JP2003148973A - Navigation system, method of displaying condition of congestion, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system that can properly display a condition of congestion outside a displaying range. SOLUTION: A processing control part retrieves a prescribed number of routes from the present position of own vehicle to a destination to store a proposal route data for specifying the respective retrieved routes, and then generates indicator images for indicating the conditions of the congestion in respective proposal routes, according to the proposal route data and the like (step S31, S32). The indicator images of the respective generated proposal routes are displayed on a display part together with indicator images of guide routes (step S33). When anyone of the routes is selected by a user, the processing control part 7 discriminates the selected route, and stores the proposal route data corresponding thereto in the memory part 6 as new guide route data, when the selected route is a proposal route (step S34-36).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system, a traffic jam condition display method and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional navigation system is, for example, a vehicle equipped with a navigation system (hereinafter referred to as
It is called "own vehicle". ) Search for a guide route from the starting point to the destination from the predetermined road information. Then, the current position of the own vehicle is sequentially acquired by a predetermined GPS (Global Positioning System) unit or the like, and a navigation image in which the symbol indicating the current position and the guide route are combined with predetermined map information is generated. The navigation system displays the generated navigation image on a predetermined display unit or the like. Thereby, the user can advance the vehicle to the destination to which he / she should go according to the displayed navigation image without getting lost.

In recent years, VICS (Vehicle Information Communication Syst) that provides users with traffic congestion information, traffic regulation information, etc. via optical / radio wave beacons and FM multiplex broadcasting.
em) The system has been put to practical use. Such VICS
A conventional navigation system compatible with the system will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional navigation system 100.

As shown in the figure, the navigation system 100 includes an optical / radio wave beacon receiving unit 110 and an F / F beacon receiving unit 110.
It is composed of an M multiplex broadcast receiving unit 120, a navigation processing unit 130, a CD-ROM 140, and a monitor 150.

The optical / radio wave beacon receiving unit 110 is
An optical beacon or a radio wave beacon transmitted from a predetermined VICS information transmitting device provided along the road is received. Also, F
The M multiplex broadcast receiving unit 120 is, for example, a V
The FM multiplex signal transmitted from the ICS information transmitting device is received. The light / radio wave beacon receiving unit 110 and the like generate VICS information from the received light beacon or the like and supply it to the navigation processing unit 130.

The navigation processing unit 130 is a ROM
(Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memor
y) and a one-chip microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls the entire navigation system 100.

The CD-ROM 140 stores map information and road information. The map information and the like stored in the CD-ROM 140 is read out through a predetermined driver unit,
It is supplied to the navigation processing unit 130.

The monitor 150 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal).
Display) or CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and the like, and displays the navigation image generated by the navigation processing unit 130.

When the navigation processing unit 130 acquires the VICS information (congestion information, etc.) from the light / radio wave beacon receiving unit 110, etc., the navigation processing unit 130 specifies the position, distance, etc. of the congestion place according to the acquired congestion information. Then, the navigation processing unit 130 displays the navigation image on the monitor 150 as shown in FIG. In the navigation image shown in FIG. 15A, the symbol 151 indicating the own vehicle position and the symbol 152 indicating the traffic jam location.
Therefore, the user can drive the vehicle to the destination along the guide route while confirming the traffic jam condition.

[0010]

When the navigation system 100 corresponding to the above-mentioned VICS system receives an optical beacon or a radio wave beacon during guidance, it re-searches for a guidance route. At that time, there may be a case where the guide route is searched again so that the destination can be reached in the shortest time in consideration of the traffic congestion information and the like.

However, when the wide area traffic information is received by the FM multiplex signal, the navigation system 1
00 and the like do not re-search the guide route. Therefore, the user or the like appropriately scrolls the navigation image displayed on the monitor 150 when the vehicle is stopped by waiting for a signal,
I was checking traffic conditions on the guide route.

More specifically, since the traffic jam condition outside the display range cannot be confirmed from the navigation image as shown in FIG. 15A, the user or the like operates a predetermined operation unit to display the traffic condition shown in FIG. As shown in b), the navigation image is scrolled in the traveling direction to display the icon 152 indicating the congestion point on the guide route to confirm the congestion status.

