JP2001201354A - On-vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide real time positional relationship of one's vehicle in a traffic jam and before entering a traffic jam even though traffic information by VICS is updated only at predetermined intervals such as a five minute interval and during that time the vehicle gradually moves and its speed changes. SOLUTION: The current traffic information received by a VICS receiver 2 is accumulated in a received data accumulating part 3. In a control part 1, a traffic jam starting point on a guide route based upon this data is stored in its storing part 7, and in the same way, a traffic jam departure point on the guide route is read and a traffic jam distance which is a distance between the two points is determined and stored in its storing part 6. In a traffic jam passage ratio/passage expected time calculating part 10, a traffic jam passage ratio is determined from the vehicle's positional relationship within the traffic jam distance and expected time for passing the traffic jam is determined from a portion of the traffic jam distance still left to be traveled and a present average vehicle speed for outputting them. A bar graph is plotted from the ratio, the traffic jam passage expected time is displayed, and voice output is suitably performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for receiving traffic congestion information of a road traffic information system (VICS) by FM multiplex broadcasting, beacon, and the like. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device for easily outputting whether or not the vehicle can pass through the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a navigation device, a GPS is used.
The current position is detected by obtaining the actual vehicle speed and traveling direction, and the map data of the vicinity of the current position is read from a data recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, and the current position is centered on an image display device such as a liquid crystal display. By displaying the map, it is possible to easily know which point is currently running. Furthermore, by setting a destination or a waypoint, the optimal guidance route from the current location is searched based on the map-related data, and the guidance route is displayed on the map superimposed, and the intersection of right and left turns is enlarged and displayed. In addition, travel guidance is provided by voice or the like.

Further, in a navigation device,
Road traffic information such as traffic congestion, accidents, and regulations provided by a road traffic information communication system (VICS) can be incorporated using FM multiplex broadcasting and beacons. This VICS is available in three types, Level 1 to Level 3, and can display road traffic information at a desired level according to the situation and purpose.

That is, Level 1 is a character information display mode in which sections, travel time information, trouble information, service information, general FM character information, and the like can be displayed in the information area of the display screen by characters. Level 2 is a simple figure display mode in which a simple figure of a congestion monitoring road is drawn, and information on traffic congestion and obstacles is displayed on the simple figure. Level 3 is a map information display mode in which information such as traffic congestion, accidents and regulations is displayed by changing the color of roads on the map. These pieces of information are updated and provided at predetermined time intervals, for example, every five minutes, and are recorded in the VICS data buffer while being updated as needed in the navigation device.

As described above, especially at VICS level 3, information such as traffic congestion, accidents and regulations can be periodically taken in and displayed on a road on a map. Can be used when there is a detour to a congested road, etc., and even when driving as it is, it is possible to grasp a certain level of the situation ahead, change the future action schedule etc. , Some action can be taken.

[0006]

The VICS as described above
When the vehicle enters traffic or congestion in an area where VICS can be received, VIC
At the time of S reception, this traffic jam situation can be known. However, the transmitted information updates the data at predetermined intervals such as a five-minute interval.
Next, the same display must be performed based on the same data until the information on the changed traffic congestion is received.

In addition, since the display of the traffic congestion state is only displayed on the map displayed on the display, the host vehicle on the congested road in the whole including the non-displayed portion is displayed. It is difficult to grasp the relative position of the traffic jam, and it is not possible to accurately know the expected traffic congestion leaving time at which the traffic can escape. In addition, when the vehicle travels on a part of the congested road, it is impossible to know at a glance how much the vehicle will be affected by the traffic, but only by visual measurement.

Further, since the vehicle itself is gradually moving from the previously received point, it may not proceed at all depending on the traffic congestion conditions until new VICS information is received, but it may travel 1 to 2 km. , The vehicle may temporarily reach a steady speed for a few kilometers. As described above, the congestion situation changes as needed, and the vehicle position and the vehicle speed also change, but the situation cannot be known in real time. As a result, we are dissatisfied with the indication of traffic jams,
There is a problem in that it is not possible to consider an alternative route corresponding to traffic congestion or to take an appropriate measure such as a change in a future action schedule.

On the other hand, for example, when information indicating that traffic congestion has occurred ahead while traveling on a guide route, it is often desired to know how long the vehicle will reach the traffic congestion start point. Since it takes time to update the VICS data, the vehicle travels a long distance at a steady speed until the next reception, and during that time, there is a possibility that the vehicle will be worried about future traffic congestion. Therefore, also at this time, as in the case of the above-mentioned traffic congestion, during the update period of the VICS data, it is frustrating to be unable to know the situation in real time, which is anxious.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if VICS information which can be received only at a predetermined interval is used, it is possible to output a prediction of the time of exiting the traffic congestion during the current traveling in real time, and to execute the traffic congestion section where the vehicle travels. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a navigation device capable of displaying a relative position of the own vehicle in a bar graph easily and in real time. In addition to outputting real-time predictions of traffic congestion,
It is an object of the present invention to display the relative position of the vehicle at a distance between a predetermined point and a congestion start point in a bar graph so that the relative position can be easily understood and in real time, and to be able to output these states by voice.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is directed to a vehicle position detecting means for detecting a current vehicle position, a vehicle speed detecting means, and a VIC.
In a navigation apparatus having VICS receiving means for receiving S data, means for obtaining data of a traffic congestion start point from VICS data updated to the latest received data, and calculation of a traffic congestion distance from a traffic congestion start to a traffic congestion end point Means and a vehicle average speed measuring means for measuring the latest average vehicle speed, a traffic congestion expected time calculating means for calculating a time required to pass through traffic based on each data, and traveling during traffic congestion with respect to the distance of all traffic congested sections. Congestion passing ratio calculating means for calculating the ratio of the distances, bar graph drawing means for displaying the estimated time of congestion passing, and displaying the current vehicle position in all congestions in a bar graph based on data of the congesting passing ratio calculating means. This is a vehicle-mounted navigation device characterized by the following.

