JP4447294B2 - Navigation device and program thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for navigating a pedestrian or a vehicle driver to a destination using a portable terminal or the like.

  Conventionally, there are technologies for navigating pedestrians etc. to their destinations using mobile terminals etc., but with such conventional technologies, GPS receivers and antennas are connected to or built in mobile terminals, GPS satellites and PHS base stations By receiving position information from, etc., the position information of itself is acquired. Then, the navigation is performed by searching for a route from the self position to the destination.

  However, since GPS and PHS technologies are used to acquire the self-location, there is a problem that the self-location cannot be acquired in places where radio waves do not reach, and navigation cannot be performed.

  Further, position information that can be acquired from a GPS satellite, a PHS base station, or the like is only coordinate point information such as latitude and longitude. Therefore, the relationship between self and the target can be expressed only in absolute directions such as east, west, south, and north. However, if the user does not know the direction while walking or running, even if an absolute direction such as east, west, south, or north is indicated, the user does not know which direction to proceed. Therefore, there is a problem that smooth navigation cannot be performed even if only the absolute direction such as east, west, south, and north is shown as in the prior art.

Further, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 as a conventional technique related to navigation. In the navigation method disclosed in Patent Document 1, guidance information is set from the relationship between a target such as a building (landmark) and a travel route. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the guide information is created based on the relationship between the position of a landmark such as a building and the travel route, complicated calculation is required, and there is no landmark such as a park or When it cannot be seen or when the direction of the landmark cannot be specified, it is considered difficult to perform relative guidance such as front and rear, left and right.
JP 2000-046567 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables appropriate navigation even when current position information cannot be acquired from GPS or the like, and further to a target in a direction in which the person is facing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation technique that can present the relative directions of the objects.

  The above-described problem is a navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding a target moving body from a guidance object to a target object. The navigation apparatus receives information specifying a target object and stores information on the position of the target object. The target information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the designated target from the storage means, and the storage means for storing the information on the position of the guide and the absolute direction upon receiving the information specifying the guide From the guide information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the specified guide object and its absolute direction, the position of the specified guide object and the position of the specified target object, from the guide object to the target object. The route search means for obtaining route information, and the route information obtained by the route search means, the absolute direction to be traveled from the guidance object is obtained, and the guidance is obtained from the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guidance object. Against the absolute orientation of things Guidance information including a relative direction calculation means for obtaining a relative direction to travel, and guidance information including a direction to travel relative to the guidance object from the relative direction and the route information, and outputting the guidance information This is solved by a navigation device having a creation output means.

  According to the present invention, the relative direction to be advanced is presented as guidance information by using the position and orientation of the guidance object registered in advance. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate navigation even when the current position information cannot be obtained from GPS, etc., and it is also possible to perform navigation to the target even when the absolute direction such as east, west, north and south is unknown. Become.

  In addition, the above-described problem is a navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding the target moving body from a guidance object to a target object. The navigation apparatus receives information specifying a target object and receives information on the position of the target object. The target information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the specified target and the information for specifying the guide are input from the storage means storing the information, and the position and absolute orientation information of the guide is stored. From the storage means, the guide information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the specified guide and its absolute orientation, the position of the specified guide and the position of the specified target, and from the guide to the target Relative direction calculation means for obtaining an absolute direction to travel toward the vehicle and obtaining a relative direction to proceed with respect to the absolute direction of the guide from the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guide And relative directions and guidance And a position of the target to create guidance information including the relative way to go from the guide material, can be solved by a navigation device and a guide information creation outputting means for outputting.

  In the above navigation device, when receiving an input of a relative direction of the target moving body with respect to the designated guide object, the relative direction calculation means calculates the absolute direction of the guide object and the target mobile body. The absolute direction of the target moving body is obtained from the relative direction, and the absolute direction of the target moving body is advanced from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction to be advanced from the guide object. It can also be configured to determine the power relative direction.

  According to the present invention, even if the target moving body does not face the same direction as the guidance object, the relative direction to be advanced with respect to the absolute direction of the current target moving body can be presented as the guidance information. .

  Further, as the position of the guide object, a predetermined position away from the actual position of the guide object can be used. According to this, it is possible to receive guidance at a predetermined position from the guide object without approaching a position where the target moving body can be regarded as the same position as the guide object.

  In addition, when outputting the guide information as a map, the guide information creating / outputting unit can create a map so that the direction of the guide is upward on the output screen. It can be grasped immediately.

  The guidance information creation / output means can create and output guidance information including the distance to the next destination in addition to the relative direction to advance, and the relative direction to advance. In addition to this, it is possible to create and output guidance information including the distance to the designated target, so that the user can grasp how much to proceed.

  In the above navigation device, the position and orientation information of the guidance object can be acquired and stored by an apparatus that acquires information on the position and orientation mounted on the guidance object.

  Further, the information on the position and orientation of the guidance object can be calculated and stored using a photographed image obtained by photographing the guidance object with the camera, the installation position of the camera, and the photographing direction. In this way, an apparatus for acquiring the position and orientation information is not necessary.