That is, in order to confirm the traffic jam situation outside the display range of the navigation image, the user or the like needs to scroll the navigation image as appropriate during a limited time such as when the vehicle is stopped. Such a scroll operation is very complicated for the user and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation system, a congestion status display method and a program capable of appropriately displaying a traffic congestion status outside the display range.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a route search means for searching a plurality of guide routes which can be a route for a vehicle to travel, Gauge generation means for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the travel of each guidance route searched by the route search means, traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information including at least traffic congestion information, and traffic acquired by the traffic information acquisition means. The gauge generation means generates the symbol generation means for identifying the congestion generated on each guide route according to the information and generating the symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the identified congestion, and the symbol generated by the symbol generation means. Indices that generate the indicator images that indicate the congestion situation on each guide route by combining them at the corresponding positions on each gauge And over data image generating means, characterized in that it comprises a display means for displaying each indicator image the indicator image generating means has generated.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation system according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a road network information storage means for storing road network information including node information and link information, and a route along which a vehicle should travel. A plurality of possible guiding routes from the road network information storage unit, and a gauge generating unit that generates a gauge that simply indicates the travel of each guiding route searched by the route searching unit; According to the VICS information acquisition means for acquiring VICS information including traffic congestion information, the traffic congestion generated on each guide route is specified according to the VICS information acquired by the VICS information acquisition means, and a symbol indicating the distance and degree of the traffic congestion specified is displayed. Each of the gauges generated by the gauge generating means is generated by the symbol generating means and the symbols generated by the symbol generating means. An indicator image generating unit that synthesizes the indicator images indicating the traffic jam conditions generated on the respective guide routes, and a display unit that displays each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating unit, Selection means for selecting one of the indicator images from the respective indicator images displayed by the display means, and a guidance route setting for setting a guidance route corresponding to the indicator image selected by the selection means as a route along which the vehicle should travel. Means and are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation system according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises a guide route information storage means for storing guide route information defining a guide route which is a route for a vehicle to travel, and a node. Road network information storage means for storing road network information including information and link information, route search means for searching the road network information storage means for a candidate route that can be a route for the vehicle to travel, and the route search means Candidate route information storing means for storing candidate route information defining the candidate route searched by, guide route information stored in the guide route information storing means, and candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storing means In accordance with the above, gauge generation means for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the route of the guide route and the candidate route, and VICS information including at least traffic congestion information are acquired. According to the VICS information acquisition unit, the VICS information acquired by the VICS information acquisition unit, the guidance route information stored in the guidance route information storage unit, and the candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storage unit. The gauge generation means generates the symbol generation means for identifying the congestion generated on the guide route and the candidate route and for generating the symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the identified congestion, and the symbol generated by the symbol generation means. Indicator image generating means for synthesizing at a corresponding position on each gauge to generate an indicator image showing the congestion situation on each route, and display means for displaying each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating means. And selecting one of the indicator images from the respective indicator images displayed by the display means. Selecting means and the guide route changing means for storing the candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storing means in the guide route information storing means when the indicator image corresponding to the candidate route is selected by the selecting means. And are provided.

In the navigation system, the indicator image generating means generates the own vehicle symbol indicating the own vehicle in accordance with the current position acquiring means for acquiring the current position of the own vehicle and the current position acquired by the current position acquiring means. The vehicle position synthesizing means for synthesizing at the corresponding position of the indicator image may be further provided.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a navigation system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention. Traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information including information at predetermined timings, traffic information storage means for storing the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition means by generation, and stored in the traffic information storage means. According to the traffic information for each generation, the traffic jam generated on the guide route is specified for each generation, and the symbol generation means for generating the symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the specified traffic congestion for each generation, and the generation generated by the symbol generation means. Symbol of the generation is combined with the corresponding position on the gauge generated by the gauge generation means, and an indicator indicating the congestion status of each generation generated on the guide route. And an indicator image generating means for generating an over data image, characterized in that it comprises a display means for displaying an indicator image which the indicator image generating means has generated.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a traffic jam condition display method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes a route search step of searching for a plurality of guide routes which can be a route for a vehicle to travel, and the route search step. A gauge generation step that generates a gauge that simply indicates the travel of each guide route searched by, a traffic information acquisition step that acquires traffic information including at least traffic congestion information, and a traffic acquired in the traffic information acquisition step. According to the information, each of the generated congestion on each guidance route is respectively specified, and a symbol generation step of generating a symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the specified congestion,
The symbol generated in the symbol generating step is
In the indicator image generation step, which is synthesized at the corresponding position on each gauge generated in the gauge generation step, and an indicator image generation step is respectively generated to generate an indicator image indicating the traffic jam situation that has occurred on each guidance route. A display step of displaying each of the generated indicator images on a predetermined display unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a traffic jam condition display method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is such that a plurality of guide routes which can serve as a route for a vehicle to travel are stored in a predetermined memory including node information and link information. Route searching step for searching from the department, a gauge generating step for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the travel of each guidance route searched in the route searching step, and VICS information acquisition for acquiring VICS information including at least traffic congestion information And a symbol generation step of generating a symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the specified traffic congestion by specifying the traffic congestion on each guide route according to the VICS information acquired in the VICS information acquisition step. Place the symbols generated in step 1 on the corresponding positions on each gauge generated in the step of generating gauges. And an indicator image generating step for respectively generating an indicator image indicating a traffic jam situation that has occurred on each guide route, and a display step for displaying each indicator image generated at the indicator image generating step on a predetermined display unit. , A selecting step of selecting one of the indicator images from the respective indicator images displayed in the displaying step, and a guide route corresponding to the indicator image selected in the selecting step,
A guide route setting step for setting a route along which the vehicle should travel.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a program according to a seventh aspect of the present invention causes a computer to perform a route search step of searching a plurality of guide routes which can be a route on which a vehicle should travel, and the route search step. A gauge generation step that generates a gauge that simply indicates the travel of each guide route searched by, a traffic information acquisition step that acquires traffic information including at least traffic congestion information, and a traffic acquired in the traffic information acquisition step. According to the information, the congestion generated on each guide route is respectively specified, and the symbol generation step of generating a symbol indicating the distance and the degree of the specified congestion, and the symbol generated in the symbol generation step, the gauge generation step. It is combined with the corresponding position on each gauge generated in the above to indicate the congestion situation on each guide route. An indicator image generating step of generating an authenticator image respectively, characterized in that to execute a display step of displaying each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating step on a predetermined display unit.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a navigation system applied to the embodiment of the present invention.
This system includes a GPS antenna 1, a GPS module 2, a VICS antenna 3, and a VICS module 4
A CD-ROM 5, a storage unit 6, a processing control unit 7,
It is composed of an operation unit 8 and a display unit 9.