The invention according to claim 2 is the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the congestion start point and the congestion end point are set to points on a guidance route.

The invention according to claim 3 is a vehicle position detecting means for detecting a current vehicle position, a vehicle speed detecting means,
In a navigation device having VICS receiving means for receiving VICS data, means for obtaining data of a congestion start point from VICS data updated to the latest received data, a congestion start point and a predetermined point before a current vehicle position. And a vehicle average speed measuring means for measuring the latest average vehicle speed, a traffic congestion expected time calculating means for calculating a time to enter traffic congestion based on each data, and a congestion start point from the predetermined point The travel ratio calculating means for calculating the ratio of the distance traveled to the present to the total travel distance up to the present time, the traffic congestion expected time is displayed, and the current vehicle position at the entire travel distance is displayed as a bar graph by the data of the travel ratio calculation means. And a bar graph drawing means.

The invention according to claim 4 is the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the congestion start point is set to a point on a guidance route.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an on-vehicle navigation device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising audio output means for outputting data corresponding to the display data by audio. It was done.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows the entire configuration of functional blocks of a navigation device according to the present invention. The navigation device shown in FIG. 2 includes a navigation control device 100 for controlling the entire system, and various devices described below are connected thereto. Data is input and output through various interfaces.

The navigation control device 100 is connected to a data recording medium 101 such as a DVD-ROM or a CD-ROM in which various data necessary for map display, route search, or various facility searches are recorded. Part 10
2. Read map data and the like in the range designated by 2,
Of these, map data required for the map buffer 103 is stored. The map data in the map buffer 103 is
It is taken in and used by each function unit described later via a map data line 104 indicated by a thick dashed line in the drawing.

A remote control (remote control) 10 as an operation unit for a driver or a passenger to input various instructions.
5. Touch panel 10 provided on the surface of the image display device
6. Operation switches 107 such as other various key switches
Is input to the operation instruction signal input unit 110, and further, a voice for various operation instructions of the user is input to the voice recognition unit 109 via the microphone 108, and is input to the operation signal input unit 110 as an operation instruction signal. input. Each signal of this operation signal input unit is taken in and used by each function unit via an operation instruction data line 111 indicated by a thick broken line in the figure. Examples of the operation instruction signal include various instructions such as vertical and horizontal movement of a cursor, enlargement / reduction of a map, input of a destination, various instructions in a route search, various selection instructions in a route guidance mode, various selections in a VICS display, and the like. Exists.

A GPS receiver 113 which receives a GPS signal via a GPS antenna 112 receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites, performs three-dimensional positioning processing, and executes the absolute position of the vehicle and the current vehicle position. The azimuth is calculated based on the position and the position of the vehicle one sampling time ΔT before, and these are output together with the positioning time, and the data obtained thereby is stored in the data storage unit 114 until the next new GPS signal is received. .

The autonomous navigation sensor 115 includes an angle sensor 116 such as a vibrating gyroscope that detects the vehicle rotation angle as a relative direction, and a distance sensor 117 that outputs one pulse every predetermined traveling distance. The vehicle position / direction calculation unit 118 calculates the relative position and direction of the vehicle based on both data. The data of the own vehicle position and the traveling direction in the data storage unit 114 based on the GPS reception data are:
Corrected by the data of the vehicle position / azimuth calculation unit 118, map matching is performed to match the road map in the map buffer 103, and accurate vehicle position data and traveling direction data corresponding to the map are obtained. This data is output by a vehicle position data line 129 indicated by a thick solid line in the figure, and is taken into various functional units for use.

On the other hand, VICS data obtained by the FM multiplex broadcast receiver 120 or the beacon transceiver 121 for transmitting and receiving to and from the roadside beacon using radio waves or light is stored in the reception data buffer 122 until the next reception, and the VICS data will be described later. The data is processed by the data processing unit 123.
The signal from the vehicle speed sensor 119 is directly input to a VICS data processing unit 123 described later. The FM multiplex broadcast receiver 120 receives VICS traffic information included in multiplexed data superimposed on general FM broadcast.

