JP2000088958A - Radar device for traveling body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radar device for a traveling body with a radar screen display for easily recognizing distance to a target point even if the target point is not located within the screen. SOLUTION: A segment L with a direction and a course toward a next target point P outside a screen G from a current position S of an own ship in a radar screen G is displayed with the current position S as a starting point. Display Q ((1/5) in figure) for indicating the percentage of the straight-line distance up to the next target point P from the current position S of the length (distance) of the segment L is displayed near the segment L, thus easily recognizing that the next target point P is located at a distance that is five times longer than the length of the segment L while being located in the extension of the segment L.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system in which a moving object such as a ship on which a radar device is mounted utilizes positioning data of a navigation assistance device such as GPS / DGPS (global positioning system / differential GPS). The present invention relates to a radar apparatus for a moving body having a radar pointing device for displaying an azimuth and a distance to a next target point to which the moving body such as the ship is heading.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a radar device is installed on a moving body such as a ship, and as is well known, a transmission radio wave from a rotating antenna is reflected by a target, as is well known.
The reflected radio wave is received, and a concentric image centered on its own position, that is, a so-called PPI image is displayed on the display.

According to this radar device, it is possible to achieve safe navigation by maneuvering while observing the situation of targets around the navigation route while navigating. It is possible to monitor whether the berthing position of the own ship has departed due to a tidal current or the like based on the observation of the ship or the reflected wave of the fixed reflecting object.

[0004] On the other hand, using a navigation assisting device such as a GPS / DGPS positioning device, the position of the own ship during navigation of a moving body such as a ship is accurately measured, and based on the positioning data of these navigational assisting devices, A radar system for mobile objects that displays the azimuth and distance to the next target point where the ship is heading on the observation image by the radar device so that the observer can easily see the navigation route to the target point of the ship. It is used in ships.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a general marine radar device. This marine radar system is basically
A radar pointing device 4 having a display unit 5, a radar antenna 1 connected thereto, and a GPS / DGPS as a navigation assistance device
And a positioning device 2.

The marine radar apparatus shown in FIG. 7 transmits and receives radar radio waves through a radar antenna 1, obtains a distance signal, an azimuth signal, and an intensity signal from a reflected wave from a target, and scans the distance signal and the azimuth signal. The data is converted into two-dimensional rectangular coordinates (X, Y) by a converter or the like, and the height of the target is converted into luminance information according to the intensity signal. It is displayed.

In this case, the GPS / DGPS positioning device 2
Receives and demodulates signals from GPS satellites and DGPS stations, calculates the current position of the ship, and sends the position data to the radar indicator 4.

The radar indicating device 4 displays the current position (own ship position) of the own ship on the display unit 5, and determines the current position of the own ship and the next target point of the own ship which is separately input and set. The azimuth and distance from the ship position to the target point are calculated, and these are displayed by characters and images.

The radar indicator 4 is further supplied with a gyro signal indicating azimuth data in which the ship is traveling measured by a gyro measuring device (not shown).
Log speed data which is log data of data such as the navigation speed of the own ship obtained from a speedometer not shown is supplied.

The radar indicating device 4 calculates a scheduled traveling time from the current position to the target point based on the data,
It is displayed on the display 5 by characters or the like.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are views showing a display according to the prior art of the screen G of the display unit 5 thus displayed. FIG. 8 shows a display example in a case where the next target point P present in the direction in which the own ship at the current position S at the center of the screen is traveling exists in the display area of the screen G, and FIG. The next target point P existing in the direction in which the ship is traveling is displayed on the screen G
5 shows a display example in the case where it exists outside the display area of FIG.

In this case, on the display screen G, the land shadows a1 and a2 captured by the radar antenna 1 are displayed as images, and the current position S of the own ship measured by the GPS / DGPS positioning device 2 and the position are displayed. An image of the input target point P and a straight line L with an arrow connecting the current position S and the target point P are displayed.

In the example of FIG. 9, since the target point P exists outside the area of the screen G, a straight line L connecting the current position S and the target point P is
The image is displayed up to the edge of the display area of the screen G.

