JP2001264100A - Route-searching display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a superior route-searching display device making features on a road confirmable, even during displaying of a guide route or the like, without impairing map information by displaying the searched route or the like, after performing transparrent processing to allow road on a map to be seen through. SOLUTION: A microprocessor 21 searches a guide route R from a present position detected by the output of an azimuth sensor 12 and a GPS receiver 15, to the destination received by a receiving part 20 through the input operation of an operating part 19, and originates the display data of a layer M of the guide route R and a map layer m, which includes a road r. A plotting processor 26 originates display data displayed on a display part 18, by compositing after performing transmission processing to the layer M of the guide route R and the map layer m of the road r, and displays the data on a display part 18, together with the map around the present position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route search display device, for example, which is mounted on an automobile or the like and displays a searched route to a destination on a map of a place where the vehicle is currently traveling on a display device. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device for displaying a map of a current position on a liquid crystal monitor screen or the like has become widespread, and this navigation device is generally used to guide a user to a predetermined destination. A route search and display device for searching for a guide route from the current position to the destination and displaying the screen on a displayed map is mounted.

[0003] Such a route search and display device detects, for example, the traveling speed and traveling direction of a vehicle when mounted on a vehicle, together with current position information obtained by a detecting means such as a GPS receiver. Also, map information such as background information of rivers and facilities is read together with road information stored in a CD-ROM or the like, and a map near the current position is displayed on a screen by a display means such as a liquid crystal display. When the destination is set and entered, the guidance route from the departure point, such as the current position, to the destination is calculated.
By searching and displaying the guide route together with the current position of the vehicle on the map, the user can be guided to the destination.

[0004] The map information stored in the CD-ROM is, for example, background data and character data divided for each unit map from a wide area level to a detailed level according to the latitude and longitude of the whole Japan as data for navigation processing. Data, road data, and the like are written. When the navigation device displays the current position and the guidance route on the screen, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a map layer m that displays a road r near the current position is displayed. A map data (display data) is generated by superimposing a created layer M for displaying the created guide route R by a drawing processor and generating one map data as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the information is displayed on the screen 100 of the liquid crystal display. The screen 10 of the liquid crystal display shown in FIG.
At 0, the position and traveling direction of the own vehicle are indicated by a mark P,
The type of road such as the national road r1, the prefectural road r2, and the general road r3 can be determined at a glance.

[0005] In general, the route search and display device does not need to provide a guide especially when the vehicle only travels along the selected route without a junction such as an intersection or when traveling along a road. When it is necessary to make a right or left turn at a fork, a function is provided for providing a guidance display for instructing in which direction to turn before reaching the fork.

[0006] This branch guidance display indicates an instruction of a turning direction (branch guidance), for example, 400 m before the branch point or 20 minutes.
It is designed to start from a point with a certain margin from the branch point, such as 0 m before, 100 m before, etc.
As shown in FIG. 17, an enlarged deformed view of the branch point is displayed on the entire screen 100 of the liquid crystal display.
As shown in the figure, the liquid crystal display screen 100 is divided into two parts, a normal route guidance map is displayed on the right side, and an enlarged deformed map of the junction is displayed on the left side, so that the turning direction at the junction is displayed. Can be determined instantaneously, and route guidance that is easy to understand and highly secure can be provided. The screen 100 of the liquid crystal display shown in FIG.
In, the turning direction at the junction is displayed at the image position of the junction with an arrow D thinner than the road r, and the remaining distance L to the junction and the name of the intersection N at the junction are displayed on the same screen. .

[0007]

However, in such a conventional route search and display device, the creation layer M
Is overwritten on the map layer m, and the map data to be displayed on the screen is created. As shown in FIG. 16, the road r in the map layer m is completely hidden by the displayed guide route R, I cannot see the road information. In particular, even when the display color is changed according to the type of road, or when a feature such as a fine shape of a road or an instruction on a road is displayed in a city map, an enlarged map, or the like, it is displayed as the guidance route R. However, there is a problem that such information is lost even if it is originally advantageous to provide guidance to the user.

