JP2003057051A - Navigation system and judgment method for vehicle running position in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system constituted so as to obtain position information more precise than position information capable of being acquired by a GPS receiver and to provide a judgment method for a vehicle running position in the navigation system. SOLUTION: The navigation system is provided with an irregularity- information storage part (15) which stores irregularity information on a road surface so as to be related to map information, an irregularity detection part (19) which detects irregularities of the road surface and a position judgment part (22) which calculates the position of a vehicle on a road on the basis of the pieces of information. A position detection and judgment means (13) reads out the irregularity information from the part (15) used to store the irregularity information on the road surface, it receives distance information from a vehicle- running-distance calculation part (17), and it receives the information from the part (22). On the basis of all the pieces of received information, the road on which the vehicle is run and its running position are judged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device equipped with a position determination unit for detecting vibrations and sounds on a road surface and determining a position where the road is uneven, and a vehicle position determination method in the device. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, GPS (Global Positio) has been used as a means for confirming the current position and traveling speed of a traveling vehicle.
ning System) A position detection method using a positioning device, an independent method, a map matching method, and the like. The self-sustaining type is to know the current position based only on the data acquired by itself such as the direction and vehicle speed sensor, and the map matching method detects the position by collating the above data with the road data.

An information providing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-254913 is known, and its configuration is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, voice / still image /
Data such as images and position information from the position information generation unit 2 are input to the position information added data generation unit 3. The position information generation unit 2 acquires a geographical position at the time when the above data is acquired using a GPS receiving device (not shown). At the same time, the built-in clock also acquires the date and time at that time.

The data generating unit with position information 3 adds data type information indicating the type such as whether the data is an image or a sound, edits the data into a predetermined format and outputs it to the data bus 4. To do.

The user can directly read the information on the data bus 4 and, at the same time as acquiring the data, obtain the position of the user at the time when the data is acquired. Further, when the user moves, it is possible to confirm the destination data acquired along with it. Data flowing on the data bus 4 can be recorded or transmitted to another place.

[0006]

However, in the above device, the positional information is only added to the acquired data, and therefore the accuracy of providing the positional information is as high as that of the positional information that can be acquired by the GPS receiving device. It was low.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device configured to obtain more accurate position information than a position information that can be acquired by a GPS receiving device, and a method for determining a vehicle traveling position in the device.

[0008]

A navigation device according to the present invention comprises an unevenness information storage unit for storing unevenness information on a road surface in association with map information, an unevenness detection unit for detecting unevenness on the road surface, and the unevenness information. It is characterized by further comprising a position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position by comparing and determining road surface unevenness information read from the storage unit and detection information from the unevenness detection unit.

Further, the navigation device of the present invention is characterized in that the unevenness detecting section detects the unevenness of the road surface by detecting a vibration based on the unevenness of the road surface.

Further, the navigation device of the present invention is characterized in that the unevenness detecting unit detects a distance interval between vibration generation positions based on the unevenness of the road surface.

The navigation apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the unevenness detecting section detects the unevenness of the road surface by detecting the generation of sound based on the unevenness of the road surface.

The navigation device of the present invention is characterized in that the unevenness detecting unit detects a distance interval between sound generation positions based on the unevenness of a road surface.

Further, in the method for determining the vehicle traveling position in the navigation device of the present invention, the position determining means receives the information from the unevenness detecting unit which detects the unevenness of the road surface and judges the position where the unevenness of the road surface is detected. Including the steps, the position detection determination means reads the unevenness information from the unevenness information storage unit that stores the unevenness information of the road surface, the step of receiving distance information from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit, and the position determination means. It is characterized by including a step of receiving information, and a step of determining a road on which the vehicle is traveling and a traveling position based on the unevenness information, the distance information and the information from the position determining means. .

