JP2001249022A - Course guidance apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To indicate to a crew a branch point on a guidance course at which a vocal course guide is carried out being distinguished from other branch points. SOLUTION: A course to the destination is calculated by a course calculation part 22 and the results are stored into a course memory part 24. The selection of a branch point at which a vocal guide is carried out by a guide branch point selection part 26a from among branch points on the course. A display part 28 is controlled by a distinction display part 26b to apply a mark at the selected branch point when the branch point is displayed. This allows a crew to recognize that the marked branch point is the one at which the vocal guidance is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
The present invention relates to a vehicle route guidance device that guides a route to a destination by voice and display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various devices for reducing the burden on the driver have been studied and mounted on vehicles. Among them, a route for guiding along a route to a destination is included. There is a guidance device. The route guidance device has a function of notifying a driver of a route to be selected when passing through a branch point such as an intersection. There is a route guidance device provided with an image display device by a display to notify a driver of a route.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-267900, an apparatus for informing a route by voice in addition to such an informing by image display is also known. According to such route guidance by voice, the driver can reduce the number and time of viewing the display and the like, and can concentrate on monitoring ahead.

[0004]

However, the conventional apparatus has a problem in that when voice guidance is given, it is difficult to determine which intersection of the map on the display screen has been given. there were. For example, there are many intersections such as intersections in an urban area, and the driver is distracted by judging which intersection the guided intersection is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and is intended for a vehicle capable of indicating to a driver which intersection of a map displayed on a screen is an intersection for which route guidance has been provided. It is an object to provide a route guidance device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vehicle route guidance device according to the present invention displays a branch point at which route guidance by voice is performed, distinguished from other branch points. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle route guidance device that includes a guidance branch point selection unit that selects a branch point for performing route guidance by voice from a branch point on a guidance route, and the selected guidance branch point. And distinction display means for displaying separately from the branch point. As a method of the distinction display, a mark can be attached to a branch point at which route guidance by voice is performed. Further, the branch point to be distinguished and displayed may be a branch point at which voice guidance relating to a course change is performed. Furthermore, when the voice guidance is provided at the branch point, the distinction display means may display the branch point separately from other branch points. Further, the display for distinguishing the branch point where the voice guidance is performed from the other branch points may be one that ends after passing through the branch point where the voice guidance is performed. Also,
When the vehicle approaches a branch point for which route guidance is provided by voice to a predetermined distance, the area around the branch point can be enlarged and displayed. The guidance route may be calculated by the vehicle route guidance device based on the set destination. Further, the mark may be displayed on the route.

[0007]

The present invention has the above-described configuration, and distinguishes and displays a branch point at which voice guidance is performed in a guidance route, for example, by adding a mark. Then, when the voice guidance is given, the distinction display can be performed for the branch point that is the guidance target. Further, the distinction display may be ended after passing through the branch point, and may be changed to a normal display. Further, when approaching a junction where voice guidance is performed, the junction can be displayed separately from other junctions, and the surrounding area can be enlarged and displayed.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present apparatus. A map information storage unit 10 for storing information such as roads, place names, building names, river names, and the like is provided, and the stored map information can be read as needed. Also, a GPS receiver 14 using a satellite navigation system (hereinafter referred to as GPS) for measuring the current position of the vehicle, and a direction sensor 1 for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle based on geomagnetism
6, a steering sensor 17 for detecting a change course based on the steering angle of the steering, and a distance sensor 18 for detecting the traveling distance based on the number of rotations of the wheels. Determines the current position of the vehicle.

When performing route guidance to the destination, the destination is instructed on the screen of a display unit to be described later by the input unit 19, or the destination is input by the place name or the like. A route from the position to the destination is calculated by the route calculation unit 22 included in the calculation unit 20, and the calculated route is stored in the route storage unit 24.

After inputting the destination and determining the route, actual route guidance is performed. The route guidance control unit 26 included in the calculation unit 20 reads map information around the own vehicle from the map information storage unit 10 and superimposes the current position and traveling direction of the own vehicle on the route stored in the route storage unit 24. Is displayed on the display unit 28.

The display unit 28 is provided in an instrument panel near the driver's seat.
To check the position of the vehicle and obtain information about the future route. FIG. 2 shows an example of this display. In FIG. 2, the selected route is indicated by a thick solid line 100, and other roads are indicated by a thin solid line 102. The position of the host vehicle is indicated by a circle 104 and the traveling direction is indicated by a wedge-shaped arrow 106. For road markings,
The distinction can be made not only by the line thickness but also by changing the color.

At the intersection 10 where the position of the vehicle is to be changed.
When the distance approaches 8, the display screen changes as shown in FIG. At the same time as this display switching, the route guidance control unit 26 instructs the voice control unit 30 to generate a voice corresponding to the route guidance at the intersection. The voice control unit 30 reads information stored as digital data in the voice storage unit, converts the information into an analog signal, and drives the speaker 34. Then, the driver gives route guidance to the driver such as "turn left at the next intersection." This voice instruction is performed at predetermined intervals until the vehicle passes through the intersection.