  Further, in the above navigation device, the guidance object has a front part and a rear part, and the navigation apparatus is used to input information as to which of the front part and the rear part of the guidance object the object mobile body is facing. Is received, the relative direction calculation means calculates the target moving object from the absolute direction of the guide and information on whether the target moving object is facing the front part or the rear part. Relative to move from the absolute direction of the target moving body to the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction from the guide to the target. You may make it ask for the right direction.

  According to the present invention, for example, when the guide is a car, the user can receive guidance regardless of whether the user is at the front or rear of the guide.

  Further, the guide information creation / output unit reads the profile information of the designated guide from the storage unit storing the profile information of the guide, and can visually identify the guide using the profile information. Can be created and included in the guidance information. With this configuration, it is possible to provide guidance information that is easy for the user to understand.

  According to the present invention, in order to obtain information on the position and orientation of a target moving body that receives guidance, the position and orientation of a guide object registered in advance are used, and the relative direction to be advanced is presented as guidance information. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate navigation even when the current position information cannot be obtained from GPS, etc., and it is also possible to perform navigation to the target even when the absolute direction such as east, west, north and south is unknown. Become.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
In the first embodiment of the present invention, a guide object such as a signboard is determined in advance, and a relative direction to be advanced with respect to the direction of the user facing the guide object is presented based on the position and orientation of the guide object. And navigating to the target. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a navigation system according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation system according to the first embodiment has a configuration in which a client side navigation device 1 and a center side navigation device 2 are connected via the Internet 3. The client side navigation device 1 is a mobile phone, a PDA or the like, and can be connected to the Internet 3 by wireless communication. The center side navigation device 2 is a computer such as a server and can be connected to the Internet 3.

  The guide 4 in front of the user may be anything as long as its position and orientation are determined. For example, a signboard, a conspicuous building, or an object can be used as a guide. In addition, the guide 4 may be an already installed one or may be newly installed for guidance. Moreover, the server side navigation apparatus 2 holds the position information of the target and information on the position and direction of the guidance object. Further, the server side navigation device 2 stores node information necessary for route search and map information for map display. Instead of the server-side navigation device 2 storing the position information, the node information, the map information, etc., the server-side navigation device 2 is configured to store it on another server on the Internet and access the server. May be.

  In such a navigation system, when a user holding the client-side navigation device 1 wants to receive navigation while walking or running, the user faces the front of the guidance object. That is, it faces the guide object. Then, the center side navigation device 2 acquires the current position and orientation of the user by transmitting information such as an ID for identifying the guide object facing the user from the client side navigation device 1 to the center side navigation device 2. To do. Then, the center side navigation device 2 creates a guide to the target based on the current position and orientation of the user, transmits the created guidance to the client side navigation device 1, and the client side navigation device 1 Display guidance. The user proceeds to the target by viewing the guidance displayed on the client side navigation device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the position of the target object and the position and orientation of the guide object in the present embodiment.

  The position (X1, Y2) of the target is represented by coordinate values such as latitude and longitude. In addition, it is assumed that the guidance object always has a position and a direction, the position (X2, Y2) is expressed by coordinate values such as latitude and longitude, and the (absolute) direction (Z) is determined by the user with respect to the guidance object. This indicates the direction in which the user is facing when facing directly. The direction is represented by a clockwise angle with north being 0 degree. In this embodiment, it is considered that the user who is directly facing the guidance object considering receiving the guidance is approaching the guidance object, so the position of the guidance object is the current position of the user facing the guidance object. Shall be used. In addition, when it is known from the guidance object and its surroundings that the user stands at a predetermined position away from the guidance object, the position may be set as the user position.

  The operation outline of the center side navigation device is as shown in FIG. 3. First, the position of the target is acquired from the stored information based on the information specifying the target received from the client side navigation device (step 1). And the position and direction of a guidance thing (user) are acquired also based on the information which specifies the guidance thing received from the client side navigation apparatus (step 2). Then, guide information is created based on the position of the target and the position and orientation of the guide, and is transmitted to the client side navigation device (step 3). The client side navigation device performs navigation to the user by outputting this guidance information (step 4).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the client side navigation device 1 and the center side navigation device 2.

  The client-side navigation device 1 includes a data communication unit 11 for communicating with the server-side navigation device 2, a data input unit 12 for inputting data using an input pen, a key, a button, a pen, and the like, and displays received data. And a data output unit 13 for outputting to a speaker or the like.

  The server-side navigation device 2 includes a data communication unit 21, a guide information creation controller 22, a guide information calculation unit 23, a route search unit 24, a route guide sentence assembly unit 25, a map drawing unit 26, a target information storage unit 27, and a guide. An object information storage unit 28 is provided. In addition, a map information storage unit 29 that stores map information used for route search and map display is provided.

  The data communication unit 21 is a functional unit for communicating with the client side navigation device 1. The guide information creation controller 22 controls guide information creation processing. In addition, the guidance information calculation unit 23 calculates guidance directions and the like from the position and orientation information and creates guidance information. The route search unit 24 searches for a route from the target and the current position by, for example, the Dijkstra method. The route guidance sentence assembly unit 25 assembles a route guidance sentence necessary for guidance from the guidance information calculated by the guidance information calculation unit 23, and the map drawing part 26 renders a map with a route necessary for guidance. It is. These functional units are realized by executing the program of the present invention using hardware resources such as a CPU, a memory, and a hard disk in a computer.

