JP2003232640A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device easily recognizing the altitude of a road in the periphery of a vehicle position. <P>SOLUTION: This navigation device is equipped with a position measuring means measuring the present position of a vehicle; a map data storage means in which map data containing altitude data is stored; a display means displaying a map image based on the map data; and a display control means reading out the map data corresponding to a vehicle position measured with the position measuring means from the map data storage means, and displaying on the display means, and the display control means has a gradation means conducting gradation according to the altitude data of the road, when the road is displayed on the display means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device that displays a map image of the vicinity of a current position of a vehicle, and more particularly to a navigation device that can easily recognize the altitude of a displayed road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device, which is being standardly installed 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 reach the destination. It was done like this. That is, the navigation device periodically measures the vehicle position, reads the map data around the vehicle position from a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or a hard disk, and displays a map image based on the read map data on the display screen. At the same time, the vehicle position mark is superimposed and displayed at a predetermined position on the map image, and the vehicle position mark on the display screen is moved or the vehicle position mark is moved as the current position of the vehicle changes as the vehicle travels. By fixing the map at a predetermined position such as the center of the screen and scrolling the map, the surrounding map of the vehicle position can always be seen at a glance.

In addition, the navigation device has a route guidance function that allows the user to easily travel to a destination set by the user without making a mistake on the road. According to this route guidance function, the route with the lowest cost that connects the vehicle position to the destination is automatically searched by using the map data by performing a simulation calculation such as the Dijkstra method. Then, the searched route is stored as guide route data, and while the vehicle is traveling, the guide route is displayed in a thick and different color on the map image and displayed on the screen. By drawing an arrow indicating a route at an intersection to be changed and displaying it on a screen, the user can be guided to a desired destination.

Further, in such a navigation device, the altitude data stored in the map data is used to make the background in the surrounding map of the vehicle position, for example, a relatively dark color at a high altitude, as shown in FIG. The gradation state is displayed according to the altitude data such that it is displayed and displayed in a lighter color as the altitude becomes lower, and the altitude state of the map around the vehicle position is displayed in an easily understandable manner.

[0005]

However, the gradation display described above is applied only to the background in the vehicle position peripheral map, and the roads displayed in the peripheral map are displayed in a single color (for example, red). It was (solid coating). For this reason, the user cannot intuitively recognize the altitude state of the road on which the vehicle is traveling or the surrounding road, and the gradation of the background in the vehicle position peripheral map is similar to the altitude line of a general paper map for convenience. For example, when the user actually runs on the road, the degree of undulation caused by the difference in elevation of the road is displayed as a background gradation display because the display is given with a predetermined width, for example, every 200 m or every 500 m. However, there is a problem that the user feels uncomfortable.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device which can easily recognize the altitude of the road around the vehicle position.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide a position measuring means for measuring a current position of a vehicle, a map data storing means for storing map data including altitude data, and the map data. The display control includes display means for displaying a map image based on the map data, and display control means for reading out map data corresponding to the vehicle position measured by the position measuring means from the map data storage means and displaying the map data on the display means. The means can be solved by providing gradation means for applying gradation according to the altitude data of the road when displaying the road on the display means. As a result, the road display on the map around the vehicle position is displayed in gradation according to the altitude, so that the altitude of the traveling road or its surrounding road can be easily and visually recognized.

Further, according to the present invention, the above problems include a destination input means for inputting a destination, and a route search means for searching an optimum route from the vehicle position measured by the position measuring means to the destination. Further, the display control means is solved by applying gradation to the route searched by the route searching means in a color tone different from that of other roads. As a result, the gradation of the traveling route is different from that of the other roads, so that the actually traveling route and the other road can be easily identified.

Further, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned problems can be solved by the display control means further comprising edging means for edging a road subjected to gradation by the gradation means. As a result, since the road displayed in a light color is also bordered by gradation display, it is possible to solve the problem that the road displayed in a light color is difficult to see.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 10 is a navigation controller, 20 is a ROM disk such as a DVD-ROM that stores various data such as map data and road data necessary for displaying a map image, and altitude data is also stored. 30 is a ROM
A ROM disk drive for reading out various necessary data from the disk 20, a display device 40 composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like for displaying a map image including road display and character information, and 50 a guidance voice for route guidance and remote control operation. A speaker that outputs electronic sound or the like for confirming reception, 6
Reference numeral 0 denotes an operation unit (for example, a remote control device) for inputting various commands to the navigation controller 10,
The user sets the scale of the displayed map and inputs the destination and the like. Reference numeral 70 is a G that measures the current position and current direction of the vehicle by receiving radio waves from an artificial satellite (GPS satellite)
The PS receiver, 80 is a self-contained navigation sensor.

