JP4637664B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device having a function of displaying an object on a map.

  In navigation devices typified by in-vehicle use, in addition to maps, objects that visually convey a predetermined event to the user, such as a guidance signboard installed on the road or a figure imitating a speed limit sign, are superimposed. Some display and provide the operator with valid information other than the current position.

  In the above navigation device, when an object is displayed on a map, for example, the background portion of the object is made transparent or semi-transparent, and only the figure and characters are made opaque so that the figure and characters such as a guidance signboard There is a navigation device that appropriately recognizes the image and also visually recognizes the map on the lower surface of the object (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a screen display example of a conventional navigation device. A rectangular figure representing a guidance signboard etc. is superimposed on the map, its background is translucent, and the operator's vehicle advances among the multiple arrows corresponding to the actual number of lanes Only the arrow indicating the power lane is displayed so as to be opaque.
JP 2002-277257 A (pages 8 to 18, FIG. 1)

  In a conventional navigation apparatus, a background portion such as a guidance signboard displayed superimposed on a map is set to be transparent or translucent so that the map on the lower surface can be seen through. However, depending on the driving situation, the map may flicker due to the transparency or semi-transparency of the background part such as the guidance signboard, etc. In addition, by making the background portion transparent or translucent, the contrast of graphics and characters such as a guidance signboard may be lowered depending on the form of the map on the lower surface.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device capable of improving the visibility of display contents of an object in a navigation device having a function of displaying an object on a map in a transparent or translucent form. To do.

  A navigation device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a navigation device having a function of displaying an object for visually transmitting a predetermined event to a user in a transparent or translucent form on a map in a superimposed manner. Map moving speed calculating means for calculating the moving speed of the object, and transparency setting means for setting the transparency of the object according to the calculated moving speed. According to this configuration, the transparency of an object displayed on the map can be set flexibly according to the moving speed of the map, so when the moving speed of the map is fast and the map flickers Since control that lowers the transparency of the object is possible, the visibility of the display content of the object can be improved.

  A navigation device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a navigation device having a function of displaying an object for visually transmitting a predetermined event to a user in a transparent or translucent form on a map and displaying the object. Vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed and transparency setting means for setting the transparency of the object according to the detected vehicle speed are provided. According to this configuration, the transparency of the object displayed on the map according to the vehicle speed can be set flexibly, so that the control of decreasing the transparency of the object is possible when the vehicle speed is high. Therefore, the visibility of the display content of the object can be improved.

  A navigation device according to a third invention is the navigation device according to the first invention, wherein the object is composed of a signboard and a figure and / or a character string that is written on the signboard and visually expresses the guidance guidance. When the signboard is a guidance guide signboard, a means for giving an animation effect to a figure indicating the guide direction is provided. According to this configuration, for example, the operator can intuitively grasp the guide direction by an animation of sliding the fill pattern in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction.

  A navigation device according to a fourth invention is the navigation device according to the first or third invention, wherein the object is a signboard and a figure and / or a character string that is written on the signboard and visually expresses the guidance. When the guidance guide sign is configured, the guidance guidance sign is provided with means for giving a remaining distance from the current position of the vehicle to the destination. According to this configuration, the operator can grasp the remaining distance to the destination from the frequently watched object.

  According to the present invention, since the transparency of an object displayed on the map can be set flexibly according to the moving speed of the map and the vehicle speed, the moving speed of the map is high and the map flickers. In this case, when the vehicle speed is high, it is possible to control to lower the transparency of the object, so that the visibility of the display content of the object can be improved.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 100 includes a data acquisition unit 10, a display unit 20, a control unit 30, a position detection unit 40, a vehicle speed detection unit 50, and an input unit 60.

  The data acquisition unit 10 reads the map data recorded on the recording medium and the object data associated with the map from the recording medium and sends them to the control unit 30. The data acquisition unit 10 further includes a map data reading unit 11 and an object data reading unit 12. The map data reading unit 11 reads map data necessary for screen display of the navigation device from a storage medium 200 such as a DVD. The object data reading unit 12 reads object data necessary for displaying an object such as a guidance signboard or a speed limit sign on a map from the same recording medium. In this embodiment, the recording medium 200 is a DVD, but it may be an external recording medium such as a CD or an SD memory card, or an HDD built in the navigation device.

  The display unit 20 displays map data and object data sent from the control unit 30. The map display unit 21 displays map data including the current position of the vehicle output from the control unit 30 on the display. Further, when there is object data associated with the output map data, the object display unit 22 displays the object data superimposed on the map.

  The control unit 30 includes a CPU, a memory, a microcomputer, and the like, and implements functions of each unit of the apparatus and a known navigation function by executing a preset program on the CPU. For example, the control unit 30 instructs the map data reading unit 11 to read map data of an appropriate scale including the current position based on the detection result of the position detection unit 40, and sends the acquired map data to the display unit 20. Output. Further, the control unit 30 determines whether or not there is object data associated with the map data displayed at the current position, that is, whether or not to display a guidance guide signboard or whether or not to display a speed limit sign. And instructing the object data reading unit 12 to read the associated object data as appropriate. Further, the acquired object data is output, and the object display unit 22 is instructed to display the acquired object data on the map.

