JP2001208556A - Map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display device by which a crossing is discriminated more easily and by which the drive of a vehicle can be made easy near a signal crossing. SOLUTION: On a display screen 1, a signal mark 15 is displayed in the crossing C1 in which the vehicle is estimated to pass next along a guidance route R from a present position indicated by a pointer P. No signal mark is displayed in other crossings. The signal mark 15 has a shape which is the same as the shape of a signal which is installed actually in the crossing C1, and it has a shape (a) which is provided with, e.g. an auxiliary signal 15a for 'Turn to the Right'. Thereby, a user easily grasps the crossing, he knows the shape of the signal in advance, and he can drive the vehicle safely and with latitude.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map display device for displaying a map including a traffic light mark on a display means.

[0002]

For example, in a map display device used in a car navigation device, a schematic traffic light mark is displayed on a display portion of a signalized intersection as intersection guidance information. I have. Using this map display device, the driver of the vehicle compares the presence or absence of the traffic light mark displayed on the map display device with the presence or absence of the traffic light at the actual intersection to determine the current position or the position to turn left or right. It becomes easy to recognize.

[0003] However, even if the driver can grasp the current position and the route to be traveled, it may be difficult for the driver to travel in the intended direction because the driver is not guided on the road and cannot understand the form of the traffic light. . For example, while traveling on an overtaking lane (right lane) of a two-lane road on the way to the next signalized intersection, the driver installed at the intersection has an auxiliary signal for turning right. You have to make a sudden lane change in the foreground,
A case may be considered in which a right turn of another vehicle traveling from behind is prevented.

In the conventional map display device of a car navigation system, only the presence or absence of a traffic signal at an intersection is known. Therefore, even if the driver can recognize the route to be driven, it is still difficult to drive. It was easy to fall into. Also, in the conventional map display device, even when there are several signalized intersections at short intervals, the same traffic light mark is displayed, so that it is sometimes difficult to identify the intersections.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to make it easier to identify an intersection and to facilitate driving of a vehicle near a signalized intersection by using a displayed map. It is an object of the present invention to provide a map display device for displaying such a traffic light mark.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the means described in claim 1 can be employed. According to this means, when displaying the traffic light mark at the intersection display portion of the map, the display control means displays the mark having the same form as the form of the traffic light installed at the actual intersection. By comparing the form of the traffic light installed at the actual intersection with the form of the traffic light mark displayed on the display means, the user of the display device can further easily identify the intersection and grasp the current position.

When the map display device is used for driving a vehicle, the form of the traffic light at the intersection can be known in advance, so that it is possible to operate in accordance with the form of the traffic light and to operate near the intersection. Easier to remove. As a result, a marginal operation is possible, and safety is enhanced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the actual traffic light is accompanied by an auxiliary traffic light for right turn, left turn, straight ahead, etc., the display control means indicates the direction of the direction of the auxiliary traffic light. Is displayed, the intersection can be identified more reliably, and errors in the current position and route are further reduced. In addition, when the map display device is used for driving the vehicle, the direction indicated by the auxiliary traffic signal becomes clearer, and driving becomes easier. In addition, the arrow indicates a right turn at the crossroads,
It is possible to display not only an instruction direction of left turn and straight ahead, but also an instruction direction such as diagonally forward at an intersection where roads intersect irregularly.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the display control means displays the signal mark with the auxiliary signal larger than the signal mark without the auxiliary signal, so that the user can use the signal with the auxiliary signal. , And when an arrow is displayed, the arrow becomes easy to see.

According to the fourth aspect, the display control means displays the traffic light mark only at the next signalized intersection on the basis of the current position and the traveling direction detected by the position detecting means. Therefore, for example, when the map display device is used for driving a vehicle, the traffic signal that the driver should follow next (becomes visible) matches the traffic signal mark displayed on the map display device. This makes it easier to identify the intersection and makes driving easier.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a car navigation device will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall schematic configuration of a car navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 2, a position detector 3, a map data input device 4, an operation switch group 5, an external memory 6, a display device 7, an external information It comprises an input / output device 8 and a remote control sensor 9.

The control circuit 2 includes a car navigation device 1
Has a function of controlling the overall operation of the microcomputer, and is mainly configured by a microcomputer. That is, the control circuit 2 is configured to include a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, a bus connecting these, and the like (all not shown). Of these, the ROM stores an execution program for operating the car navigation device 1,
The RAM temporarily stores temporary data at the time of program execution, map data obtained from the map data input device 4, and the like. The control circuit 2 has a function as a display control unit of the present invention.

Also, a position detector 3 as position detecting means
Is a geomagnetic sensor 10, a gyroscope 11, a distance sensor 12, and a GPS (Global Positioning System).
) Receiver 13. Since these sensors 10 to 13 have detection errors having different properties, they perform high-accuracy position detection while complementing each other. Further, depending on the required level of detection accuracy, it is not necessary to provide all the sensors 10 to 13, and it is possible to adopt a configuration in which necessary sensors are appropriately selected and provided. Further, the position detector 3 may be configured by combining a rotation sensor for steering, a wheel sensor for detecting rotation of each wire, and the like.