  The target information storage unit 27 stores position information of the target, and the guide information storage unit 28 stores position information and direction of the guide. An example of the structure of information stored in the target information storage unit 27 is shown in FIG. ID is an identifier uniquely assigned to the target, and X and Y indicate longitude, latitude, or a coordinate value of a distance based on a certain position. An example of the structure of information stored in the guide information storage unit 28 is shown in FIG. ID, X, and Y have the same meaning as in the case of the target object, and Z indicates the absolute direction in which the line of sight when the user faces the guidance object and the user looks at the front, and this is described in this specification. In the book, it is called “Direction of the guide”. Further, when it is known that the user is standing at a predetermined position away from the guidance object, the position is recorded in the guidance object information storage unit 28. Thereby, the current position of the user can be acquired from the ID of the guide.

  Note that instead of the configuration having the client side and the server side as shown in FIG. In that case, the guidance information creation controller, guidance information calculation unit, route search unit, route guidance sentence assembly unit, map drawing unit, target object information storage unit, guidance item information storage unit, map information storage unit of the server side navigation device are clients. It is provided in the side device. Each information storage unit may be placed in a separate device and accessed when data needs to be acquired.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the navigation system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams of FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the overall operation, in which the client side navigation device transmits the target object ID and the guide object ID to the server side navigation device (steps 11 and 12), and receives these. However, a road guide is created based on the ID of the target and the ID of the guide (step 13), and the created road guide information is transmitted to the client side navigation device. The client side navigation device receives the information and displays it (step 14). Note that the order of steps 11 and 12 may be reversed, or the ID of the target and the ID of the guide may be transmitted simultaneously.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the sequence of step 11 in more detail.

  When the user inputs information indicating the target to the data input unit 12 of the client side navigation device (step 21), the client side navigation device acquires the ID of the target (step 22). Here, for example, the name of the target is input, and the client-side navigation device searches for an ID corresponding to the name from a database (not shown). The target ID may be directly input. Alternatively, an address / latitude / longitude correspondence table may be prepared in advance, and the address of the target may be input from the client side navigation device.

  Next, ID is passed to the data communication part 11, and the data communication part 11 transmits ID of a target object to the data communication part 21 of a server side navigation apparatus (step 23). The data communication unit 21 that has received the ID (step 24) passes it to the guide information creation controller 22, and the guide information creation controller 22 holds the ID in a memory or the like (step 25). The same applies to the guidance item ID in step 12. In the case of a guide, an ID may be written on the guide, and the ID may be entered after seeing the ID. Alternatively, a bar code indicating an ID may be attached to the guide, and the bar code may be input by reading the bar code. It should be noted that a device for generating a sound in the guide may be provided so that the place where the guide is installed is provided so that the sound is always generated. Furthermore, ID information transmitted from a guidance object by a wireless IC tag, Bluetooth, infrared rays, or the like may be read.

  Next, the creation of road guidance in step 13 of FIG. 6 will be described in detail with reference to the sequence diagrams of FIGS.

  The guide information creation controller 22 searches the target information storage unit 27 based on the target ID to acquire position information of the target (step 31). In addition, the guide information storage unit 28 is searched based on the guide ID and the position information and direction of the guide are obtained (step 32).

  The guide information creation controller 22 passes the acquired position information and direction information to the guide information calculation unit 23. The guide information calculation unit 23 calls the route search unit 24 to create route information, and passes the acquired position information to the route search unit (step 33). The route search unit 24 creates route information from the guide to the target based on the position information of the guide and the target (step 34). Then, the route search unit 24 returns the created route information to the guidance information calculation unit 23.

  Subsequently, the guidance information calculation unit 23 calculates the direction from the first node to the next node from the route information received from the route search unit 24 (step 35). Then, as shown in FIG. 9, in order to create a route guidance sentence, the route guidance assembly unit 25 is called, and the route information, the direction from the first node to the next node, the direction of the guidance object, the direction guidance sentence. It passes to the assembly part 25 (step 36). The route guidance sentence assembly unit 25 creates a route guidance sentence (step 37), and returns the created route guidance sentence to the guidance information calculation unit 23.

  The guidance information calculation unit 23 calls the map drawing unit 26 and creates route information and the direction of the guidance object to the map drawing unit 26 in order to create a route guidance map (step 38). The map drawing unit 26 creates a route guidance map, and returns the created route guidance map to the guidance information calculation unit 23 (step 39). Then, the guidance information calculation unit 23 passes the created route guidance text / route guidance map to the guidance information creation controller 22 (step 40).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the guidance information creation controller 22 acquires a road guidance sentence / road guidance map (step 41), and passes the acquired road guidance sentence / road guidance map to the data communication unit 21. The data communication unit 21 transmits the route guidance text / route guidance map to the client side navigation device (step 42). The data communication unit 11 of the client side navigation apparatus receives the route guidance sentence / road guidance map (step 43), and passes the received road guidance sentence / way guidance map to the data output unit 13. Then, the data output unit 13 outputs a road guidance sentence / road guidance map (step 44). After step 41, instead of passing the route guidance map to the data communication unit 21, only the location of the route guidance map (such as URL) is passed, and the client side navigation device accesses the location to obtain the route guidance map. May be.

  Next, the process of creating a route guidance sentence and a route guidance map will be described in more detail using the process flowchart of the guidance information calculation unit 23 in FIG.

