JP2004279362A - Navigation apparatus, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus, a method and a program for recording sensor data used in navigation. <P>SOLUTION: A synchronous recording controller 31 of a navigation processor 13 opens a new data file, when detecting an operation initiation event from a user and then, records sensor data read from a sensor processor 14 in an external memory device 12 any time, in parallel with its use in required navigation operation. Although a specific kind of the description of the sensor data is free, typically, each value concerning a GPS (Global Positioning System) and a gyro, and data concerning the detection timing of a speed pulse and other 3D gyros can be considered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in mobile navigation technology.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, navigation technologies have rapidly become widespread along with automobiles and digital technologies. In navigation, devices such as in-vehicle devices use the map data to successively detect the position of the vehicle using GPS or the like and display it on a peripheral map, search for the optimal guidance route to the specified destination, and follow it. It guides the traveling direction and the like by screen display or voice synthesis, and can be grasped as a navigation device, a method, a program, or the like.
[0003]
Early navigation devices provided only a read-only storage device such as a CD-ROM drive, but in recent years, provided a writable storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory card, and a predetermined storage device. There are also proposals in which the position of the vehicle is recorded as travel locus data for each time interval and travel distance, and can be used for subsequent route calculations and the like and can be used in another navigation device via a removable storage medium (for example, See Patent Document 1.).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2001-91278
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the traveling locus data recorded in the related art as described above is merely discontinuous position data plotting a passing point, and is not sufficient for reproducing detailed behaviors and states of the vehicle and the navigation device. Was. For this reason, for example, application to technical analysis of defects or demonstrations for sales promotion is impossible at all, and there is a problem that the usefulness is extremely low. In the past, it was difficult to reduce unnecessary burdens, such as in the past, it took time and effort to repeat the experiment to reproduce the defect, and to prepare special software and data separately for the sales promotion demonstration. Was.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-described problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program for recording sensor data used for navigation.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary, and one or more items obtained from a predetermined sensor relating to the position and traveling state of the vehicle. In a navigation device in which a computer performs navigation based on each sensor data, the computer includes means for storing the sensor data in synchronization with each other as the vehicle travels.
[0008]
The invention of claim 4 captures the invention of claim 1 from the viewpoint of a method, wherein road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary, and a predetermined sensor relating to the position and running state of the own vehicle are used. A navigation method in which a computer performs navigation based on one or a plurality of items of sensor data obtained, the computer including a process of synchronizing and storing the sensor data as the vehicle travels. And
[0009]
The invention of claim 7 captures the invention of claims 1 and 4 from the viewpoint of a computer program. By controlling the computer, road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary, In a navigation program for performing navigation based on one or more items of sensor data obtained from a predetermined sensor with respect to the position and running state of the car, the program causes the computer to execute the sensor data as the vehicle runs. Are stored in synchronization with each other.
[0010]
In these embodiments, the internal data itself used for the vehicle position determination, that is, sensor data such as GPS, gyro output, and speed pulse are stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk drive (HDD). By using these data, the navigation operation in the event of a malfunction can be reproduced to help improve performance such as analysis, and it is possible to reproduce a superior demonstration driving operation with a more realistic and varied effect than before. It becomes.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first aspect, a photographing means for obtaining video data and a means for storing the video data obtained from the photographing means in synchronization with the sensor data by a computer are provided. It is characterized by having.
[0012]
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the invention of the second aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the navigation method according to the fourth aspect, a computer synchronizes video data obtained from a predetermined photographing unit with the sensor data. And storing the information.
[0013]
The invention of claim 8 captures the invention of claims 2 and 5 from the viewpoint of a computer program. In the navigation program according to claim 7, the program is stored in the computer by an image obtained from a predetermined photographing means. Data is stored in synchronization with the sensor data.
[0014]
In these embodiments, digital image data such as the outside of the vehicle, the inside of the vehicle or the like or a desired point of concern is also recorded by photographing means such as a digital video camera unit using a CCD, and a navigation operation based on the sensor data as travel data is performed. Since playback can be performed in synchronization, it becomes easy to more accurately check the status of a malfunction and to display a more realistic and realistic demonstration.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the computer stores a stop time instead of the sensor data during a stop state of the vehicle.
[0016]
The invention of claim 6 captures the invention of claim 3 from the viewpoint of a method. In the navigation method according to claim 4 or 5, the computer replaces the sensor data during the stop state of the vehicle. And storing the stop time.
[0017]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the third and sixth aspects is grasped from the viewpoint of a computer program. In the navigation program according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the program is stored in the computer while the vehicle is stopped. Is characterized in that a stop time is stored instead of the sensor data.
[0018]
In these modes, while the vehicle is stopped, useless repetitive recording of sensor data that should not be changed in principle is suspended and the stop time is recorded, so that a useless increase in the recording data capacity is prevented. At the time of reproduction, it is desirable to selectively execute whether or not to reproduce the recorded stop time as it is.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiments”) will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present embodiment can be realized by controlling a computer with a program. However, in this case, the way of realizing the hardware and the program can be variously changed, and therefore, in the following description, each of the present invention and the present embodiment will be described. A virtual circuit block that realizes a function is used.
