JP2003130657A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily grasp the positional relationship between a vehicle's position and a destination without losing sight of the destination. SOLUTION: First, the navigation device of the present invention, as shown in Figure (a), conducts routing assistance along a searched guided route RT1 on a map scale SC1 (for example, a 100-meter scale). When a destination DE2 is displayed in a display screen DP2 as a vehicle travels, as shown in Figure (b), the display of a destination DE3 is fixed in the center of a display screen DP3, and map display and routing assistance is conducted with changing the map scale to a map scale SC3 (for example, a 200-meter scale) so as to fit a vehicle's position CM3 and the destination DE3 in the display screen DP3, as shown in Figure (c).

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates generally to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, and more particularly to a navigation device that displays a searched route and guides the user to a destination. . 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device, which is being equipped as standard equipment in a vehicle, provides a route guidance from a current vehicle position to a destination set by a user so that the user can easily and surely make the destination. It was made to arrive to. That is, the navigation device periodically measures the vehicle position, reads map information around the vehicle position from a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or a hard disk, displays a map image on a display screen, and displays a predetermined position on the map image. The vehicle position mark is superimposed and displayed. And
As the current position of the vehicle changes as the vehicle travels,
By moving the vehicle position mark on the display screen, or by scrolling the map while fixing the vehicle position mark at a predetermined position such as the center of the screen, the surrounding map of the vehicle position can always be understood at a glance. . [0003] Such a navigation device is provided with a route guidance function that enables the user to easily travel on a road to a destination set by a user without making a mistake. According to this route guidance function, a route with the lowest cost connecting the vehicle position to the destination is automatically searched for by performing a simulation calculation such as a horizontal search method or a Dijkstra method using map information. Then, the searched route is stored as a guidance route, and during traveling, the guidance route is displayed on the map image in a different color from the other roads in a thicker color,
The user is guided to a desired destination by drawing an arrow indicating a course at an intersection on the guidance route where the course is to be changed and displaying the screen on a screen. A map displayed on the display screen of the navigation device includes a north-up display in which the north on the map is always directly above and a head-up display in which the traveling direction of the vehicle is always directly above. There is a bird's-eye view display or the like as viewed from above the rear of the vehicle. [0005] The north-up display is displayed on the map so that the north on the map is always directly above without being influenced by the traveling direction of the vehicle. Therefore, the absolute direction (east-west-north-south direction) between the vehicle position and the desired point can be grasped. There was an advantage that it was easy. In addition, since the heading-up display is displayed on a map so that the traveling direction of the vehicle is always directly above, the map information ahead of the vehicle position can be easily grasped, and even in the bird's-eye view display, the heading-up display is further ahead. It had the advantage of being able to check map information. In the bird's-eye view display described above, in order to display a map viewed from above the rear of the vehicle, a predetermined compression is performed in the vertical direction of the map to display the map. In addition, the map is rotated and displayed in accordance with the traveling of the vehicle so that the traveling direction of the vehicle is always right above. For this reason, when the destination comes to be displayed on the display screen as the vehicle travels, a problem as shown in FIG. 4 has occurred. [0007] For example, in FIG.
When the vehicle M4 is traveling on the guide route RT4 toward the destination DE4, the vehicle moves at the intersection CP4 even though the destination DE4 is displayed in the display screen DP4 at the stage shown in FIG. When the vehicle turns to the right at the vehicle position CM5, the guide route RT4 compressed in the vertical direction becomes the guide route 5 in the left-right direction that is not compressed, so that it is displayed longer than when displayed vertically. As shown in FIG. 3B, the destination DE5 protrudes from the display screen DP5 and is not displayed, so that the user loses his / her destination, and the positional relationship between the vehicle position and the destination is lost. Was. In the north-up display and the heading-up display, when the destination is displayed on the display screen, it is displayed on the edge of the display screen, so that it is difficult to find the position of the destination. It was difficult to confirm the positional relationship between the vehicle position and the destination. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation apparatus which can easily grasp the positional relationship between a vehicle position and a destination when the vehicle arrives around the destination without losing the destination. It is. According to the present invention, there is provided a position measuring section for measuring a current position of a vehicle, a map data storing section for storing map data, and display of predetermined information. A display unit, an operation unit for inputting a destination and setting a map scale, and a route search for searching for a route from the current position of the vehicle measured by the position measurement unit to the destination input by the operation unit. And the map data corresponding to the current position of the vehicle is read from the map data storage unit, and the map and the route are displayed on the display unit,
When the destination is displayed on the screen of the display unit at the set map scale, the destination is fixed at the center of the screen of the display unit so that the vehicle position and the destination can fit in the same screen. A display control unit for changing to a map scale is provided. Next, an embodiment of a navigation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the present invention. In the figure, CMs 1 to 3 are marks indicating the current position of the vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a vehicle position), and DE1 to 3 are marks indicating the location of the destination (hereinafter, referred to as a destination). DP
Reference numerals 1 to 3 denote screens of a display device provided in the navigation device, and a map display in the screen is a bird's-eye view view looking down from above the rear of the vehicle. RT1 to RT3 are vehicle positions C
Guidance route from M1-3 to destinations DE1-3, SC1
3 to 3 are scales of the map displayed on the display screens DP1 to DP3. As shown in FIG. 1A, the navigation device according to the present invention first has a map scale SC1 (for example, 100
(m scale), the route guidance of the searched guidance route RT1 is performed. (B) As shown in FIG.