  First, the position information (X1, Y1) of the target object, the position information (X2, Y2) of the guide object, and the direction (Z) of the guide object are received from the guide information creation controller 22 (step 51). Here, the received position information (longitude / latitude, etc.) is converted into a coordinate value of distance as necessary. Then, the position information (X1, Y1, X2, Y2) is passed to the route search unit 24, the route information (node information) from the guide to the target is received (step 52), and between the first nodes of the received route information Direction (Z ′) is calculated (step 53).

  Here, the route search unit 24 refers to the data stored in the map information storage unit 29 describing the position ((x, y) coordinates) of each node on the map and the distance between the nodes, for example, Dijkstra. A route search of the shortest route is performed using a known algorithm such as a method. For example, if the node number corresponding to the current position of the user (the position of the guide) is 1 and the node number corresponding to the destination is 6, the route information is, for example, information such as 1-3-2-6. As obtained. This means that the destination is reached in the order of node 1, node 3, node 2, and node 6.

  In the above example, the direction (Z ′) between the first nodes in the path information is an absolute direction from the node 1 to the node 3. This can be easily calculated from the position of the node 1, the position of the node 3, and the information that the node 1 goes to the node 3.

  Then, the guidance information calculation unit 23 passes the received route information, the first node-to-node direction (Z ′), and the direction of the guidance object (Z) to the route guidance sentence assembly unit 25, and is generated by the route guidance assembly unit 25. The route guidance is received (step 54).

  The route guidance sentence assembly unit 25 creates a route guidance sentence as follows. Hereinafter, the direction (Z ′) from the first node to the next node is referred to as a departure angle, and the direction (Z) of the guide is referred to as an approach angle.

  The route guidance assembling unit 25 calculates the difference between the departure angle and the approach angle, and extracts a guidance sentence corresponding to the difference from the data shown in FIG. Note that the data shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the map information storage unit 29 and the like. The data shown in FIG. 12 is an example.

  The difference between the departure angle and the approach angle is calculated by the departure angle−the approach angle when the approach angle <= the departure angle (in the case shown in FIG. 13A). In the case of approach angle> departure angle (in the case of FIG. 13 (b)), the calculation is performed by departure angle−entrance angle + 360. The distance between the first node and the next node is entered in D in the guide sentence. For example, if the departure angle is 90 degrees, the approach angle is 180 degrees, and the distance between the first node and the next node is 30 m, the angle difference is 90-180 + 360 = 270 degrees. "

  Also in the creation of the guidance text after the second node, the guidance text is created by referring to the same data as in FIG. 12 from the relationship between the approach angle entering the node and the departure angle from the node to the next node. be able to. In addition to this method, the guidance text after the second node can be created using any conventional technique.

  Subsequently, the guidance information calculation unit 23 passes the route information and the direction (Z) of the guidance object to the map drawing unit 26, and receives the generated route guidance map (step 55). The map drawing unit 26 specifies, from the map information and the route information, for example, a map in a range including the nodes included in the route information from the map information stored in the map information storage unit 29, and the nodes in the range are identified. A map connected by lines is created, and the map data is sent to the guide information calculation unit 23. The map drawing unit 26 generates the route guidance map so that the direction (Z) of the guidance object faces upward on the display of the client side navigation device. The map drawing unit 26 performs processing for converting the coordinates of the actual map into coordinates on the display of the client side navigation device.

  Thereafter, the guidance information calculation unit 23 passes the received road guidance text and road guidance map to the guidance information creation controller 22 (step 56).

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a road guide sentence and a road guide map. In this example, “Look at the guide (signboard) in front” is added to the guidance text. In the guidance sentence, the part A is created by extracting appropriate data from the data of FIG. 12 and the like based on the result obtained by the present invention, and the part B can also be created by the prior art. Instead of displaying the route guidance text on the screen, it can also be output by voice. In that case, the server-side navigation device converts the route guidance text into speech, and the speech is transmitted to the client-side navigation device via a mobile phone network or the like. Note that the conversion to voice may be performed by a device on the client side.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the current position of the user is acquired using the guidance object, navigation can be performed regardless of whether the GPS radio wave is reachable. It is also possible to present the direction in which the user should travel as a relative direction to the direction in which the user is currently facing, and perform navigation even when the user cannot determine the current direction (north, etc.) Can do.

(Another example in the first embodiment)
In the above description, the case where it is assumed that the user faces the guidance object has been described. However, the positional relationship between the user and the guidance object is not limited to the direct alignment. For example, the client side navigation device inputs which direction the user is facing with respect to the absolute direction of the guide (right, left, diagonally right, etc.), and the server side navigation device is based on the information. It is also possible to determine the absolute direction of and create a guide. That is, the absolute direction of the user is calculated from the absolute direction of the guide and the relative direction of the user with respect to the guide.