Also, in the branch guidance display, as shown in FIG. 17, when the arrow D is displayed on the road r, the ordinary road display becomes invisible, and it becomes impossible to know surrounding road information. In addition, as shown in FIG. 18, in particular, when two screens are displayed, there is a problem that the display range of the road r becomes narrow, and it becomes impossible to know the road information around the branch point in a wide range. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. The route and branch guidance searched are displayed by performing a transparency process so that a road on a map can be seen through, and displayed. It is possible to provide an excellent route search and display device which can confirm the features on the road even during the display of, and does not impair the map information.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a route search and display apparatus for displaying display data, a current position detecting means for detecting a current position, a destination inputting means for inputting a destination, Route search means for reading stored map data and searching for a route from the current position to the destination; and generating the display data based on the map data and the route data searched by the route search means. A route search display device comprising a display processing unit, wherein the display processing unit has a configuration of performing a transparency process on the route data to create the display data synthesized with the map data, and It is preferable to provide a designating means for designating the transmittance of the transmission processing by the processing means.

In a case where the apparatus further comprises route guidance means for performing guidance at least at a branch point to the destination based on the route data searched by the route search means, the display processing means includes: The display data is created based on the route data and the branch guidance data by the route guidance means, and the display data is synthesized with the map data and the route data by performing a transparency process on the branch guidance data. The transmission processing may be performed on both the route data and the branch guidance data.

With this configuration, when displaying the searched guidance route and branch guidance from the current position to the destination on the map, the route data and the branch guidance data that have been subjected to the transparency processing are combined with the map data. Display data is created. Therefore, the map information is not completely hidden by the search route and the branch guidance, and the transmittance of the transparency process can be arbitrarily specified, so that the lower layer can be selected according to the user's preference and visibility. A map or the like can be displayed in a transparent manner, and a guide route or a branch guide can be displayed without losing map information such as a display color of the road or information necessary for traveling.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 10 are views showing an example of a navigation device equipped with a first embodiment of the route search and display device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a navigation device 10
A sensor signal processing unit 14 for processing a sensor signal from a direction sensor 12 including a vibration gyro or the like for detecting a relative running direction of a vehicle and a speed sensor 13 for generating a pulse corresponding to the number of rotations of a wheel. And a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 15 that receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of satellites orbiting the earth and obtains the position (latitude, longitude) of the receiving point from the difference in arrival time of the radio waves.
And VICS (Vihi which receives traffic information such as traffic congestion information)
cle Information & Communication system) Receiver 16
And road network data representing road connection information, the location and name of landmark facilities, and background data such as parks, rivers, and coastlines.
A CD-ROM / DVD reader 17 for playing back media 17a such as a CD-ROM or a DVD disk, which stores compressed video data such as Picture Experts Group, and extracting recorded data; A display unit 18 formed of a color liquid crystal display for displaying an azimuth and a light receiving unit 20 for receiving an operation signal from an operation unit 19 of the infrared remote controller are connected, and both the display unit 18 and the operation unit 19 are used in a vehicle interior. On the other hand, the apparatus main body 11 is also installed in a vehicle compartment or in a trunk room.

The apparatus main body 11 includes a program ROM 22 for storing various arithmetic processing programs, a azimuth sensor 12, and a microprocessor 21 as a central processing unit for performing various arithmetic operations and controlling each unit of the apparatus and executing a navigation process. Speed sensor 13, GPS receiver 15, VI
A DRAM 23 for storing data from the CS receiver 16 and the CD-ROM / DVD reader 17 and a result of arithmetic processing by the microprocessor 21, and a backup for storing necessary data even when power supply is stopped. S
RAM 24, GPS receiver 15, VICS receiver 1
6. The interface LSI 25 for connecting to the CD-ROM / DVD reader 17 and the like, and the display data to be displayed on the screen of the display unit 18 based on the map information and the current position data of the vehicle are designated by the color palette 26a. Drawing processor 26 and drawing processor 2
Display memory 2 for storing the display data created by step 6
7 is connected.

Media 17a, for example, CD-ROM1
As shown in FIG. 2, the disk label 31, the drawing parameter 32, the leaf management information 33, the leaf (map data) 34, the index data 35, and the route search data 36
Map information and the like are stored in a data format example such as

The leaves 34 include background data, character data,
Road data and the like are stored for each unit map obtained by dividing a topographic map of the whole of Japan by latitude / longitude, and map data describing a wide area roughly (map display level A) to map data describing a narrow area in detail ( A map display level C) is prepared. Each of the map display levels A to C is composed of map display level management information and a plurality of units. The unit includes a unit header and a character for each of the divided areas obtained by dividing the area of each of the map display levels A to C into a plurality. It is described and configured by layers, background layers, road layers, option layers, and the like. The text layer contains place names that appear on the map,
Road names, facility names, etc. are stored, and roads,
Data for drawing a facility or the like is stored, and data for describing a road including an intersection is stored in the road layer. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, data on coordinate points (nodes) and lines (links) for describing roads including intersections, for example, node numbers / latitude / longitudes of nodes, links Are stored. In FIG. 3,
The circles indicate simple nodes, the crosses indicate intersection nodes, the lines between the nodes indicate links, and the data stored in this road layer is not directly involved in the map display, but is used for road networks such as map matching. Used as information.

