of the optimum course setting A of FIG. 40. First, after the route search data RS (j) (see FIG. 35) is loaded into the work area in step 200, the route start point is set. The optimal course is set in the work area along the traveling direction at each intersection from the route start point to the route end point, and the set course data is stored as K (j). As shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, (a),
The courses set in (b) and (c) are synthesized, and the optimum course in (d) is set.

FIG. 44 shows a process 66 for setting the optimum course by optimizing the passing point ranking in FIG. In step 204, the pass point rankings are permutated and stored as permutation combinations, and in steps 205 to 216, processing for setting an optimum course is performed for all combinations (steps 209 and 214). Is selected and output as the optimal course. Figures 45 and 46 show the starting point and the passing point
(2), the passing point (1) is an optimal course synthesized and set in the order of passing through the destination, and the travel distance is longer than that in the example of FIG. Therefore, the example shown in FIG. 43 is selected as the optimum course having the optimum order.

FIG. 47 shows a process 6 for setting the optimum course in the order of the passing points designated by the user in FIG.
7 is shown. After storing the passing point rankings in the specified order (step 221), the optimum course is set as in the example of FIG.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 48 to 54. In the present embodiment, a guide course is set by inputting one departure place, a plurality of destinations, and passing points on a desired course. FIG. 48 shows the process of setting the guidance course, and the input of the basic destination and the passing point is the same as in the example shown in FIGS. 19 and 25.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing step 23 in FIG.
2 shows the contents of processing, a plurality of destinations and passing points are sequentially input, and the respective destination points and passing points are designated OP (i), P
It is stored in P (i) (steps 250 and 253), and the corresponding input point is stored in P (i).

FIGS. 50 and 51 show the processing of the route search AA in step 234 in FIG.
In FIG. 50, route search area setting A in step 256
Has been described with reference to FIG. The processing in step 257 is shown in FIG. This processing is similar to that of FIG. 35, except that in the present embodiment, the route search data is created in the input order because the destination point and the passing point are stored in the input order.

FIG. 52 shows the process of setting the optimum course based on the destination and the passing point rank designated by the user in step 240 of FIG. 48, which is the same as the process of FIG. 47. FIG. 53 shows the process of setting the optimum course by optimizing the destination and the passing point order in step 239 of FIG. 53. Since there are a plurality of destinations, the starting point and one destination are the same, that is, return to the starting point. It is characterized in that it is divided into cases and cases not so (steps 274 to 276). Fifth
FIG. 4 shows the process of setting the optimum course in the order in which the destination and the passing point are inputted in step 238 of FIG. The contents are the same as the processing in FIG.

Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 55 to 93. In this embodiment, 1
A guide course is set by inputting two departure points and destinations and a rough passing course (passing line).

FIG. 55 shows the flow of the entire process. First, the initialization process in step 288 is performed in the 56th
In the figure, this is processing for obtaining terrain coordinates from the input coordinates of the digitizer. For example, as shown in FIG. 57 (a), a map 31 having a barcode on the back of the map that represents data such as the name, number, scale, topography of the reference point, and coordinates of the map.
4 is set on a digitizer 315 having a barcode reader for reading the corresponding barcode, and the map data is read (step 311). Next, as shown in FIG. 58, a reference point is designated and input by the input pen 318 to obtain digitizer coordinates of the reference point (step 312). Then, the terrain coordinates and the digitizer coordinates are compared for the reference point, and a correlation equation between the two coordinates is calculated (step 31).
3). Note that the initial setting in step 802 represents the above-described initial setting performed when the map is changed to a different scale.

FIG. 60 is a flowchart showing step 2 in FIG.
92 shows processing of all course inputs. In this case, as shown in FIG. 59, the user traces along the course to be passed by the input pen 318, but it is not particularly necessary to trace the track. This input data is converted as shown in FIG. In order to detect the route search area from the input data sequence shown in FIG. 61, block data AI10 as shown in FIG.
1 to AI124 are used. That is, as shown in FIG. 63, since each block has the coordinate data and the intersection data in the block, when the input data sequence is detected in the corresponding block, the intersection in the corresponding block is assigned as the intersection to be searched for the route. Becomes possible. The second
Like the guidance course setting when entering the passing point described in Fig. 6,
An intersection within a certain test distance may be searched for each input data point.