[0020]
[1. Constitution〕
The present embodiment performs navigation based on road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary, and one or more items of sensor data obtained from a predetermined sensor regarding the position and running state of the vehicle. This is a navigation device to be performed (hereinafter, referred to as “this device”), and can be grasped as a method and a program.
[0021]
Specifically, as shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1, the present apparatus includes a user interface unit 11 for inputting / outputting information to / from a user, an external storage device 12 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and A navigation processing unit 13 for controlling and calculating the image data, a sensor processing unit 14 having various sensors such as a GPS receiver, and a digital video camera unit 15 which is a photographing unit for obtaining video data. The user interface unit 11 includes a display unit 11a such as a liquid crystal display panel and an operation input unit 11b such as an operation switch.
[0022]
Further, the navigation processing unit 13 plays a role of a synchronous recording control unit 31 and a reproduction processing unit 32 by the operation of the above-described program. The synchronous recording control unit 31 plays a role of a unit that synchronizes the sensor data obtained from the sensor processing unit 14 and stores the data in the external storage device 12 as the vehicle travels. The synchronous recording control unit 31 also has a role of a unit that stores the video data obtained from the digital video camera unit 15 as the photographing unit in the external storage device 12 in synchronization with the sensor data. Further, the synchronous recording control unit 31 is configured to store the stop time instead of the sensor data during the stop state of the vehicle.
[0023]
[2. Action)
The present embodiment as described above specifically operates as follows.
[2-1. Data recording] ... Figure 2
First, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a data recording processing procedure in the present embodiment except for a general navigation operation. For example, it is assumed that the user designates the start of driving data recording from the operation input unit 11b. This is realized, for example, by providing a “recording start” button or the like as an option in a menu displayed on a dedicated switch or a navigation operation screen.
[0024]
When detecting the operation start event from the user as described above (step 201), the synchronous recording control unit 31 of the navigation processing unit 13 opens a new data file (step 202), and thereafter reads from the sensor processing unit 14. The sensor data (step 203) is recorded in the external storage device 12 as needed (steps 204 and 205) in parallel with using the data for a necessary navigation operation.
[0025]
Although the specific type of the sensor data is free, typical ones include numerical values related to GPS (Global Positioning System) and gyro, detection timing of speed pulse, and other related items such as 3D gyro. These sensor data are digitized and format-converted into a predetermined recording frame (step 204), recorded (step 205), read out, and used.
[0026]
Here, the digitization is performed by the sensor processing unit 14 or the navigation processing unit 13. For example, the GPS data is converted into a fixed serial data format as exemplified below by the sensor processing unit 14 and input to the navigation processing unit 13 (step 203).
Rate: 19200bps
Character length: 8 bits
Stop: 1 bit
Parity: none [0027]
The gyro data of the sensor data is obtained by AD-converting the voltage value of the gyro, and the speed pulse is data obtained by capturing a pulse interval proportional to the traveling speed obtained from the vehicle side.
[0028]
If the digital video camera unit 15 is set to record simultaneously (step 206), the moving image data from the digital video camera unit 15 is also recorded in the external storage device 12 through compression and conversion (step 207). Further, when the vehicle stops, the recording of the sensor data as described above is stopped (step 208). Instead, the stop time data indicating how many seconds the vehicle has been stopped is updated in a predetermined processing cycle (step 209), and the running is resumed. Sometimes it is recorded in the external storage device 12 (step 210).
[0029]
The external storage device 12 that records the sensor data as described above may be a large-capacity device such as a hard disk drive, and is desirably provided with an interface for extracting data to the outside. For example, depending on the hardware configuration, a detachable storage medium such as a flash memory card such as a memory stick is used as a storage device as a data exchange means with the outside, or a communication line using a mobile phone is used. This makes it possible to transfer and exchange data with an external device more easily.
[0030]
In the processing procedure of FIG. 2, when a recording end condition such as a predetermined operation by the user is satisfied (step 201), a recording end process such as a data file closing process is performed (step 211), and data recording to the external storage device 12 is determined. I do. Here, the file closing is described as the recording end processing, but this is premised on a file system, and a system without a file system may perform necessary processing according to the system configuration.
[0031]
The recording end condition here is an end condition set by the user at the start of recording. For example, the end of the traveling route set at the start (arrival of destination), arrival at a certain relay point, and A condition such as a decrease in free space may be used. In particular, as a condition setting method, there are various methods such as specification of a certain range or a certain time zone. In any case, a method that can specify a range of a certain traveling route is suitable.
[0032]
[2-2. Data playback)
Based on the sensor data acquired and recorded as described above, that is, the traveling data, on the screen of the display unit 11a or the like, to reproduce the behavior of the own vehicle at the time of traveling or to browse the data content, for example, as shown in FIG. Follow the processing procedure.