In the route search data 36, search data is recorded for each layer from a layer "0" for a small area to a layer "n" for a large area. , Node connection data 37, link estimated transit time (link cost) data 38, and route display data 39. The node connection data 37 is data indicating how each node is connected to another node. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, nodes a to g, x,
The node c in y indicates that it is connected to the nodes a, d, f, and y. Also, link cost data 38
Is data indicating the link cost of the link between the nodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the link cost of the link between the node a and the node c is “5”, and the link cost between the node a and the node d is This shows that the link cost of the link between them is “20”. The route display data 39 records data for displaying the route selected by the route search on the display map. Data 3
The link cost of No. 8 can be obtained from the following equation, and the set speed is set according to the road type and the road width. Link cost = link distance / set speed

In the apparatus main body 11, the microprocessor 21 calculates the current position of the own vehicle based on the outputs of the direction sensor 12 and the speed sensor 13 sent from the sensor processing unit 14, and calculates the current position of the vehicle. By obtaining the latitude and longitude and correcting the current position based on the data from the GPS receiver 15, an accurate current position is obtained, and thereafter, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The map data of the unit corresponding to the current position is stored in a CD-ROM / DVD reader 17 on a CD.
-Read out from the ROM / DVD disk 17a and store it in the DRAM 23 via the interface LSI 25 (step S1); read out a portion corresponding to the current position of the map data stored in the DRAM 23; The data (drawing command) is written and stored in the display memory 27 (steps S2 and S3), and the display data (map data) stored in the display memory 27 is converted by the drawing processor 26 into color signals corresponding to the color palette 26a. Then, the data is sent to the display unit 18 so that a map of a predetermined range including characters such as place names and symbols such as schools around the current position is displayed on the screen.

At this time, when displaying the generated display data as map data on the display unit 18, the microprocessor 21 uses the drawing processor 26 to display the character layer, background layer, By overlaying a plurality of layers such as a road layer, display data of a map m in a predetermined range including characters such as place names and symbols such as schools is created together with a road r centered on the current position,
It is displayed on the display unit 18.

When a destination is set by the operation unit 19, the microprocessor 21 first sets the input destination (step S11) as shown in the flowchart of FIG. It is determined whether or not to start the route search based on the presence or absence of the operation of the route search switch No. 19 (step S12). When there is no route search instruction, only the map of the current position is displayed, and the process waits. Then, a route search is performed (step S13), and a layer M that displays the selected search route R in red or the like is overlaid on the map m, and the display unit 1
8 (step S14). For example, when searching for a guidance route R from the departure point (current position) x to the destination y shown in FIG. 4, the departure point node (current position node) ) Add the link costs of all the routes from x to the destination node y, and link x → a → c → d → f
The total link cost of the route → g → y is “10 + 5 + 5
+ 5 + 5 + 5 = 35 ”, the route connecting these links is selected as the guide route R, and as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the search route R displayed in red is superimposed on the road r on the map m. It is displayed on the display unit 18.

At this time, the microprocessor 21 superimposes the creation layer M for displaying the selected route R and the map layer m for displaying the road r by the drawing processor 26 as shown in FIG. The map data including R and the road r is created and displayed on the display unit 18. The guide route R is subjected to a process of transmitting predetermined lower-level map information at a recognizable transmittance, and the created layer M And the map layer m are superimposed on each other.
Is a guide route R displayed with a wider width than the road r on the map.
Inside, a road r can be seen through. Specifically, the designated area of the transparency processing, that is, the display color of the selected route R and the display color of the portion superimposed on the designated area on the map layer m are blended according to the transmittance to provide guidance. A transparent process is performed so that the lower road r can be seen through the route R.

Therefore, by displaying the guide route R, the road r and the like in the map layer m are not hidden and hidden as in the prior art shown in FIG. 12, but as shown in FIG. Through the route R, road information such as the fine shape of the road r and instructions on the road can be seen, and the user can be guided without losing useful information.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the searched guide route R from the current position to the destination is displayed on the map m, the route data is subjected to transparency processing and the display data synthesized with the map data is displayed. A state where the information can be displayed on the display unit 18 and the map information is not completely hidden by the search route R, and the information on the road r selected as the guide route R and its surroundings can be seen through. Can guide the user. Therefore, it is possible to comfortably travel (guide) to the destination according to the guide route R while recognizing information necessary for the travel displayed on the map (without impairing the visibility of the map information by the guide route). it can.