The beacon transceiver 121 performs two-way communication via radio waves with a radio beacon transceiver mainly installed on an expressway, and is mainly installed on a general road. VICS traffic information sent from the VICS center is received by performing bidirectional communication with the optical beacon transceiver via light. F mentioned above
Comparing M multiplex broadcasting, radio beacon, and optical beacon,
In both cases, there is no fundamental difference in the point that VICS traffic information can be received and its contents, but in the case of FM multiplex broadcasting, traffic information can be obtained in a wider reception area,
The radio beacon and the optical beacon can reliably receive those selected as traffic information near the own vehicle.

The image display device 125 converts the map information around the own vehicle into the own vehicle position mark, the departure point mark, and the destination mark based on the image data synthesized in various forms by the image synthesizing unit 133 of the navigation control device 100. At the same time, it is displayed in various modes such as 3D display, the guidance route is superimposed on this map and displayed, and furthermore, intersection guidance or a detailed map is displayed on two screens, and facility information is displayed as appropriate. Perform image display. This image display device 125 has a VI
When traffic jam information is sent from the CS center, an arrow indicating a traffic jam section and the degree of traffic jam, or a predetermined symbol instead of the traffic jam section and the traffic jam section are displayed on the corresponding road or in parallel with the road. Further, as described in detail later, VI
Based on the CS information, a bar graph or the like indicating the position of the own vehicle in the entire traffic jam is also displayed.

Further, a speaker 150 is provided as an output means from the navigation control device 100. In the device shown in FIG.
The guidance information from the ICS information output unit 143, such as the ratio of the position of the own vehicle position to the whole point, corresponding to the data of the bar graph drawing unit 144 described later, for example, is converted to the audio unit 1.
The voice is converted into a voice at 51 and output via the voice output unit 152. Thereby, the microphone 108 and the voice recognition unit 109
In addition, it serves as a voice interface unit in the navigation device.

Data recording medium 101 such as DVD-ROM
Although the detailed description of the map data recorded in the above is omitted, a data portion related to the VICS data described later in detail will be briefly described. Data recording medium 1
The map data recorded in No. 01 is in units of figures separated by predetermined longitude and latitude, and the map data of each figure is specified by specifying a figure number and can be read out. . The map data for each map includes a drawing unit composed of various data necessary for map display, a road unit composed of data necessary for various processes such as map matching, route search, and route guidance, and an intersection. An intersection unit consisting of detailed data of the intersection is included.
Further, the above-described drawing unit includes VICS conversion layer data necessary for specifying a corresponding road from traffic congestion information sent from the VICS center, and a background layer necessary for displaying buildings or rivers. It includes data and character layer data necessary for displaying municipal names, road names, and the like.

In the above-mentioned road unit, a line connecting an intersection on a road to another adjacent intersection is called a link, and a point connecting two or more links is called a node. The entire configuration is shown. In this road unit, a unit header for identifying a road unit, a connection node table containing detailed data of all nodes, a node table indicating a storage position of the connection node table, and a neighboring 2 And a link table containing detailed data of a link specified by one node.

FIG. 2 also shows VI in the road unit.
A link table related to the CS data processing is expanded and shown, and node records # 0, # 1, # 2,... Corresponding to all nodes included in the target figure are stored. Each node record is given a node number in the order of arrangement from # 0, and indicates a storage position of a connection node table corresponding to each node. Each link record is
A link ID, which is a code attached to each link mainly for displaying a search route, node numbers 1 and 2 for specifying two nodes located at both ends of the link, and a link distance, for example, a general road or an expressway. Regarding the cost such as the time required when traveling at an average speed, the cost when traveling from the node 1 to the node 2, the cost when traveling from the node 2 to the node 1, and the VICS A VICS link corresponding flag indicating whether or not the VICS link is managed by the center;
In addition, various road attribute flags, a road type flag indicating a type such as whether an actual road corresponding to this link is an expressway or a general road, a line number assigned to a road corresponding to this link, and the like are included. include.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows the V included in the drawing unit.
It is a figure showing the contents of the ICS conversion layer. As shown in the figure, the VICS conversion layer of the drawing unit has VICS
A conversion table is included. The VICS conversion table further includes a VICS unit header for identifying the VICS conversion table, a road link number table, and a VICS link conversion table. The road link number table indicates in which position in the VICS conversion table the data of each road link is stored in the order of the road link number, and corresponds to all the links of the target leaf.

The VICS link conversion table includes a VICS link length indicating the relative length of the VICS link and the road link corresponding to each of the existing links;
A VICS link information flag including a vertical line distinction indicating whether the vertical line of the road link of interest is the same or different, corresponding to a case where the road link of interest is viewed from one node toward the other node Number of VICS links, VI
The distance from the direction of one node of the CS link to this road link start position (the ratio when viewed from the distance of the entire VICS link), and the road link of interest is viewed from the other node toward one node The number of corresponding VICS links, the distance from the direction of the other node of the VICS link to this road link start position (ratio as viewed from the distance of the entire VICS link), and the direction from one node of the road link to the other node. , The secondary mesh code corresponding to each of the VICS links, the VICS link ID, the distance to the VICS link, and, conversely, the VICS link when viewed from the other node of the road link toward one of the nodes. , The secondary mesh code, the VICS link ID, the distance to the VICS link, etc.

