JP2005127937A - Navigation device and intersection guiding method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device and an intersecting guide method which can make a guide in an adjacent intersection intelligible, in an arrow navigation which displays the travelling direction of a guide intersection only by an arrow sign. <P>SOLUTION: The device decides whether a plurality of the guide intersections which exist on a guide course are to be continued within a predetermined distance. When the plurality of the guide intersections continue, before going into the latest guide intersection, the arrow sign 14 which shows the travelling directions in the plurality of the continued guide intersections is changed continuously and is displayed in the order. Before entering the first guide intersection, the travelling directions in all guide intersections are displayed with the arrow sign in the order. A user enables checking of the traveling directions, in the coming intersections with a margin, in advance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device and an intersection guidance method, and is particularly suitable for use in a simple navigation device that displays an advancing direction at a guidance intersection with an arrow when a vehicle approaches the guidance intersection on a guidance route. .

  In general, in-vehicle navigation devices detect the current position of a vehicle using a self-contained navigation sensor, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, or the like, read out map data in the vicinity of the vehicle, and display it on a screen. Then, a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle position is superimposed and displayed at a predetermined location on the screen, so that it can be seen at a glance where the vehicle is currently traveling.

  Also, most recent navigation devices are equipped with a route guidance function. This route guidance function automatically searches for the route with the lowest cost from the current location to the destination using map data, and uses the searched route as a guidance route to change the color of other roads on the map screen. draw. In addition, when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on the guidance route within a certain distance, the driver is guided to the destination by performing predetermined intersection guidance.

  There is also provided a simple navigation device that uses a display for an audio device as a navigation device, does not display a road map on the screen, and guides left and right turns at an intersection only by displaying arrows. In this type of simple navigation device, audio-related information such as a radio channel selection frequency or a CD (Compact Disc) playback track number is always displayed on the display. Only when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on the guidance route within a certain distance, an arrow indicating the direction of the right / left turn is additionally displayed (hereinafter referred to as arrow navigation).

  However, the conventional arrow navigator has a problem in that, when a plurality of guidance intersections exist continuously at a short distance as shown in FIG. 6, sufficient guidance cannot be provided for a later intersection. . That is, at the continuous intersection, it is necessary to turn right and left immediately after the first intersection, but right and left at the next intersection immediately, but in the conventional arrow navigation, the arrows are displayed in order for each guidance intersection. At the later intersection, the driver was able to confirm the turn even if he / she gave a left / right turn guidance. In addition, when making a right or left turn at the first intersection, it is not known which way to turn at the later intersection, so the lane change may not be in time after seeing the guidance arrow for the latter intersection. It was.

In addition, when the distance between guidance intersections is short, the technique which displayed the arrow continuously by one intersection enlarged view is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1). Also, the direction of travel of the next intersection is displayed as a guide arrow on the previous enlarged intersection map (for example, see Patent Document 2), or the route guide map is displayed with the latest route guide map up. (For example, see Patent Document 3) has also been proposed.
JP 2003-161624 A JP 2000-39330 A JP 2000-241184 A

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides easy-to-understand guidance for continuous intersections in a simple navigation device (arrow navigation) that displays the direction of travel at a guidance intersection only with arrows. The purpose is to be able to.

In order to solve the above-described problems, in the navigation device of the present invention, it is determined whether or not a plurality of guided intersections are continuous within a predetermined distance. Prior to entering, arrows indicating the direction of travel at a plurality of consecutive guided intersections are displayed in sequence.
Further, the traveling speed of the vehicle is detected, and the switching speed of the arrow display is variably controlled according to the detected traveling speed.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, when a plurality of guidance intersections are continuous, the traveling directions at all the guidance intersections are sequentially displayed with arrows before entering the first guidance intersection. The direction of travel at the later intersection can be communicated to the user in advance with a margin. Also, by variably controlling the switching speed of the arrow display according to the traveling speed of the vehicle, even if the time to enter the first guidance intersection is relatively short during high-speed traveling, before entering the first guidance intersection Thus, it is possible to reliably inform the user of the traveling directions at all the guidance intersections.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a screen display example for explaining the outline of the present invention. In FIG. 1, in a first area 11 of the display screen, audio-related information such as a radio tuning frequency and a CD playback track number is displayed. In the second area 12 and the third area 13, an arrow indicating the traveling direction at the guidance intersection is displayed.