  Further, it is possible to take a method in which the direction is not set in advance for the guidance object. For example, when the user comes to the position of the guide, by inputting a building or the like that can be seen in the front (or back, left side, etc.) together with information for specifying the guide, the server-side navigation device The absolute direction in which the user is facing can be determined from the positional relationship. In addition, when the guide is installed on the side of the road, the user who approaches the guide must specify whether the guide is on the right side or the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the user on the road. Thus, the server-side navigation device can determine the traveling direction (absolute direction) of the user.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the second embodiment, it is assumed that guidance to a vehicle that is a target parked in a parking lot or the like is performed using another vehicle as a guidance object. FIG. 15 shows a system configuration in the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, in the second embodiment, both the guide 7 and the target 6 have a function of performing wireless communication. The vehicle as the guide object 7 acquires and holds its own position and orientation by a GPS device and a gyro device mounted on the vehicle itself. Similarly, the car that is the target 6 acquires and holds its own position. The user acquires the position and direction of the vehicle from the vehicle as a guide in the navigation device 5 held by the user. Similarly, the position of the vehicle is acquired from the target vehicle. The navigation device 5 creates and outputs a guide including the relative direction and distance with respect to the target 6 based on the guide 7 from the position and orientation of the vehicle as the guide 7.

  FIG. 16 shows the configuration of the navigation device 5 according to the second embodiment. The navigation device 5 according to the second embodiment includes a data communication unit 51, a guide information creation controller 52, a guide information calculation unit 56, a data input unit 53, and a data output unit 55. The data communication unit 51 is for communicating with the guidance object and the target object. The guide information creation controller 52 controls the guide information creation process, and the guide information calculation unit 56 calculates the direction from the position and orientation and creates the guide. The data input unit 53 is for inputting data into the navigation device 5 from an input panel, keys, buttons, pens, etc., and the data output unit 55 is for outputting data to a display or the like. . The navigation device 5 can be realized by using a mobile phone, a PDA or the like, and each functional unit described above is realized by hardware resources such as a CPU and a memory in the mobile phone and the PDA, and the program of the present invention.

  FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of a guide object device 8 mounted on a vehicle which is a guide object in the second embodiment.

  The guidance object device 8 stores a data communication unit 81 for communicating with the navigation device, a position information transmission controller 82 for controlling position information transmission processing, an in-vehicle gyro 83, a GPS device 84, and current position / orientation information. A position / orientation information storage unit 85 for storing the vehicle, and a vehicle profile information storage unit 86 for storing the profile (vehicle number, image, etc.) of the own vehicle.

  The target device mounted on the target vehicle is the same as the guide device, but the vehicle profile information storage unit may not be provided.

  FIG. 18A shows an example of the structure of stored information stored in the position / orientation information storage unit 85. (X, Y) are coordinates indicating the position of the car, and may be longitude and latitude, or relative coordinates based on a certain position. The direction Z is information on the same angle as in the first embodiment, and is, for example, the absolute direction of the line of sight when viewing the direction from the rear to the front of the vehicle. FIG. 18B shows an example of stored information stored in the car profile information storage unit 86. As shown in the figure, each of the position / orientation information storage unit 85 and the car profile information storage unit 86 is a memory that stores information for only one line. Note that the vehicle profile stored in the vehicle profile information storage unit 86 includes information that enables the vehicle to be visually identified, and is used to create a guide map. Therefore, if the car map is not drawn on the guide map, the car profile information does not need to hold the guide.

  Next, the operation of the system in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams of FIGS.

  First, a description will be given with reference to the overall sequence diagram of FIG. First, the navigation device held by the user inquires about the position of the target vehicle. The target that has received the position inquiry transmits the position information acquired and held from the GPS device to the navigation device. The navigation device holds the received position information of the target (step 61).

  Subsequently, the navigation apparatus inquires information such as a position (position information, direction, vehicle profile information) to the vehicle that is a guide. The guide that received the inquiry transmits information such as the position to the navigation device, and the navigation device holds the received information (step 62). Then, the navigation device creates a route guide using the stored information (step 63) and displays it (step 64). The order of step 61 and step 62 may be reversed. Moreover, you may acquire the positional information on a target object when getting off the vehicle which is a target object.

  FIG. 20 shows the processing of step 62 in FIG. 19 in more detail. That is, an information request such as a position is passed to the position information transmission controller 82 via the data input unit 53, the data communication unit 51, and the data communication unit 81 of the guidance object, and the position information transmission controller 82 receives the position / orientation information. The current position and orientation are acquired from the storage unit 85 (steps 71 to 74). Further, profile information is acquired from the vehicle profile information storage unit 86 (step 75). These pieces of information are passed to the navigation device. The process in step 61 in FIG. 19 is the same, but in the case of step 61, vehicle profile information is not acquired.

  Next, the process for creating the route guidance in the navigation device (step 63 in FIG. 19) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The guide information creation controller 52 passes the position information of the target object and the information such as the position of the guide object to the guide information calculation unit 56 (step 81). The guide information calculation unit 56 calculates the distance between the target and the guide from these pieces of information (step 82), obtains the relative direction to the target with reference to the direction of the guide (step 83), A guide sentence is created from the distance and direction (step 84). Further, a guide map is created from the vehicle profile information, distance, direction, and direction (step 85), and the created guide sentence / guide map is passed to the guide information creation controller 52 (step 86). Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the guide information creation controller 52 acquires the guide text / guide map and passes it to the data output section 55 (step 87), and the data output section 55 outputs the guide text / guide map (step 87). 88).

  Next, with reference to the process flowchart of the guide information calculation unit 56 shown in FIG.

