JP5353836B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To match a map with a current position such that the current position can be displayed on a road even when the map has no vector data. <P>SOLUTION: A display controller obtains color data (pallet information) at a position displaced by a movement quantity from a current position (S202), and compares the color data (pallet information) with a reference value (pallet information) representing a road area (S203). If both pallet information match each other (S204: YES), the current position is updated to a movement destination (S205), as a processing when the movement destination is determined to be on a road, and then the processing is terminated. If movement destination is determined to be deviated from the road, the current position is corrected such that the current position is displayed on the road (S206). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that matches a current position on a road of a map and displays it on a display.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, map roads and intersections are composed of vector data consisting of links and nodes, and the current position calculated by GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like is matched with the map roads. Display on the display.

  Further, for example, as a technique described in Patent Document 1, there has been a technique in which an old map and a current map are arranged or overlapped and displayed on a display so as to grasp a difference between both maps regarding roads and urban areas.

JP 2002-156899 A

  However, a tourist map, an old map, or the like referred to by a tourist does not have vector data constituting roads and intersections, and is usually provided as bitmap data via the Internet. Therefore, in these maps, the current position cannot be matched with vector data, and even if the current position calculated by GPS or the like is matched with the map, the current position does not necessarily come on the road.

  That is, for example, a tourist map often expresses tourist spots such as famous buildings and historic sites, and roads are deformed, so it is represented in the same way as a road map having vector data. There are many cases where the current position is not displayed on the road even if the position is displayed.

In this regard, even if the old map and the current map are arranged or overlapped using the technique described in Patent Document 1, the scales do not always match and the inconvenience is not solved.
If the current position is not displayed on the road of the map displayed on the display in this way, the user may feel uncomfortable with the display on the display, and may have distrust in the performance of the navigation device.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and matches a current position to a map so that the current position is displayed on a road even if the map does not have vector data. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device according to claim 1 comprises current position data acquisition means, map image data acquisition means, matching means, and display means. Then, the current position data acquisition means acquires current position data representing the current position, and the map image data acquisition means obtains map image data representing a map from which a road and a part other than the road can be distinguished from a storage medium. The matching means matches the current position represented by the current position data obtained by the current position data obtaining means with the map represented by the map image data obtained by the map image data obtaining means, and the display means comprises the matching means. The matched map and the current position are displayed on the display. Then, the matching means corrects the current position to be displayed on the road of the map when it is not determined that the current position is on the road by the color of the map corresponding to the current position.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when it is not determined that the current position is on the road by the color of the map corresponding to the current position, the current position is displayed on the road of the map. In order to correct, even if it is a map which does not have vector data, the present position will be displayed on a road, and the discomfort given to a user can be removed.

By the way, in a tourist map or an old map that does not have vector data, since the usage of colors differs depending on the map, the color corresponding to the road area is not necessarily the same.
Therefore, in the invention according to claim 2, the matching unit acquires a color reference value representing a road area from the map represented by the map image data acquired by the map image data acquisition unit, and the acquired reference value and the current position It is determined that the current position is on the road of the map by comparing the color of the map corresponding to.

  According to the navigation apparatus of claim 2, the reference value of the color representing the road area is acquired from the map represented by the acquired map image data, and the acquired reference value is compared with the color of the map corresponding to the current position. Then, since it is determined that the current position is on the road of the map, the current position can be accurately matched on the road even if the map having no vector data has a different color from that of other maps.

Also, the uncomfortable feeling that the current position is not displayed on the road is particularly noticeable in the navigation device mounted on the vehicle.
In view of this, the invention according to claim 3 makes it possible to prevent the current position from being displayed on the road in the traveling vehicle by using the navigation device according to claim 1 or claim 2 for in-vehicle use. Never feel uncomfortable or feel distrustful about the performance of the navigation device.

In addition, the user may not be able to know the current position accurately only by displaying a deformed tourist map or an old map that is different from the current scale alone.
Accordingly, the invention described in claim 4 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display is configured to be able to display a plurality of navigation screens, and the display means is a plurality of screens. The map and the current position matched by the matching means are displayed on at least one of them on the display, and the current position is displayed on a map other than the map represented by the map image data acquired by the map image data acquisition means on at least one other. Match and display.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, for example, it is possible to display a tourist map and a normal road map side by side on a plurality of screens, and the user refers to an accurate current position on the normal road map, It is convenient because you can check the distance and directions to the tourist spot on the tourist map.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows a pallet registration process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the screen which registers pallet information. It is a flowchart which shows a map matching process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the screen display of a navigation system.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is adopted in a navigation system will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1 Configuration]
FIG. 1A is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a navigation system mounted on a vehicle.