The navigation control device 100 shown in FIG.
The following operations are performed in each functional block inside the. First, the map buffer 103
As described above, the DVD-read control unit 102
This is for temporarily storing the map data read from the data recording medium 101 such as a ROM, and has four points centered on a point designated by the ROM read control unit 102, for example, including a screen center position. Map data in a predetermined range, such as map data corresponding to a leaf, is read and stored in the map buffer 103.

The map drawing unit 130 is provided with a map buffer 103.
Then, a map image necessary for display is created based on the drawing units included in the map data of the four figures stored in the map data. The created map image data is stored in the VICS described later.
The image data of the traffic congestion road image display unit 146 in the information drawing unit 143 is multiplied and stored in the VRAM 131, and the image reading control unit 132 reads one screen of map image data centered on the current position. The image synthesizing unit 133 adds an intersection guidance image from an intersection guidance unit 134 described later and a guidance route drawing unit 137 to the read map image data.
, An operation instruction screen from the operation screen generating unit 140, various marks from the mark generating image unit 141, and a bar graph image from the bar graph drawing unit 144 of the VICS information drawing unit 143 described in detail later Are input to the image synthesizing unit 133, the images are appropriately synthesized, and displayed on the image display device 125.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the map image data stored in the VRAM 131 and the display image read by the image read control unit 132. In FIG.
To D are map images drawn based on the drawing units included in the map data of the four figures read from the map buffer 103. The map image data of the four figures is stored in the VRAM 131. You. In this portion, display of a congested road based on the VICS data is performed. An area P indicates display image data read from the VRAM 131 by the image read control unit 132 around the screen center position O. The area P indicates a screen center position O corresponding to the own vehicle position when the vehicle runs. Is moved, and the screen is scrolled.

The map matching processing section 142 stores the vehicle position by the GPS receiver 113 stored in the data storage section 114 and the vehicle position calculated by the vehicle position / azimuth calculation section 118 on the road of the map data. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is present. If the vehicle is off the road, a process of correcting the own vehicle position obtained by calculation is performed.

In the route search processing unit 135, a specific point on the map is designated by the cursor key input to the operation instruction input unit 110, and this position is set as the destination by a subsequent press signal of the destination input key. . The destination data set in this way is stored in the guidance route memory 136. Further, when a search instruction signal is input from the operation signal input unit 110, the route search processing unit 135 sets the own vehicle position corrected by the map matching processing unit 142 as a departure place, and sets this as a guidance route memory. 136
To be stored. Thereafter, the departure place and the destination stored in the guidance route memory 136 are stored in the shortest time,
Under various conditions such as the shortest distance and the priority on general roads, a guidance route with the minimum cost is searched. As a typical method of such a route search, the Dijkstra method and the horizontal search method are known. The guidance route set by the route search processing unit 36 as described above is stored in the guidance route memory 136 and output to the VICS data processing unit 123.

The guidance route drawing unit 137 extracts the data contained in the map area drawn on the VRAM 131 at that time from the guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 136. A guidance route which is emphasized in a predetermined color and is thickly superimposed on the map image is drawn. In addition, the mark image generation unit 141 generates a vehicle position mark at the own vehicle position after the map matching processing, or generates a cursor mark having a predetermined shape.

The intersection guidance section 134 provides guidance at the intersection where the vehicle is approaching by using a display image and voice. When the actual route is guided, the own vehicle approaches within a predetermined distance from the intersection in front of the guidance route. During this approach, during this approach, an enlarged image of the intersection, a destination, a guidance image such as a traveling direction arrow and the like are displayed on the image display device 125 and output to the audio conversion unit 151, and are output from the speaker via the audio output unit 152. Guidance on the direction of travel etc. is provided by voice.

The received data buffer 122 stores VICS information received from the FM multiplex broadcast receiver 120 and the beacon transceiver 121 at predetermined time intervals or at predetermined intervals. The VICS information includes traffic congestion information indicating how much traffic is congested at a specific portion of the road, event information indicating an accident or freezing of the road, and regulation information such as suspension of traffic and face-to-face traffic.

FIG. 7 is a view showing traffic jam information which is one of the VICS information. The traffic congestion information packet shown in FIG. 6 indicates how much traffic is congested at a specific location of a certain VICS link, and a secondary mesh code for specifying an area including the VICS link, and a VICS
The VICS link number assigned to the link and the starting point for identifying the position where traffic congestion starts (one end of the VICS link)
And the length indicating the section of congestion, and the degree of congestion in which two types of conditions, for example, "congestion" in which the vehicle moves below a certain speed and "congestion" in which the vehicle hardly moves are specified. In. Each information packet of event information and regulation information other than traffic jam information has almost the same configuration, and includes a secondary mesh code, a VICS link number,
The distance from the start point for specifying the position at which the event mark or the like is displayed is included.