  When the guide information calculation unit 56 receives the target object position coordinates (X1, Y1), the guide object position coordinates (X2, Y2), the direction of the guide object (Z), and the guide object profile information from the guide information creation controller 52 (step 91). ), The distance between the target object and the guide object is calculated from the target object position coordinates (X1, Y1) and the guide object position coordinates (X2, Y2) (step 92). Subsequently, the target object position coordinates (X1, Y1), the guide object position coordinates (X2, Y2), and the absolute direction (Z ') from the target object to the guide object are calculated (step 93). Then, a relative direction to the target object to be traveled based on the direction of the guide object is obtained from the direction (Z ') from the target object to the guide object and the direction (Z) of the guide object (step 94).

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 24, when Z <= Z ′, the relative direction is calculated as Z′−Z. If Z> Z ′, the relative direction is calculated as Z′−Z + 360. And the guidance information calculation part 56 searches the data shown in FIG. 25 based on the relative direction calculated | required at step 94, extracts an appropriate guidance sentence, and uses the distance calculated | required at step 92, and guides a sentence Is created (step 95). The data shown in FIG. 25 is stored in advance in a storage device of the navigation device, for example. In addition, D in the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 25 indicates the distance between the guidance object and the target object. For example, when Z ′ = 135 degrees, Z = 45 degrees, and the distance between the target object and the guide object is 30 m, the relative direction is 90 degrees. Therefore, from the data of FIG. It is 30m right. "

  Subsequently, the guide information calculation unit 56 mainly uses the guide object (car) image obtained from the guide object profile information and the car number information, the distance obtained in step 92, the relative direction obtained in step 94, and the guide object. A direction map (Z) is used to create a guide map as shown in FIG. 26 (step 96). The guide map is generated so that the direction (Z) of the guide object faces upward. The created guidance text and guidance map are transferred to the guidance information creation controller 52 for output. FIG. 27 shows an output example of the guidance text and the guidance map.

  According to the second embodiment, since the relative direction of the target with reference to the guide can be presented as the guide, the guide to the target can be performed even if the absolute direction is not known.

(Another example in the second embodiment)
In the above description, the vehicle itself acquires the position and orientation of the vehicle that is a guide, and transmits them to the user's navigation device, but the method for acquiring the position and orientation of the vehicle that is the guide Is not limited to this.

  For example, a car parked in a parking lot is photographed with a camera, and the number, parking position, and parking direction of each car are read using the photographed image, the installation position of the camera, and the photographing direction, and stored in a storage device. You can take a method to keep. With this method, navigation according to the present invention can be performed without mounting a GPS device, a communication device, or the like on the vehicle.

  In addition, since the number and position of the parking place uniquely correspond in the parking lot, the number and position and the parking direction corresponding to the place are stored in the storage device, and the target vehicle When getting off the vehicle, the number of the parked place is input to the navigation device, the position is acquired from the storage device, and the position is held. Then, when searching for a target, enter the number of the location of the car and the parking direction (forward or backward) as an arbitrary guide parked in the same parking lot into the navigation device and guide from the storage device. By acquiring the position and direction of an object, guidance information can be created in the same manner as in the second embodiment.

  Further, in the above description, the direction to the target vehicle is presented on the assumption that the user is facing the same direction as the vehicle that is the guidance object. By inputting which of the front part and the rear part is being viewed, the navigation apparatus can determine which direction the user is facing from the information and the direction of the car, and can provide guidance. For example, when the user is facing the front of the car, the direction of the user is 180 degrees away from the direction of the car, so the navigation device can add or subtract 180 degrees from the direction of the car. The direction in which the user is facing can be acquired. Then, from this direction and the direction from the guidance object to the target object, the relative direction to the target object can be calculated and presented based on the direction in which the user is facing.

  In a parking lot, a car is generally parked in either a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. Therefore, as a method of recording the direction of the car, a certain direction with respect to the parking lot is called “vertical direction”. If the meaning is 1, the opposite direction is -1, the direction rotated 90 degrees clockwise from the "vertical direction" is 2, and the opposite direction is -2, the direction of the car is managed with simple information. can do.

  In the above description, the guidance object is described as a car. However, in addition to the car, an entrance / exit of a parking lot, a toilet, and the like can be used as the guidance object.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is a schematic block diagram of the navigation system in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the position of a target object, and the position and direction of a guide. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement outline | summary of a center side navigation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of a client side navigation apparatus and a center side navigation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the information stored in the information stored in a target information storage part, and the information stored in a guidance information storage part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the sequence of step 11 of FIG. 6 in detail. It is a sequence diagram which shows the preparation process of the road guidance in step 13 of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the preparation process of the road guidance in step 13 of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process in step 14 of FIG. It is a process flowchart of a guidance information calculation part. It is a figure which shows the data used for creating a guidance sentence in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation of the difference of an approach angle and a departure angle. It is a figure which shows the example of a road guide sentence and a road guide map. It is a system configuration figure in a 2nd embodiment. It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the apparatus mounted in the vehicle used as a guidance thing or a target object. It is a figure for demonstrating the storage information stored in a position and direction information storage part, and the storage information stored in a vehicle profile information storage part. It is a whole sequence diagram in a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing processing of step 62 in FIG. 19. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing processing of step 63 in FIG. 19. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing processing of step 64 in FIG. 19. It is a process flowchart of a guidance information calculation part. It is a figure for demonstrating how to obtain | require the relative direction from a guide to a target object. It is an example of the data used in order to create a guidance sentence from a relative direction. It is a figure for demonstrating preparation of a guide map. It is a figure which shows the example of an output of a guidance sentence and a guidance map.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Client side navigation apparatus 2 Center side navigation apparatus 3 Internet 4, 7 Guide object 5 Navigation apparatus 6 Target object 11, 21, 51, 81 Data communication part 12, 53 Data input part 13, 55 Data output part 22, 52 Guide information Creation controller 23, 56 Guide information calculation unit 24 Route search unit 25 Road guide sentence assembly unit 26 Map drawing unit 27 Target object information storage unit 28 Guide object information storage unit 29 Map information storage unit 82 Position information transmission controller 83 Car-mounted gyro 84 GPS Device 85 Position / orientation information storage unit 86 Vehicle profile information storage unit