[0014]

However, according to the screen display of the conventional marine radar apparatus, the next target point P to which the ship is heading is present in the display area of the screen G as shown in FIG. In this case, the current position S and the target point P are merely connected by a straight line L and displayed.
There is a problem that it is difficult to visually recognize the required time (time required for arrival) and the estimated time of arrival.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the next target point P is outside the display area of the screen G, a line segment (straight line) L connecting the current position S and the target point P is displayed on the screen G. Since only the edge of the display area is displayed, there is an inconvenience that only the azimuth up to the next target point P can be visually recognized.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and displays an azimuth, a distance, and the like from a current position to a next target point on a screen so that the radar observer can visually recognize the azimuth and distance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile radar device capable of performing the above-mentioned operations.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a radar apparatus for a mobile object, which makes it possible to easily and visually determine the required time from the current position to the next target point.

[0018]

In this section, for ease of understanding, description will be made with reference numerals in the drawings. Therefore, the contents described in this section are not to be construed as being limited to those given the reference numerals.

The present invention relates to a mobile radar apparatus for displaying a radar image in a screen G on a display unit 5 in which a current position of the mobile body itself is calculated by receiving data from the navigation assistance device 2. The position calculating means 24, the next target point input means 44 for inputting the next target point of the moving object, the set value input means 44 for inputting an arbitrary set value n, and the current value based on the arbitrary set value n Division distance calculating means 26 for calculating a division distance obtained by equally dividing the distance between the position and the target point by n
And the n in the screen G together with the radar image.
(N is a natural number of 2 or more) display control means (26, 28, 4) for displaying a line segment representing the divided distance as a line segment starting from the current position and heading toward a target point. I do.

According to the present invention, an equal line from the current position as the starting point to the target point is displayed on the screen G. For example, the length of the line segment is multiplied by the number of divisions n. The distance to the target point can be understood.

In this case, a display relating to the number of divisions n, for example, a fraction display of 1 / n is displayed in the vicinity of the equal line, so that the target point is located at a position that is twice the number of divisions of the line. Is more clearly understood, and the fractional display of (linear distance from the current position to the target point / number of divisions n) is displayed, so that not only the target point is within the screen but also However, the distance to the target point can be immediately known, and the fractional display of (time from the current position to the target point / the number of divisions) can be immediately displayed, so that the time to advance the length (distance) of the display line segment can be immediately known. It is possible to easily know the expected arrival time and the like to the next target point.

[0022]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals are given to those corresponding to those shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a marine radar apparatus 10 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

The marine radar apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 has the same external configuration as the marine radar apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, all components other than the laser antenna 1, the gyro device 69, the GPS / DGPS positioning device 2, and the ship speedometer 85 are the radar pointing device 4.
However, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, it is illustrated separately from the radar pointing device 4.

The marine radar apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes, as an electric circuit block, a radar image data acquisition section 60 including the radar antenna 1, a display section 5 composed of a CRT and the like, and an operation section 44 composed of a keyboard and the like. Radar indicator 4
, GPS / DGPS positioning device 2 and gyro device 69
And a speedometer 85.

The radar video data acquisition unit 60 includes an A / D converter 12 for converting a video signal obtained by the radar antenna 1 into a digital video signal, and an A / D converter 1.
A time conversion processing unit 14 that performs time conversion to store the radar video signal converted by the second in the video memory 20;
An azimuth conversion unit (azimuth conversion processing unit) 16 for performing azimuth conversion for storing the radar video signal converted by the time conversion processing unit 14 in the video memory 20 based on the gyro signal 3 indicating the course direction of the hull; The coordinates for converting the radar image signal converted by the conversion unit 16 into a two-dimensional image on the display unit 5 based on the rotation direction data (θ) indicating the direction of the antenna 1 and the distance data (r) to the target. The image processing apparatus includes a conversion unit 18 and a video memory 20 for storing a radar video signal (also referred to as radar video data) converted into XY coordinates by the coordinate conversion unit 18.

The graphic memory 22 includes an azimuth selection signal 78 for specifying a display direction on the screen G set from the operation unit 44 of the radar pointing device 40, a variable distance ring (VRM) /
It holds electronic cursor line (EBL) data 80 and display data on the display unit 5 such as screen scale, VRM, EBL, and characters.