FIGS. 64 to 69 show the processing of the route search B in step 293 in FIG. 55.
In the route search B, as shown in FIG.
Of the route search area setting B and the process of the route search data setting B in step 328. This route search area setting B
65, the input data KD (1) is loaded in step 329, all blocks including this input data (FIG. 62) are detected, and the corresponding block name is set in the area data SAB, as shown in FIG. Remember. FIG. 66 shows this state.

The processing of the route search data setting B is performed in the sixth
As shown in FIG. 7, after all the intersection data of the blocks stored in the SAB are detected in Step 332, and the destination is set as the route end point in Step 333, the route search data (FIG. 69A) is created. (Step 334) This data is stored as RS (1). FIG.
FIG. 5 shows the processing of the optimum course setting B in FIG. 5, in which the starting point is set as the route start point and the optimum course as shown in FIG. 69 (b) is set.

FIGS. 70 to 76 show a part of the passage course input processing in step 295 in FIG. 55. The contents are as follows: the first input point from the input data of some courses, the road coordinates are detected in the corresponding block from the last input point, the relevant coordinates are set as the temporary intersection, and the road data including the relevant coordinates is the temporary intersection. Is to be changed as follows. Further, all the blocks including the input data are detected, and if the starting point and the destination point are not included in those blocks, the corresponding area is stored as a partial search area.

FIG. 70 shows the main flow, which will be described with reference to FIG. First, at step 339, k
= 1, and the input data of FIG. 71 is obtained in step 340. In step 341, the first input point P1 (k) and the last input point P2 (k) are obtained from the input data, and the point P1 (k) is stored as the search center point P (steps 341 and 342).
Next, after performing processing of road coordinate data detection, the 71st
As shown in the figure, PD is stored as a temporary intersection PS (k), and DN is stored as a road number DS (k) (steps 343, 34).
4). The same processing is performed for the point P2 (k) (steps 345 to 347), and then all the blocks including the input data are detected, and the corresponding block names are stored in the area data A (steps 348 and 349). Then, it is determined whether there is a departure place and a destination in the area A (steps 350 and 351). If there is, the procedure returns to step 340. If not, the data registration / change processing 352 is performed. Perform processing to read data.

FIG. 72 shows steps 343 and 3 in FIG.
46 shows the process of detecting road coordinate data of No. 46. The road coordinates closest to the point P within the verification distance rd (m) from the point P are searched (step 354). If there are road coordinates, the coordinate data is stored as a PD and a road including the PD is detected (step 354). 355-357). Next, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is one-way. If NO, the corresponding road number is stored as DN (steps 358 and 359). Step 35
If NO in steps 5 and 358, step 340 in FIG.
Return to

FIG. 73 shows the data registration / change processing in step 352 of FIG. 70. First, the input data is stored as KD (k), the temporary intersection PS (k) in step 344 in FIG. 70 is set as the road coordinate data PD, and the road number DS (k) is set as the road number DN (steps 360 and 3).
61), At step 362, a road data change process is performed. Similar processing is performed for the temporary intersection PE (k) and the road number DE (k) in step 347 in FIG. 70 (steps 363 and 364), and the area A is stored in the partial search area SAP (k) in step 365. .

FIGS. 74 and 75 show step 36 in the preceding figure.
2 and 364 show road data change processing. First,
The start intersection NS and the end intersection NE of the road DN are obtained (step 366), and the data of the road DN is changed to the road DN-1 having the start point NS and the end point PD, and the road DN having the start point PD and the end point NE. -2 (step 36)
7). Next, a road having a start point of NE and an end point of NS is detected, and the corresponding road number is stored as CN (step 36).
8, 369), the data of the road CN is changed to a road CN-1 having a start point of NE and an end point of PD, and a road CN-2 having a start point of PD and an end point of NS (step 37).
0). FIG. 76 shows the road data before the change (A) and the road data after the change (B) for explaining the above processing. For example, when the point P1 is detected on the road with the road number 26, the road 26 is divided into a road 26-1 having a start point of 13, an end point of P1 and a road 26-2 having a start point of P1 and an end point of 9. , Guide courses can be set.

