JP2005114424A - Navigation system and method, and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for navigation capable of exhibiting optimum route for the user, even when a plurality of points capable of reaching a destination exist, that is, to provide a navigation system and method, and a program therefor. <P>SOLUTION: The destination is searched (S1) to be assigned as a destination for route calculation. A plurality of registered coordinates are searched as to the destination (S2). Coordinates of the present position are assigned as the start point (S3). The route calculation is carried out, based on the coordinates in the plurality of points and the coordinates of the start point (S4). The optimum route is selected from among the plurality of calculated routes (S5). The selected route is set as the final route, and route guiding is executed based on the route. The user is able to travel along the optimum route and an unnecessary route is precluded from traveling therealong. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation technique, that is, a navigation device, a method, and a program in which route setting is improved when there are a plurality of routes for entering a destination facility, for example.

  In recent years, with the generalization of automobiles and the development of information processing technology, navigation devices typified by in-vehicle use are rapidly spreading. The navigation device uses the road map data prepared in advance, displays the current position sequentially detected by GPS, etc. on the surrounding map, calculates the optimum guidance route to the destination specified by the user, and the direction of travel Is guided and guided by screen display or voice synthesis (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the navigation device as described above, a destination search function can be used as a normal usage method. That is, a facility, leisure land, or the like is searched based on the input name, attribute, or the like, and the position of the searched facility on the map is designated as the destination. Then, a route search from the current location to the destination is performed, and guidance to the destination is made along the searched route, that is, the road.

By the way, when setting the searched position as a destination, in the prior art, a search is performed based on coordinates registered in advance as the destination, and route guidance to the road closest to the coordinates is performed. It was.
JP 2003-207346 A

  However, if the destination has a relatively large area and there are multiple entrances to enter the facility, the result of the route search may not always be convenient for the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if facility A as a destination is a parking lot and there are two entrances, entrance 1 and entrance 2, if the vehicle position is Y, guidance to the vicinity of entrance 2 Is kind to the user. However, if the search position coordinate registered as the destination is the X point, the guidance is performed up to the vicinity of the entrance 1, and the user following this makes a detour.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide navigation that can present the optimum route for the user even when there are a plurality of points that can reach the destination. It is to provide a technology, that is, a navigation device, a method, and a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a computer or an electronic circuit, wherein a road map data storage unit for storing road map data including point information regarding a map and points on the map, and any one of the points A destination designating unit that designates the destination as a destination, a departure point designating unit that designates the departure point, and a route setting unit that calculates and sets a route from the departure point to the destination based on the road map data. In the navigation device that guides and guides the set route, the point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing points that can reach the point, and the route setting is performed with respect to the point specified by the destination specifying unit. As a destination for route calculation by the unit, a detailed point search unit that searches for a plurality of coordinates, and an optimum route among the routes calculated based on the plurality of coordinates are selected. And having a path selection unit.

  The invention of claim 4 captures the invention of claim 1 from the viewpoint of a method, wherein a computer or an electronic circuit stores road map data including a map and point information relating to points on the map; A step of designating one of the points as a destination, a step of designating a departure point, a step of calculating and setting a route from the departure point to the destination based on the road map data, and In the navigation method including the step of guiding and guiding, the point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing points that can reach the point, and a plurality of coordinates are searched for a point designated as a destination; And calculating a route based on the plurality of coordinates, and selecting an optimum route among the calculated routes. .

  The invention described in claim 7 captures the inventions of claims 1 and 4 from the viewpoint of a computer program, and stores road map data including point information relating to a map and points on the map by controlling the computer. And specify any of the points as a destination, specify a departure point, calculate and set a route from the departure point to the destination based on the road map data, and guide the set route In the navigation program, the point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing a point that can reach the point, and a plurality of coordinates are searched for a point designated as a destination, and a route is determined based on the plurality of coordinates. And calculating an optimum route among the calculated routes.