The marine radar apparatus 10 further has an arithmetic processing unit 24, which is a GPS / DG
Based on the positioning data 76 from the PS positioning device 2, the log speed data 6 from the speedometer 85, and the next target point data 84 set by the operation unit 44, a predetermined calculation process is performed to determine the current position of the ship. , Next target point to which the ship is heading (also called next target position or next destination)
Calculate the direction, distance, navigation speed, etc.

The division distance calculation unit 26 to which the output of the calculation processing unit 24 is supplied is based on an arbitrary set value (also referred to as a division number) n (n is a natural number of 2 or more) set by the operation unit 44. The distance from the current position of own ship to the next target point is n
Calculate the equally divided distance.

The graphic memory 28 stores data calculated by the division distance calculation unit 26, that is, a line segment representing a division distance obtained by equally dividing the distance between the current position of the own ship and the destination point by n, a current position, Data for displaying a target point and the like is held.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described in more detail.

The radar antenna 1 is, for example,
No. 0732, which discloses a known radar transmitter / receiver, a motor for rotating an antenna, an encoder connected to a rotating shaft of the motor, a transmission trigger generator, and a transmission signal of a predetermined frequency from the radar antenna 1. , A receiver that receives a reflected wave from a target and outputs a radar video signal, a distance measurement timer connected to a transmission trigger generator, and the like.

Radar antenna 1 rotationally driven in a horizontal plane
The transmission pulse signal emitted from the target is reflected by a target (not shown), the reflected wave from the target is received by the receiver, and the amplitude value of the received signal output from the receiver, that is, the reception intensity of the reflected wave Is input to the A / D converter 12 as a radar video signal, and is converted into a digital video signal using the distance r and the azimuth θ as addresses.

The radar video signal digitally converted by the A / D converter 12 is subjected to time conversion processing by the time conversion processing unit 14 in order to draw the image on the video memory 20.

Next, the time-converted radar video signal is used to determine the direction to be drawn in the video memory 20.
The azimuth conversion unit 16 converts the direction based on the gyro signal 3 indicating the course direction of the hull from the gyro device 69.

Next, in the coordinate conversion unit 18, the polar coordinates (r, θ) are converted into two-dimensional coordinates (X, Y) and stored in the video memory 20.

The radar image thus obtained is read from the image memory 20 and is stored in the graphic memory 2.
The output data 2 and 28 are superimposed (combined) in the radar indicator 4 and displayed on the screen G of the display unit 5.

Here, the display direction of the radar image on the display unit 5 is set by the operation unit 44 of the radar pointing device 4. That is, the radar image is displayed at the top of screen G at the heading,
Whether to display in the north direction or the traveling direction of the own ship is set, and the direction selection signal 7 which is the setting information is set.
8, the display direction of the radar image is controlled. The graphic memory 22 draws the position of the electronic cursor EBL at a predetermined position according to the azimuth selection signal 78, and the output of the graphic memory 22 is superimposed on the radar image and displayed on the display unit 5 on the screen.

On the other hand, in the arithmetic processing unit 24, the GPS
/ Positioning data 76 from DGPS positioning device 2, ship speedometer 8
The current position (latitude / longitude information) is calculated based on the log speed data 6 from 5 and the next target point data 84 input from the operation unit 44, and the current position and the next target point to which the ship is heading ( For example, the azimuth, distance (linear distance, hereinafter referred to as D), speed, and the like with respect to the next target point are input using the operation unit 44, for example, latitude / longitude information is input. .

In the division distance calculation section 26, the distance D from the current position of the own ship to the target point is equally divided based on an arbitrary set value n (n = 2, 3,...) Set by the operation section 44. Is done. That is, the distance D between the current position and the destination point is 1 /
A line segment representing the divided distance (D / n) equally divided into n is calculated,
The 1 / n equally divided line segment data, the current position data, and the target point data are stored in the graphic memory 28 as display data, and are displayed on the screen G of the display unit 5 so as to overlap the radar image. .