  Among these, the second area 12 displays an arrow indicating the traveling direction at the first guide intersection that enters the first intersection among a plurality of consecutive guide intersections within a predetermined distance (for example, within 200 m). Further, in the third area 13, an arrow indicating the traveling direction at the guidance intersection that enters later among the continuous intersections is displayed. An arrow indicating the traveling direction at a normal guidance intersection that is not a continuous intersection may be displayed in either the second area 12 or the third area 13.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that a route that turns right at the first intersection and then immediately turns left at the next intersection within 200 m is set as a guidance route. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a right arrow indicating a right turn is displayed in the second area 12, a left arrow indicating a left turn is displayed in the third area 13, and these displays are switched alternately ( In the figure, solid arrows indicate lighting and dotted arrows indicate extinguishing).

  When such a blinking display of the arrow is performed, the display switching speed from the second area 12 to the third area 13 is different from the display switching speed from the third area 13 to the second area 12. Anyway. For example, display switching from the second area 12 to the third area 13 is made relatively fast, and display switching from the third area 13 to the second area 12 is made relatively slow. In this way, the user can easily grasp which arrow corresponds to the nearest guidance intersection.

  Further, the traveling speed of the vehicle may be detected, and the switching speed of the arrow display may be variably controlled according to the traveling speed. For example, control is performed so that the arrow display is switched at a relatively slow first switching speed during low-speed traveling, and the arrow display is switched at a relatively fast second switching speed during high-speed traveling. In this way, even when the time to enter the first guidance intersection is short when traveling at high speed, the user can surely confirm the traveling direction at all the guidance intersections before entering the first guidance intersection. .

  Further, after passing the first guidance intersection, the arrow in the second area 12 corresponding to the guidance intersection is completely turned off, and only the arrow indicating the traveling direction at the remaining guidance intersection is displayed in the third area 13. You may make it continue. In this way, unnecessary arrows on the guidance intersection that has already passed can be eliminated from the screen, and only the traveling direction at the next guidance intersection can be provided to the user in an easily understandable manner.

  Next, a functional configuration for realizing the operation of the present invention as described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration for realizing the above-described intersection guidance method. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a guidance route memory, which stores guidance route data searched by the navigation device. The guidance route data stores the position of each node and an intersection identification flag indicating whether each node is an intersection, corresponding to each node from the current location to the destination.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a continuous intersection determination unit that determines whether or not a plurality of guided intersections on the guidance route set in the guidance route memory 21 are continuous within a predetermined distance. 23 is a display control unit, and when it is determined by the continuous intersection determination unit 22 that a plurality of guidance intersections are continuous, before entering the nearest guidance intersection, arrows indicating the traveling directions at the plurality of consecutive guidance intersections are displayed. As shown in FIG. 1, control is performed so that the second area 12 and the third area 13 on the screen of the monitor 24 are switched in order and displayed alternately. The display control unit 23 performs control so that only the arrow indicating the traveling direction at the guidance intersection is displayed for the guidance intersection determined by the continuous intersection determination unit 22 as not being a continuous intersection.

  Reference numeral 25 denotes a travel position detection unit that detects the travel position of the vehicle. Reference numeral 26 denotes a passage determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection based on the guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 21 and the traveling position information detected by the traveling position detection unit 25. Judge about. When the above-described display control unit 23 determines that the passing determination unit 26 has passed the guidance intersection, only the arrow indicating the traveling direction at the remaining guidance intersection other than the passing guidance intersection is displayed on the screen of the monitor 24. Control to display.