As described above, according to the present invention, the positions where vibrations and sounds are generated based on the unevenness of the road surface or the distance intervals at which they are generated are detected and judged together with the output information of the GPS receiver. , It is possible to determine the position of the road on which the vehicle is running and the position of the vehicle on the road very accurately.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a navigation device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the signal received by the GPS radio wave receiving antenna 11 is received and demodulated by the GPS receiver 12. The output of the receiver 12 is input to the position detection determination unit 13. The output of the position detection determination unit 13 is input to the data processing unit 14. Map data storage unit 1
In addition to a normal map, 5 stores the location of a member that gives vibration when a vehicle passes, together with the type of the member, as the road surface unevenness condition. The member that gives vibration when the vehicle passes is, for example, a joint between roads such as an overpass, an overpass, and a railroad crossing, and unevenness on the road for slowing speed, a reflector plate embedded in the road, and hard paint. Further, distance information from a predetermined distance measurement starting point is also stored in association with the same map.

The display unit 16 is for displaying the data from the data processing unit 14. The vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17 calculates a travel distance that is proportional to the number of rotations of the wheels when the vehicle travels. The calculated distance will be displayed on the meter as required. Further, a device for resetting the display value is provided, and it is possible to calculate the traveling distance starting from the reset position. Further, the information on the calculated traveling distance is configured so that it can be sent to a position determining unit, which will be described later, or the like, if necessary.

The direction sensor 18 detects in which direction the vehicle is traveling. The vibration detection unit 19 detects the vibration generated when passing through the position of the above-mentioned "member giving vibration". The vibration storage unit 20 stores the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 19. The vibration generation position calculation unit 21
The detection data obtained from the vibration storage unit 20, the travel distance from the starting point obtained from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17,
The position of vibration generation is calculated based on

The position determination unit 22 compares the position of vibration on the road detected by the vibration generation position calculation unit 21 with the vehicle with the position of vibration generation on the map database recorded in the map data storage unit 15. If the same, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified that the vehicle is traveling on a road provided with a member that gives vibration.

The operation of the vehicle navigation device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the operation flowchart shown in FIG. The GPS radio wave receiving antenna 11 receives position information from GPS satellites and sends the information to the GPS receiver 12. The GPS receiver 12 demodulates the position signal from the GPS antenna 11 and outputs the position signal to the position detection determination unit 13
Send to.

On the other hand, the vibration detection unit 19 and the vibration due to the unevenness on the road surface are detected and a vibration signal is sent to the vibration storage unit 20. The vibration storage unit 20 stores the vibration signal and sends the vibration signal to the vibration generation position calculation unit 21 at a predetermined time. The vibration generation position calculation unit 21 calculates the vibration generation position based on the traveling distance from the predetermined starting point obtained from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17 and the vibration signal from the vibration storage unit 20, and the calculated signal to the position determination unit 22. Is sent (step S1 in the flowchart of FIG. 2).

The position determination unit 22 makes the following determination in step S2 of the flowchart of FIG. That is,
When the vibration occurrence position data on the map database stored in the map data storage unit 15 and the vibration occurrence position of the unevenness of the road acquired from the vibration occurrence position calculation unit 21 are compared, and when the positions match, Is step S2
The Yes output shown in step S3 advances to step S3. As a result, the position determination unit 22 knows that the vehicle is traveling on “road 1” provided with a member that gives vibration. Then, in step S <b> 5, the information that it is determined that the road is provided with a member that gives vibration and the position information for vibration detection are sent to the position detection determination unit 13.

If the positions do not match in the determination in step S2, the No output shown in step S2 is output and the process proceeds to step S4. As a result, in step S4, the position determination unit 22 determines that the distance from the starting point on the road provided with the member that gives vibration is a close value, but is traveling on another road, or that a different member is detected. Then, it is determined that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is another road, that is, "road 2". Next, in step S5, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified of the determination result.

When the position detection determination unit 13 receives information from the position determination unit 22 that the road and position are correct, the GP
Position signal from S receiver 12, vehicle mileage calculator 17
The current position of the vehicle is determined by determining all of the distance information from the vehicle, the orientation signal from the orientation sensor 18, and the information from the map data storage unit 15. Then, the determined data of the current position is sent to the data processing unit 14, and the data processing unit 14 further sends it to the display unit 16. The display unit 16 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a road in which a member that gives vibration is detected, and displays the accurate position of the vehicle on the road on the map.