This navigation system is, for example,
It is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile and displays a guide route indicating a route to take from the present location to the destination together with map information and the like, thereby appropriately guiding the user to the destination. Hereinafter, a vehicle equipped with a navigation system is referred to as "own vehicle".

The GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 1 is composed of a helical antenna, a dielectric antenna, a patch plane antenna, etc., and receives spread spectrum modulated satellite radio waves transmitted from a predetermined GPS satellite.

The GPS module 2 tunes to the satellite radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites and received by the GPS antenna 1, and despreads and demodulates each satellite radio wave to obtain a plurality of satellite reception signals. The GPS module 2 generates position information including latitude, longitude, altitude, etc. based on the difference in arrival time of each satellite radio wave calculated according to each acquired satellite reception signal. The GPS module 2 supplies the generated position information to the processing control unit 7 at every predetermined timing.

VICS (Vehicle Information Communic)
ation System) antenna 3 is composed of a predetermined rod antenna or the like, and receives, for example, an FM multiplex signal or the like transmitted from the VICS information transmitter of the broadcasting station about every 5 minutes.

The VICS module 4 demodulates the FM multiplex signal or the like received by the VICS antenna 3 and acquires a plurality of VICS information 41 as shown in FIG. VI shown in FIG.
The CS information 41 includes VICS link information, type information, position, and information such as a distance such as a traffic jam section. VI
The CS module 4 sequentially supplies the acquired VICS information 41 to the processing control unit 7.

Returning to FIG. 1, the CD-ROM 5 stores map information for display and also road information 51 as shown in FIG. The road information 51 shown in FIG. 3 includes information such as road link information, road length, road link / VICS link correspondence table, road start point position, and road end point position. The road link / VICS link correspondence table associates the road link information with the VICS link information in the VICS information 41. And
The road information 51 and the like are appropriately read from the CD-ROM 5 by a driver unit (not shown), and the processing control unit 7
Is supplied to. The CD-ROM 5 that stores map information, road information 51, etc. is an example, and in addition, a DVD-R.
It may be an OM, a hard disk, or the like.

Returning to FIG. 1, the storage unit 6 includes a RAM (Rand
om Access Memory) etc., and stores the guide route data, the candidate route data, etc. supplied from the processing control unit 7. The guide route data is information that defines the current guide route connecting the present location and the like to the destination. In addition, the candidate route data is information that defines a candidate route that connects the current position or the like that can be a guide route to the destination. Any route data is acquired by the processing control unit 7 searching the road information 51 stored in the CD-ROM 5. In addition, the storage unit 6
Section setting information for setting a target section of an indicator image, which will be described later, generated by the processing control unit 7 is stored. This section setting information is set by the user, and a predetermined section (for example, from the vehicle position It is the information indicating up to the ground).

