JP2000283770A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively obtain VICS(Vehicle Information and Communication System) information as a vehicle runs. SOLUTION: When a recommended route to a destination is calculated, switching judging points on this route are set at adequate intervals, and a list of FM multiplex broadcasting stations receivable at each switching judging point is prepared and stored in a memory. When a vehicle reaches a switching judging point, receivable FM multiplex broadcasting stations are retrieved according to the prepared list and one of them is selected by an FM multiplex broadcasting receiver.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a VICS (Vehicle Information)
and Communication System
The present invention relates to a navigation device equipped with a function of acquiring road information such as m) and presenting it to a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art VICS is obtained from multiplex data of FM multiplex broadcasting.
There is a known navigation apparatus equipped with a function of obtaining a traffic jam and displaying a traffic congestion state on a map of a display device. In the conventional navigation device, the FM multiplex broadcasting station that obtains the VICS information is manually tuned or automatically tuned to the FM multiplex broadcasting station having the highest electric field strength at the point by an automatic tuning start operation by the user. It is about to be.

[0003]

For example, when driving a car from Tokyo to Yokohama, in the departure place Tokyo, the FM of Yokohama
The multiplex broadcasting station has not been received yet.
Since it is worth knowing the CS information, an FM multiplex broadcasting station in Tokyo is selected. However, as soon as the FM multiplex broadcasting station in Yokohama can be received, VICS information may be desired to be obtained from the FM multiplex broadcasting station in Yokohama. In the conventional navigation device, it is necessary for the user himself to determine that the car has entered an area where the FM multiplex broadcasting station in Yokohama can be received, check the frequency of the FM multiplex broadcasting station in Yokohama, and manually select the station. Yes, inconvenient. In addition, in a navigation device in which a user automatically selects a FM multiplex broadcasting station having the highest electric field strength at an automatic tuning start operation by a user, it is troublesome for the user to perform the automatic tuning start operation one by one. Despite the fact that it is already in an area where FM multiplex broadcasting stations in Yokohama can be received, it is difficult to switch to FM multiplex broadcasting stations in Yokohama because the electric field strength of FM multiplex broadcasting stations in Tokyo is still strong There is a problem to say.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device which overcomes the above-mentioned problems.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a navigation apparatus (10) having a function of presenting to a user road information obtained from multiplex data of FM multiplex broadcasting. In this navigation device (10), F including road information
The FM multiplex broadcasting station that performs M multiplex broadcasting is
M multiplex broadcasting stations are defined, and as the current location (23) moves, the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations that can be received at each current location (23) are automatically set as road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations for obtaining road information. The station is tuned.

The navigation device (10) includes not only a navigation device equipped exclusively for use in a vehicle but also a portable navigation device that can be brought into a vehicle as appropriate. In addition to the visual display to the user, presentation by voice display from the speaker (19) is also included. The presentation of road information to the user is usually
When the map including the current location (23) is displayed on the display (18), the display is performed on the map.
When a map that does not include a map is displayed on the display (18), road information may be displayed on the map, or road information may be displayed on the display (18) regardless of the map. And The road information is, for example, what is called VICS information. The road information includes, for example, traffic congestion information on roads, information on construction sections, temporary entry prohibition, accident information, and the like.

[0007] Whether or not there is receivable road information is determined, for example, by scanning the entire frequency range of FM broadcasting, finding an FM station having an electric field strength equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and multiplexing the FM station as road information. You can know by checking whether you have the data. In addition, for each predetermined regional zone, a road information F
It is also possible to store the M multiplex broadcasting stations in the memory and to check the contents of the memory for the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations in the area zone including the current location (23).

[0008] The car travels toward the destination, and accordingly, the current location (23) also moves toward the destination.
In 3), the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information that can be received there is automatically selected, so that the user can quickly obtain necessary road information.

According to the navigation apparatus (10) of the present invention, when there are a plurality of road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations that can be received at the current location (23), the road information FM multiplex station closer to the destination is used.
The M multiplex broadcasting station is preferentially selected as an FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information.

In this manner, the road information F closer to the destination is
Since the M multiplex broadcasting station is selected with priority, the user can quickly obtain the road information of the destination.

According to the navigation device (10) of the present invention, after calculating the recommended route (22) to the destination, the recommended route (22)
The switching determination points (24) are set at appropriate intervals along the route, and a list of receivable road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations at each switching determination point (24) is created in advance,
Each time the current location (23) arrives at the new switching decision point (24), the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information is re-received to the road at the currently reached switching decision point (24) in the list. Switching to an information FM multiplex broadcasting station is performed.

The switching decision point (24) is usually located at the recommended route (2
2) It is set at equal intervals above, but is not limited to this. Depending on the switching judgment point (24), the receivable road information FM
It is assumed that there is not only one multiplex broadcasting station but also a plurality of multiplex broadcasting stations, and there may be no multiplex broadcasting station.