As another aspect of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the navigation device 10 is operated by a destination input means 5 for setting a destination input from the operation unit 19.
1, a vehicle position detecting means 52 including a direction sensor 12, a speed sensor 13, a sensor signal processing unit 14, and a GPS receiver 15, and a CD-ROM / map ROM for storing map data read by the CD-ROM / DVD reader 17. In addition to the storage means 53 comprising the DVD disk 17a and the display means 54 for displaying the created map data on the display unit 18, the transmission means arbitrarily inputted from the operation unit 19 to receive and designate the transmittance. It is preferable to provide the rate specifying means 55.

With this configuration, the display processing unit 57 is formed on the guide route R searched by the microprocessor 21 forming the route search unit 56 from the current position to the destination in consideration of the information from the VICS receiver 16. The drawing processor 26 can perform transparency processing according to the transmittance set arbitrarily in consideration of the user's preference, visibility, and the like, so that the map information such as the lower road r can be comfortably displayed through the guide route R. Can recognize and confirm.

More specifically, for example, the transmittance can be specified for each color palette of each layer, and in the layer M displaying the selected guide route R, the transmission of the color palette of the portion displaying the guide route R is performed. If the rate is set to a level at which the road r on the map layer m can be recognized, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, even when the created route M is superimposed on the map layer m and the selected guide route R is displayed. , The road r on the map can be seen through.

Next, FIGS. 11 to 14 are views showing an example of a navigation device equipped with a second embodiment of the route search and display device according to the present invention. Since the present embodiment is configured substantially in the same manner as the above-described embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the characteristic portions will be described.

In FIG. 11, a navigation device 60 is shown.
Is a destination input means 51, a vehicle position detecting means 52,
Storage means 53, display means 54, transmittance specifying means 55
, A route search means 56 and a display processing means 57, and the microprocessor 21 of the route search means 56 is required to make a right or left turn at an intersection or the like on the guide route R searched from the current position to the destination. When a point (intersection node) approaches, the microprocessor 21 functioning as route guidance means 61 creates a guidance display (branch guidance data) for instructing which direction to turn before reaching the branch point. The drawing processor 26 of the display processing means 57 performs a transparency process on the guidance display in accordance with the set transmittance so that the map information such as the lower road r and the guidance route R can be visually recognized. To be displayed.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the drawing processor 26 displays a map layer m for displaying a road r on a map.
And the creation layer M1 for displaying the selected guidance route R
And a creation layer M2 for displaying the own vehicle position mark P of the own vehicle position and a creation layer M3 for displaying a deformed map D of an arrow wider than the road r indicating the turning direction at the branch point. The map data is displayed on the display unit 18 of the display means 54 as a piece of map data to provide branch guidance. Here, the road r on the map and the selected guidance route R
The case where all the vehicle position marks P are created as different layers will be described. However, depending on the number of layers that can be superimposed, they may be created and displayed on the same layer.

At this time, the transmittance can be designated (set) for each color palette of each layer m, M1 to M3, the deformed diagram D of the arrow of the creation layer M3, the vehicle position mark P of the creation layer M2, The guide route R of the creation layer M1 is sequentially overwritten as the upper layer, and the lower layer is not made invisible, and the road map information displayed on the map layer m can be seen through. The transparent processing includes a designated area for the transparent processing,
That is, the deformation color D of the arrow, the vehicle position mark P, the guidance route R, and the display color of the portion superimposed on the map layer m are blended in accordance with the respective transmittances so that the lower layer information can be seen through. Perform transmission processing so that it can be performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the functions and effects of the above-described embodiment, when branch guidance is performed on the searched guidance route R from the current position to the destination, the deformation of the arrow with the transparent processing is performed. FIG. D, the vehicle position mark P and the guidance route R can be combined and displayed on the map m, and the information on the road r and its surroundings can be checked without hiding the map information completely. The user can be guided by the guidance route R and the branch guidance in a state where the user can perform the navigation. Therefore, the vehicle travels comfortably to the destination in accordance with the branch guidance on the guide route R while recognizing the information necessary for traveling displayed on the map (without impairing the visibility of the map information by the guidance route and the branch guidance). (Induction).