Further, the storage unit 6 stores the congestion list 61 generated by the processing control unit 7 as shown in FIG. The traffic jam list 61 shown in FIG. 4A corresponds to information on all traffic jams included in the VICS information 41, and is composed of a plurality of traffic jam data. Then, each piece of traffic congestion data includes information such as traffic congestion type, distance, traffic congestion starting point position, traffic congestion ending point position, and the like. The traffic congestion type includes, for example, traffic congestion, congestion, smooth, unknown, and no data. Such a congestion list 61 is divided and stored in each of a plurality of areas provided in the storage unit 6, as shown in FIG. 4B, in order to enable generation management.

Returning to FIG. 1, the processing control section 7 is, for example,
ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM, and CPU
It consists of a one-chip microcomputer equipped with (Central Processing Unit) and controls the entire navigation system. The ROM stores in advance a program for causing the CPU to execute navigation processing, indicator image generation processing, and the like, which will be described later. A predetermined work area is secured in the RAM. That is, the processing control unit 5 executes the navigation processing, which will be described later, by executing the program stored in the ROM by the CPU. Specifically, the processing control unit 7 controls the VIC
When a series of VICS information 41 is newly acquired from the S module 4, the congestion list 61 is generated according to the acquired VICS information 41 and stored in the storage unit 6. At this time, the congestion list 61 generated this time is stored in the storage unit 6 with the area divided from the congestion list 61 of the old generation generated up to the previous time. Then, the processing control unit 7 generates the indicator image 70 as shown in FIG. 5A in accordance with the latest congestion list 61 stored in the storage unit 6, the guide route data (or the candidate route data), and the like. .

This indicator image 70 is an image showing the traffic jam condition on the guide route (or on the candidate route), and for example, the journey from the starting point to the destination is simply indicated by a straight line or a rectangle (gauge). , And a symbol 71 indicating a congestion point and a symbol 72 indicating a congestion point indicate the congestion situation. The symbols 71 and 72 are represented by different colors or the like so that the user can visually recognize the degree of traffic jam and the like. A symbol 73 in the drawing shows the position of the vehicle on the guide route, a symbol 74 shows a departure place, and a symbol 75 shows a destination. Then, the indicator image 70 is displayed on the display unit 9 after being combined with the navigation image including the map image. That is, the processing control unit 7 uses the CD-ROM 5
When the navigation image is generated in accordance with the map information stored in the above, the indicator image 70 described above is combined with the generated navigation image, and the image as shown in FIG.

The processing control section 7 takes the intermittent traffic into consideration when generating the indicator image 70.
And so on. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, when traffic jams A to C occur intermittently on the guide route, the distances between the traffic jams (the distance between the traffic jams A and B and , Traffic jam B-C) to determine whether there is an intermittent traffic jam. For example, when the distance between each traffic jam is less than several% (for example, less than 2%) of the start / end point distance, the processing control unit 7 determines that the traffic jam is intermittent.

That is, in the traffic jams A to C shown in FIG. 6A, the distance between the traffic jams A and B is less than 2% of the starting and ending distances, so the traffic jams A and B are intermittent traffic jams. As a result of the determination, the indicator image 70 including the symbol 71 indicating the congestion point where the congestion A and the congestion B are integrated as shown in FIG. 6B is generated. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6C, when congestion X, congestion Y, and congestion Z occur on the guide route, the processing control unit 7 causes the congestion X as shown in FIG. And the indicator image 70 including the symbols 71 and 72 connected with the traffic jam Y is generated.

Further, the processing control section 7 re-searches for a route in accordance with predetermined requirements such as a user's instruction via the operation section 8 and reception of the VICS information 41. In this re-search, for example, a predetermined number of candidate routes that can be new guidance routes connecting the vehicle position to the destination are searched. When a candidate route is searched for, the processing control unit 7 generates an indicator image 70 that indicates the congestion situation on each candidate route. Then, the generated indicator image 70 is displayed together with the indicator image 70 corresponding to the guide route on the display unit 9
To display. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the processing control unit 7 uses the indicator image 70a of the current guidance route, the indicator image 70b of the candidate route A (for example, the route that requires the least time) by the re-search, and the re-search. The route selection screen including the indicator image 70c of the candidate route B (for example, the route with the least congestion) is displayed on the display unit 9. The selection button 76 in the figure is a button that is associated with each of the indicator images 70 (70a to 70c) and pressed by the user via the operation unit 8. Then, when the selection button 76 is pressed or the like to select one of the indicator images 70, the corresponding route (candidate route or the like) is set as a new guide route.

Returning to FIG. 1, the operation unit 8 is composed of a predetermined operation panel and the like, and supplies various information to the processing control unit 7 in accordance with the input operation by the user. For example, the operation unit 8
In accordance with the user's operation, the coordinate information indicating the destination is input and supplied to the processing control unit 7. Further, the processing control unit 7 is supplied with information instructing the pressing of the selection button 76.