Claims (9)

A navigation device that is connected to a client device via a communication network and provides the client device with guidance information for guiding a user holding the client device from a guidance object to a target object,
A target information storage means for storing the identifier of the target and the position of the target;
Guide information storage means for storing the identifier of the guide, the position of the guide, and the direction of the guide indicating the absolute direction in which the line of sight when the user facing the guide is looking in front is stored. When,
A target information acquisition unit that receives an identifier of a target specified by a user from the client device and acquires the position of the target by searching the target information storage unit ;
A guide information acquisition means for receiving the identifier of the guide specified by the user from the client device and searching the guide information storage means to acquire the position and orientation of the guide;
And a position of said designated target of the designated guiding material, and the route search means for obtaining the route information from the guide was to the target,
From the route information obtained, obtains the absolute direction the user should proceed from the designated guide was with the absolute direction and orientation of the guide object by said route search means, the orientation of the guide thereof the relative direction calculation means for calculating a relative direction to pair to the user proceeds to,
From the relative direction and the route information, guide information including a relative direction in which a user should move with respect to the designated guide is created, and the guide information is transmitted to the client device. And a creation output means. A navigation device that is connected to a client device via a communication network and provides the client device with guidance information for guiding a user holding the client device from a guidance object to a target object,
A target information storage means for storing the identifier of the target and the position of the target;
Guide information storage means for storing the identifier of the guide, the position of the guide, and the direction of the guide indicating the absolute direction in which the line of sight when the user facing the guide is looking in front is stored. When,
A target information acquisition unit that receives an identifier of a target specified by a user from the client device and acquires the position of the target by searching the target information storage unit ;
A guide information acquisition means for receiving the identifier of the guide specified by the user from the client device and searching the guide information storage means to acquire the position and orientation of the guide;
And a position of said designated target of the designated guiding thereof, wherein the user obtains the absolute direction to proceed toward the target from the specified guided thereof, and the absolute direction from the direction of the guide thereof, the relative direction calculation means for calculating a relative direction to the user in pairs in the direction of the guide material progresses,
And a position of the relative direction between the position and the designated target of the specified guided material, creates guidance information including the relative orientation to proceed from the guidance object, the client the guidance information A navigation apparatus comprising: guidance information generation output means for transmitting to the apparatus. When the navigation device receives an input of the relative orientation of the user with respect to the designated guidance object,
The relative direction calculation means obtains the absolute direction of the user from the direction of the guide and the relative direction of the user, and the absolute direction of the user and the absolute direction to proceed from the guide The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a relative direction to be advanced with respect to an absolute direction of the user is obtained from the correct direction. A navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding a target moving body from a guidance object to a target object,
A target information acquisition means for receiving the input of information specifying the target and acquiring the position of the specified target from the storage means storing the position information of the target;
Receives guidance information to obtain the position and absolute orientation of the designated guide from the storage means that stores the information about the location and absolute orientation of the guide upon receipt of information specifying the guide Means,
A route search means for obtaining route information from the guide to the target from the position of the specified guide and the specified target;
From the route information obtained by the route search means, the absolute direction to be advanced from the guidance object is obtained, and the absolute direction of the guidance object should be advanced from the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guidance object. A relative direction calculating means for obtaining a relative direction;
From the relative direction and the route information, to create guidance information including a direction to travel relative to the guidance object, to output guidance information creation output means,
The guidance object is a thing having a front part and a rear part, and when the navigation apparatus receives input of information on which of the front part and the rear part of the guidance object the object moving body is facing,
The relative direction calculation means obtains the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the guide object and information on whether the target moving body is facing the front or the rear. Determining a relative direction to be advanced with respect to the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction to be advanced from the guide object toward the target object. A featured navigation device. A navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding a target moving body from a guidance object to a target object,
A target information acquisition means for receiving the input of information specifying the target and acquiring the position of the specified target from the storage means storing the position information of the target;
Receives guidance information to obtain the position and absolute orientation of the designated guide from the storage means that stores the information about the location and absolute orientation of the guide upon receipt of information specifying the guide Means,
Based on the position of the specified guide and the position of the specified target, an absolute direction to travel from the guide to the target is obtained, and the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guide are determined. From the relative direction calculation means for obtaining the relative direction to proceed with respect to the absolute direction of the guide,
From the relative direction, the position of the guide object, and the position of the target object, it includes guide information creation output means for creating and outputting guide information including a direction to travel relative to the guide object,
The guidance object is a thing having a front part and a rear part, and when the navigation apparatus receives input of information on which of the front part and the rear part of the guidance object the object moving body is facing,