  Reference numeral 27 denotes a travel speed detection unit that detects the travel speed of the vehicle. The display control unit 23 variably controls the switching speed of the arrow display according to the vehicle traveling speed detected by the traveling speed detection unit 27. For example, when the vehicle traveling speed detected by the traveling speed detection unit 27 is smaller than a predetermined speed, the display of the arrow is switched at the first switching speed, and when the vehicle traveling speed is larger than the predetermined speed, the first switching speed is switched. Control is performed so that the display of the arrow is switched at a second switching speed larger than the second switching speed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the navigation device according to the present embodiment to which the functional configuration shown in FIG. 2 is applied. In FIG. 3, those given the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and thus redundant description is omitted here.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a map recording medium such as a DVD, which stores various types of map data necessary for route search. Although the DVD 31 is used as a recording medium for storing the map data here, other recording media such as a CD and a hard disk may be used. Reference numeral 32 denotes a DVD control unit which controls reading of map data from the DVD 31.

  The map data recorded on the DVD 31 includes road units composed of data necessary for various processes such as route search and route guidance. In this road unit, a connection node table storing detailed data of nodes corresponding to points where a plurality of roads intersect such as intersections and branches is connected to a node on the road and another node adjacent thereto. A link table that stores detailed data of links corresponding to roads, lanes, and the like.

The connection node table includes node attribute flags and various other information for each existing node. The node attribute flag includes an intersection node flag indicating whether or not the node is an intersection node.
In addition, the link table includes link distance and other various information for each existing link. The link distance indicates the actual distance of the actual road corresponding to the link.

  Reference numeral 33 denotes a position measuring device that measures the current position of the vehicle (corresponding to the traveling position detection unit 25 and the traveling speed detection unit 27 in FIG. 2), and is composed of a self-contained navigation sensor, a GPS receiver, a position calculation CPU, and the like. Yes. The self-contained navigation sensor includes a vehicle speed sensor (distance sensor) that outputs a single pulse for each predetermined travel distance to detect the travel distance of the vehicle, and an angular velocity sensor such as a vibration gyro that detects the rotation angle (movement direction) of the vehicle. (Relative orientation sensor). The self-contained navigation sensor detects the relative position and direction of the vehicle using these vehicle speed sensor and angular velocity sensor.

  The position calculation CPU calculates the absolute own vehicle position (estimated vehicle position) and vehicle direction based on the relative position and direction data of the own vehicle output from the self-contained navigation sensor. The GPS receiver receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites by a GPS antenna and performs a three-dimensional positioning process or a two-dimensional positioning process to calculate the absolute position and direction of the vehicle (the vehicle direction is The calculation is based on the current vehicle position and the current vehicle position one sampling time ΔT before).

  A map information memory 34 temporarily stores map data read from the DVD 31 under the control of the DVD control unit 32. Reference numeral 35 denotes an operation unit such as a remote controller. The user sets various information (for example, a route guidance destination) to the navigation device and performs various operations (for example, menu selection operation, numerical input, etc.). Various controls (buttons, joysticks, etc.) are provided for performing operations. Reference numeral 36 denotes a remote control interface, which receives an infrared signal corresponding to the operation state from the remote control 35.

  Reference numeral 37 denotes a processor (CPU) that controls the entire navigation apparatus. Reference numeral 38 denotes a ROM which stores various programs (guidance route search processing program, intersection guidance processing program, etc.). Reference numeral 39 denotes a RAM which temporarily stores data obtained during various processes and data obtained as a result of various processes.

  The CPU 37 described above searches for a guidance route with the lowest cost connecting the current location to the destination using the map data stored in the map information memory 34 in accordance with the guidance route search processing program stored in the ROM 38. Do. Then, the route search result is stored in the guidance route memory 21. Further, the functions of the continuous intersection determination unit 22 and the passage determination unit 26 shown in FIG.