The display unit 9 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).
play) or CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or the like, and displays a navigation image, a route selection screen, or the like in which the above-described indicator image 70 is combined.

The operation of the navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the program that defines each process shown below is
As described above, it is assumed that it is stored in advance in the ROM of the processing control unit 5. First, the navigation process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the navigation processing executed by the processing control unit 7. The navigation process shown in FIG. 8 is started after the guide route from the departure point to the destination is selected and the guide route data defining the guide route is stored in the storage unit 6. Further, it is assumed that the storage unit 6 stores the congestion list 61 generated by the processing control unit 7.

First, the processing control section 7 acquires the current position of the vehicle according to the position information sent from the GPS module 2 (step S11).

The processing control section 7 carries out an indicator image generation process (step S12). This indicator image generation process is a process of generating an indicator image of the guide route according to the guide route data stored in the storage unit 6, the congestion list 61, and the like. The details of the indicator image generation processing will be described later.

The processing control section 7 generates a navigation image (step S13). That is, the processing control unit 7
Reads the map information including the current position of the vehicle acquired in step S11 from the CD-ROM 5, and generates a navigation image in which the read map information is combined with a symbol indicating the current position, a guide route, and the like.

The processing control unit 7 synthesizes the indicator image with the navigation image and displays it on the display unit 9 (step S14). That is, the process control unit 7 performs step S
An indicator image indicating the congestion position, the congestion distance, and the degree of the congestion in the predetermined section (all sections or some sections) on the guide route generated in 12 is superimposed on the navigation image and displayed on the display unit 9.

The processing control section 7 determines whether or not it is necessary to re-search for the route (step S15). That is, it is determined whether or not the route needs to be re-searched depending on a case where the user gives an instruction through the operation unit 8. When the processing control unit 7 determines that the re-search is not necessary, the processing control unit 7 advances the processing to step S17 described below. On the other hand, when it is determined that the re-search is not necessary, the process control unit 7 executes the re-search process (step S16). The details of the re-search process will be described later.

The processing control section 7 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination (step S17). When the process control unit 7 determines that the destination has not been reached, the process control unit 7 returns the process to step S11 and repeats the processes of steps S11 to S17 described above. On the other hand, when determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the processing control unit 7 ends the navigation processing.

Next, the indicator image generation processing in step S12 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the processing control section 7 specifies the scale of the indicator or the like according to the guidance route data, the current position of the vehicle, etc. (step S21). That is, the processing control unit 7 identifies the target section set in the section setting information from the relationship between the current guide route data stored in the storage unit 6 and the current position of the vehicle, and the indicator ( Calculate the scale ratio of the gauge. Then, the processing control unit 7 causes the symbols (symbol 7 as shown in FIG. 5) to be combined with both ends of the indicator (gauge) that is the target section.
4,75).

The processing control unit 7 specifies the latest congestion list 61 from the storage unit 6 (step S22). That is,
The processing control unit 7 identifies the congestion list 61 that has been generated and stored most recently among the congestion lists 61 that are generation-managed in the storage unit 6. The processing control unit 7 acquires the traffic jam data from the specified traffic jam list 61 (step S2).
3). That is, the processing control unit 7 determines that the target traffic jam list 6
One piece of traffic congestion data is acquired from 1 in a predetermined order.

The processing control section 7 determines whether or not the traffic jam location is on the guide route according to the acquired traffic jam data (step S24). When the process control unit 7 determines that the route is not on the guide route, the process control unit 7 advances the process to step S26 described below.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the route is on the guide route, the processing control section 7 obtains the position and size in the indicator of the congestion (congestion) display according to the congestion data (step S25). That is, the processing control unit 7 identifies the congestion distance and the congestion degree from the congestion data, and indicates the identified congestion distance and the congestion degree (either the symbol 71 indicating the congestion point or the symbol 72 indicating the congestion point, and , Its size, etc.). In addition, the processing control unit 7
Determines the corresponding traffic jam location in the indicator.

The processing control section 7 determines whether or not all traffic congestion data has been processed (step S26). That is,
The processing control unit 7 determines whether or not the position of the traffic jam (or congestion) display in the indicator is obtained by specifying the traffic jam data on the guide route from all the traffic jam data included in the target traffic jam list 61. To do. When the processing control unit 7 determines that all traffic congestion data has not been processed, the processing control unit 7 proceeds to step S23.
Processing is returned to, and the above-described processing of steps S23 to S26 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that all the traffic congestion data has been processed, the processing control section 7 obtains the position in the indicator of the own vehicle according to the current position of the own vehicle (step S27). That is, the processing control unit 7 obtains the position of the symbol 73 indicating the vehicle position in the indicator.