[0033]
That is, when there is a reproduction start designation operation by the user from the operation input unit 11b (step 301), the reproduction processing unit 32 of the navigation processing unit 13 selects the reproduction target data file automatically or by the user's operation (step 302). ). When there is only one data file, it may be automatically selected. However, when there are a plurality of data files and the user selects the data file manually, a selection screen is displayed on the display unit 11a together with a list of the traveling data files. Then, when the user selects a desired file, the data selection ends (step 302).
[0034]
The running data of the designated file is read from the external storage device 12 and processed. The processing includes manual mode and automatic mode, reproduction of the navigation operation, and display of the sensor data itself. -Types such as browsing, combinations thereof, and the like can be considered.
[0035]
Although the details are free, for example, in the case of using the manual mode or browsing, the recorded travel data is read out (step 305), and the position recorded as information is displayed on a map (step 306). By performing a user operation such as scrolling the screen (step 307), the navigation operation is reproduced for each scene while confirming the location, or the numerical value of the sensor data itself is browsed instead of reproducing the operation (step 304, 306), various usage modes can be realized.
[0036]
The automatic mode is a mode in which the behavior of the own vehicle at the time of traveling is reproduced on a map from the beginning of the traveling data and displayed on the display unit 11a (steps 309 and 310).
[0037]
The conditions for ending these playback operations are, for example, when the running data has been processed to the end, or when the user has performed a cancel operation in the middle, and the playback operation ends when these ending conditions are satisfied (steps 308 and 311). Note that cancellation by a user operation may be received from the operation input unit 11b.
[0038]
Further, if the sensor data and the moving image data are made separate files and synchronized at the time of reproduction with timing marks embedded in both at the time of recording, it is possible to handle reproduction, change of names and attributes, movement, deletion, etc. in file units.
[0039]
[3. effect〕
As described above, in the present embodiment, the internal data itself used for the vehicle position determination, that is, sensor data such as GPS, gyro output, and speed pulse are stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk drive (HDD). . For this reason, it is possible to reproduce the navigation operation at the time of occurrence of the trouble to help improve the performance such as analysis, etc., and to reproduce an excellent demonstration traveling operation which is more realistic and has more effect effects than before.
[0040]
Further, in the present embodiment, digital image data such as the outside of the vehicle, the inside of the vehicle or the like or a desired location of concern is recorded by a photographing means such as a digital video camera unit using a CCD, and a navigation operation based on the sensor data as travel data is performed. Since playback can be performed in synchronization with the above, it is easy to more accurately check the status of a malfunction and to display a more realistic and realistic demonstration display.
[0041]
Further, in the present embodiment, while the vehicle is stopped, useless repetitive recording of sensor data that is supposed to be unchanged in principle is suspended, and the stop time is recorded. At the time of reproduction, it is desirable to selectively execute whether or not to reproduce the recorded stop time as it is.
[0042]
[4. Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes other aspects as exemplified below. For example, the configurations, examples, data examples, processing procedures, and the like shown in the above-described embodiment and each drawing are merely examples, and can be appropriately changed. Of course, the present invention is applicable to both on-board and off-board navigation devices.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program for recording sensor data used for navigation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of data recording in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of data reproduction according to the embodiment of the present invention.
11 user interface unit 12 external storage device 13 navigation processing unit 31 synchronous recording control unit 32 playback processing unit 14 sensor processing unit 15 digital video camera unit

Claims (9)

A navigation device in which a computer performs navigation based on road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary and one or more items of sensor data obtained from a predetermined sensor regarding the position and running state of the vehicle. At
A navigation device, wherein the computer includes means for storing the sensor data in synchronization with each other as the vehicle travels. Shooting means for obtaining video data,
2. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing a picture data obtained from the photographing means in synchronization with the sensor data by a computer. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the computer stores a stop time instead of the sensor data during a stop state of the vehicle. A navigation method in which a computer performs navigation based on road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary, and one or more items of sensor data obtained from a predetermined sensor regarding the position and running state of the vehicle. At
A navigation method, comprising: a process in which the computer stores the sensor data in synchronization with each other as the vehicle travels. 5. The navigation method according to claim 4, further comprising a process of storing video data obtained from a predetermined photographing means in synchronization with the sensor data by a computer. The navigation method according to claim 4, wherein the computer stores a stop time instead of the sensor data during a stop state of the vehicle. By controlling the computer,
A navigation program that performs navigation based on road map data prepared in advance or downloaded from the outside whenever necessary and one or more items of sensor data obtained from a predetermined sensor regarding the position and running state of the vehicle. ,
The program is stored on the computer
A navigation program, wherein the sensor data is stored in synchronization with each other as the vehicle travels. The program is stored in the computer,
8. The navigation program according to claim 7, wherein video data obtained from a predetermined photographing unit is stored in synchronization with the sensor data. The program is stored in the computer,
9. The navigation program according to claim 7, wherein a stop time is stored in place of the sensor data during a stop state of the vehicle.

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