When the above-mentioned road is erroneously detected, the position detection determination unit 13 does not transmit data to the data processing unit 14, so that the display unit 16 does not display the data.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention. 3, the configuration different from FIG. 1 is a vibration detection unit 23, a vibration storage unit 24, a vibration interval calculation unit 25 with respect to distance, and a position determination unit 26, and the other components are the same as those in FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 similarly to FIG.

The vibration detecting unit 23 runs on a road provided with a member that gives vibration as the unevenness of the road, and "vibrates".
Is detected at least twice, and the detected data is sent to the vibration storage unit 24. The vibration storage unit 24 stores the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit 23. Vibration interval calculation unit 25 for distance
Calculates the interval between the detected vibrations based on the detection data obtained from the vibration storage unit 24 that stores the vibrations. Therefore, in this embodiment, the starting point information for measuring the distance is not necessary, and the distance interval between the two vibration detection points may be acquired. And the information of the acquired vibration interval,
It is sent to the position determination unit 26 (step S6 in the flowchart of FIG. 4).

In step S7 of the flowchart of FIG. 4, the position determination unit 26 obtains information on the vibration generation position and its interval on the map database stored in the map data storage unit 15, and the vibration interval calculation unit for the distance. 25, and compares with the interval obtained in 25. When the two intervals match, the Yes output shown in step S7 causes step S8.
Proceed to. As a result, the position determination unit 26 knows that the vehicle is traveling on “road 1” provided with a member that gives vibration. Then, in step S <b> 10, information indicating that the road has been provided with a member that imparts vibration and information regarding vibration interval detection are sent to the position detection determination unit 13.

If it is determined in step S7 that the two intervals do not match, the process proceeds to step S9 with No output in step S7. As a result, in step S9, the position determination unit 22 is traveling on another road or the distance between the points where the vibration is detected is close to each other on the road provided with the member that gives the vibration, although they are close values. It is determined that a member has been detected, and the traveling road is determined to be another road, that is, “road 2”. Next, in step S10, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified of the determination result.

When the position detection judgment unit 13 receives information from the position judgment unit 26 that the road and the position are correct, the GP
Position signal from S receiver 12, vehicle mileage calculator 17
The current position of the vehicle is determined by determining all of the distance information from the vehicle, the orientation signal from the orientation sensor 18, and the information from the map data storage unit 15. Then, the determined data of the current position is sent to the data processing unit 14, and the data processing unit 14 further sends it to the display unit 16. The display unit 16 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a road in which the installation intervals of the members that give vibration are detected, and displays the accurate position of the vehicle on the road on the map.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the vehicle navigation device of the present invention. 5 is different from the configuration in FIG. 1 in that the sound detection unit 27, the sound storage unit 28, and the sound generation position calculation unit 2
9 and the position determination unit 30, other components are the same as those in FIG.

The sound detecting section 27 is a member that generates sound, for example, a seam between roads such as an overpass, an overpass, and a railroad crossing, unevenness on the road to reduce speed, a reflector embedded in the road, hard paint, etc. When traveling on a road provided with and, the sound generated due to the unevenness is detected. The detected data is sent to and stored in the sound storage unit 28. Sound storage unit 28
Stores the sound detected by the sound detector 27. The sound generation position calculation unit 29 calculates the position of the sound generation based on the detection data obtained from the sound storage unit 28 storing the sound and the travel distance from the starting point obtained from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17. To do.

The position determination unit 30 compares the sound generation position on the road detected by the sound generation position calculation unit 29 by the vehicle with the sound generation position on the map database recorded in the map data storage unit 15. When the same, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified that the vehicle is traveling on “road 1” provided with a member that generates sound.

The operation of the vehicle navigation device shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the operation flowchart shown in FIG. The GPS radio wave receiving antenna 11 receives position information from GPS satellites and sends the information to the GPS receiver 12. The GPS receiver 12 demodulates the position signal from the GPS antenna 11 and outputs the position signal to the position detection determination unit 13
Send to.