In the VICS data processing unit 123, based on the latest VICS data stored in the reception data buffer 122, the map area drawn in the VRAM 131 is selected from traffic congestion information, event information, regulation information, etc. Alternatively, data included in a narrower area centered on the own vehicle position is selected, and data processing for displaying a predetermined image corresponding to each information is performed. Note that the received V
FIG. 7 shows the traffic jam information packet in the ICS data.
As shown in FIG. 5, the VICS link number corresponding to the congested section is included, and the drawing unit of the map data stored in the map buffer 103 includes the VICS link number as shown in FIG.
Since the ICS conversion table is included, the correspondence between the VICS link and the road link can be understood based on the road link number table and the VICS conversion table. Therefore, the corresponding road link can be specified based on the VICS link number included in the traffic jam information packet, and the corresponding road link can be specified based on the “distance from the starting point” and the “length” included in the traffic jam information packet. The traffic congestion point on the road link to be performed is specified.

Based on the data, the traffic congestion road image display unit 146 displays, for example, traffic congestion information with a band having a length corresponding to the traffic congestion section and a color corresponding to the degree of traffic congestion in parallel to the road. Also, an arrow is appropriately added to indicate which traveling direction of the road, and the arrow is output to the VRAM 131 so as to be superimposed on the map image and displayed. Further V
In the ICS data processing unit 123, VICS such as traffic regulation
A process for appropriately extracting data related to the traveling route from the data is performed, the image is formed by the various information display units 145 in the VICS information drawing unit 143, and output to the image combining unit 133.

Further, in the VICS data processing unit 123, in the VICS data received as described above,
Using the processing data in the congestion information packet, data processing is performed in order to easily indicate what position the current position is in the congestion and how much the vehicle can pass through this congestion. Based on the data processing result, the bar graph drawing unit 144 draws a bar graph as shown in FIG. 3, outputs the bar graph to the image synthesizing unit 133, displays the bar graph on the image display device 125, and outputs information on the image by voice. Transformation part 151
And a speaker 150 through a sound output unit 152.
Output from

Hereinafter, based on FIG. 1, the VIC shown in FIG.
Among the output processing such as the above various drawing processing and audio processing performed by the S data processing unit 123 and the VICS information output unit, calculation processing of traffic congestion ratio / expected passage time, image display and audio output based on the calculation results Will be described. The control unit 1 in the VICS data processing unit 20 includes a VICS receiver 2 corresponding to the FM multiplex broadcast receiver 120 and the beacon transceiver 121 in FIG. 2 and a reception data storage unit corresponding to the reception data buffer 122 in FIG. 3, the signals from the vehicle position detector 4 corresponding to the map matching processor 142 in FIG. 2, the vehicle speed detector 5 corresponding to the vehicle speed sensor 119 in FIG. 2, and the guidance route output unit 22 corresponding to the route search processor 135. You are typing.

The control unit 1 performs data processing as described later, and outputs the data to the congestion distance storage unit 6, the congestion start point storage unit 7, the vehicle average speed buffer 8, and the vehicle position buffer 9, respectively. For example, on a map as shown in FIG. 8, when traveling along a guidance route I as shown by a thick broken line in the figure,
It is assumed that the vehicle has been caught in traffic from the Shimotakaido intersection (A) on the Koshu Kaido (K) and has now advanced to the vehicle position (B). On the map screen at this time, along with the guidance route (I) indicated by the broken line in the figure, based on the received VICS data, along with the arrow indicating the direction of traffic congestion along the Koshu Kaido (L), the band-like congestion information ( J) is displayed. FIG. 8 (a) shows a case where the head (P) of the traffic congestion is in front of the intersection (C) that turns right away from the Koshu Highway (K) in the guidance route (I), and FIG. ) Indicates that the traffic congestion has crossed the intersection (C) and has continued further on the illustrated map.

In the example of FIG. 8A, the current congestion start point is the Shimotakaido intersection (A), and the coordinate data of this point is stored in the congestion start point storage unit 7. The traffic congestion end point is the head (P) of the traffic congestion. Therefore, the distance (L) from the traffic congestion start point is calculated and stored in the traffic congestion distance storage unit 6. When calculating these congestion distances, it can be calculated based on the distance data of the link record in the road data shown in FIG.
When data corresponding directly to the congestion distance or the like exists in the congestion information packet shown in FIG. 7, it can be used as it is.

In the above example, since the state of traffic congestion changes every moment, the above-described distance calculation is performed every time new VICS data is received, updated and stored in the congestion distance storage unit 6. In the control unit 1, for example, the latest 3
The average vehicle speed for a predetermined period, such as 0 second, is calculated, for example, every 10 seconds based on the data from the vehicle speed detection unit 5 and stored in the vehicle average speed buffer 8 while updating the latest one. Furthermore,
The latest position data from the vehicle position detector 4 is stored in the vehicle position buffer 9 while being updated.

The congestion passage ratio / expected passage time calculation unit 10 performs various calculations using the data stored and stored in each unit as described above. That is, first, the distance (L) is calculated from the congestion distance storage unit 6 to calculate the congestion passage ratio.
Is read, the current position is read from the vehicle position buffer 9, and the distance (D) from the congestion start point (A) is calculated.
Next, a calculation of (D) / (L) is performed to determine a ratio of how much the current position is at a point where the vehicle has traveled in the entire traffic jam distance. The ratio data is appropriately converted into a ratio such as a percentage, and the traffic congestion ratio / expected passage time calculation unit 1 shown in FIG.
From 0, the data is output to the voice conversion unit 16 of the VICS information output unit 21 and the bar graph drawing unit 11.