The features of the apparatus of this embodiment are as follows.
At a branch point such as an intersection where route guidance is provided by voice, the target branch point is to be displayed on the display unit 28 separately from other branch points. This will be described in detail below.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the route guidance control unit 26 includes a guidance junction selection unit 26a and a distinction display unit 26b. The guidance branch point selection unit 26a selects a branch point for which route guidance is to be performed, in the route stored in the route storage unit 24 described above. This selection is performed under a predetermined condition, for example, at an intersection where the vehicle turns right or left at a crossroad, Y
In the case of a character road, both roads are almost equal in width, and the road is selected in accordance with conditions such as when it is difficult to determine which road is to be driven. Conversely, if the vehicle goes straight ahead even when approaching a crossroad, route guidance is not performed, and the width of one of the roads is large, or the center line of a Y-shaped In such cases, route guidance is not performed. As described above, the present device is configured so as not to give the driver the feeling that “unnecessary guidance has been provided” by limiting the opportunity for voice guidance.

Further, the own vehicle approaches the branch point to be route-guided, that is, the branch point selected by the guide branch point selecting unit 26a, and the enlarged view around the branch point as shown in FIG. When displayed, a mark 120 is displayed at the corresponding intersection at this time. The mark 120 is a square mark in FIG. 3, but may of course be another figure, and may be a mark by changing the surrounding and color. It is also preferable that this mark be displayed blinking. When there is a mixture of guided junctions and non-guided junctions, the driver can quickly confirm the target intersection when voice guidance is given by indicating the corresponding junctions with the landmarks. be able to.

Next, the flow of the display control of the mark of the calculated branch point on the route will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S201, it is input whether or not a request for voice route guidance at a branch point is required. This is because there is no need to be guided when traveling on a well-known road, and the driver makes this determination. In step S202, it is determined whether the target branch point is an intersection requiring voice guidance. For example, if the vehicle is going straight ahead at a crossroad, NO is returned. If the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step S207, which will be described later. If YES, step S203
Then, the coordinates of the corresponding branch point are input. Further, in step S204, voice generation timing data is input. This means that the sound generation timing is set to 350 m, 150 m, and 50 m before the corresponding intersection.
Is set. Of course, this numerical value can be changed according to various conditions. Then, if it is determined in step S205 that it is time to generate a sound, a mark (mark 120 in FIG. 3) is displayed at the corresponding intersection on the display screen in step S206. Then, after passing through this intersection, step S20
At 7, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination, the process returns to step S202, and the above-described flow is repeated again.

In the above description, the selection of a branch point for performing route guidance is performed by the guide branch point selection unit 26a of the route guidance control unit 26. Can also be entered.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The branch point at which the route guidance is provided by voice is displayed separately from the other branch points, so that the driver can immediately determine the branch point to be guided. In addition, when the route guidance by voice is performed, if the branch point targeted for the guidance is displayed separately, the driver can immediately confirm at which branch point the content of the guidance that has been performed is to be executed. can do. In other words, even if the voice guidance is given, the driver does not know which branch point, and the driver "improper guidance was given."
Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the apparatus according to the present embodiment, particularly illustrating an example of an enlarged display when approaching a branch point where route guidance is performed by voice.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of control for distinguishing and displaying branch points at which route guidance is performed by voice in the apparatus of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 map information storage unit, 19 input unit, 22 route calculation unit, 26a guidance junction selection unit, 26b distinction display unit.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular route guidance device that provides guidance by voice and display according to a preset route and guides a route to a destination, wherein route guidance related to a course change is performed by voice. A vehicle route guidance device for displaying a guidance junction with a mark that can be distinguished from other junctions. 2. A route guidance device for a vehicle, which provides guidance by voice and display according to a preset route and guides a route to a destination, wherein a route change from a branch point on the guidance route by voice is performed. Guidance junction selection means for selecting a guidance junction for performing related route guidance, and distinguishing display means for marking the selected guidance junction and displaying the guidance junction in a distinguishable manner from other junctions And a vehicle route guidance device having: 3. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the distinctive display means attaches the mark to the guidance junction when the voice guidance is provided for the selected guidance junction. The route guidance device for vehicles, which is displayed. 4. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the voice guidance at the selected guidance junction is guidance relating to a guidance junction to be passed. 5. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the display of attaching the mark to the guidance junction is completed after passing through the guidance junction. 6. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the own vehicle approaches the guidance junction for a predetermined distance, the periphery of the guidance junction is displayed in an enlarged manner. apparatus. 7. A vehicular route guidance device that provides guidance by voice and display according to a preset route and guides a route to a destination, wherein a route change by voice from a branch point on the guidance route is provided. Guidance junction selection means for selecting a guidance junction for performing related route guidance, and when the vehicle approaches the selected guidance junction,
A route guidance device for a vehicle, comprising: means for displaying an enlarged view around the junction; and means for displaying a mark of a guide junction in the enlarged view. 8. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 7, further comprising: means for determining whether or not it is time to generate a route guidance by voice, and wherein the means for displaying the mark comprises: A vehicle route guidance device for displaying a mark at a guidance junction at a timing. 9. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 2, wherein the route to the destination is calculated by the vehicle route guidance device based on a set destination. Route guidance device. 10. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the mark is displayed on a route.