  In the inventions of claims 1, 4, and 7 as described above, even when there are a plurality of points that can reach the destination, the optimum route is selected and guided among the routes calculated based on them. Therefore, the user does not follow an unnecessary route.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first aspect, the plurality of coordinates correspond to an entrance of the point.
The invention of claim 5 captures the invention of claim 2 from the viewpoint of the method, and in the navigation method of claim 4, the plurality of coordinates correspond to an entrance of the point. To do.
The invention of claim 8 is the one in which the inventions of claims 2 and 5 are captured from the viewpoint of a computer program. In the navigation program of claim 7, the plurality of coordinates correspond to the entrance of the point. It is characterized by.
In the inventions of claims 2, 5, and 8 as described above, even if there are a plurality of entrances of facilities or the like that are destinations, the route to the optimum entrance is set and guided, so that the user can enter quickly. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first or second aspect, the selection by the optimum route selection unit is performed for a route including coordinates closest to the departure place.
The invention of claim 6 captures the invention of claim 3 from the viewpoint of the method, and in the navigation method of claim 4 or claim 5, the computer or the electronic circuit includes a coordinate closest to the departure place. The method includes a step of selecting a route.
The invention of claim 9 captures the inventions of claims 3 and 6 from the viewpoint of a computer program. In the navigation program of claim 7 or claim 8, the computer is provided with coordinates closest to the starting point. It is characterized in that a route to be included is selected.
In the inventions of claims 3, 6, and 9 as described above, the closest route is selected and set from a plurality of routes from the departure point to the destination, so that the user can go to the destination without making a detour or the like. Can reach.

  According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to provide a navigation technique, that is, a navigation device, a method, and a program that can present an optimum route for a user even when there are a plurality of points that can reach a destination. it can.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In addition, although this embodiment is realizable by controlling the computer provided with the peripheral device by the program, the implementation | achievement aspect of the hardware and program in this case can be variously changed. In addition to the navigation apparatus and method, the present invention can be grasped as a program as described above and a computer-readable storage medium storing such a program. Therefore, in the following description, virtual circuit blocks that realize the functions of the present invention and the present embodiment are used.

[1. Constitution〕
[1-1. overall structure〕
First, a navigation device in this embodiment (hereinafter referred to as “this device”) is roughly a navigation device that searches and guides a route to a specified destination based on road map data prepared in advance. When there are a plurality of coordinates (entrance, etc.) that can reach the destination, a route with the optimum coordinates as the destination is set. The following elements shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. I have.

  That is, the absolute position / orientation detection unit 1 calculates the absolute position coordinates and direction on the ground surface with respect to the current position of the automobile (referred to as the own vehicle) on which the apparatus is mounted, that is, the own vehicle position. This is a part for receiving GPS radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites with an antenna or a receiver. The relative orientation detection unit 2 is a part for detecting the relative orientation of the host vehicle using a gyro or the like. Moreover, the vehicle speed detection part 3 is a part which calculates the speed of the own vehicle by processing the vehicle speed pulse obtained from a motor vehicle.

  The main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are parts that serve as a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus. The memory group M is various memories necessary for the operation of the apparatus. For example, the ROM 5 for storing programs is accessed by the main CPU when the apparatus is activated. A main program is loaded into a dynamic RAM (DRAM) 6 that provides a work area and the like. An SRAM (static RAM) 7 is a storage means for storing information including settings and map data, and is backed up by the battery even when the main power is turned off, and provides memory contents when the power is turned on. However, it can be replaced by other storage means such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive. A display VRAM (video RAM) 8 stores bitmap data of an image to be displayed on the display unit 10.

  The display unit 10 is a part for displaying various information such as a map and an operation menu on a liquid crystal display screen (not shown), and is preferably used in combination with speech synthesis. The input unit 11 is a part for a user to input information such as a command from a switch or the like, and includes a touch sensor function, a remote control unit, an infrared transmission / reception unit, and the like, but is configured integrally with the display unit 10 as a touch panel. It is desirable. The user interface unit 9 is a user interface that connects the display unit 10 and the input unit 11 to the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 using an I / O control circuit, a device driver, or the like.

  The HDD control unit 12 is means for reading various data such as a navigation program recorded in a hard disk (mass storage device) from a database, and stores road map data that preliminarily represents a network structure of a road or a road section. The In this apparatus, coordinate data (longitude and latitude) of points on the map included in the road map data is used. That is, for each point, normal coordinate data used when the point is designated as the destination is registered. Further, when the point is, for example, a large facility having a plurality of entrances, coordinate data for each entrance is registered.

  The FM multiplex reception and processing unit 13 is a part that receives FM broadcast waves and extracts desired data such as traffic information of the VICS service from the broadcast waves. The traffic information includes traffic jam information. The optical / beacon reception and processing unit 14 is a part that receives and processes information such as identification information of each beacon and traffic information of the VICS service from an optical beacon or a radio wave beacon installed on a roadside.