Next, the distance D of the ship to the next target point is represented by n.
The process of displaying the line segment representing the equally divided distance on the display unit 5 with the current position as the starting point will be described in detail with reference to the processing flow shown in FIG.

First, the positioning data 76 from the GPS / DGPS positioning device 2 is supplied to the arithmetic processing unit 24 (step S21).

At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 24 simultaneously
Since the log speed data 6 is supplied from the ship speedometer 85 and the next target point data 84 is further supplied from the operation unit 44, the arithmetic processing unit 24 calculates the own ship position from the positioning data 76 (the own ship position at the current time). Latitude / longitude)
The latitude and longitude of the next target point are extracted from the next target point data 84, and the current boat speed is extracted from the log speed data 6 (step S22).

Further, the arithmetic processing unit 24 calculates the latitude and longitude of the own ship position and the next target point (geographical destination).
The azimuth and the distance D from the own ship position to the target point are calculated (step S23).

Next, an arithmetic unit (not shown) in the radar indicating device 4 performs an operation for drawing these data on the graphic memory 28 at a geographically reduced scale.

In this calculation, the azimuth selection signal 78 indicating the display direction on the display unit 5 and the variable distance ring (VRM) / electronic cursor line (EBL) data 8 on the currently displayed screen are displayed.
0, the display direction and the scale are determined based on the use range 82 of the display unit 42. Thereby, the azimuth and the distance from the own ship position to the target point on the graphic memories 22 and 28 are calculated (step S24).

Next, based on an arbitrary set value (division value) n set by the operation unit 44, the division distance calculation unit 26
And the distance D from the current position of the ship to the target point is 1 / n
The divided distance (D / n) calculated (equally divided into n) is calculated and displayed on the display unit 5 so that the divided distance data is allocated as a line segment on the graphic memory 28 (step S).
25).

The line segment representing the divided distance data is written to the graphic memory 28 (step S26).

Here, the radar image of the image memory 20 constituting a plurality of memory planes and the graphic memory 22
Of the screen scale, distance ring, variable distance ring (VRM), electronic cursor line (EBL), characters, etc., and the current position, the target point, and the distance between the current position and the target point of the graphic memory 28 The image of the line segment is synthesized in the radar indicator 4 (step S27), supplied to the display unit 5 via a display drive circuit (not shown) in the radar indicator 4, and the screen of the display unit 5 is displayed. (Step S28).

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing examples in which the radar image, the current position, the azimuth to the target point, and the line segment obtained as described above are displayed on the display 42. FIG. In addition, since it becomes complicated, in the display examples of FIG. 3 and FIG.
M is not shown.

FIG. 3 is a display example in the case where the target point P to which the ship (the center of the screen) is heading is present in the screen G.
Is a display example when the target point P to which the ship is heading is outside the range of the screen G.

On the display screen G, images of the land shadows a1 and a2 observed by the marine radar device 10 are displayed as images.
A line segment L obtained by dividing 1 / n the current position S of the own ship observed by the PS / DGPS positioning device 2, a target point P, and a distance D to be represented by a straight line connecting the current position S and the target point P.
(Equivalent lines) are displayed as vectors (having directions and lengths) starting from the current position S, and near the line segment L,
A display Q (1/5) related to the division is displayed. In the case of FIG. 3, if the set value n is n = 5, a display Q (1) near the line segment L indicating that the line segment L is １ ／ of the distance between the current position S and the target point P / 5) is performed.

In FIG. 4, since the target point P exists outside the range of the screen, the distance to be represented by a straight line connecting the current position S and the target point P is represented by a line segment L (equally divided by 1 / n). A line) is displayed starting from the current position S. Again, FIG.
In the same manner as the display of FIG.
(1/5) is displayed. In the case of FIG. 4, the setting value n is n =
If it is 5, the line segment L is placed near the line segment L at the current position S.
Q (1) indicating that the distance is 1/5 of the distance between
/ 5) is performed.

In the display example of FIG. 4, when a line segment L obtained by dividing the distance between the current position S and the target point P into n is out of the range of the display screen G, the computer in the radar pointing device 4 The set value n can be automatically increased, and the line segment L obtained by 1 / n can be included in the display screen G.