  The control unit 30 also calculates the distance between the current position and the destination set via the input unit 60 based on the detection result of the position detection unit 40. The control unit 30 further includes functional units such as a map movement speed calculation unit 31, a display attribute setting unit 32, and a route search unit 33.

  The map moving speed calculation unit 31 calculates the moving speed on the screen of the map to be displayed based on the detection result of the vehicle speed detection unit 50 and the scale information of the map data acquired from the data acquisition unit 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the vehicle speed and the moving speed of the map. When the speed of the vehicle equipped with the navigation device and the scale of the map being displayed are known, the moving speed of the map on the screen is uniquely determined. For example, in the case of a map A with a certain scale in the figure, the traveling at 50 km / h is displayed on the screen at a speed of 5 mm / sec (that is, the moving speed of the map is 5 mm / sec).

  The display attribute setting unit 32 sets the display attribute of the object. Specifically, if the object is a guidance signboard, the transparency attribute of the signboard background and the animation display attribute of the graphic indicating the guidance direction (for example, an animation display that slides the fill pattern horizontally or vertically) Whether or not to perform), and a remaining distance attribute indicating a distance from the current position to the destination.

  For example, the transparency attribute of the background portion of the guidance signboard is set as follows. FIG. 3 is a graph showing a setting example of the relationship between the moving speed of the map and the transparency of the object background. In the setting example in the figure, it can be seen that the transparency of the background is set to 30% when the moving speed of the map is 5 mm per second. Transparency is set to decrease when the map moves faster, and increases when the map moves slower.If the map moves quickly, the background of the guidance signboard will be displayed in a darker color. Flickering is prevented, and the figure and characters of the object can be visually recognized accurately. Note that the animation display of the arrow graphic can also be set in conjunction with the moving speed and transparency of the map (for example, an animation display is executed when a predetermined moving speed (threshold) is exceeded).

  The route search unit 33 searches for an optimum route to the destination input and set by a known method based on the map data and various conditions. The position detection unit 40 is composed of a self-contained navigation device having a GPS receiver, a mileage sensor, a gyro, and the like, and detects the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the traveling direction by a known detection method. The vehicle speed detection part 50 is comprised with a vehicle speed sensor, and detects the advancing speed of a vehicle. The input unit 60 performs various settings such as the setting of the vehicle position and the destination at the time of route guidance, and the selection operation of the display state such as enlargement / reduction of the map.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an object display operation procedure during route guidance by the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the control unit 30 acquires vehicle current position information from the position detection unit 40 (step S101). Next, the control unit 30 acquires a map of an appropriate scale including the current position of the vehicle via the map data reading unit 11, outputs the map to the display unit 20, and displays the map on the map display unit 21 (step S102). Furthermore, the control unit 30 determines whether or not to display a guidance guide signboard that is an object from the current position of the vehicle (step S103). If there is a guidance guide sign to be displayed, display processing is performed (step S104). On the other hand, if there is no guidance guide sign to be displayed, the process proceeds to the next procedure.

  Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not to display a speed limit sign that is an object from the current position of the vehicle (step S105). If there is a speed limit sign to be displayed, display processing is performed (step S106). On the other hand, when there is no speed limit sign to be displayed, a series of processing is terminated, and the procedure from acquisition of the current position is repeated again.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for displaying the guidance signboard. First, the control unit 30 acquires the current speed of the vehicle acquired from the vehicle speed detection unit 50 and the scale value of the map set and input in advance via the input unit 60 (step S201), and calculates the map moving speed. The unit 31 calculates the moving speed of the map to be displayed by the above method (step S202). Further, the display attribute setting unit 32 calculates the transparency to be set for the object to be displayed on the map based on the moving speed of the map (step S203), and sets the transparency (step S204).

  Next, the control unit 30 calculates and sets the remaining distance to the destination from the current position information acquired from the position detection unit 40 (step S205). Further, based on the guidance route searched by the route search unit 33, an animation display attribute is set for the arrow display in the direction in which the vehicle should travel on the guidance guide signboard (step S206). Specifically, when the direction in which the vehicle is to travel is a straight direction, an attribute for displaying an animation for sliding the fill pattern from the bottom to the top in the vertical direction is set. Also, if the direction in which the vehicle should travel is a right turn direction, set an attribute to display an animation that slides the fill pattern from left to right in the horizontal direction. Set the attribute to display an animation that slides from right to left in the horizontal direction.

  Next, the control unit 30 causes the object display unit 22 to display a guidance guide signboard with the display attribute set by the display attribute setting unit 32 (step S207). FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a display example in a case where the guidance guide signboard is displayed on the map. FIG. 6A shows a display example when the transparency of the guidance signboard is set low in step S204. As shown in the figure, the arrow shape for the right turn lane is animated so that it flows from left to right, so it is guided to turn right at the next intersection, and the distance from the current position to the destination Can easily be seen as 20 km. Similarly, FIG. 6B shows a display example when the transparency of the guidance signboard is set high (semi-transparent) in step S204. Also in this display example, it is guided to turn right at the next intersection, and it can be easily recognized that the distance from the current position to the destination is 20 km. Moreover, the part of the map currently displayed on the lower surface of a guidance guidance signboard can also be visually recognized appropriately.