[1-2. Role of main CPU and its peripheral circuits]
Further, the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are configured to realize the roles as the following parts shown in FIG. 1 by the action of the program as described above. That is, the current position detection unit 40 is means for sequentially calculating the own vehicle position, and specifically, is configured to calculate the own vehicle position by combining GPS navigation positioning and autonomous navigation positioning. .

  Here, in GPS navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained by the absolute position / orientation detection unit 1 based on radio waves from an artificial satellite. In the autonomous navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained from the relative bearing detection unit 2 and the vehicle speed detection unit 3 based on the geomagnetism and the speed of the host vehicle.

  The destination designation unit 41 is means for receiving designation of a destination, that is, input by facility search from a database in which the road map data is recorded or cursor designation on a map. Normally, the current location detected by the current position detection unit 40 is designated as a departure point. However, as with the destination designation unit 41, facility search from a database in which road map data is recorded or on a map is performed. There may be provided means for accepting designation of an origin, that is, input by cursor designation or the like. The detailed point search unit 42 is a means for searching a plurality of coordinate data corresponding to an entrance or the like for a point designated as a destination from a database in which road map data is recorded.

  The route setting unit 43 calculates a route from the current position detected by the current position detecting unit 40 to the destination specified by the destination specifying unit 41 based on the road map data, and as a result It is a means for setting the obtained route. When coordinates such as a plurality of entrances are set at the destination, a plurality of routes are calculated using the respective coordinates as the destination. The optimum route selection unit 44 is means for selecting an optimum route from among a plurality of routes calculated by the route setting unit 43. A criterion for this selection may be the one having the shortest distance from the departure place, but is not limited thereto.

  Further, the map display unit 45 three-dimensionally displays the vehicle position on the surrounding map and at least a part of the route on the display unit 10 based on the calculated vehicle position and the road map data. The guidance control unit 46 is a means for controlling the guidance guidance by determining elements to be displayed in the route and elements such as blinking emphasis or using combined speech. That is, the current position detection unit 40, the route setting unit 43, the map display unit 45, and the guidance control unit 46 are connected to a designated destination based on the road map data read from the HDD control unit 12. It constitutes navigation means for searching for routes and guiding them.

[2. Action)
An example of the route calculation processing according to the present embodiment as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. That is, when the user inputs a destination search request from the input unit 11, the destination is searched (step 1). In general, search by name, search by phone number, search by address, search by genre, search from around the current location, search from around the destination, etc. By selecting a desired item from the subordinate concept list, a desired point (for example, facility A) is finally displayed. However, it is also possible to search for a destination by the user inputting a desired point name or specifying a point displayed on a map.

  The point specified in this way is designated by the destination designation unit 41 as a destination for route calculation. Then, the detailed point search unit 42 searches the road map data for a plurality of coordinate data registered for the designated destination (step 2). For example, when the destination is a point having a plurality of entrances such as the facility A, coordinate data corresponding to each entrance is retrieved. Further, the coordinate data of the current location detected by the current position detection unit 40 is designated as the departure location (step 3). Based on the coordinates of the plurality of points searched in this way and the coordinates of the designated departure place, the route setting unit 43 performs route calculation (step 4).

  Further, the optimum route is selected by the optimum route selection unit 44 from the plurality of calculated routes. For example, the route that takes the shortest distance from the departure point, the shortest time required from the departure point, and various factors (distance and time, road type, right / left turn, congestion, etc.) The one with the lowest cost is selected (step 5). The selected route is set by the route setting unit 43 as a final route, and the route guidance is performed by the map display unit 45 and the guidance control unit 46 based on this route. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, when the vehicle position is Y, a route calculated based on the coordinates of the entrance 2, that is, a route indicated by a thick dashed arrow is selected and route guidance is performed.

  When it is determined in step 2 that the point does not have a plurality of coordinate data, the coordinate data of the point is designated as the destination, and the normal route setting process surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 2 is performed. . That is, the coordinate data of the current location detected by the current position detection unit 40 is designated as the departure point (step 6), and the route setting unit 43 calculates the route based on the designated destination coordinates and departure point coordinates. (Step 7), the calculated route is set (Step 8), and route guidance is performed based on this route.