FIG. 77 is a flowchart showing step 2 in FIG.
96 shows registration processing of 96 passing points. First, k is set to 1, the temporary intersection PS (k) is stored as the passing point P (k), and the temporary intersection PE (k) is stored as the passing point P (k + 1).
In step 4, it is determined whether or not there is a next temporary intersection. If there is, the process is repeated with k = k + 2, and the process is terminated if there is no temporary intersection.

FIG. 78 is a flowchart showing step 2 in FIG.
97 shows the process of the route search C, and performs the process of the route search area setting C and the process of the route search data setting C. FIG. 79 and FIG. 80 show the processing of the above route search area setting C, and the point PF farthest from the starting point among the destination point and the passing point is shown.
To obtain a linear distance L (m) between the starting point and the point PF (steps 377 and 378). Next, all blocks included within the verification distance k × L (m) (k is a constant greater than 1) from the departure point are detected, and the corresponding block names are stored in the general search area data SAC (steps 379 and 380). .

FIG. 81 shows the processing of the route search data setting C of FIG. 78. All intersection data in the general search area SAC is obtained, and the corresponding intersection data is stored as TKD. Next, after performing the processing of the data setting C in the partial search area (step 383), the processing of the data setting C in the general search area is performed (step 384).

FIG. 82 shows the processing of data setting C in the partial search area in step 383 of the previous figure. This processing is
In each of the partial search areas, route search data is obtained with the pass points (two places) included in the relevant partial search area as route end points. First, k and i are set to 1 and the partial search area S
Obtain all intersection data in AP (k) (step 38)
5, 386). Next, the passage point P (i) is set as the route end point, and processing for creating route search data is performed in step 388. This processing is the processing described with reference to FIGS. 37 to 39. Next, the route search data is stored as RP (i), and the passing point P (i) is deleted from the intersection data in the partial search area SAP (k) (steps 389, 390). Next, if i is an odd number in step 391, 1 is added to i and the processing returns to step 387. If i is an even number, the general search area S
The intersection data in SAP (k) is deleted from all the intersection data TKD in AC (step 393). Next, if there is a next partial search area SAP (k) in step 394, 1 is added to k and i, and the process returns to step 386.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing step 3 in FIG. 81.
84 shows a process of data setting C of the general search area 84. First, in step 395, intersection data is obtained from all the intersection data TKD in the general search area SAC, and a process of creating route search data is performed with i set to 1 and the passing point P (i) as the route end point (steps 395 to 398). Next, the route search data is stored as RA (i). If there is a next pass point, 1 is added to i and the process returns to step 397. If there is no next pass point, the process proceeds to step 402 and the destination is set as the route end point. , I is incremented by 1, and the route search data is created, and the route search data is stored as RA (i) (step 40).
3-405).

FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing Step 3 in FIG.
The process of setting the optimal course in the order in which the passing point of 01 is input is shown. First, the departure point is set as the route start point, and i
After the processing of setting the partial optimum course of the general area is set to 1, the processing of setting the optimum course of the partial area is performed by adding 1 to i. Further, in step 411, 1 is added to i, and it is determined whether or not there is a next passing point.
Returning to step 08, if there are no more passing points, the optimum course data KF is created by combining all the set course data K (i) in order from 1 with i after performing the optimum course setting processing of the general area in step 413. I do. In short, the route search data of the general area from the starting point to the first passing point, 1
From the second passing point to the second passing point, the optimal course is set in each section in the order of the route search data of the corresponding partial search area, and from the last passing point to the destination,
The optimum course is set based on the route search data in the general area.

FIG. 85 is a view showing step 408 in the preceding figure.
5 shows a process of setting a partial optimum course in the general area of FIG. 7. After the route search data RA (i) is loaded in the work area, a process of setting the partial optimum course C is performed. In the process of setting the partial optimum course C, as shown in FIG. 86, the route start point is set in the work area, and the optimum course is set along the traveling direction at each intersection from the route start point to the route end point. Then
The set course data is stored as K (i), and the route end point is set as the route start point.