The GPS receiver 70 performs three-dimensional positioning or two-dimensional positioning processing to calculate the position and azimuth of the vehicle and outputs them together with the positioning time. Self-contained navigation sensor 80
Although not shown, is provided with a relative azimuth sensor (angle sensor) such as a vibration gyro that detects a rotation angle of the vehicle, and a distance sensor that generates one pulse for each predetermined traveling distance.

In the navigation controller 10, reference numeral 11 is a processor (CPU) for controlling the navigation controller 10 as a whole, and the control and instructions for the respective parts, the judgment on the input from the operation part 60, etc. are processed here. Reference numeral 12 denotes a ROM that stores various programs for performing search and guidance of a guide route from a vehicle position to a destination and map matching processing for correcting a vehicle position on a map, and 13 denotes a calculation result in each processing (for example, This is a RAM that stores the searched guidance route data and the input contents from the operation unit 60, various data read by the ROM disk drive 30, and the like. The stored information is not erased even when the power supply is turned off. It is composed of sex memory.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a ROM disk control unit, which is an RO
The M disk drive 30 is controlled to read out predetermined map data, road data, altitude data, etc. from the ROM disk 20 as necessary, and the read various data are stored in the RAM 1
3 is stored. For example, when the map displayed on the screen of the display device 40 is scrolled, various data such as map data and road data corresponding to a plurality of (a plurality of units) around the vehicle position or the cursor position are stored in the ROM.
It is read from the disk 20 and stored in the RAM 13.

Reference numeral 15 is a display control unit for creating a map image around the vehicle position and other drawings by using various data stored in the RAM 13, and includes a VRAM (not shown) for storing the created drawing data. Composed of. 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a voice output unit that outputs various guidance voices (for example, intersection guidance voices during route guidance) and electronic sounds (for example, a beeping sound when an input from a remote controller or the like is received).
17 receives a signal according to the operation from the operation unit 60 and C
Interface for sending to PU11 (I /
F) and 18 are position measuring units for calculating and outputting the current position and the current direction of the vehicle based on the GPS data of the GPS receiver 70 and the output data of the self-contained navigation sensor 80.

The map data stored in the ROM disk 20 described above is in units of map leaves separated by predetermined latitude and longitude, and the map data of each map leaf is specified and read by designating a map leaf number. It becomes possible. In addition, the map data for each map leaf includes a drawing unit consisting of various data necessary for map display, a road unit consisting of data necessary for various processing such as road marking, map matching, route search, etc. It includes an intersection unit consisting of detailed data of.

In the above road unit (road data), a point where a plurality of roads intersect such as an intersection on a road or a branch is called a node, and a road connecting the nodes is called a link. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a road unit (road data). As shown in (a), the road unit has a unit header for identifying the road unit, a node table indicating the storage position of the connection node table, and a connection node table containing detailed data of all nodes. And a link table containing detailed data of links specified by two adjacent nodes.

Further, the node table stores node records # 0, # 1, ... Corresponding to all the nodes included in the drawing sheet of interest, as shown in FIG.
Each node record is given a node number in order from # 0, and indicates the storage position of the connection node table corresponding to each node.