[3. effect〕
As described above, in the present embodiment, even if there are a plurality of destination entrances, etc., it is possible for the user to select and guide the optimum route from the routes calculated based on each of them. It does not follow the necessary route. In particular, by selecting the route closest to the current location, the user can reach the destination without making a detour or the like. This is very convenient, for example, when a large facility has many entrances, each facing a different road, or a facility with a long distance between entrances. Become.

[4. Other embodiments]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Other embodiments which are illustrated below are included. For example, when the route leading to the entrance or the entrance itself cannot pass depending on the type of vehicle, it is possible to select a passable one based on the road database and the type of the vehicle registered in advance. On the basis of traffic information or the like, it is also possible to exclude a route leading to an entrance that is blocked during construction or difficult to pass due to congestion or the like or an entrance itself from the selection target. In addition to the entrance, when viewing things in a large facility from outside, such as cherry blossom viewing, or viewing natural objects such as mountains, in addition to the normal coordinates of those facilities and natural objects, A plurality of coordinates may be set according to.

  Also, instead of calculating the route for all the searched coordinates, select the one with the shortest straight line distance from each coordinate and the coordinates of the departure point, and calculate and set the route based on this Can also be made. This can reduce the processing burden when the distance between the departure point and the destination is very close.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a so-called off-board type navigation system that can receive provision of the latest data via a wireless communication network, instead of a so-called on-board type that places navigation data in a vehicle. is there. In this case, a server outside the vehicle connected via the communication network can perform all or part of the above processing, and the processing result is reduced by the in-vehicle computer to acquire the processing result. be able to. In addition, this invention is not limited to vehicle-mounted use, It is applicable also to another moving means and portable navigation.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in embodiment of this invention. The figure which compares the guide route by embodiment of this invention with the guide route by a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Absolute position and direction detection part 2 ... Relative direction detection part 3 ... Vehicle speed detection part 4 ... Main CPU and its peripheral circuit 5 ... ROM
6 ... DRAM
7 ... SRAM
8 ... VRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... User interface part 10 ... Display part 11 ... Input part 12 ... HDD control part 13 ... FM multiplex reception and processing part 14 ... Light / beacon reception and processing part 40 ... Current position detection part 41 ... Destination designation part 42 ... Details Point search unit 43 ... route setting unit 44 ... optimal route selection unit 45 ... map display unit 46 ... guidance control unit M ... memory group

Claims (9)

A road map data storage unit for storing road map data including point information on a map and points on the map, a destination designation unit for designating one of the points as a destination, and a departure point In a navigation device that includes a starting point specifying unit that specifies and a route setting unit that calculates and sets a route from the starting point to a destination based on the road map data, and guides and guides the set route,
The point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing points that can reach the point,
A detailed point search unit that searches a plurality of coordinates as a destination for route calculation by the route setting unit with respect to the point specified by the destination specifying unit;
An optimum route selection unit that selects an optimum route among routes calculated based on the plurality of coordinates;
A navigation device comprising:   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of coordinates correspond to an entrance of the point.   The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selection by the optimum route selection unit is performed for a route including a coordinate closest to the departure place. A step in which a computer or electronic circuit stores road map data including point information relating to a map and points on the map; a step of designating one of the points as a destination; a step of designating a departure point; and the road In a navigation method including a step of calculating and setting a route from a starting point to a destination based on map data, and a step of guiding and guiding the set route,
The point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing points that can reach the point,
Searching for a plurality of coordinates for a point designated as a destination;
Calculating a route based on the plurality of coordinates;
Selecting an optimal route of the calculated routes;
A navigation method comprising:   The navigation method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of coordinates correspond to an entrance of the point. A computer or electronic circuit
6. The navigation method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of selecting a route including a coordinate closest to the departure place. By controlling a computer, road map data including point information regarding the map and points on the map is stored, one of the points is designated as a destination, a departure place is designated, and the road map data is determined based on the road map data. In the navigation program to calculate and set the route from the departure point to the destination, and to guide the set route,
The point information includes a plurality of coordinates representing points that can reach the point,
For the point specified as the destination, search for multiple coordinates as the destination for route setting,
Calculating a route based on the plurality of coordinates;
A navigation program characterized by causing an optimum route to be selected from among calculated routes.   The navigation program according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of coordinates correspond to an entrance of the point. In the computer,
The navigation program according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a route including coordinates closest to the departure point is selected.