Is displayed, the display of the destination DE3 is fixed to the center of the display screen DP3 as shown in (c), and the vehicle position CM3 and the destination DE3 fall within the display screen DP3. Map scale SC3 like
(E.g., 200 m scale) for map display and route guidance. The vehicle position CM3 depends on the running of the vehicle.
When the remaining distance between the vehicle and the destination DE3 decreases, the map scale is changed according to the remaining distance to display the route from the vehicle position to the destination in detail, or the map is displayed centering on the destination. After the map scale is fixed, the vehicle position CM3
May be displayed as a map by simply moving. When displaying the map, a north-up display in which the north on the map is directly above the display screen or a heading-up display in which the traveling direction of the vehicle is directly above the display screen may be used. By doing so, a map around the vehicle position centering on the destination is displayed, so that the user can easily grasp the positional relationship between the vehicle position and the destination, and loses the destination. Such a problem can be solved. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 10 denotes a navigation controller, 20 denotes a ROM disk reproducing unit for reproducing a ROM disk such as a DVD-ROM for storing various data necessary for displaying a map such as map data, road data, and character data; Display and facility display, a display device for displaying a map including character information, etc., 40 is a speaker for outputting guidance voice, electronic sound, and the like,
Reference numeral 50 denotes an operation unit (for example, a remote control device) for inputting various commands to the navigation controller 10, and the user inputs a setting of a map scale, a destination, and the like. Reference numeral 60 denotes a GPS receiver that receives a radio wave from a satellite to measure the current position and current direction of the vehicle, and 70 denotes a self-contained navigation sensor. The GPS receiver 60 performs three-dimensional positioning or two-dimensional positioning processing to calculate the position and orientation of the vehicle, and outputs these together with the positioning time. Self-contained navigation sensor 70
Although not shown in the figure, a relative azimuth sensor (angle sensor) such as a vibration gyro for detecting the rotation angle of the vehicle, and a distance sensor for generating one pulse every predetermined traveling distance are provided. In the navigation controller 10, a processor (CPU) 11 controls the entire navigation controller 10, and controls and instructs each unit, determines an input from the operation unit 50, and the like. A ROM 12 stores various programs for performing, for example, a search and guidance of a guidance route from a vehicle position to a destination, a map matching process for correcting a vehicle position on a map, and the like, and a calculation result (for example, This is a RAM that stores the searched guidance route data and input contents from the operation unit 50, and various data read by the ROM disk reproduction unit 20, and the stored information is not erased even when the power supply is turned off. It is composed of a memory and the like. Reference numeral 14 denotes a ROM disk control unit.
Predetermined map data, road data, character data, and the like are read from the ROM disk via the M disk reproducing unit 20 as necessary, and the read various data are stored in the RAM 13. For example, when scrolling a map displayed on the screen of the display device 30, various data such as map data, road data, character data, and the like corresponding to a plurality of sheets (a plurality of units) around the vehicle position or the cursor position are displayed.