The map data input device 4 is, for example, a DVD-R
It is configured by a reading device that reads an information recording medium such as an OM, and is a device for inputting various data such as map data, map matching data, landmark data, and HTML information (Internet information). As the information recording medium, for example, a CD-ROM, a memory card, or the like may be used.

The display device 7 as a display means is provided with a display screen such as a liquid crystal display.
The display device 7 can clearly display a map, characters, images, and the like on this display screen in color (see FIG. 3B).
The display device 7 is configured to be able to display additional data such as a pointer indicating the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle, a guidance route, and the like on a display screen displaying the map data.

The operation switch group 5 is provided integrally with, for example, the case of the display device 7 and is composed of various operation switches, and is used for inputting data and setting items. The external information input / output device 8 includes information provided from outside (for example, VICS: Vehicle Info).
rmation & Communication System) and transmits information to the outside. In this case, information received from outside via the external information input / output device 8 is processed by the control circuit 2. The information processed by the control circuit 2 is output (transmitted) from the external information input / output device 8 to the outside.

The control circuit 2 of the car navigation device 1 automatically sets an optimal route from the current position to the destination as a guide route when the user operates the operation switch group 5 or the remote controller 14 to set a destination. And a function of executing a map matching process for positioning the current position on a map, a function of browsing general information such as HTML information (Internet information), and the like. As a method for automatically setting the optimum route, for example, the Dijkstra method is known.

When a destination is input by operating the operation switch group 5 or the remote controller 14, an index combining the required time and the facility name is displayed on the display device 7, and the destination is selected from the index. You can choose. In this case, the required time used for the index is configured to be calculated and obtained by the control circuit 2 using data from the map data input device 4, the external memory 6, and the external information input / output device 8.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. The map data recorded on an information recording medium such as a DVD-ROM includes road information, building information, information on the presence or absence of a signal at each intersection, and information on the form of a traffic signal installed at each signal intersection. Is stored. Here, the form information of the traffic light is information such as whether the main traffic light is a three-light type or a single light type of red or yellow, and whether an auxiliary traffic light for right turn, left turn, straight ahead, or the like is attached.

The DVD-ROM, the external memory 6 and the like have previously stored therein traffic signal marks corresponding to various forms of such traffic lights. FIG. 3A shows an example of a traffic light mark 15 schematically showing a traffic light having a form in which an auxiliary traffic light for turning right is attached to a three-light main traffic light. An arrow 15a is displayed in the auxiliary traffic light.
When displaying the traffic light mark 15 on the display screen, the control circuit 2 displays the traffic light mark 15 with the auxiliary traffic light larger than the traffic light mark without the auxiliary traffic light so as to make the arrow 15a easy to see. The control circuit 2 displays the arrow 15a only when the traffic signal mark 15 is displayed relatively large on a display screen such as an enlarged view of an intersection, and the traffic signal mark 15 is displayed relatively small on a display screen such as a wide area map. In such a case, the arrow 15a may not be displayed.

The arrow 1 in the auxiliary signal at the signal mark 15
Even if 5a is not displayed, the traffic light mark 15
According to which position (lower right, lower left, lower center) of the main traffic light the auxiliary traffic light is located at, it is possible to determine which of the auxiliary traffic lights for right turn, left turn and straight ahead.

FIG. 3B shows an example of a map display displayed on the display screen of the display device 7. In this figure, a display screen includes a pointer P indicating a current position and a traveling direction, a guide route R, map orientation and scale information D, current time information S, expected arrival time information T at a destination, and information on a destination. Is displayed. In the lower part of the displayed map, what operation mode the car navigation device 1 is set to, and what display mode the map displayed on the screen (city map display mode, wide area map, (Display mode) is displayed.

On the guide route R, a traffic light mark 15 with an auxiliary traffic light for turning right is displayed at the display portion of the next traffic light intersection C1 at the destination of the pointer P.
The traffic light mark 15 has a form similar to the form of the actual traffic light that the user (the driver of the vehicle) should follow at the intersection. On the display screen, no traffic signal mark is displayed at other signalized intersections.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a display process for a traffic light mark executed by the control circuit 2 of the car navigation device 1. Hereinafter, this processing content will be described. When the distance from the current position indicated by the pointer P to the intersection that is expected to pass next along the guidance route R (intersection C1 in FIG. 3B) becomes less than or equal to the predetermined distance, the control circuit 2 Start display processing.
The control circuit 2 reads the next intersection information, that is, the presence or absence of a traffic light and the form of the traffic light from an information recording medium such as a DVD-ROM via the map data input device 4 in step S1. However, when the intersection information is read from the DVD-ROM into the external memory 6 in advance, the intersection information may be read from the external memory 6.

The control circuit 2 determines whether there is a traffic signal at the next intersection based on the read intersection information (step S2), and if there is no traffic signal, determines "NO" and terminates the process. . In this case, the control circuit 2 restarts the traffic signal mark display process when the vehicle passes the next intersection and the distance to the next intersection becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

On the other hand, if the control circuit 2 determines in step S2 that there is a traffic light ("YES"), the control circuit 2 sets the traffic light from the external memory 6 (or DVD-ROM) at the intersection based on the read intersection information. The traffic light mark having the same form as the traffic light thus read is read out and displayed on the intersection display portion (step S3).