On the other hand, the sound detecting section 27 detects the sound due to the unevenness on the road surface and sends it to the sound storing section 28. Sound memory 2
Reference numeral 8 stores the detected sound signal and sends the sound signal to the sound generation position calculation unit 29 at a predetermined time. Sound generation position calculation unit 29
Calculates the sound generation position based on the travel distance from the predetermined starting point obtained from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17 and the sound signal from the sound storage unit 28, and sends the calculation signal to the position determination unit 30 (see FIG. 6). Step S11) in the flowchart.

The position determination unit 30 makes the following determination in step S12 of the flowchart of FIG. That is, by comparing the sound generation position data on the map database stored in the map data storage unit 15 with the sound generation position of the unevenness of the road from the sound generation position calculation unit 29, the positions are the same. If YES, then Yes shown in step S12
With the output of s, the process proceeds to step S13. As a result, the position determination unit 30 knows that the vehicle is traveling on “road 1” provided with a member that generates sound. Then, in step S15,
Information indicating that the road is determined to have a member that generates sound and position information for sound detection are sent to the position detection determination unit 13.

If it is determined in step S12 that the positions are not the same, the process proceeds to step S14 with No output in step S12. As a result, in step S14, the position determination unit 30 detects a member that is traveling on another road or has a different distance from the starting point on the road provided with the member that generates the sound, although the distance from the starting point is close. It is determined that the road on which the vehicle is running is another road, that is, “road 2”. Next, in step S15, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified of the determination result.

When the position detection judgment unit 13 receives the information that the road and the position are correct from the position judgment unit 30, the GP detects the GP.
Position signal from S receiver 12, vehicle mileage calculator 17
The current position of the vehicle is determined by determining all of the distance information from the vehicle, the orientation signal from the orientation sensor 18, and the information from the map data storage unit 15. Then, the determined data of the current position is sent to the data processing unit 14, and the data processing unit 14 further sends it to the display unit 16. The display unit 16 determines that the road has detected a member that generates sound, and displays the accurate position of the vehicle on the road on the map.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the fourth embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention. The configuration of FIG. 7 different from that of FIG.
The sound detection unit 31, the sound storage unit 32, the distance-based sound interval calculation unit 33, and the position determination unit 34, and the other components are the same as those in FIG.

The sound detecting section 31 travels on a road provided with a member for generating sound as the unevenness of the road, detects "sound" at least twice, and sends the detected data to the sound storing section 32. The sound storage unit 32 stores the sound detected by the sound detection unit 31. The sound interval calculation unit 33 for the distance calculates the interval of the detected sound based on the detection data obtained from the sound storage unit 32 that stores the sound. Therefore, in this embodiment, the starting point information for measuring the distance is not necessary, and the distance interval between the two sound detection points may be acquired. Then, the acquired distance interval information is sent to the position determination unit 34 (step S16 in the flowchart of FIG. 8).

In step S17 of the flow chart of FIG. 8, the position determination unit 34 obtains information on the sound generation position and its interval on the map database built in the map data storage unit 15, and calculates the sound interval for distance. It is compared with the interval obtained in 33. When the distance between the two matches,
The Yes output shown in step S18 causes step S20.
Proceed to. As a result, the position determination unit 34 sends, to the position detection determination unit 13, information indicating that it is the “road 1” provided with a member that generates sound and information regarding the sound detection interval.

If it is determined in step S17 that the two intervals do not match, the result of step S18 is No.
By the output, the process proceeds to step S19. As a result, in step S19, the position determination unit 34 is traveling on another road or a different member, although the distance between the points where the sound is detected is close in the road provided with the member that generates the sound. Is detected, and the road on which the vehicle is traveling is judged to be another road, that is, “road 2”. Then in step S20
Then, the position detection determination unit 13 is notified of the determination result.

When the position detection determination unit 13 receives information from the position determination unit 34 that the road and the position are correct, the GP
Position signal from S receiver 12, vehicle mileage calculator 17
The current position of the vehicle is determined by determining all of the distance information from the vehicle, the orientation signal from the orientation sensor 18, and the information from the map data storage unit 15. Then, the determined data of the current position is sent to the data processing unit 14, and the data processing unit 14 further sends it to the display unit 16. The display unit 16 determines that the road has detected the installation interval of the members that generate sound, and displays the accurate position of the vehicle on the road on the map.

(Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment of the present invention is a method for determining a vehicle traveling position in the configuration of the navigation device shown in FIG. 1, for example. In the navigation device, as a step for determining the vehicle traveling position, first, the position determining means (corresponding to the position determining unit 22) receives information from the unevenness detecting unit (for example, the vibration detecting unit 19) that detects the unevenness of the road surface. The position where the unevenness of the road surface is detected is determined, and the position detection determination means (position detection determination unit 1
(Corresponding to 3).

As a next step, the position detection determining means reads out the unevenness information from the unevenness information storage unit (corresponding to the map data storage unit 15) storing the unevenness information of the road surface, and from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17. Receive distance information,
Further, the information from the position determination means (corresponding to the position determination unit 22) is received. Then, the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the traveling position are determined based on all the received information. When the unevenness detection unit that detects the unevenness of the road surface multiple times and calculates the unevenness interval of the road surface is provided, the step of receiving distance information from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit 17 described above can be omitted. . Further, when the vehicle position is finally determined, the position may be comprehensively determined by taking into consideration the position signal from the GPS receiver 12, the direction signal from the direction sensor 18, and the information from the map data storage unit 15. it can.

[0046]

As described above, according to the navigation device of the present invention, the unevenness information storage unit that stores the unevenness information of the road surface in association with the map information, the unevenness detection unit that detects the unevenness of the road surface, Since the vehicle includes a position calculation unit that calculates and determines the vehicle position by comparing and determining road surface unevenness information read from the unevenness information storage unit and detection information from the unevenness detection unit, it detects road surface unevenness. When this is done, the position can be accurately acquired, and the road on which the vehicle is traveling can be correctly determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention,

2 is an operation flowchart of a position determination unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention,

4 is an operation flowchart of the position determination unit in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention,

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the position determination unit in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention,

8 is an operation flowchart of the position determination unit in FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Data input section 2 Position information generator 3 Data generator with location information 4 data bus 11 GPS receiving antenna 12 GPS receiver 13 Position detection determination unit 14 Data processing unit 15 Map data storage 16 Display 17 Vehicle mileage calculator 18 Direction sensor 19 Vibration detector 20 Vibration memory 21 Vibration generation position calculation unit 22 Position determination unit 23 Vibration detector 24 Vibration memory Vibration interval calculator for 25 distances 26 Position determination unit 27 sound detector 28 sound memory 29 Sound generation position calculation unit 30 Position determination unit 31 sound detector 32 sound memory 33 Sound interval calculator for distance 34 Position determination unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An unevenness information storage unit that stores unevenness information of a road surface in association with map information, an unevenness detection unit that detects unevenness of the road surface, and unevenness information of the road surface read from the unevenness information storage unit. A navigation device comprising: a position calculation unit that calculates and determines the vehicle position by comparing and determining the detection information from the unevenness detection unit. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the unevenness detecting unit detects the unevenness of the road surface by detecting vibration based on the unevenness of the road surface. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the unevenness detection unit detects a distance interval between vibration generation positions based on the unevenness of the road surface. 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the unevenness detecting unit detects the unevenness of the road surface by detecting generation of sound based on the unevenness of the road surface. 5. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the unevenness detecting unit detects a distance interval between sound generation positions based on unevenness of a road surface. 6. The position determining means includes a step of receiving information from an unevenness detecting unit which detects unevenness of the road surface and judging a position where the unevenness of the road surface is detected, wherein the position detecting and judging means includes The step of reading the unevenness information from the unevenness information storage unit storing the unevenness information, the step of receiving the distance information from the vehicle travel distance calculation unit, the step of receiving the information from the position determination means, the unevenness information and the distance information And a step of determining a road on which the vehicle is traveling and a traveling position on the basis of the information from the position determining means, the method for determining the vehicle traveling position in the navigation device.