JP2789139B2 - Method of displaying additional information in in-vehicle 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 method for displaying map information, and more particularly, to a vehicle navigation system which automatically limits time and direction to display necessary information in a vehicle navigation system. It relates to a method for displaying additional information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional on-vehicle navigation device. The apparatus main body 1 is connected to a vehicle speed sensor 6 and a direction sensor 7 for detecting the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle. A display device 14 for displaying a road map and the like, an operation input device 15 for inputting various kinds of input information, and a file device 16 storing map data and the like are connected.

[0003] A CPU 2 is provided in a navigation device body 1.
Is controlled by the CPU 2. The ROM 3 connected to the CPU 2 stores programs for realizing the navigation function.

On the other hand, a medium such as a CD-ROM is widely used for the file device 16. Map data and the like stored in the file device 16 are read out via the file control section 12 and connected to the CPU 2. Stored in the DRAM 4. The display device 14 is a CRT of about 6 inches.
A display or the like is widely used, and map data and the like stored in the video memory 5 are displayed via the display control unit 10. As the operation input device 15, a limited number of push button keys or a touch sensor panel attached to the display device 14 or the like is used, and is connected to the CPU 2 via the input control unit 11.

The DRAM 4 connected to the CPU 2 is used for temporary data storage which may be lost when the power is turned off and is not used, and the contents of the EEPROM 13 are protected even when the power is turned off and not used. It is used for storing data that must be stored.

The video memory 5 is used as a storage device for expanding map data and the like stored in the file device 16 and temporarily storing the map data in a form easy to display on the display device 14. A vehicle speed sensor 6 and a direction sensor 7 for detecting the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle are connected to the CPU 2 via a vehicle speed sensor interface 8 and a direction sensor interface 9, respectively.

Next, the operation principle of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 will be briefly described. First, the current position is determined by an instruction from the operation input device 15. This is done by reading various map data from the normal file device 16 and displaying it on the display device 14 while the driver decides. Then, a new current position and a new traveling direction are sequentially detected based on a small moving distance and a small azimuth generated when the vehicle moves by a vehicle speed sensor 6 and a direction sensor 7 attached to the vehicle. If the current position of the vehicle exceeds the displayed map area, a new file device 1
From 6, the adjacent map is read and displayed.

At this time, if a destination is set in advance at the time of driving, it is possible to limit a road to be advanced. Navigation devices incorporating such a route guidance function have been widely studied and some have been commercialized. On the other hand, in this type of device, the main road map data displayed during driving is a map centered on the road, and in addition to the road, the position and direction of the own vehicle, coasts, rivers, lakes and marshes, These include major terrain such as mountains, railways, administrative lines, major public objects (police, schools, hospitals, etc.) and their names. When the driver wants to display special information other than the road map information, for example, a gas station or a restaurant, the driver operates the operation input device 15 to switch to another screen and further operates the operation input device 15 several times. Generally, an operation instruction is added and displayed.

In this case, it is technically possible to simultaneously display the road map information and other special information on the display device 14, but the size of the display device 14 is generally about 4 to 6 inches for a vehicle. , It is rather difficult to display a large amount of information. At present, the display is restricted to ensure safety.

Therefore, when a driver of a vehicle wants to temporarily know special information such as a building other than the road map information, the conventional device always retrieves necessary information through several operation instructions. It was common to display and confirm. In addition, the same operation is required even for special information that needs to be displayed only within a certain limited time during driving, such as a cafeteria or restaurant.

[0011]

As described above, in the conventional method of displaying map information in the on-vehicle navigation device, the position is always set to a road within a limited time, such as a dining room or a restaurant. There has been a problem that even if special information is desired to be displayed on the map information, the driver cannot display the special information unless the driver performs several operation inputs while looking at the display device.

Therefore, not only is the operation troublesome,
There was a problem that safety was not maintained because the operation was performed during driving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and has a vehicle navigation system capable of automatically displaying necessary special information for a predetermined period of time without a driver's operation at a preset time. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for displaying map information in an application device.

[0014]

According to the display method of the present invention, a period during which special information other than a road map is displayed is set in advance, and the special information is displayed only during this period. It is also desirable to limit the display range of the special information on the road map to only the vicinity of the road where the traffic is predicted from the current position of the vehicle to the preset destination.

[0015]

According to the present invention, an internal clock circuit is prepared in advance,
A period during which the special information is displayed on the internal clock circuit is selected and set in advance. At the designated time, the special information read from the file device is read on the display device via the display control unit, and the display disappears after a predetermined period. If the display range is limited in advance with reference to the current position and destination of the vehicle, it is possible to limit the display to only the special information near the road.

[0016]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle-mounted navigation device for realizing the display method of the present invention. The device configuration is such that an internal clock circuit 17 is added to the conventional block diagram shown in FIG. 6, and the internal clock circuit 17 enables the time to be grasped.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow for designating a display time for special information to be displayed in a predetermined period. Next, the setting procedure will be described.

First, a menu screen display for specifying time is selected by, for example, pressing a predetermined key of the operation input device 15 (step 301). As a result, a menu screen for time designation as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed, and the apparatus enters a state of waiting for selection of an information type (step 302).

On the menu screen shown in FIG. 3B, menus such as 1: dining room restaurant, 2: entry prohibited, etc. are displayed as special information. Next, it is determined whether there is an end input of a menu screen for designating special information (step 303). If there is an end input, the screen of the road map information displayed before the operation of the menu screen is determined. Is displayed (step 304), and the setting operation ends.