The processing control section 7 generates the indicator image 70 (step S28). That is, the processing control unit 7
Is a symbol 71 indicating a congestion point, a symbol 72 indicating a congestion point, a symbol 73 indicating a vehicle position, and a symbol for clarifying a section on the guide route (symbol 7
4, 75, etc.) is generated.

By this indicator image generation processing, an indicator image indicating the congestion position, the congestion distance and the congestion degree on the guide route is generated. Then, in the navigation processing shown in FIG. 8 described above, the indicator image is sequentially displayed on the display unit 9 together with the navigation image. At this time, as the vehicle 73 moves, the symbol 73 indicating the vehicle position moves in the indicator image 70, so that it becomes clear that the vehicle approaches the traffic jam position.

Next, the re-search process in step S16 of the above-described navigation process shown in FIG. 8 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the processing control unit 7 searches a predetermined number of routes from the current position of the own vehicle to the destination, and stores candidate route data defining each searched route in the storage unit 6 (step S31).
For example, the processing control unit 7 changes the weighting of the road link information in the road information 51 according to the traffic congestion data in the traffic congestion list 61, and then uses a method such as the Dijkstra method to determine a predetermined number of candidates from the road information 51. Search for a route.
Then, the candidate route data defining each candidate route is stored in the storage unit 6. When the same candidate route data as the guide route data is searched, it is not stored in the storage unit 6.

The processing control section 7 respectively generates indicator images representing the congestion situation on each candidate route according to the candidate route data and the like (step S32). That is,
Similar to the above-described indicator image generation processing, the processing control unit 7 identifies the scale of the indicator and the like, and then, according to the latest congestion list 61, candidate route data, and the like, indicates a congestion point or a congestion point existing on the candidate route. The symbols are generated and combined to generate an indicator image for each candidate path.

The processing control section 7 creates the indicator image of the generated candidate route together with the indicator image of the guide route.
It is displayed on the display unit 9 (step S33). For example, the processing control unit 7 generates a route selection screen 91 including the guide images of the guide route and the candidate route as shown in FIG. 11, and displays the route selection screen 91 on the display unit 9.

The process control unit 7 waits for execution of subsequent processes until the user selects one of the routes (step S34). For example, the process control unit 7 waits for the subsequent process until one of the confirmation buttons on the route selection screen 91 shown in FIG. 11 is pressed by the user via the operation unit 8.

When any of the routes is selected, the processing control section 7 determines whether or not the selected route is the candidate route (step S35). When determining that the candidate route is not selected, the process control unit 7 advances the process to step S37 described below. On the other hand, when determining that the candidate route has been selected, the processing control unit 7 stores the corresponding candidate route data in the storage unit 6 as new guidance route data (step S36). After that, the processing control unit 7 performs the indicator image generation process of FIG. 9 according to the new guidance route data stored in the storage unit 6 to generate the guidance image of the guidance route.

The processing control unit 7 erases the display of the indicator image of the candidate route and the like (route selection screen as shown in FIG. 11) from the display unit 9 (step S37).

As a result, the user can easily visually recognize the traffic condition outside the display range of the navigation image by the indicator image showing the traffic congestion position, the traffic congestion distance and the traffic congestion degree on the guide route. Then, the user can also select a new guide route or the like, in consideration of the traffic jam situation outside the display range.

In the above embodiment, the latest congestion list 61 stored in the storage unit 6 is used to generate the indicator images of the guide route and the candidate route, but the congestion lists 61 of a plurality of generations are used. You may generate the indicator image which can show the old traffic condition and the old traffic condition. For example, the processing control unit 7 uses the traffic jam symbol 71p and the congestion symbol 71p that use the old traffic jam list 61 (for example, one generation ago) and the latest traffic jam list 61 as illustrated in FIG. Traffic jam symbol 71 and congestion symbol 71
An indicator image is generated by combining and. Specifically, the width of the traffic jam symbol 71p and the like is made wider than the width of the traffic jam symbol 71 and the like, and the indicator image in which the traffic jam symbol 71 and the like are superimposed on the traffic jam symbol 71p and the like is generated. In this case, the user can visually check the old and new traffic conditions,
It is possible to easily determine whether the traffic congestion is getting rid of or getting worse.

Similarly, at the time of selecting a route after re-searching, an indicator image using the congestion list 61 of a plurality of generations may be generated. For example, the processing control unit 7
In the above-described re-search process, a route selection screen including indicator images (guide images of guide route and candidate route) that can represent the old and new traffic conditions as shown in FIG. Display on 9. In this case, the user can select an appropriate route in consideration of whether the congestion is getting rid of or getting worse on each route.