FIG. 87 is a flowchart showing Step 4 in FIG. 84.
10 shows a process of setting a partial optimum course for the 10 partial areas, and after loading the route search data RP (i) into the work area,
The processing of the partial optimum course setting C (FIG. 86) is performed. FIG. 88 and FIG. 89 show the process of the optimum course set by the processing of FIG. 84 to FIG.

FIGS. 90 to 92 show the process of setting the optimum course by optimizing the passing point order in step 302 in FIG. 55. In this process, an optimal course is created by a permutation combination of the passing points so that the passing points (two places) in the partial search area are always adjacent to each other, and then one course with the shortest travel distance is selected and set as the optimal course. Is what you do. Details are the same as the processing in FIG.
FIGS. 91 and 92 show the case where the optimum course is set in the order of the starting point, the passing point (2), the passing point (1), and the destination point. Is long,
The course shown in FIG. 89 is selected as the optimum course.

FIG. 93 is a flowchart showing step 3 in FIG.
The process of setting the optimum course at the designated passing point ranking of 03 is shown. This process is the same as the process in FIG. 84 after storing the designated pass point ranking.

The road name can be input by menu selection input as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.
With the road data configuration shown in the figure, the number of the road and the intersection number of the start point and the end point can be obtained from the input road. When the road name is shared by a plurality of road numbers, the above-mentioned road number and the intersection number of the start point and the end point are plural. From these intersections, the passing point (1) near the departure point and the passing point (2) near the destination are selected by the above-described method, and the data shown in FIG. As shown, it is possible to set a route, and it is possible to arrive at a destination through a desired road by inputting a road name.

FIGS. 94 to 99 show still another embodiment of the present invention, and show an example of inputting one departure point, a plurality of destinations, and a general all-passing course. FIG. 94 shows the main flow, but only the differences from the embodiment of FIG. 55 will be described. In the process of destination input A in step 441, as shown in FIG. 95, a plurality of destinations are input and the corresponding destinations P (i) are stored. The processing of the route search BB in step 444 is shown in FIGS. 96 and 97. First, the process of the route search area setting B (FIG. 65) is performed, and then the process of the route search data setting process BB is performed. First, all the intersection data in the route search area SAB are obtained,
i is set to 1 and the input point P (i) is set as the route end point. Next, in step 465, processing for creating route search data (third
7), the route search data is stored as RS (i), and the above processing is repeated until i becomes equal to the number n of input points.

FIG. 98 is a flowchart showing step 4 in FIG. 94.
46 shows a process of setting an optimum course with the input destination ranking of 46. First, the departure point is set as the route start point, j is set to 1 and the optimum course setting process shown in FIG. 41 is performed, and the set course data is stored as K (j) (steps 469-4).
71). Next, after the route end point is set as the route start point, the process returns to step 471 until j reaches the number of input points n, and the process is repeated, and the set course data is synthesized from K (j) in order from 1 to create optimal course data. I do.

FIG. 99 is a flowchart showing Step 4 in FIG. 94.
47 shows a process of setting an optimum course at 47 designated destination ranks. First, in step 476, input point numbers are stored in A (i) in the order of designation, and k is set to 1 to set the departure point as the route end point. Next, in step 479, A
The optimum course setting process shown in FIG. 41 is performed with (k) set to j, and the set course data is stored as K (j). Next, after the route end point is set as the route start point, the process returns to step 479 until k reaches the number of input points n, and the process is repeated, and the set course data is combined with K (j) in order from 1 to create optimum course data. I do.

FIGS. 100 to 108 show still another embodiment of the present invention, and show an example of inputting one departure point, a plurality of destinations, and a part of a rough course.
FIG. 100 shows the main flow, but only the points different from the embodiment of FIG. 55 will be described.