The navigation system includes a position detection unit 1, a display unit 2, a storage medium 3, a map data storage unit 4, an audio output unit 5, a memory unit 6, and a display control unit 7.
The position detection unit 1 is a sensor group for specifying the current position of a vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as “own vehicle”) equipped with this navigation system.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the position detection unit 1 includes a gyroscope unit 11 that detects the magnitude of rotational motion applied to the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor unit 12 that detects the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the host vehicle, A GPS receiver 13 that receives radio waves (GPS signals) from GPS satellites, an acceleration sensor unit 14 that detects the travel distance of the host vehicle from triaxial acceleration, etc., and a traveling direction of the host vehicle from the geomagnetism A geomagnetic sensor (not shown) or the like is provided so that the current position of the host vehicle can be calculated by so-called autonomous navigation even in a situation where GPS signals cannot be received.

The display unit 2 is a liquid crystal display device that can be operated by a known touch panel for visually realizing navigation by showing a current position on a map.
The storage medium 3 is a storage medium capable of storing electronic data, such as various storage magnetic cards such as SD cards, disks, and memory sticks. Here, in particular, a tourist map or an old map in a pamphlet downloaded via the Internet or the like. Bit map data is stored.

  The map data storage unit 4 is a hard disk for storing map image data corresponding to a road map in which roads and intersections are composed of links and nodes. The voice output unit 5 is a speaker for outputting navigation by voice, and a memory unit 6. Is a storage device for storing data such as the results of various processes, and in this case, in particular, a predetermined value is stored in advance for a reference value of color data (pallet information) for determining the color of the road area. This reference value is an RGB value on the premise that the color of the road is close to white. If a reference value corresponding to map image data is not newly registered by a palette registration process (FIG. 2) described later, The map matching process (FIG. 4) is executed based on this default value.

The display control unit 7 is an electronic control unit that executes various processes with the units 1 to 6.
This display control unit 7 includes a map data acquisition unit 21, a map matching unit 22, a route calculation unit 23, a route guide unit 24, a drawing unit 25, and a screen control management unit 26 in terms of functions.

That is, when performing route guidance by the navigation system, the map data acquisition unit 21 acquires the map image data stored in the map data storage unit 4, and the map matching unit 22 uses the current position calculated by the position detection unit 1 as a map. After matching, the route calculation unit 23 calculates the route to the destination. The route calculated in this way is guided and controlled by the route guidance unit 24 by display display and voice. The route at that time is drawn together with the map by the drawing unit 25 and displayed on the display unit 2. The screen display by the display unit 2 is controlled and managed by the screen control management unit 26.
[2 processing]
Hereinafter, the process which the display control part 7 of a navigation system performs is demonstrated using a flowchart.

  In this navigation system, in order to display a cursor indicating the current position on the road even if the map does not include vector data such as a tourist map, as a premise process, first from the map image data, the road region is displayed. Pallet registration processing for registering color data (pallet information) representing the corresponding color is performed, and map matching processing is performed for displaying the current position on the road of the map when the host vehicle is actually running and performing navigation.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the palette registration process. In this palette registration process, when map image data as bitmap data such as a tourist map or an old map is newly downloaded from the Internet and stored in the storage medium 3, navigation is performed based on the map image data. It is executed as a prerequisite process. Specifically, a process of registering color data (pallet information) representing a road area of the acquired map image data is shown. The color data (pallet information) indicating the road portion registered by this process is used when the current position is matched with the map in the map matching process (described later in FIG. 4).

  This palette registration process is executed at the timing when map image data (bitmap data) is acquired from the storage medium 3 when a user performs a predetermined operation on the assumption that navigation is performed on a new tourist map or an old map. Is done.

First, in S101, whether or not to register color data (pallet information) corresponding to a road area for a newly acquired tourist map or old map is determined by a user input.
In other words, if you download a tourist map, etc., published in a brochure, etc. via the Internet, the color of the road area may be close to white or close to yellow depending on the tourist map. Since it may be impossible to accurately determine the road area based on the default value alone, color data (pallet information) corresponding to the road area is registered for each map.

  When pallet information corresponding to a road is registered from the acquired tourist map or old map by user input (S101: YES), the process proceeds to S102, and when not registered (S101: NO), the process proceeds to S103.

  In S102, the user is informed that the mode for registering pallet information for the newly acquired map has been entered, and a screen display for preparing to register the pallet information of the road area from the map is displayed, and the process proceeds to S104.