As another aspect of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the microprocessor 21 of the route guidance means 61 approaches a branch point such as an intersection on the guidance route R which needs to make a right or left turn. In this case, an arrow is superimposed on the road on the map, and a guidance display with good visibility as shown in FIG. 13 for instructing in which direction to turn at the intersection is created and displayed on the display unit 18 of the display means 54. In the map being displayed, the map processor 26 of the display processing means 57 displays the map information such as the lower guide route R and the road r so as to be visible. In FIG. 12, arrows are superimposed and displayed on roads on the map, not in an enlarged view. However, in FIG. 13, large arrows are displayed to increase visibility.

More specifically, the drawing processor 26 includes a map layer m for displaying a wide area map including the road r, a creation layer M1 for displaying the guide route R, and a creation layer M2 for displaying the own vehicle position mark P. Above, a creation layer M3 that displays a deformed map D of an arrow indicating a turning direction at an intersection without matching the size of the road r according to the scale of the wide area map is superimposed on one map data. Is displayed on the display unit 18 of the display means 54, and the remaining distance L to the intersection of the first intersection (intersection node m) passing through the guidance route R and its name N are displayed as the branch guidance. . By displaying the branch guidance on the map on the reduced scale displayed in the wide area in this way, an intersection (intersection node n) that turns left as soon as the intersection (intersection node m) guided by the arrow deformed map D turns right comes. The user can be guided so as to be able to recognize the fact.

It should be noted that the display of arrows and the like for indicating right and left turns is not limited by the relationship between the display direction on the map and the traveling direction, as shown in FIG. Is displayed by an arrow, it is easy to confirm the direction of right / left turn with respect to the traveling direction. FIG.
As shown in (b), if a right / left turn is displayed along the route to be guided, centering on the intersection where the right / left turn is made, it becomes easy to confirm the intersection position and the right / left turn direction. further,
The display of the direction of turning right and left may be such that the angle of the curved part of the arrow is changed according to the angle of turning right and left, and as shown in FIG. 14C, the right or left direction is indicated by a straight arrow. And so on.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to display the guide route and the branch guidance which have been subjected to the transparent processing so as to be superimposed on the map, without being completely hidden by the guide route and the branch guide. , You can see through the map. Therefore, it is possible to provide a route search and display device having an excellent effect that the visibility of the map information is not impaired by the guide route and the branch guidance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of an example of a navigation device equipped with a first embodiment of a route search and display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram showing an example of a format of data used in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of data used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a search for a guide route according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating display of a map according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating creation of display data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a route search according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating creation of display data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a display example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating another aspect of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a navigation device equipped with a second embodiment of the route search and display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating creation of display data according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a display example of another aspect of the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a display example of another aspect of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating creation of display data according to the related art.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a display example of the related art.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a display example of a branch guide according to the related art.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a display example different from FIG. 17 of the branch guide of the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 navigation device 11 device main body 12 direction sensor 13 speed sensor 14 sensor signal processing unit 15 GPS receiver 16 VICS receiver 17 CD-ROM / DVD reader 17a CD-ROM / DVD disk 18 display unit 19 operation unit 20 light receiving unit 21 Microprocessor 22 Program ROM 23 DRAM 24 SRAM 25 Interface LSI 26 Drawing processor 26a Color palette 27 Display memory 51 Destination input means 52 Own vehicle position detection means 53 Storage means 54 Display unit 55 Transmittance designation means 56 Route search means 57 Display processing Means 61 Route guidance means D Arrow L Remaining distance N Intersection name P Own vehicle position mark R Guide route r Road

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G08G 1/0969 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/00 G09B 29/00 A 29/10 29/10 A G09G 5 / 36 510 G09G 5/36 510B 5/377 H04N 1/387 H04N 1/387 G09G 5/36 520M

Claims (3)

[Claims] A display means for displaying display data; a current position detection means for detecting a current position; a destination input means for inputting a destination; A route search display device comprising: a route search unit that searches for a route to the destination; and a display processing unit that creates the display data based on the map data and the route data searched by the route search unit. A route search and display device, wherein the display processing means performs a transparency process on the route data to create the display data synthesized with the map data. 2. A display means for displaying display data, a current position detection means for detecting a current position, a destination input means for inputting a destination, and a pre-stored map data which is read out from said current position and Route search means for searching for a route to the destination, route guide means for providing guidance at least at a junction to the destination based on the route data searched for by the route search means, the map data,
A display processing unit that creates the display data based on the route data and the branch guidance data by the route guidance unit, wherein the display processing unit performs a transparency process on the branch guidance data. And generating the display data combined with the map data and the route data. 3. The route search and display device according to claim 1, further comprising a designation unit for designating a transmittance of a transmission process by the display processing unit.