In the audio conversion section 16, based on the ratio data, for example, a voice output such as “I have traveled about 40% of the traffic congested road” is output from the speaker 18.
Do from. Further, in the bar graph drawing section 11, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is displayed at a position where the height is 0%, and the hatched part in the figure below the line is colored and displayed in, for example, blue or the like, and the upper side is colored or displayed in white or red, etc. Rendering is performed so that the user can find the position in the entire traffic jam. This drawing data is video R
After being developed into a display image by the AM 12 and further visualized by the video conversion unit 13, the image is output from the image synthesis unit 14 corresponding to the image synthesis unit 133 in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, as shown by "10 km" in this bar graph, the entire congestion distance (L) is shown at the upper end of the side and the current position is shown. On the side of the line, "4 km" is displayed as the distance (D) traveled in traffic. Further, instead of the traveled distance of 4 km, for example, "40%" which is a traveled ratio may be displayed.

By displaying such a bar graph, it is possible to know at a glance what ratio the current position is in the overall traffic as described above. How long you can get through the traffic after driving, for example, 10km-4
It can be known by mental calculation of km = 6 km, and by looking at the display of the distance traveled in the traffic jam, it is possible to confirm how long the vehicle has traveled in the traffic jam until now.

The traffic congestion passage ratio / expected passage time calculation unit 10 calculates a distance (D) between the traffic congestion start point and the current position from the traffic congestion distance (L) in the traffic congestion distance storage unit in order to calculate a traffic congestion expected time. ) To obtain a predicted traffic congestion distance (E) that is expected to travel in traffic in the future, and further reads the latest vehicle average speed (V) as described above from the vehicle average speed buffer 8, (E) / (V) is calculated, and an estimated passage time (T) as an estimated time for traveling to get out of the traffic jam is obtained.

The estimated passage time (T) is output from the congestion passage ratio / expected passage time calculation unit 10 in FIG. 1 to the voice conversion unit 16 and the bar graph drawing unit 11 of the VICS information output unit 21. Based on the estimated transit time (T), the voice conversion unit 16 outputs a voice message such as "currently traveled about 40% of a congested road" as described above, and then outputs the "current If you run at speed, you can get out of this traffic jam in 36 minutes. " Further, in the bar graph drawing section 11, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a display such as "about 36 minutes to escape from congestion" is displayed in a display frame 33 formed above the bar graph 30. As a result, along with the display of the bar graph, the position of the vehicle in the traffic jam becomes clearer for the user, and various actions such as searching for a detour and changing a future action schedule are performed appropriately. Will be able to

The bar graph displayed as described above can be displayed in an actual image display device, for example, as shown in FIG. This figure shows an example of a two-screen display in which the screen is divided into two parts, large and small, on the left and right. The left screen shows a Koshu along a guidance route shown by a broken line in the figure as in FIG. 8A. This shows a state in which the user was caught in traffic congestion from Shimotakaido while driving on a highway. As shown in this figure, the traffic congestion starts at Shimotakaido, and the head of the traffic congestion is located at a point just before the right turn intersection.

The VICS information is shown on the small screen on the right side of the screen. In the illustrated embodiment, a bar graph represented in the form shown in FIG. 3 is displayed below the screen. In this example, it is found that the vehicle travels 2 km on a road that is already congested, and that it is 5 km from the start of traffic congestion to the head of traffic congestion. It is shown that it takes about 18 minutes to escape. In the calculation for this display, although the traffic congestion data itself does not change during the update period of the VICS data, the ratio of the bar graph and the time to escape from the traffic congestion change due to the change in the average vehicle speed due to the driving of the car. Therefore, for example, a new calculation can be performed again at intervals of 10 seconds, and the data can be updated and displayed, whereby the status can be displayed in real time.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the head of the traffic congestion extends to a point not shown on the screen. On the other hand, in the guidance route, the vehicle turns right at the intersection (C) of Koshu Highway (K). In this case, no matter how long the traffic congestion at the intersection (C) is, it has nothing to do with the host vehicle.
When setting the traffic congestion end point, it is assumed that the guidance route (I) is not at the head of the actual traffic congestion but at an intersection (C) where the guidance route (I) turns right and leaves the traffic congested road. With this setting, it is possible to obtain the current position of the host vehicle in a traffic congestion portion that has an effect on the host vehicle and the estimated time until the vehicle can depart from the traffic congestion.

At this time, the congestion end point is at the intersection (C).
Although the position may not change from the position, there may be a case before the intersection (C) depending on a change in traffic congestion. Therefore, the above-mentioned various calculations are performed while taking in VICS data at any time and checking it. As described above, by capturing the data of the guide route and extracting only the traffic jam information in the range along the guide route, more appropriate traffic jam information can be displayed.

On the other hand, when the vehicle enters a congested road while traveling, the point where the traffic enters may be set as the traffic congestion start point. In this case, the traffic congestion start point is not changed regardless of the VICS data. You can keep it.