FIG. 101 shows the process of inputting the destination and a part of the passing course in step 485 in FIG. First, when i, j, and k are set to 1, when inputting a destination, a destination input process (FIG. 19) is performed in step 502, and the corresponding destination is set to OP (i).
, And 1 is added to i, and the corresponding input point is stored in P (i). If NO in step 501 and a part of the course is input, a process of inputting a part of the passing course (FIG. 70) is performed in step 506, and the temporary intersection PS (j) is set to the passing point PP (j). And the temporary intersection PE (j) is passed through the passing point PP (j +
1) and add 2 to j (steps 505 to 50)
9). Then, proceed to step 510, and if not finished,
The above processing is repeated by adding 1 to k.

FIG. 102 to FIG.
Although the process of the route search CC in step 487 in the figure is shown, the details of the process are the same as those in FIGS. 78 to 83, and thus the description will be omitted.

FIG. 106 shows the process of setting the optimum course in the order in which the destination and the passing point are inputted in step 491 in FIG. 100. First, the starting point is set as the starting point of the route and i, j, k are set to 1 After that, it is determined whether the input point is P (i) as the destination point (steps 534 to 53).
6). If it is a destination, in step 537, processing for setting a partial optimum course for the general area (FIG. 85, FIG. 86)
Figure), add 1 to j and set the course data to KC
(i), if the next input point is P (i) in step 540, add 1 to i and return to step 536. If it is not the destination point, it is determined whether or not k is an odd number. If the number is odd, the process of setting the partial optimum course of the general area is performed (FIGS. 85 and 86), and if the number is even, the process of setting the partial optimum course of the partial area is performed (FIGS. 87 and 86).
Is performed, and 1 is added to k, and the flow advances to step 539. Finally, in step 546, all the set course data KC
The optimum course data KF is created by combining (i) with i in order from 1.

FIG. 107 shows the process of setting the optimum course by optimizing the destination and the passing course ranking in step 492 in FIG. 100. Detailed description is 90th
The description is omitted because it is the same as the processing in the figure.

FIG. 108 shows the process of setting the optimum course based on the designated destination and the passing course order at step 493 in FIG. 100. Detailed explanation is 10th
Since the processing is the same as that of FIG. 6, the description is omitted.

FIG. 109 to FIG. 114 show still another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 114, showing an example of inputting one departure place, destination and course area (passing area). ing. FIG. 109 shows the main flow, but only the points different from the embodiment of FIG. 55 will be described.

FIG. 110 shows the course area input processing in step 583 in FIG. 109. After all input data has been obtained, the input data is displayed (step 591).
593), and these input data are stored in KD.

FIG. 111 shows the process of route search D in step 584 in FIG. 109. First, the process of the route search area setting D is performed. As shown in FIG. 112, after loading the input data KD, all the blocks including the input data are detected, all the blocks surrounded by the corresponding blocks are detected, and then the names of all the detected blocks are stored in the area data. Store in KAD. Next, the 113th
The process of the route search data setting D shown in the figure is performed. After obtaining all the intersection data in the route search area KAD and setting the destination as the route end point, a process of creating route search data is performed, and this route search data is stored as RS.

In the above description, even when the number of input points is one, it is also possible to designate, as a course area, an area within a test distance based on the point or a block including the point. Further, it is possible to obtain the coordinates of the target object, the connecting intersection, and the representative intersection by the menu input shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, and any one of those points as a base point of the course area as described above. Can be specified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing menu screen input for explaining an input example using the touch panel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing map screen input for explaining an input example using the touch panel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an input example using the barcode in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of input by the digitizer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an input example using the IC card in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing an area name list.

8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing an intersection, a destination, a feature list, and a sort file.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing an example of allocating roads and intersection numbers.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing intersection data.

11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing destination and feature data. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing road data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing road data.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing a map database structure.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of FIG. 1 and showing map data.

FIG. 16 is a basic flowchart for explaining a processing flow of a control system which is one embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention.

17 shows a process of setting the guidance course of FIG. 16,
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process of inputting one departure point, a destination, and a passing point on a desired course to set a guidance course.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the destination input of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a destination input process of FIG. 17;

20 is an explanatory diagram of the destination input process of FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a departure point input in FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a departure place input process of FIG. 17;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of the departure place input process in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the passing point input of FIG. 17;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of a passing point input process of FIG. 17;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a passing point setting process near the destination in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a passing point setting process near the destination in FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a pass point setting process near the feature in FIG. 25;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a passing point setting process for a designated area in FIG. 25;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a process of setting a designated intersection in FIG. 25 as a passing point.