Here, the length of the line segment L is a function of the division of the traveling speed of the own ship and the distance to the target point P, and the number of divisions can be determined by the user from the operation unit 44 as described above. Can be input. In this case, if the linear distance from the current position S of the ship to the target point P is D, the navigation speed of the ship is V, and the required time is T, D = V × T, and the division set value is n. Then, the display Q related to the division displayed near the line segment L can be set to D / n or T / n.

FIG. 5 shows the display Q related to the division as D / n = 2k.
The display example in the case of m / 5 is shown. The distance D from the screen G to the target point P is 2 km, and the distance from the current position S of the ship to the arrow end of the line segment L is (2 km / 5) can be seen at a glance.

FIG. 6 shows a display example when the display Q relating to the division is T / n. From this screen G, the time required to reach the target point P from the current position S of the own ship is shown. 3
At a glance, it is 5 minutes, and the time required from the current position S to reach the arrow end of the line segment L is (35 minutes / 5).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may employ various configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention, for example, for use in a land-based radar device instead of a marine radar device. Of course.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, regardless of whether the target point is inside or outside the radar display screen, the line segment representing the distance obtained by dividing the distance to the target point by n Are displayed from the current position as a starting point toward the target point, and a display related to the number of divisions indicating the division distance is displayed near the line segment as necessary. For this reason, there is an effect that a radar observer such as a navigator can visually recognize the azimuth and the distance to the target point by the line segment at a glance.

In the conventional radar apparatus, information on the distance to the target point has not been provided to the observer in an easily recognizable form, but according to the radar apparatus for a mobile object of the present invention, The azimuth and distance to the point are provided in a visually easy-to-view form.

Further, by adding information such as the moving speed of the moving body, it is possible to obtain the effect that the time required to reach the target point, the estimated arrival time, and the like can be easily perceived by the radar observer. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the distance 1 from the own ship position to the target point on the screen.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining processing when displaying a line segment of / n;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example when a target point exists in a screen.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example when a target point does not exist in the screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example in which a distance to a target point and a distance of a 1 / n line segment can be understood.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example in which a required time to a target point and a required time to an arrow end of a 1 / n line segment can be understood.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a general marine radar device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional display example when a target point exists in a screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional display example when a target point does not exist in the screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Radar antenna 2: GPS / D
GPS positioning device 4 ... Radar pointing device 5 ... Display unit 10 ... Board radar device 12 ... A / D converter 14 ... Time conversion processing unit 16 ... Azimuth conversion unit 18 ... Coordinate conversion unit 20 ... Video memory 22, 28 ... Graphic memory 24 arithmetic processing unit 26 division distance calculation unit 44 operation unit 69 gyro device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A mobile radar apparatus for displaying a radar image in a screen on a display unit, comprising: a mobile body current position calculating means for calculating a current position of the mobile body by receiving data from a navigation assistance device; A next target point input means for inputting a next target point of the moving object; a set value input means for inputting an arbitrary set value n (n is a natural number of 2 or more); Dividing distance calculating means for calculating a dividing distance obtained by dividing a linear distance between a position and the target point into n equal parts; a line segment representing the n dividing distance together with the radar image in the screen; Display control means for displaying a line segment starting from the starting point and heading toward the target point. 2. The mobile radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means variably adjusts the set value n when the target point is outside the screen, and sets the n-divided distance. A radar device for a mobile object, wherein a line segment to be displayed is displayed in the screen. 3. The radar apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display control means sets a line segment representing the n-division distance to a line segment starting from a current position toward a target point. And displaying the number of divisions n in the vicinity of the line segment. 4. The radar according to claim 3, wherein the display relating to the division number n is a fraction display in which the denominator is the division number n and the numerator is 1, and / or the denominator is the division number n.
Wherein the numerator is a fraction of the linear distance. 5. The radar apparatus for a moving object according to claim 3, further comprising speed detecting means for detecting a speed of the moving object, wherein the display related to the number of divisions n is such that the denominator is the number of divisions n. A time lag between the current position of the numerator and the arrival of the moving object at the target point is set as a time required for the moving object.