In this way, every time the vehicle reaches each switching determination point (24), the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station selected for obtaining road information is updated, and the latest road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is constantly updated. Stations can be selected.

According to the navigation apparatus (10) of the present invention, when there are a plurality of road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations that can be received at each switching determination point (24), the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station closer to the destination is used. A high priority is set for FM multiplex broadcasting stations, a list is created, and at each switching determination point (24),
The road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations for obtaining road information are sequentially selected from the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations having higher priority, and the sensitivity of the selected road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is checked. The road information FM multiplex broadcasting station whose sensitivity is first determined to be equal to or higher than the predetermined level is determined as the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information.

Even if a road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is listed as a road information FM multiplex broadcasting station that can be received at each switching judgment point (24) in the list, the switching judgment point (24) is actually used. , And receiving the listed road information FM multiplex broadcasting station, the reception may not be possible. In response to this, the reception is tried from the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information having the higher priority in the list, and when it is determined that the reception can be actually performed, the channel is selected as the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information. As a result, the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information closer to the destination can be selected with higher priority from among the actually receivable stations. In addition, since it is checked whether the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information at each of the switching determination points (24) listed is actually receivable, the receiving sensitivity may vary depending on time. Even if the possibility is low, it is possible to reliably list a FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information closer to the destination when conditions are good.

According to the navigation apparatus (10) of the present invention, the position information of each road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is stored in advance, and which of the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations is closer to the destination is determined. Is determined from the distance calculation between the destination and the position of the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station.

Another method for checking which of the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations are closer to the destination is to use a directional antenna and forward (including diagonally forward) the automobile. ) May be regarded as a road information FM multiplex broadcasting station closer to the destination. However, in this case, depending on the traveling road, the destination may not be in front of the car but may be on the side of the car. In some cases, an inappropriate road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is selected. It can happen.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle-mounted navigation device 10. FM multiplex broadcast receiver 11
Is equipped with an antenna 12. Car navigation system 10
VIC with a car equipped with a service area
The FM multiplex broadcast wave of the FM multiplex broadcast station for S is received by the antenna 12, and the FM multiplex broadcast receiver 11 receives a predetermined VICS broadcast instruction from the navigation body 15 from the FM multiplex broadcast wave received by the antenna 12. One FM multiplex broadcast wave of the frequency related to the FM multiplex broadcast station is selected, multiplex data is separated therefrom, VICS information is extracted from the multiplex data, and output to the navigation body 15. The navigation body 15 uses a GPS
(Global Position System) is received, and the current location 23 (FIG. 3) is detected from the GPS signal. In the navigation body 15, the user operates the operation unit 17 to issue an instruction such as a search for a recommended route (22) to the destination and guidance of the route to the navigation body 15, and the navigation body 15 includes a display 18 and a speaker 19. And a predetermined screen is displayed on the display 18 and a predetermined sound is output from the speaker 19. In this way, information to the user is output as video and / or audio using the display 18 and the speaker 19.

FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between FM multiplex broadcasting stations for VICS and their positions. FIG. 2 shows only five VICS FM multiplex broadcasting stations A to E. However, in actuality, VICS in a predetermined area of a whole area of Japan or a sufficiently wide area is shown.
Information on the relationship between the FM multiplex broadcasting stations for use and their positions is stored in the memory of the navigation body 15 in advance. In FIG. 2, the name of the FM multiplex broadcasting station for VICS and its position are associated with each other, the FM multiplex broadcasting station for VICS is a predetermined code, and the position is the conversion value of the map data for displaying the map on the display 18. Are stored at the coordinate positions of. From the data shown in FIG. 2, the navigation body 15 determines that a given point and a desired VICS
The distance to the FM multiplex broadcasting station can be calculated.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the recommended route 22, the current location 23, the switching determination point 24, and the service area of the VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station. A and B are F for VICS respectively
The assumed service area of the stations A and B as the M multiplex broadcasting station is shown, and is an area within a circle of a predetermined radius centered on the stations A and B. The navigation main body 15 calculates the difference table position of each VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station from the information of FIG. 2 and assumes a service area within a predetermined radius from each VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station. The recommended route 22 is calculated with respect to the departure point and the destination specified by the user, assuming that the navigation body 15 has, for example, the shortest distance or time from among a large number of candidate routes from the departure point to the destination. It is a route. The switching determination points 24 are set at predetermined distance intervals on the recommended route 22, and are indicated by an X coordinate position and a Y coordinate position. The first switching judgment point (X1, Y1) is usually set to the departure place. After the navigation body 15 calculates the recommended route 22, a map of the area range including the current position 23 is displayed.
It is displayed on the display 18 together with the recommended route 22 to guide the car. Further, the map displayed on the display 18 includes the VI extracted by the FM multiplex broadcast receiver 11.
The CS information is also displayed.