In the above embodiment, the indicator images of each route are displayed on the route selection screen with the same length as shown in FIG. 7 or the like, but as shown in FIG. The length of the indicator image may be changed and displayed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the traffic jam status included in the VICS information is used to display the traffic jam status on the indicator. However, the restriction status included in the VICS information is also used to display the traffic jam status. You may. Further, in the above embodiment, the indicator image 70 (gauge) is used.
Is shown by a rectangle or the like, the shape of the indicator image is arbitrary.

The navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention can be realized by using an ordinary computer system instead of a dedicated system. For example, a navigation system that executes the above processing by installing the program from a medium (flexible disk, CD-ROM, etc.) storing a program for executing any of the above in a computer having a GPS receiving function Can be configured.

The method for supplying the program to the computer is arbitrary. For example, it may be supplied via a communication line, a communication network, a communication system, or the like. For example, a bulletin board (BB of a communication network)
The program is posted in S) and distributed via the network. Then start this program and press O
Under the control of S, the above-mentioned processing can be executed by executing it in the same manner as other application programs.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to properly display the traffic jam situation outside the display range.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of VICS information acquired by a VICS module.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of road information stored in a CD-ROM.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a congestion list stored in a storage unit, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which congestion lists for different generations are stored in different areas.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing an example of an indicator image such as a guide route generated by the processing control unit, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an indicator image displayed with a navigation image.

FIG. 6A is a schematic view showing a traffic jam location on a guide route in a pseudo manner, FIG. 6B is a schematic view for explaining a symbol indicating a traffic jam location on an indicator image, and FIG. 6C is a schematic view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the congestion point and the congestion point on a guidance route in a pseudo manner, and (d) is a schematic diagram for explaining the symbols indicating the congestion point and the congestion point in the indicator image.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an indicator image of a guide route and a candidate route generated by a processing control unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining navigation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an indicator image generation process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining re-search processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a route selection screen displayed on a display unit together with a navigation image.

12A is a schematic diagram showing an example of an indicator image in which old and new traffic jam symbols and the like are arranged, and FIG. 12B is an example of a route selection screen based on an indicator image in which old and new traffic jam symbols and the like are arranged. It is a schematic diagram which shows.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a route selection screen based on another indicator image.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a conventional navigation system.

FIG. 15 (a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a navigation image including an arrow symbol indicating a congestion point,
(B) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the image which scrolled the navigation image of (a) toward the advancing direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 GPS antenna 2 GPS module 3 VICS antenna 4 VICS module 5 CD-ROM 6 memory 7 Processing control unit 8 operation part 9 Display