The connection node table is, for each existing node, as shown in FIG. “Normalized longitude / latitude” and “elevation” b. An "node attribute flag" including an intersection node flag indicating whether or not this node is an intersection node, an adjacent node flag indicating whether or not this node is a node on the boundary with another drawing leaf, c. “Number of connected nodes” indicating the number of nodes forming the other end of each link when there is a link having this node as one end of the link, d. Do not turn right or U on the link connected to this node
If there are traffic restrictions such as turn prohibition, the number of traffic restrictions, e. "Connection node records" for the number of links indicating the link number of each link having this node as one end, f. If there are the above-mentioned traffic regulations, a "traffic regulation record" indicating the specific content of the traffic regulations corresponding to the number, g. If this node is a node on the boundary with another drawing leaf, an "adjacent node record" indicating the position of the connection node table of the corresponding node of the adjacent drawing leaf, h. When this node is an intersection node, the corresponding "intersection record storage position and size" in the intersection unit is included.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the link table includes a plurality of link records in order of link numbers corresponding to all the links included in the drawing sheet of interest. Each of these link records includes a. "Link ID", which is a code attached to each link mainly for displaying the search route, b. "Node number 1 and node number 2" identifying two nodes located at both ends of the link, c. "Link distance", d. "Cost" indicating the time required to pass this link, e. “Road type flag” indicating whether the actual road corresponding to this link is a highway, national road, main prefectural road, or narrow street, f. Various "road attribute flags" including attribute information of the road corresponding to this link (for example, information on whether or not there is a tunnel or whether or not the road is the target road for route search), g. "Route number" attached to the road corresponding to this link, h. The actual road corresponding to this link is composed of "lane information" indicating whether it is the start point or the end point of the ascending lane, the start point or the end point of the overtaking prohibited lane, or the like.

Next, the operation of the navigation device configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the display example of FIG. First, when the destination is set by the user through the operation unit 60 (step 10
1), the current position and current direction of the vehicle are obtained by the position measuring unit 18 (step 102), and the CPU 11 causes the RO
Read the program related to route search from M12,
A guide route from the obtained vehicle position to the set destination is searched based on the road data recorded in the ROM disk 20 via the ROM disk control unit 14 and the ROM disk drive 30, and the searched guide path data is searched. Is stored in the RAM 13 (step 103).

Further, the CPU 11 reads out road data and the like including map data and altitude data around the vehicle position from the ROM disk 20 and stores them in the RAM 13 (step 104), and the display controller 15 causes the altitude data stored in the RAM 13 to be stored. A map image around the vehicle position is created based on the map data including the road data, the road data, and the searched guidance route data, and the map image is displayed on the display device 40 as shown in FIG. 4A (step 105). .

In FIG. 4A, CM is a vehicle position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle, MP is a map image around the vehicle position CM, GRT is a guide route from the searched vehicle position CM to the destination, and RT is RT. It is a peripheral road other than the guide route GRT. The guidance route GRT and the surrounding road RT are subjected to gradation processing according to the altitude data. Regarding the method of gradation, for example, the altitudes of the respective nodes that form the guide route GRT and the surrounding road RT are averaged for each predetermined distance, and the following is applied to the road of the predetermined distance according to the calculated average altitude. Try to apply gradation.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, if the average altitude obtained for each predetermined distance is 0 m to 99 m, the color has a density of 1, and if the average altitude is 100 m to 199 m, the color has a density of 2, an average. If the altitude is 200 m to 299 m, a color having a density corresponding to the altitude is set in advance, such as a color having a density of 3, ..., And gradation display of the road on the vehicle position peripheral map is realized. Here, if the predetermined distance is set to be a short distance or the width of the altitude is made finer and the density of the corresponding gradation is also set finely, a fine grained and realistic gradation display is possible. Further, the density may be darker as the altitude becomes higher, or may be lighter as the altitude becomes higher. By doing so, the user can confirm the vehicle position, and at the same time, the vehicle position and the altitude of the road ahead of the vehicle position can be instantly recognized, and the vehicle can travel accurately according to the road conditions.

Further, it is effective to display the searched guidance route GRT and its surrounding road RT in gradations of different colors in order to make them distinguishable. For example, display the guide route GRT in red gradation,
Other surrounding roads have different colors (highways: blue,
National road: green, prefectural road: orange, etc.) As a result, the guide route GRT and the surrounding road RT can be easily distinguished, and misunderstandings between the two can be eliminated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, for each road with gradation, for example, edging may be performed with the primary color of the color with gradation. By doing so, it is possible to identify even a road having a gradation in a light color, and it is possible to solve the problem that the road is displayed thinly and is difficult to see.