In S104, the user's scroll and scale operations are accepted so that the user can register the color data of the road area.
That is, in order to register the color data (pallet information) corresponding to the road area for the acquired map image data, the map is displayed at an appropriate location and size so that the road portion can be selected. After S104, the process proceeds to S105.

In S105, it is determined whether or not the user has requested registration of color data (pallet information) corresponding to the road area.
That is, when the map acquired by the user is displayed at an appropriate location and size and the road area can be selected, the user registers color data (pallet information) based on the point indicated by the cursor. Request. FIG. 3 shows a screen displayed on the display unit when performing the process of S105.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the screen is divided into a screen left part 31 and a screen right part 32, the acquired tourist map is displayed on the screen left part 31, and instructions for the user are displayed on the screen right part 32. . In the left part 31 of the screen, a road 33, a building 34, and a pond 35 are displayed on a sightseeing map, and the current position of the host vehicle is indicated by a current position cursor 36. A registration cursor 37 displays a position where the user requests registration as pallet information of the road area. The registration cursor 37 can be moved freely up, down, left, and right by the touch panel, up / down / left / right buttons, and the like.

  On the right side 32 of the screen, a character display “Do you want to register a specified palette?”, A “Yes” button 39, and a “No” button 40 are displayed as an instruction display 38 for the user. In the instruction display 38 for the user, for example, a question “Do you want to register the specified pallet?” Is displayed. If the user wants to affirm this, that is, a “Yes” button 39 for registration, and “No” otherwise. ”Button 40 is touch-operated.

  By this operation, color data (pallet information) included in the map image data corresponding to the position indicated by the registration cursor 37 is registered as a reference value indicating the road area on this map.

  If it is determined in S105 that there is a pallet registration request by the user (S105: YES), the process proceeds to S106, and if it is not determined that there is a pallet registration request (S105: NO), the process returns to S102.

  In S106, the palette information of the map image data corresponding to the position overlapping with the registration cursor 37 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S107. Specifically, the RGB value of the map image data stored in the VRAM of the display unit 2 is acquired.

In S107, the bit data of the palette information (RGB value) acquired in S106 is rounded, and the process proceeds to S108.
That is, the acquired palette information (RGB value) serves as a reference value as color data indicating a road region, and this palette information determines whether or not the current position is on a road in map matching processing described later. Will be used when. At that time, if exact matching with the acquired palette information (RGB values) is requested, it may not be possible to recognize the road part accurately, so it is necessary to set a reference value within a certain range. . As a method for this, here, it is possible to determine that the road area is based on matching only with a predetermined number of digits, instead of requesting matching with all digits of the binary data of the RGB values to be compared. To do. This makes it possible to give a width to the palette information.

As long as the setting includes similar color data within a predetermined range, any method may be used, such as a range of RGB values with threshold values.
In S108, the RGB value rounded in S107 is registered as palette information for map matching, and this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, in S103, since the palette information corresponding to the road is not updated in the acquired tourist map or old map, the palette information as the default value stored in advance in the memory unit 6 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S108. Even in this case, a road color close to white is registered as a default value, and in many cases, a road can be identified. This default value is already rounded as described later.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing map matching processing executed by the display control unit 7. This process is executed at the timing when the vehicle speed sensor unit 12 of the position detection unit 1 detects that the host vehicle has moved while displaying the sightseeing map and the current position on the display unit 2. That is, there are cases where the vehicle has moved from a state where it has been stopped, or has continued to move. As a technique for matching the current position to the map as an initial value, a known technique may be used. For example, the user may set the current position.

First, in S201, the vehicle speed, the traveling direction, the movement time from the previous current position, and the like are read from the position detection unit 1, the movement amount of the current position of the host vehicle is calculated by the direction and size, and the process proceeds to S202.
In S202, color data (pallet information) corresponding to the position when the previous current position (position not reflecting the movement of the host vehicle) is moved by the movement amount calculated in S201 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S203.

In S203, the pallet information acquired in S202 is compared with the pallet information serving as the reference value of the road area for map matching, and the process proceeds to S204.
In S204, whether the palette information corresponding to the current position is included in the width of the palette information as a reference value by comparing the palette information in S203, that is, whether the RGB values of the number of rounded digits match. Determine whether. If both pallet information matches (S204: YES), it will progress to S205, and if it does not correspond, it will progress to S206.

S205 is a process performed when it is determined that the current position of the moved destination is on the road. The current position is updated to the moved destination, and the map matching process is terminated.
On the other hand, S206 is a case where it is not determined that the destination is on the road. In this case, the current position is corrected by a known method, and the process proceeds to S205. As this known technique, for example, a technique described in JP-A-2002-156899 can be used. Any other method may be used as the processing of S206 as long as the current position is displayed on the road, for example, the road portion closest to the destination is used as an approximate value. Good.

  FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed on the display unit 2 when this map matching process is executed. The screen is divided into a screen left part 51 and a screen right part 52, and a tourist map that is visually expressed in an easy-to-understand manner is displayed on the screen left part 51. A shape close to the actual road shape is displayed on the screen right part 52. A normal road map expressed in is displayed.

  On the left side 51 of the screen, a road 53, a building 54, and a pond 55 are displayed on a sightseeing map. Although the tourist map displayed on the left part 51 of the screen does not have vector data, the current position of the host vehicle is displayed on the road 53 by the current position cursor 56 by the map matching process described above.

On the other hand, the right part 52 of the screen is a road map that is close to the actual road shape, and displays a road 57, a pond 58, and the like. In the road map displayed on the right side 52 of the screen, roads and intersections are constituted by vector data of nodes and links, and a current position cursor 59 is displayed on the road 57 by a known map matching process.
[3 effects]
As described above, according to the navigation system of the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the current position is on the road based on the color data (pallet information) of the map image data, and if it is determined that the current position is not on the road (S204: NO) ), The current position to be displayed is moved and corrected so as to be on the road (S206). Therefore, even when the current position is displayed on the map having no vector data, the user can feel the current position on the map without any discomfort. The position can be confirmed.

  Also, based on the map displayed on the display, for example, when the user selects a road portion, the reference value of the color data representing the road portion is determined, so the types of maps such as sightseeing maps and old maps differ. Even if the color data of the road area is different, matching can be performed on the road.

Further, after the screen of the display unit 2 is divided into two parts, the user displays the current position on the tourist map and the normal road map on the screen left part 51 and the screen right part 52, respectively, and the user accurately displays the normal road map. It is convenient because you can check the distance and directions to the tourist spot on the tourist map while referring to the current location.
[4 Contrast with Claims]
As for the navigation system, the processing of S201 executed by the display control unit 7 is the current position data acquisition means, S203, S204 and S205 executed by the display control unit 7 are the matching means, and S205 executed by the display control unit 7 is the display means. Respectively.
[5 Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention can take a various form.

Moreover, although the navigation apparatus mounted in a vehicle was shown in embodiment, this can also be set as the navigation system mounted in a mobile telephone or a portable terminal on the assumption of a pedestrian.
Further, the navigation system may be a process that uses a network. In this case, for example, the user has all or part of the process of determining that the vehicle is on the road or matching the current position to the map. Even the processing executed by the control unit of another external computer existing on the network instead of the control unit of the navigation device is included in the configuration of the present invention as a whole. This is the same even when, for example, map image data having no vector data is stored in a storage device on the network, and a process of reading by communication at any time during navigation is executed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position detection part, 2 ... Display part, 3 ... Storage medium, 4 ... Map data storage part, 5 ... Audio | voice output part, 6 ... Memory part, 7 ... Display control part, 11 ... Gyroscope part, 12 ... Vehicle speed sensor , 13 ... GPS receiving part, 14 ... acceleration sensor part, 21 ... map data acquisition part, 22 ... map matching part, 23 ... route calculation part, 24 ... route guide part, 25 ... drawing part, 26 ... screen control management part 31 ... Left screen portion, 32 ... Right screen portion, 33 ... Road, 36 ... Current position cursor, 37 ... Registration cursor, 38 ... Indication display, 39 ... Button, 40 ... Button, 51 ... Left screen portion, 52 ... Screen Right part, 53 ... road, 56 ... current position cursor, 57 ... road, 59 ... current position cursor

Claims (4)

Current position data acquisition means for acquiring current position data representing the current position;
Map image data acquisition means for acquiring, from a storage medium, map image data representing a map capable of distinguishing a road and a portion other than the road by color;
Matching means for matching the current position represented by the current position data obtained by the current position data obtaining means to the map represented by the map image data obtained by the map image data obtaining means;
A navigation device comprising a map matched by the matching means and a display means for displaying a current position on a display;
The matching means corrects the current position to be displayed on the road of the map when it is not determined that the current position is on the road by the color of the map corresponding to the current position. A navigation device characterized by the above. The matching unit acquires a reference value of a color representing a road area from the map represented by the map image data acquired by the map image data acquisition unit, and the map color corresponding to the acquired reference value and the current position The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current position is determined on the road of the map by comparing the current position and the current position. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is a vehicle-mounted device. The display is configured to be able to display a plurality of navigation screens, and the display means displays on the display the map and the current position matched by the matching means on at least one of the plurality of screens. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the current position is displayed by matching a map other than the map represented by the map image data.

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