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A route search means for searching for a plurality of guide routes that can serve as routes for a vehicle to travel, and a gauge generation means for respectively generating a gauge that simply indicates the travel of each guide route searched by the route search means. , Traffic information acquisition means for acquiring at least traffic information including traffic congestion information, and according to the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition means, each traffic congestion on each guidance route is specified, and the distance and degree of the specified traffic congestion are identified. A symbol generating means for generating a symbol to be shown and a symbol generated by the symbol generating means are combined at a corresponding position on each gauge generated by the gauge generating means, and an indicator showing a traffic jam condition generated on each guide route. An indicator image generating means for generating each image, and displaying each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating means. Navigation system characterized in that it comprises a display unit. 2. A road network information storage means for storing road network information including node information and link information, and a route for searching a plurality of guide routes which can be a route for a vehicle to travel from the road network information storage means. A search means, a gauge generation means for respectively generating a gauge that simply indicates the travel of each guide route searched by the route search means, and a VICS (Vehicle Informat) including at least traffic congestion information.
Ionic Communication System) VICS information acquisition means for acquiring information, and according to the VICS information acquired by the VICS information acquisition means, traffic congestion occurring on each guide route is specified, and a symbol indicating the distance and degree of the specified traffic congestion is generated. Symbol generating means and the symbol generated by the symbol generating means are combined at corresponding positions on each gauge generated by the gauge generating means to generate an indicator image indicating a congestion situation on each guide route. Indicator image generating means, display means for displaying each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating means, selecting means for selecting one of the indicator images from each indicator image displayed by the displaying means, and the selecting The vehicle guides the guide route corresponding to the indicator image selected by the means. Navigation system, comprising a guide route setting means for setting as Mbeki route, the. 3. A guide route information storage unit that stores guide route information that defines a guide route on which a vehicle should travel, and a road network information storage unit that stores road network information including node information and link information. And a candidate route information that stores candidate route information that defines the candidate route searched by the route search unit, and a route search unit that searches the candidate route that the vehicle should travel for from the road network information storage unit. According to the storage unit, the guide route information stored in the guide route information storage unit, and the candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storage unit, a gauge that briefly indicates the route of the guide route and the candidate route is generated. VI for acquiring gauge information and VICS information including at least traffic congestion information
CS information acquisition means, VICS information acquired by the VICS information acquisition means,
According to the guide route information stored in the guide route information storage means and the candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storage means, the congestion occurring on the guide route and the candidate route is specified, and the identified congestion A symbol generating means for generating a symbol indicating a distance and a degree, and a symbol generated by the symbol generating means are combined at a corresponding position on each gauge generated by the gauge generating means, and a traffic congestion situation occurs on each route. Indicator image generating means for respectively generating an indicator image showing the indicator image, display means for displaying each indicator image generated by the indicator image generating means, and any one of the indicator images displayed by the display means is selected. Selecting means for selecting an indicator image corresponding to the candidate route by the selecting means. In this case, the navigation system is provided with: a guide route changing unit that stores the candidate route information stored in the candidate route information storage unit in the guide route information storage unit. 4. A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position of the own vehicle, and an indicator image generated by the indicator image generation unit for a own vehicle symbol indicating the own vehicle according to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit. The navigation system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising: own vehicle position synthesizing means for synthesizing at a corresponding position. 5. A gauge generation means for generating a gauge that simply indicates the travel of a guide route, which is a route on which the vehicle should travel, and a traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information including at least traffic congestion information at every predetermined timing. According to the traffic information storage means for storing the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition means by generation, and the traffic information for each generation stored in the traffic information storage means, the congestion caused on the guide route is classified by generation. And a symbol generation unit that generates a symbol indicating the specified distance and degree of traffic congestion for each generation, and a symbol for each generation generated by the symbol generation unit,
An indicator image generation unit that synthesizes at a corresponding position on the gauge generated by the gauge generation unit and generates an indicator image indicating the generation-wise congestion situation that has occurred on the guide route, and an indicator generated by the indicator image generation unit A navigation system comprising: a display unit that displays an image. 6. A route search step for searching for a plurality of guide routes that can be a route for a vehicle to travel, and a gauge generation for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the travel of each guide route searched in the route search step. Step, a traffic information acquisition step of acquiring traffic information including at least traffic congestion information, and, according to the traffic information acquired in the traffic information acquisition step, respectively specify the traffic congestion occurred on each guide route, A symbol generation step of generating a symbol indicating a distance and a degree, and a symbol generated in the symbol generation step,
In an indicator image generating step of synthesizing at a corresponding position on each gauge generated in the gauge generating step, respectively generating an indicator image indicating a traffic jam situation generated on each guide route, and in the indicator image generating step And a display step of displaying each generated indicator image on a predetermined display unit. 7. A route search step of searching for a plurality of guide routes that can be a route for a vehicle to travel from a predetermined storage unit including node information and link information, and each guide route searched in the route search step. Gauge generation step for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the route travel, and VI for acquiring VICS information including at least traffic congestion information
A CS information acquisition step; a symbol generation step of specifying a traffic jam on each guidance route according to the VICS information acquired in the VICS information acquisition step, and generating a symbol indicating a distance and a degree of the specified traffic jam; The symbol generated in the symbol generation step is
In an indicator image generating step of synthesizing at a corresponding position on each gauge generated in the gauge generating step, respectively generating an indicator image indicating a traffic jam situation generated on each guide route, and in the indicator image generating step A display step of displaying each generated indicator image on a predetermined display unit, a selection step of selecting one of the indicator images from each of the indicator images displayed in the display step, and a selection step selected in the selection step And a guide route setting step of setting a guide route corresponding to the indicator image as a route along which the vehicle should travel. 8. A route search step for causing a computer to search for a plurality of guide routes that can be a route along which the vehicle should travel,
In the traffic information acquisition step, a gauge generation step for respectively generating a gauge that briefly indicates the travel of each guidance route searched in the route search step, a traffic information acquisition step for acquiring traffic information including at least traffic congestion information, and the traffic information acquisition step. According to the traffic information acquired by each, identifying the congestion that has occurred on each guidance route, the symbol generation step of generating a symbol indicating the distance and degree of the identified congestion, and the symbol generated in the symbol generation step. , An indicator image generating step of synthesizing at a corresponding position on each gauge generated in the gauge generating step, and generating an indicator image indicating a traffic jam situation occurring on each guide route, and the indicator image generating step. Display step of displaying each indicator image generated by the Program for the execution.