Next, the CPU 11 acquires again the current position and the current direction of the vehicle obtained by the position measuring unit 18 (step 106) and determines whether the vehicle is traveling (step 107). If it is determined to be running, C
The PU 11 starts route guidance from the vehicle position to the set destination based on the guide route data stored in the RAM 13 (step 108). When it is determined that the vehicle position has not changed and the vehicle is not traveling, the process returns to step 106 and the confirmation of the vehicle position calculated by the position measuring unit 18 is repeated.

Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the vehicle position acquired from the position measuring unit 18 has arrived near the destination (step 109), and if it has arrived, this processing is terminated. If the vehicle has not arrived at the destination, it is determined whether the acquired vehicle position is likely to be outside the area of the map data including the altitude data read from the ROM disk 20 and stored in the RAM 13 (step 110). If the map data stored in the RAM 13 can sufficiently correspond to the vehicle position, the process returns to step 106 to continue the route guidance, and if the vehicle position is likely to be outside the area of the stored map data, , The ROM disk controller 14, and the ROM disk drive 30 to read the map data around the vehicle position, the road data including the altitude data, etc. from the ROM disk 20 again and store them in the RAM 13 (step 11
1). Then, the display control unit 15 updates the map image around the vehicle position based on various data such as the map data stored in the RAM 13, and displays the map image on the display device 4.
0 is displayed (step 112). After that, step 10
After 6 is returned, the subsequent processing is continued.

In the description of the above embodiment, the gradation display of the road according to the altitude is performed by using a single color. However, as the altitude of the road becomes higher, the color of the road becomes blue, and when the altitude becomes lower, the ground becomes imaged. It is also conceivable to perform gradation display of two or more colors by adjusting the gradation of each color such as browning.

Further, in the above embodiment, the gradation display is provided only for the road. However, as in the conventional case, the background of the map around the vehicle position is gradation-displayed according to the altitude, and the present invention is also applied. The gradation display according to the altitude of the road may be adopted at the same time.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention can be modified in various ways according to the gist of the present invention described in the claims, and the present invention does not exclude these. .

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the road display in the map around the vehicle position is displayed in gradation according to the altitude, it is possible to easily and visually recognize the altitude of the road on which the vehicle is running or the surrounding road. Will be possible.

Further, according to the present invention, since the gradation display of the route to be traveled is performed in a color different from that of the other roads, it is easy to distinguish the route actually to be traveled from the other roads. can do.

Further, according to the present invention, since all the roads displayed in gradation are bordered, it is possible to solve the problem that it is difficult to see the roads which are displayed in a light color depending on the altitude of the road. .

[0034]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of road data according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a gradation display process of a road according to an altitude according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a screen diagram showing an example of gradation display according to the embodiment of the present invention and a diagram showing a relationship between altitude and density of gradation display.

FIG. 5 is a screen diagram showing a conventional gradation display example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: navigation controller, 11: CPU, 1
2: ROM, 13: RAM, 14: ROM disk control unit, 15: display control unit, 16: audio output unit, 17: I /
F, 18: Position measuring unit, 20: ROM disk, 30:
ROM disk drive, 40: Display device, 5
0: speaker, 60: operation unit, 70: GPS receiver, 8
0: Self-contained navigation sensor, CM: Vehicle position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle, MP: Map image around the vehicle position CM, G
RT: guidance route from the searched vehicle position CM to the destination, RT: peripheral road other than the guidance route GRT

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G09B 29/00 G09B 29/00 C 29/10 29/10 AF term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB05 HB22 HC08 HC13 HC22 HC31 HD03 HD07 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC03 AC09 AC14 AC16 5B050 AA00 BA06 BA17 CA07 DA10 EA09 EA14 EA19 FA02 FA05 FA10 5H180 AA01 BB13 FF04 FF05 FF22 FF27 FF35

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A position measuring unit for measuring a current position of a vehicle, a map data storing unit for storing map data including altitude data, a display unit for displaying a map image based on the map data, and the position measuring unit. The map data corresponding to the vehicle position measured by means is read from the map data storage means, and display control means for displaying on the display means, the display control means, when displaying a road on the display means, A navigation device comprising gradation means for gradation according to elevation data of a road. 2. The display control means, further comprising: destination input means for inputting a destination; and route search means for searching an optimum route from the vehicle position measured by the position measuring means to the destination. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the route searched by the route searching means is gradationd with a color tone different from that of other roads. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means further includes edging means for edging a road that has been gradation by the gradation means.