FIG. 4 shows the correspondence between the coordinate position of each switching determination point 24 and the receivable VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station at each switching determination point 24. The navigation body 15
After setting the switching determination point 24, each VICS FM of FIG.
The relationship between the service area of the multiplex broadcasting station and each switching judgment point 24 is checked, and all the VICS FM multiplex broadcasting stations judged to be receivable at each switching judgment point 24 are checked.
VICs that can be received by each VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station
If there are a plurality of FM multiplex broadcasting stations for S, the distance between the destination and each of the FM multiplex broadcasting stations for VICS is checked, and the FM multiplex broadcasting station for VICS having a shorter distance, that is, the closer to the destination, The lists are arranged in order from the FM multiplex broadcasting station for VICS, and thus the list of FIG. 4 is created. For example, at the switching determination point (X4, Y4), two VICSs A and B
Is determined to be receivable, and the station B on the left has a higher priority than the station A on the right, that is, it is determined to be a VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station closer to the destination. . The list in FIG. 4 is saved in the memory of the navigation body 15 as soon as the list is created.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process executed by the navigation body 15 in the route guidance driving mode. S4
At 0, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has reached the new switching determination point 24. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to S41 and N
If O, the process ends. Since the channel selection of the VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station in the FM multiplex broadcasting receiver 11 needs to be set from the start of route guidance, at the start of route guidance, the first switching determination point (X1, Y1) is not reached. However, it is considered that the vehicle has arrived, and the process proceeds to S41. In S41, 1 is substituted for i. This i corresponds to the priority of the FM multiplex broadcasting station for VICS at each switching determination point 24. In S42, it is determined from the list of FIG. 4 whether or not the i-th VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station at the current switching determination point 24 exists.
Proceed to 3 and, if NO, end the process. S4
3, the i-th VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station at the current switching judgment point 24 in the list is set to the FM multiplex broadcasting receiver 11
To tune in. In S44, it is determined whether the sensitivity of the selected VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station is good or not, and the determination is Y.
If it is ES, the process ends, and if NO, S
Proceed to 45. Whether the sensitivity of the selected VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station is good or not can be determined from the electric field strength. When the electric field strength is equal to or more than a predetermined value, it is determined that the sensitivity is good and bad, respectively. In S45, i is incremented by 1 and S
Return to 42. In this manner, the sensitivity of the VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station having a higher priority at each switching decision point 24 is checked. The station 11 is selected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between FM multiplex broadcasting stations for VICS and their positions.

FIG. 3 is a recommended route, a current location, a switching determination point, and a VIC.
It is a figure which shows the relationship of the service area of FM multiplex broadcasting station for S.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between a coordinate position of each switching determination point and a receivable VICS FM multiplex broadcasting station at each switching determination point.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process executed by the navigation body in the route guidance driving mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 In-vehicle navigation device (navigation device) 18 Display (display) 19 Speaker 22 Recommended route 23 Current location 24 Switching decision point

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device (10) equipped with a function of presenting road information obtained from multiplexed data of FM multiplex broadcasting to a user, wherein a FM multiplex broadcasting station performing FM multiplex broadcasting including road information is classified into road information. FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information FM that can be received at each current location (23) as the current location (23) moves
A navigation apparatus characterized in that a multiplex broadcasting station is automatically selected as a road information FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information. 2. An FM for road information receivable at a current location (23).
When there are a plurality of multiplex broadcasting stations, the FM multiplex broadcasting station for road information closer to the destination is preferentially selected as the FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information. The navigation device according to claim 1. 3. After calculating a recommended route (22) to a destination, a switching judgment point (24) is set at appropriate intervals along the recommended route (22), and reception at each switching judgment point (24) is possible. A list of suitable road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations is created in advance, and whenever the current location (23) reaches a new switching determination point (24), a road information FM multiplex broadcasting station for obtaining road information is created. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a switch is made to a receivable road information FM multiplex broadcasting station at the switching determination point (24) that has arrived at this time in the list. 4. When there are a plurality of road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations that can be received at each switching judgment point (24), a higher priority is set to the road information FM multiplex broadcasting station closer to the destination. Then, the list is prepared, and at each switching determination point (24), the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations for obtaining road information are sequentially selected from the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations having higher priority. The sensitivity of the selected road information FM multiplex broadcast station is checked, and the road information FM multiplex broadcast station whose sensitivity is first determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined level is determined by the road information FM multiplex for road information acquisition. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the navigation device is determined to be a broadcasting station. 5. Position information about each road information FM multiplex broadcasting station is stored in advance, and which of the road information FM multiplex broadcasting stations to compare with is closer to the destination. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination is performed by calculating a distance from the position of the station.