31 is an explanatory diagram of a process of setting a designated intersection in FIG. 30 as a passing point.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a process for setting a passing point on a designated road in FIG. 25;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of the route search process in FIG. 17;

FIG. 34 is a view for explaining the flow in FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 33;

FIG. 36 is a view for explaining the flow in FIG. 35;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of the route search data creation processing of FIG. 35;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of a surrounding road search subroutine in FIG. 37.

39 is a flowchart of an optimum route condition setting subroutine in FIG. 37.

40 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course in the order in which the passing points in FIG. 17 have been input.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of an optimum course setting process in FIG. 40.

42 is a diagram for describing an example of setting an optimum course in FIG. 40.

FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting an optimal course in FIG. 40;

FIG. 44 is a flowchart of a process of optimizing a passing point rank in FIG. 17 and setting an optimum course.

FIG. 45 is a view for explaining an example of setting an optimum course in FIG. 44;

FIG. 46 is a diagram for explaining an example of setting an optimum course in FIG. 44;

FIG. 47 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course at a designated passing point rank in FIG. 17;

FIG. 48 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow of a control system which is another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process of setting a guidance course by inputting one departure place, a plurality of destinations, and a passing point on a desired course.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart of the destination and pass point input processing of FIG. 48.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart of the route search process in FIG. 48.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 48.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course based on a designated destination and a passing point order in FIG. 48;

FIG. 53 is a flowchart of a process of optimizing a destination and a passing point ranking in FIG. 48 to set an optimal course.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course based on the input destination and the passing point ranking in FIG. 48;

FIG. 55 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow of a control system which is another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process for inputting two departure points, destinations, and a rough passing course and setting a guidance course.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart of the initial setting of FIG. 55;

FIG. 57 is a diagram for describing initial setting by a digitizer.

FIG. 58 is a diagram for describing initial setting by a digitizer.

FIG. 59 is a diagram for describing initial setting by a digitizer.

FIG. 60 is a flowchart of the all-passing course input processing of FIG. 55.

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing the contents of the input data of FIG. 60;

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing the contents of block data in FIG. 65.

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing the contents of block data in FIG. 65;

FIG. 64 is a flowchart of the route search process in FIG. 55.

FIG. 65 is a flowchart of the route search area setting process in FIG. 64.

FIG. 66 is a view for explaining the processing in FIG. 65;

FIG. 67 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 64.

FIG. 68 is a flowchart of the optimum course setting process in FIG. 55.

69 is a diagram for explaining the optimum course setting of FIG. 68.

FIG. 70 is a flowchart of a part of the course input process of FIG. 55;

FIG. 71 is an explanatory diagram of the processing in FIG. 70;

FIG. 72 is a flowchart of the road coordinate data detection process in FIG. 70;

FIG. 73 is a flowchart of the data registration change process in FIG. 70.

FIG. 74 is a flowchart of the road data change process of FIG. 73.

FIG. 75 is an explanatory diagram of the processing in FIG. 74;

76 is a diagram for describing the contents of change of the road data of FIG. 74.

FIG. 77 is a flowchart of the pass point registration processing of FIG. 55.

FIG. 78 is a flowchart of the route search processing in FIG. 55.

FIG. 79 is a flowchart of the route search area setting process in FIG. 78;

FIG. 80 is an explanatory diagram of the processing in FIG. 79;

FIG. 81 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 78;

FIG. 82 is a flowchart of a data setting process in the partial area of FIG. 81;

FIG. 83 is a flowchart of the data setting process for the general area in FIG. 79;

FIG. 84 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course based on the input passing-point rank of FIG. 55;

85 is a flowchart of an optimum course setting process for the general area in FIG. 84.

FIG. 86 is a flowchart of the partial optimum course setting process in FIG. 85.

87 is a flowchart of a partial optimum course setting process for the partial area in FIG. 84.

FIG. 88 is a view for explaining the optimum course setting in FIG. 84.