If any information type is input in the state of step 303, a display prompting the user to input a start time to be displayed appears (step 305). After inputting the start time according to this display, a display prompting the user to input the display end time appears (step 306). The end time is input according to this display, and the display returns to the time designation menu screen again (step 306). 302).

The menu of the necessary special information in this way
When the setting display on the screen is completed, the display returns to the normal road map information display.

The display time data set by the flow shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the EEPROM 13 and is not deleted even when the power of the apparatus is turned off. Display time data by re-operation
It is also possible to change part of the data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of display time data of special information. There are provided n tables for determining the display period of the special information to be displayed, and in each table, the information type of the special information to be displayed,
A data storage area indicating a display start time, a display end time, and a display flag is provided. As the information type, for example, "1" is stored as data when a cafeteria or a restaurant is desired to be displayed, and "2" is stored as data when indicating a no-entry position. The display flag area stores ON “1” during display and OFF “0” during non-display. If the operation in FIG. 3 is executed once before the drive, the data shown in FIG. 4 is created, and only necessary information is displayed at a predetermined time for each drive unless a change operation is performed thereafter.

FIG. 1 shows a display processing flowchart according to the display method of the present invention. First, the program for performing this processing is designed to wait for a time notification from the internal clock circuit 17 and proceed to the next processing after a lapse of a predetermined unit time, for example, one minute (step 101). Next, a fixed unit time is added to determine the time (step 102). Thereafter, one table data is extracted from the table storing the display time data shown in FIG. 4 (step 103), and whether the display flag is on (displaying) or off (non-display) is determined. Is determined (step 104). If it is off, it is determined whether it is within a predetermined time (step 105). This determination is generally made by checking whether the display time data is within the range from the display start time to the display end time in the table being referred to. If it is within the predetermined time, a process for additionally displaying the information, for example, a dining room or a restaurant on the road map is performed (step 10).
6). The processing procedure of step 106 will be described later.

Then, the display flag is turned on (step 107). If the displaying flag is on in step 104, it is determined whether the current time is outside a predetermined time (step 108). This determination method is performed in the same manner as described above. If it is outside the predetermined time, only the information which has already been displayed is deleted (step 109), and the display flag is turned off (step 110). When reference to one table is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a next table (step 111), and the process is continued until the table search is completed.

Next, the processing of step 106 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail. If all the special information is simply included in the display target within a predetermined time, the display device in the vehicle is generally small in size, the display screen becomes complicated, and it is not only difficult to see but also a problem in terms of safety. Become. Therefore, there is a need for a method of further displaying limited special information to be displayed. Therefore, the current position of the car, the direction of travel, the destination set in advance, etc. are determined in combination, and special information is limited to only the vicinity of the road where traffic is predicted from the current position to the destination on the road map. To be displayed.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of a table referred to for this processing. The look-up table stores the table pointers of the number (m) of information to be displayed, and by specifying this arbitrary table pointer, the information table at an arbitrary position can be stored. Drawn out. The information table has an area for storing the number of information type elements and information of each element. The information storage position of each element stores an absolute position, two or three nearby road numbers, and information indicating the distance and azimuth from the road. Further, information for specifying the display shape, ie, font display or linear display, data for display shape, ie, font code for font display, length for linear display, and data of display color. Data are stored respectively. This table may be stored in advance in a medium such as a CD-ROM together with map data as an object to be read from the file device 16 or, if the amount of data is small, stored in the ROM 3 together with a program. It may be stored partially.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, special information is provided.
The display start time and display end time during the
And the time of the internal clock circuit becomes the display start time.
Then, the display of the special information is started, and the display end time is reached.
When the display is finished, the display screen is not complicated , so that an effect that the visibility can be maintained can be expected. In addition, special information is automatically displayed when a predetermined display start time is reached during driving, so that there is no need to perform a troublesome operation for displaying the special information , and an excellent effect in terms of safety. It can also <br/> expected. According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Display range of different information on the road map from the current position of the vehicle
Predicted traffic to a preset destination
The above effect is further improved because it is limited only to the vicinity of the road.
Can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a display processing flow for implementing a display method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a navigation device for realizing the display method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a time for implementing the display method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of display time data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of an information table for display within a predetermined time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of a conventional in-vehicle navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation device main body 2 CPU 3 ROM 4 DRAM 5 Video memory 6 Vehicle speed sensor 7 Direction sensor 8 Vehicle speed sensor I / F 9 Direction sensor I / F 10 Display control unit 11 Input control unit 12 File control unit 13 EEPROM 14 Display device 15 Operation input device 16 File device 17 Internal clock circuit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of displaying additional information in an in-vehicle navigation device, wherein special information other than a spiral road map is superimposed and displayed at a predetermined timing on a screen of a display device on which a road map is displayed. Display start time and display end of the period during which is displayed
The end time is set in advance, and the clock of the internal clock circuit starts the display.
When the time arrives, the display of the special information starts and the display ends.
A method of displaying additional information in a vehicle-mounted navigation device, wherein the display is terminated when an end time is reached . 2. The display range of the special information on a road map is limited to only the vicinity of a road on which traffic from a current position of the vehicle to a preset destination is predicted. Display method of additional information in the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to the above.