Instead of the functional block configuration of the VICS data processing unit 20 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the VICS data processing unit 20 may be configured by, for example, functional blocks as shown in FIG. That is, as in the case of FIG. 1, data from the VICS receiving device is taken into the control unit 41 via the reception data storage unit 42, and each data of the vehicle position detection unit, the vehicle speed detection unit, and the guidance route output unit is transmitted to the control unit 41. After that, the traffic congestion end point is stored in the traffic congestion end point storage unit 43, and the corresponding data is stored in the traffic congestion start point storage unit 44, the vehicle position buffer 45, and the vehicle average speed buffer 46 as in FIG. store.

Next, the total congestion distance calculation / storage section 47 obtains the distance between the two points based on the point data in the congestion end point storage section 43 and the point data in the congestion start point storage section 44, and temporarily stores the data. I do. In the traffic distance calculation / storage unit 48 during traffic jam, the traffic jam start point storage unit 4
Based on the vehicle position 4 and the vehicle position from the vehicle position buffer 45, the distance that the vehicle has traveled in the traffic jam from the traffic jam start point is calculated, and the data is temporarily stored. Next, the traffic congestion ratio calculation / output unit 4 is executed based on the data of the total traffic congestion distance calculation / storage unit 47 and the data of the traffic congestion distance calculation / storage unit 48.
9 to calculate the ratio of travel in traffic, and the VICS information output unit 2 shown in FIG.
Output to 1. Thereby, a bar graph similar to that of the above-described embodiment is drawn, and corresponding voice guidance is performed.

The remaining traffic distance calculation / storage / output unit 5
In the case of 0, the difference between the two data is calculated to find out how long it is necessary to travel in this congested area. The data is temporarily stored and output to the VICS information output unit 21 to output ""Km" is displayed. The voice output unit performs the same voice guidance. In the above example, the congestion remaining distance is obtained by subtracting the distance traveled during congestion from the total congestion distance, but is simply a congestion end point in the congestion end point storage unit and a vehicle position buffer. The same can be obtained by calculating the distance between the current position of the vehicle. After all, both calculations are to obtain the congestion remaining distance from the congestion end point data and the vehicle position data.

On the other hand, the expected passage time calculation / output unit 51 outputs the remaining congestion distance data stored in the congestion remaining distance calculation / storage / output unit 50 and the vehicle average speed buffer 4.
The estimated time required to pass through this traffic congestion is calculated from the data of No. 6 and output to the VICS information output unit 21. As a result, the same display and audio output as in the above embodiment are performed.

In the above embodiment, the relationship between the start point of traffic congestion, the point at which the vehicle exits the traffic congestion, and the position of the host vehicle determines how much the vehicle can exit the current traffic congestion. Change, and the running speed is changed every moment so that it can be output in real time, and furthermore, the situation can be understood at a glance by a bar graph, but by using the same means as above For example, when it is notified that traffic congestion has occurred on a road ahead or on a road on a guidance route by receiving VICS information during the current driving, the vehicle enters the traffic congestion from a state where the vehicle is currently running smoothly. It is possible to know in real time how long it will take until the VICS data update period.

FIG. 11 shows a functional block diagram for implementing this. In this figure, as in FIG.
Only the inside of the VICS data processing unit 20 shown in FIG. 1 is shown, and parts not shown are the same as those shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 11, similarly to FIG. 10, data from the VICS receiving device is stored in the control unit 61 via the received data storage unit 62.
After the data of the vehicle position detection unit, the vehicle speed detection unit, and the guidance route output unit are taken into the control unit 61, the congestion start point, that is, the congestion entry point entering the congestion is stored in the congestion entry point storage unit 63. Remember.

Further, the data of the point where the traffic jam is first received at the point ahead of the road on which the vehicle is traveling or on the road on the guide route ahead is stored in the traffic jam receiving point storage unit 64. I do. Further, similarly to FIG. 10, the corresponding data is stored in the vehicle position buffer 65 and the vehicle average speed buffer 66, respectively.

Next, the point-to-point travel distance calculation / storage section 67
, The distance between the two points is obtained based on the point data in the traffic congestion entry point storage unit 63 and the point data in the traffic congestion reception point storage unit 64, and the data is temporarily stored. Further, in the already traveled distance calculation / storage unit 68, the traffic congestion reception point storage unit 6
Based on the data of No. 4 and the data from the vehicle position buffer 65, the distance traveled from the traffic congestion reception point is calculated, and the data is temporarily stored. Next, by using the data of the point-to-point mileage calculation / storage unit 67 and the data of the already mileage calculation / storage unit 68, the running ratio is calculated by performing the ratio calculation in the running ratio calculation / output unit 69,
Output to the VICS information output unit 21 as shown in FIG.
Thereby, a bar graph similar to that of the above-described embodiment is drawn, and corresponding voice guidance is performed.

The remaining travel distance calculation / storage / output unit 7
In the case of 0, the difference between the two data is calculated to determine how long the vehicle should travel before entering the congestion. The data is temporarily stored and the VICS information output unit 21 is used.
And display such as "The traffic jam is about $ km later"
The voice output unit performs the same voice guidance. Also,
The expected entry time calculation / output unit 71 calculates the expected time until the vehicle enters the congested section based on the data stored in the remaining travel distance calculation / storage / output unit 70 and the data of the vehicle average speed buffer 66, Output to the VICS information output unit 21. As a result, a display similar to that of the above-described embodiment and an audio output such as “The traffic congestion enters after 〇〇 minutes” are performed.