The relative direction calculation means obtains the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the guide object and information on whether the target moving body is facing the front or the rear. Determining a relative direction to be advanced with respect to the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction to be advanced from the guide object toward the target object. A featured navigation device. Processing is performed on a computer that is connected to a client device via a communication network and that is used as a navigation device that provides the client device with guidance information for guiding a user holding the client device from a guidance object to a target object. A program for causing the computer to
A target information storage means for storing the identifier of the target and the position of the target;
Guide information storage means for storing the identifier of the guide, the position of the guide, and the direction of the guide indicating the absolute direction in which the line of sight when the user facing the guide is looking in front is stored. The program includes the computer,
A target information acquisition unit that receives an identifier of a target specified by a user from the client device and acquires the position of the target by searching the target information storage unit ;
A guide information acquisition means for receiving the identifier of the guide specified by the user from the client device and acquiring the position and orientation of the guide by searching the guide information storage means ;
Route search means for obtaining the path information from the position of said designated target of the designated guided thereof, to the target from the guidance thereof,
From the route information obtained, obtains the absolute direction the user should proceed from the designated guide was with the absolute direction and orientation of the guide object by said route search means, the orientation of the guide thereof the relative direction calculation means for calculating a relative direction to pair to the user proceeds to,
From the relative direction and the route information, guide information including a relative direction in which a user should move with respect to the designated guide is created, and the guide information is transmitted to the client device. Creation output means ,
A program characterized by functioning as Processing is performed on a computer that is connected to a client device via a communication network and that is used as a navigation device that provides the client device with guidance information for guiding a user holding the client device from a guidance object to a target object. A program for causing the computer to
A target information storage means for storing the identifier of the target and the position of the target;
Guide information storage means for storing the identifier of the guide, the position of the guide, and the direction of the guide indicating the absolute direction in which the line of sight when the user facing the guide is looking in front is stored. The program includes the computer,
A target information acquisition unit that receives an identifier of a target specified by a user from the client device and acquires the position of the target by searching the target information storage unit;
A guide information acquisition means for receiving the identifier of the guide specified by the user from the client device and acquiring the position and orientation of the guide by searching the guide information storage means;
And a position of said designated target of the designated guiding thereof, wherein the user obtains the absolute direction to proceed toward the target from the specified guided thereof, and the absolute direction wherein from the direction of the guide thereof, the relative direction calculation means for calculating a relative direction to the user in pairs in the direction of the guide material progresses,
And a position of the relative direction between the position and the designated target of the specified guided material, creates guidance information including the relative orientation to proceed from the guidance object, the client the guidance information Guidance information creation output means to be transmitted to the device,
A program characterized by functioning as A computer used as a navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding a target moving body from a guide to a target,
Target information acquisition means for receiving the input of information specifying the target and acquiring the position of the specified target from the storage means storing the information of the position of the target;
Receives guidance information to obtain the position and absolute orientation of the designated guide from the storage means that stores the information about the location and absolute orientation of the guide upon receipt of information specifying the guide means,
A route search means for obtaining route information from the guide to the target from the position of the specified guide and the specified target;
From the route information obtained by the route search means, the absolute direction to be advanced from the guidance object is obtained, and the absolute direction of the guidance object should be advanced from the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guidance object. A relative direction calculating means for obtaining a relative direction;
From the relative direction and the route information, a program for creating guidance information including a direction to be advanced relative to the guidance object and outputting it as guidance information creation output means,
The guidance object is a thing having a front part and a rear part, and when the computer receives input of information on whether the target moving body is directly facing the front part or the rear part of the guidance object,
The relative direction calculation means obtains the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the guide object and information on whether the target moving body is facing the front or the rear. Determining a relative direction to be advanced with respect to the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction to be advanced from the guide object toward the target object. A featured program . A computer used as a navigation device for outputting guidance information for guiding a target moving body from a guide to a target,
Target information acquisition means for receiving the input of information specifying the target and acquiring the position of the specified target from the storage means storing the information of the position of the target;
Receives guidance information to obtain the position and absolute orientation of the designated guide from the storage means that stores the information about the location and absolute orientation of the guide upon receipt of information specifying the guide means,
Based on the position of the specified guide and the position of the specified target, an absolute direction to travel from the guide to the target is obtained, and the absolute direction and the absolute direction of the guide are determined. From the relative direction calculation means for obtaining the relative direction to proceed with respect to the absolute direction of the guide,
A program for functioning as guide information creation / output means for creating and outputting guide information including a relative direction to travel from the guide from the relative direction, the position of the guide, and the position of the target And
The guidance object is a thing having a front part and a rear part, and when the computer receives input of information on whether the target moving body is directly facing the front part or the rear part of the guidance object,
The relative direction calculation means obtains the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the guide object and information on whether the target moving body is facing the front or the rear. Determining a relative direction to be advanced with respect to the absolute direction of the target moving body from the absolute direction of the target moving body and the absolute direction to be advanced from the guide object toward the target object. A featured program .

Images