  Next, the speed limit sign display process will be described. Here, an example in which the transparency of the background portion of the sign is changed depending on whether or not the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is running will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the speed limit sign display processing procedure. First, the control unit 30 acquires the current moving speed of the vehicle from the vehicle speed detection unit 50 (step S301). Further, based on the current position of the vehicle acquired by the position detection unit 40, speed limit information on the current position associated with the map data is acquired (step S302).

  Next, the control unit 30 compares the current speed of the vehicle with the speed limit of the current location. If the speed of the vehicle exceeds the speed limit of the current location, the display attribute setting unit 32 displays the transparency of the speed limit sign. Set to opaque. On the other hand, if the vehicle speed does not exceed the current speed limit, the display attribute setting unit 32 sets the transparency of the speed limit sign to translucent (step S303). Then, the control unit 30 instructs the object display unit 22 to display the speed limit sign with the set transparency (step S304).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a display example when the speed limit sign is displayed on the map. FIG. 8A shows a display example when the transparency of the speed limit sign is set to opaque in step S303. Since the background is opaque and the sign stands out, the operator of the navigation device can clearly see the sign. FIG. 8B shows a display example when the transparency of the speed limit sign is set to semi-transparent in step S303. In this case, in addition to the sign, the portion of the map displayed on the lower surface can be appropriately visually confirmed.

  As described above, according to the navigation device of the present invention, the map display on the lower surface of the guide signboard can be displayed by setting the transparency of the guide signboard to be opaque under the condition that the map moves quickly on the screen. Flickering is suppressed, and the operator of the navigation device can surely see the guidance guide sign on the map. On the other hand, under conditions where the movement of the map is slow, the operator can appropriately visually recognize both the guidance guide signboard and the map by setting the transparency of the guidance guide signboard to be translucent.

  Further, by displaying the arrow graphic indicating the guidance direction as an animation, the operator can intuitively grasp the direction in which the vehicle should travel. Furthermore, by displaying the remaining distance from the current position of the vehicle to the destination on the guidance guidance signboard, the distance to the destination can be grasped by the guidance guidance signboard with high gaze frequency. Furthermore, when the speed of the vehicle exceeds the speed limit, the transparency of the speed limit sign is set to opaque so that the operator can surely see the speed limit sign and make the driver aware of the speed limit. It becomes possible. In the above embodiment, the animation of sliding the fill pattern in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction is set as the graphic animation indicating the guide direction of the guidance signboard. However, the animation of flashing the graphic portion may be used. good.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, the transparency of an object displayed on the map can be set flexibly according to the moving speed of the map and the vehicle speed, so that the moving speed of the map is high and the map flickers. If the vehicle speed is high, the transparency of the object can be controlled so that the visibility of the display content of the object can be improved, and the object is superimposed on the map. It is useful as a navigation device or the like having a function of displaying the image.

The figure which shows the internal structure of the navigation apparatus in embodiment of this invention. Diagram showing the relationship between vehicle speed and map speed A graph showing a setting example of the relationship between the moving speed of the map and the transparency of the object background The flowchart which shows the object display operation | movement procedure in the route guidance of the navigation apparatus in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the display processing procedure of the guidance guidance signboard The figure which shows the example of a display in the case of displaying a guidance guidance signboard on a map in piles Flow chart showing speed limit sign display processing procedure The figure which shows the example of a display in the case of displaying a speed limit sign overlaid on a map typically The figure which shows the example of a screen display of the conventional navigation apparatus typically

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Data acquisition part 11 Map data reading part 12 Object data reading part 20 Display part 21 Map display part 22 Object display part 30 Control part 31 Map moving speed calculation part 32 Display attribute setting part 33 Route search part 40 Position detection part 50 Vehicle speed detection Unit 60 Input unit 100 Navigation device

Claims (4)

  A navigation device having a function of displaying an object for visually communicating a predetermined event to a user in a transparent or translucent form on a map in a superimposed manner, and calculating a moving speed of the map A navigation apparatus comprising: calculation means; and transparency setting means for setting the transparency of the object according to the calculated moving speed.   A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a traveling speed of a vehicle, the navigation device having a function of displaying an object for visually transmitting a predetermined event to a user in a transparent or translucent form on a map. And a transparency setting means for setting the transparency of the object according to the detected vehicle speed.   When the object is a guide guidance signboard composed of a signboard and a figure and / or a character string that is written on the signboard and visually expresses the guide guidance, an animation effect is given to the figure indicating the guide direction. The navigation device according to claim 1, comprising means.   When the object is a guide guidance signboard composed of a signboard and a figure and / or a character string that is written on the signboard and visually expresses the guide guidance, the object from the current position of the vehicle to the guide guide signboard The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for giving a remaining distance to the ground.

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