FIG. 89 is a view for explaining the optimum course setting in FIG. 84.

90 is a flowchart of the process of setting the optimum course by optimizing the passing point ranking in FIG. 55. FIG.

FIG. 91 is a view for explaining the optimum course setting in the processing of FIG. 90;

FIG. 92 is a view for explaining the optimum course setting in the processing of FIG. 90;

FIG. 93 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course at a designated passing point order in FIG. 55;

FIG. 94 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow of a control system which is another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process of inputting one departure point, a plurality of destinations, and a general all-passing course and setting a guidance course.

FIG. 95 is a flowchart of a destination input process in FIG. 94.

FIG. 96 is a flowchart of the route search processing in FIG. 94.

FIG. 97 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 96.

FIG. 98 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course based on the input destination rank in FIG. 94;

FIG. 99 is a flowchart of a process for setting an optimum course at the designated destination order in FIG. 94.

FIG. 100 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow of a control system which is another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process of inputting one departure point, a plurality of destinations, and a part of a roughly passing course and setting a guidance course.

101 is a flowchart of a process of inputting a destination and a part of a passing course in FIG. 100;

FIG. 102 is a flowchart of the route search process in FIG. 100.

103 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process of FIG. 102.

FIG. 104 is a flowchart of a data setting process in the partial search area of FIG. 103;

FIG. 105 is a flowchart of a data setting process in the general search area in FIG. 103;

FIG. 106 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course based on the input passing point ranking in FIG. 100.

107 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course by optimizing a destination and a passing course ranking in FIG. 100.

108 is a flowchart of a process of setting an optimum course at a designated destination and a passing course rank in FIG. 100.

Fig. 109 is a diagram for describing a processing flow of a control system which is another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention;
It is a flowchart of the process which inputs one departure place, a destination, and a course area, and sets a guidance course.

FIG. 110 is a flowchart of a course area input process in FIG. 109;

FIG. 111 is a flowchart of a route search process in FIG. 109;

112 is a flowchart of a route search area setting process of FIG. 111.

113 is a flowchart of the route search data setting process in FIG. 111.

FIG. 114 is a diagram for explaining the processing in FIG. 113;

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 input device 2 display device 3 storage device 4 arithmetic processing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shoji Yokoyama 10 Takane, Fujii-machi, Anjo, Aichi Prefecture Inside Aisin AW Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-16220 (JP, A) JP-A-61-134900 (JP, A) JP-A-60-45816 (JP, A) JP-A-1 -250200 (JP, A) JP-A-62-151884 (JP, A) JP-A-1-173299 (JP, A) JP-A-1-173822 (JP, A) JP-A-65-21000 (JP, A) JP-A-58-210512 (JP, A) JP-A-61-194473 (JP, A) JP-A-61-20812 (JP, A) JP-A-58-154874 (JP, A) 24398 (JP, A) JP-A-62-151881 (JP, A) 80 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/10

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A storage device for storing information on a map including at least position information on a road and an intersection; an input device for inputting a departure place and a position of an arbitrary desired guide point on the map; Retrieving location information on an intersection from the storage device, and evaluating the relationship between the location of the desired guide point and the location of the intersection input by the input device and the level information of the intersection.
An intersection which is selected based on the evaluation result by the evaluation means , sets the guide point, and searches for a route from the departure point to the set guide point.
A navigation device comprising an arithmetic processing unit for guiding . 2. The arithmetic processing device according to claim 1, wherein
The highest level among intersections within a predetermined distance of the guidance point
By selecting the highest intersection
Between the position of the desired guidance point and the position of the intersection
Evaluate relationship and intersection level information and select intersection
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The intersection level information includes a signal of an intersection.
2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence is provided.
Device. 4. The intersection level information includes an intersection name.
2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence is provided.
Device. 5. A storage device for storing at least information on a map including position information and feature information on roads and intersections; an input device for inputting a departure place and a position of an arbitrary desired guide point on the map; Searching the feature information from the storage device, setting the feature closest to the position of the desired guide point input by the input device as a guide point, searching for a route from the starting point to the set guide point , A navigation device comprising an arithmetic processing unit that provides route guidance according to the route .