In each of the above embodiments, in the guidance while traveling in a traffic jam, when the driver leaves the traffic jam, the image display is deleted and the voice guidance is stopped. Further, in the guidance before entering the traffic jam, when entering the traffic jam, the image display is changed to the guidance for traveling in the traffic jam, and the voice guidance is similarly changed to the guidance for traveling in the traffic jam.

[0067]

Since the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is configured as described above, even if VICS information that can be received only at a predetermined interval of, for example, about once every 5 minutes is used, traffic congestion currently in progress can be prevented. Prediction of the time when you can exit can be displayed in real time, and the displayed bar graph allows the user to see the current position of the vehicle in the whole traffic jam in real time just by looking at the navigation device Can be grasped. As a result, the user can take appropriate countermeasures against traffic congestion, such as examining a detour or changing a future action schedule.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, furthermore, since the display can be made based on the data of the traffic congestion points along the guidance route, only the portion related to the own vehicle can be displayed clearly.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the relationship between the traffic congestion that has occurred on the guidance route and the current position can be output in real time using VICS information that can be received only at predetermined intervals. The relative position between the traffic congestion point and the host vehicle can be grasped at a glance by a bar graph, and the user can prepare for the traffic congestion in advance and take appropriate measures.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the display can be further performed based on the data of the traffic congestion points along the guidance route, only the portion related to the own vehicle can be displayed in an easily understandable manner.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is further provided an estimated time to exit a traffic jam by voice in addition to a screen display, a ratio of passing through a traffic jam, or an estimated time to enter a traffic jam.
Alternatively, it is possible to output a ratio or the like of traveling before the vehicle enters the traffic jam, so that the user can easily grasp the various situations without looking at the image display device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a portion that performs a calculation process of a traffic congestion ratio / expected passage time in a navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overall outline of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view for displaying a result calculated in FIG. 1;
It is a display example of various display parts including a bar graph.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing contents of a road unit in road data used in the navigation device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing contents of a VICS conversion layer included in a drawing unit used in the navigation device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a drawing area and a display area of a map display VRAM.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of a congestion information packet sent by VICS.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of traffic jam information and a guide route on a map display screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a bar graph and an estimated traffic exit time according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the functional blocks of the VICS data processing unit used in the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing still another example of the functional blocks of the VICS data processing unit used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control unit 2 VICS receiver 3 received data storage unit 4 vehicle position detection unit 5 vehicle speed detection unit 6 traffic congestion distance storage unit 7 traffic congestion start point storage unit 8 vehicle average speed buffer 9 vehicle position buffer 10 traffic congestion ratio / passage prediction Time calculation unit 11 Bar graph drawing unit 15 Image display device 16 Voice conversion unit 18 Speaker

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB22 HB23 HB24 HC08 HC14 HC16 HC22 HC27 HC31 HD03 HD04 HD30 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB12 AB13 AC02 AC06 AC09 AC14 AC18 AC19 AD07 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 BB13 CC12 DD04 FF02 FF02 FF02 FF04 FF25 FF27 FF35 FF36 FF40

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle position detecting means for detecting a current vehicle position, a vehicle speed detecting means, and a V for receiving VICS data.
A navigation device provided with ICS receiving means, a means for obtaining data of a congestion start point from VICS data updated to the latest received data, a means for obtaining a congestion distance from a congestion start to a congestion end point, A vehicle average speed measuring means for measuring an average vehicle speed, a traffic jam expected time calculating means for calculating a time required to pass through traffic according to each data, and a ratio of a distance traveled in a traffic jam to a distance of all traffic jam sections. A vehicle equipped with a traffic congestion ratio calculating means to be obtained, a bar graph drawing means for displaying the estimated traffic congestion time, and displaying a current vehicle position in all traffic congestion in a bar graph based on the data of the traffic congestion ratio calculating means. Navigation device. 2. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the congestion start point and the congestion end point are set to points on a guidance route. 3. A vehicle position detecting means for detecting a current vehicle position, a vehicle speed detecting means, and a V for receiving VICS data.
A navigation device provided with ICS receiving means, means for obtaining data of a congestion start point from VICS data updated to the latest received data, and means for obtaining a distance between the congestion start point and a predetermined point before the current vehicle position. And a vehicle average speed measuring means for measuring the latest average vehicle speed, a traffic congestion expected time calculating means for obtaining a time until the traffic congestion by each data, and a total traveling distance from the predetermined point to the traffic congestion start point A travel ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio of a distance traveled to the present, a bar graph drawing means for displaying the estimated time of traffic congestion, and displaying a current vehicle position in a total travel distance in a bar graph based on data of the travel ratio calculating means. An in-vehicle navigation device comprising: 4. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the congestion start point is set to a point on a guidance route. 5. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a voice output unit that outputs data corresponding to the display data by voice.