The data is read from the OM disk and stored in the RAM 13. Reference numeral 15 denotes a display control unit for creating a map image around the vehicle position and other drawings using various data such as map data, road data, and character data stored in the RAM 13. It also includes a VRAM for storing drawing data. Reference numeral 16 denotes an audio output unit for outputting various guidance sounds (for example, an intersection guidance sound at the time of route guidance) and electronic sounds (for example, a beep sound when an input from a remote controller or the like is received), and 17 an operation unit An interface (I / F) for receiving a signal corresponding to the operation from the CPU 50 and transmitting the signal to the CPU 11,
A position measuring unit that calculates and outputs the current position and current direction of the vehicle based on the GPS data of the S receiver 60 and the output data of the self-contained navigation sensor 70. Next, the map display processing of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the CPU 11 determines whether or not a destination has been set from the operation unit 50 via the I / F 17 (step 101). If not set, the CPU 11 waits until a destination is set. If the destination is set, the position measurement unit 18 acquires the current position of the vehicle calculated from the GPS data of the GPS receiver 60 and the output data of the self-contained navigation sensor 70 (step 102). Next, a program relating to a route search is read out from the ROM 12, and a guidance route from the obtained vehicle position to the set destination is stored in the ROM disk control unit 14,
A search is performed based on the road data recorded on the ROM disk via the ROM disk reproducing unit 20, and the searched guidance route data is stored in the RAM 13. And CPU
Numeral 11 denotes a ROM disk control unit 14 and a ROM disk reproduction unit 20 which read map data and road data around the vehicle position from the ROM disk and store them in the RAM 13, and a display control unit 15 stores the map data stored in the RAM 13. A map image around the vehicle position is created based on the data, the road data, the searched route data, and the map scale set by the user, and the map image is displayed on the display device 30 (step 103). Here, the searched guidance route is displayed in a predetermined thick display color (for example, red or purple) so as to be distinguishable from other roads. Further, the CPU 11 periodically acquires the vehicle position calculated by the position measuring unit 18, confirms a change in the vehicle position, and detects that the vehicle has started traveling. Route guidance is started based on the data (step 104). Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the destination is displayed on the screen of the display device 30 at the map scale set by the user as the vehicle travels (step 105). If is not yet displayed on the display screen, the route guidance is continued. On the other hand, when the destination comes to be displayed on the display screen, the display control unit 15 proceeds to FIG.
As shown in, the destination is fixed at the center of the display screen, the vehicle position and the destination are changed to a map scale that fits within the display screen, the map is displayed on the display device 30, and route guidance based on the guidance route data is performed. Is continued (step 106). As for the map display thereafter, as described in the outline of the present invention in FIG. 1, the map scale SC3 is changed according to the remaining distance from the vehicle position CM3 to the destination DE3. A detailed display of the guidance route RT3 from the position CM3 to the destination DE3 is performed.
Scale SC3 after changing to map display centered on
May be fixed and displayed only by moving the vehicle position CM3 on the map. Further, when performing the map display of the present invention, any of a north-up display in which the north on the map is always directly above, a heading-up display in which the traveling direction of the vehicle is always directly above, and a bird's-eye view display in which the vehicle is viewed from above the rear of the vehicle can be used. It does not matter. Thereafter, the CPU 11 checks the current position of the vehicle periodically acquired from the position measuring unit 18 to determine whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination (step 107). The process ends, and if the vehicle has not arrived, the route guidance is continued. As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the current position of the vehicle is acquired, a guidance route from the current position to the destination input by the user is searched, and the ROM disk control unit 14 and the ROM disk reproduction are searched. The map data corresponding to the current position is read from the ROM disk by the unit 20, and a map image for displaying the current position and the guidance route of the vehicle based on the map data is displayed on the display control unit 15.
The map image is created by the display device 30
Is displayed on the screen of the display device 30, and when it is determined that the destination is displayed on the screen of the display device 30 at the map scale set by the user as the vehicle travels, the destination is displayed on the screen. By changing the map scale so that the current position and the destination of the vehicle fit within the same screen and fixed at the center of the vehicle, the positional relationship between the vehicle and the destination can be easily and appropriately determined. While the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention can be variously modified in accordance with the gist of the present invention described in the claims, and the present invention does not exclude these. . According to the present invention, when the destination is displayed on the display screen at the map scale set by the user, the display of the destination is fixed at the center of the display screen. In addition, the surrounding map of the vehicle position is displayed at a scale such that the vehicle position and the destination fit within the display screen, so that the user can easily grasp the positional relationship between the vehicle position and the destination. Thus, problems such as losing a destination can be solved. [0029]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a map display process of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a defect of a conventional map display. [Description of Signs] 10: Navigation controller 11: CPU 12: ROM 13: RAM 14: ROM disk control unit 15: Display control unit 16: Audio output unit 17: I / F 18: Position measurement unit 20: ROM disk reproduction unit 30: Display device 40: Speaker 50: Operation unit 60: GPS receiver 70: Self-contained navigation sensors DP1 to 5: Display screen CM1 to 5: Vehicle position (mark) DE1 to 5: Destination (mark) RT1 to 5: Guide routes SC1-3: Map scale CP4: Intersection

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A position measurement unit for measuring a current position of a vehicle, a map data storage unit for storing map data, a display unit for displaying predetermined information, a destination input and a map scale. An operation unit for performing the setting of: a route search unit that searches for a route from a current position of the vehicle measured by the position measurement unit to a destination input by the operation unit; and a corresponding to the current position of the vehicle. The map data to be read from the map data storage unit, the map and the route are displayed on the display unit, and when the destination is displayed on the screen of the display unit at the set map scale, A navigation device comprising: a display control unit that fixes a destination at a center of a screen of a display unit and changes the map scale so that the vehicle position and the destination fit within the same screen.