Subsequently, the control circuit 2 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection (intersection C1) (step S1).
4) If it is determined that the vehicle has not passed (“NO”), the process proceeds to step S3, and if it is determined that the vehicle has passed (“YES”), the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, the control circuit 2 deletes the traffic signal mark at the intersection (intersection C1) and ends the processing. Then, the control circuit 2 checks the intersection (see FIG. 3) that is expected to pass further along the guide route R.
In (b), when the distance to the intersection C2) becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the display processing is restarted from step S1.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the map data used by the car navigation device 1 includes not only the presence / absence of a traffic light but also the form information of the traffic light (information such as whether or not an auxiliary traffic light is attached) as intersection information. ) Is also recorded. When the control circuit 2 displays the traffic light mark on the display screen superimposed on the map, the display control is performed such that the traffic light mark having the same form as the traffic light installed at the actual intersection is displayed based on the traffic light form information. I do.

As a result, the user can easily identify the intersection and grasp the current position by comparing the form of the traffic light installed at the actual intersection with the form of the traffic light mark displayed on the screen.

Also, the user can know in advance whether there is an auxiliary traffic light for right turn, left turn, straight ahead, or the like at the traffic light at the intersection that passes next. It is possible to travel while appropriately selecting a lane so that the vehicle is not obstructed or hinders the traveling of another vehicle. By performing the driving according to the form of the traffic light at the intersection in this way, the flow of the vehicle becomes smooth, the traffic congestion can be reduced, and a rear-end collision near the intersection can be prevented. In addition, a situation in which the vehicle should go straight ahead but is forced to make a right turn due to the right turn signal is less likely to occur.

Further, since the arrow 15a is displayed in the auxiliary signal at the signal mark, the form of the signal can be more easily understood, and errors in the current position and the route can be reduced. Further, by displaying the arrow 15a, it is possible to display not only an instruction direction of a right turn, a left turn, and a straight traveling at a crossroad, but also an instruction direction of a diagonally forward direction at an intersection where roads intersect irregularly.

Further, a traffic light mark 1 with an auxiliary traffic light
Since 5 is displayed larger than the traffic light mark without the auxiliary traffic light, the user can easily recognize that the auxiliary traffic light is attached to the traffic light, and the arrow becomes easy to see.

The control circuit 2 displays a traffic signal mark for an intersection that is expected to pass next along the guide route R from the current position when the intersection is a signalized intersection. Is not displayed,
The map display becomes easier to see. Then, since the traffic signal to be followed (to be seen next) by the user coincides with the traffic signal mark displayed on the map display device, the intersection can be more easily identified and the vehicle can be driven more easily.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows. As the form of the traffic light, not only the presence or absence of the auxiliary traffic light and the number of lamps, but also the installation form of the traffic light, for example, horizontal or vertical, can be considered, and the traffic light mark may be changed according to those forms. In the case of a blinking type, the lamp portion of the traffic light mark may be displayed blinking on the display screen.

In the above embodiment, if no traffic signal is installed at the intersection expected to pass next along the guide route R, a traffic signal mark is displayed on the map until the traffic signal passes through the intersection. Not done. However, the control circuit 2
May be controlled so that a traffic signal mark is displayed at a signalized intersection expected to pass next.

When it is easy to recognize the traffic light mark on the display screen, the traffic light mark 15 with the auxiliary traffic light and the traffic light mark without the auxiliary traffic light may be displayed in the same size. Further, a traffic signal mark may be displayed at a main signalized intersection, and a traffic light mark may be blinked particularly at a signalized intersection that is expected to pass next along the guide route R from the current position.

Although the present invention is applied to a configuration in which a map is displayed two-dimensionally on the display device 7 (so-called 2D display), the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a map is displayed three-dimensionally on the display device 7 (so-called 3D display). ) May be applied.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the car navigation device 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a portable navigation device, a device for displaying a map (a personal computer or a dedicated device), or the like. May be applied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a car navigation device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing display control of a traffic light mark.

3A is a diagram showing a traffic light mark, and FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a car navigation device (map display device), 2 is a control circuit (display control means), 3 is a position detector (position detection means), 7 is a display device (display means), 15 is a traffic light mark, and 15a is an arrow. Show.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Display means capable of displaying a map, and display control means for displaying a map on the display means based on map data, wherein the display control means displays a traffic light mark on an intersection display portion of the map. When displaying, a map display device displaying a mark having a form similar to that of a traffic light installed at an actual intersection. 2. The display control means according to claim 1, wherein when an actual traffic light is accompanied by an auxiliary traffic light for right turn, left turn, straight ahead, etc., the display control means displays an arrow indicating a direction indicated by the auxiliary traffic light. The map display device according to claim 1. 3. The map display device according to claim 2, wherein said display control means displays a signal mark with an auxiliary signal larger than a signal mark without an auxiliary signal. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a position detecting unit that detects a current position and a traveling direction, wherein the display control unit displays the traffic light mark only at a next signalized intersection at a traveling destination. The map display device according to any one of the above.