  That is, the CPU 37 uses the RAM 39 as a work memory in accordance with the intersection guidance processing program stored in the ROM 38, and a plurality of guidance intersections indicated by the guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 21 are within a predetermined distance. It is determined whether or not it continues. Whether or not the distance between the guidance intersections is within a predetermined value (for example, 200 m) can be determined by the link distance information temporarily read from the map information memory 34 to the RAM 39. Further, the CPU 37 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection based on the guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 21 and the traveling position information detected by the position measurement device 33.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an image generation unit (including the display control unit 23 in FIG. 2), which generates an arrow navigation arrow image to control display on the monitor 24. Specifically, when the CPU 37 determines that a plurality of guidance intersections are continuous, image data of arrows indicating the traveling directions at the plurality of successive guidance intersections is generated, and the image data is supplied to the monitor 24. Then, control is performed so that the traveling direction arrows at each guidance intersection are alternately displayed on the screen. At this time, the image generation unit 40 variably controls the switching speed of the arrow display according to the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the position measuring device 33.

When the image generating unit 40 determines that the CPU 37 has passed the guidance intersection, the image generation unit 40 stops generating the image data of the arrow indicating the traveling direction of the guidance intersection that has passed, and determines the traveling direction at the remaining guidance intersections. Control is performed so that only the image data of the indicated arrows is supplied to the monitor 24 and displayed on the screen.
Reference numeral 41 denotes a voice guidance unit that guides the traveling direction at the intersection by voice.

  Next, the procedure of intersection guidance processing in the navigation device configured as shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of intersection guidance processing according to this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the CPU 37 determines whether the vehicle has approached the guidance intersection within a predetermined distance based on the guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 21 and the travel position information detected by the position measurement device 33. Is determined (step S1).

  When the vehicle approaches a certain guidance intersection within a predetermined distance, the CPU 37 further determines whether or not the guidance intersection is a first guidance intersection constituting a continuous intersection (step S2). If the guidance intersection is not a part of a continuous intersection, that is, if the guidance intersection is a single intersection, the image generation unit 40 receives a notification from the CPU 37 and receives only an arrow image indicating the traveling direction of the guidance intersection. Is displayed on the monitor 24 (step S3).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the approaching guide intersection is the first guide intersection constituting the continuous intersection, the CPU 37 acquires vehicle travel speed information from the position measurement device 33 (step S4), and the travel An arrow switching speed is determined based on the speed information (step S5). Then, the image generation unit 40 generates arrow images indicating the traveling direction for all the guidance intersections constituting the continuous intersection, and continuously switches and displays them on the monitor 24 (step S6).

  While the image generation unit 40 performs such an arrow display for continuous intersections, the CPU 37 performs guidance route data stored in the guidance route memory 21 and travel position information detected by the position measurement device 33. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the first guidance intersection (step S7). If the vehicle has not passed the guidance intersection, the process returns to step S4.

  When passing through the guidance intersection, the image generation unit 40 stops generating an arrow image indicating the traveling direction of the guidance intersection that has passed (step S8). Further, the CPU 37 determines whether or not the number of remaining guide intersections constituting the continuous intersection is one (step S9). In the example of the guidance route shown in FIG. 6, two guidance intersections are continuous, but three or more guidance intersections may be consecutive. Therefore, when one guide intersection is passed, the number of remaining guide intersections is checked.

  If there are still two or more guidance intersections, the process returns to step S4. In this case, the CPU 37 and the image generation unit 40 generate arrow images indicating the traveling directions at the remaining guidance intersections except for the guidance intersection that has passed, and continuously switch and display them on the monitor 24 (steps S4 to S6). ). On the other hand, when the number of remaining guide intersections becomes one, the process proceeds to step S3 to display an arrow for a single intersection.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a plurality of guided intersections are continued within a predetermined distance, and when a plurality of guided intersections are continued, before entering the nearest guided intersection. In addition, since the arrows indicating the direction of travel at a plurality of consecutive guided intersections are displayed in sequence, the direction of travel at the later intersection can be communicated to the user with a margin in advance. Guidance can be provided to the user in an easy-to-understand manner.

  In the above embodiment, the travel direction arrow of the first guidance intersection is displayed in the second area 12 shown in FIG. 1, and the travel direction arrow of the second guidance intersection is displayed in the third area 13. Although an example has been described, the display area may be reversed. Further, although an example in which the arrow of the second region 12 and the arrow of the third region 13 are alternately blinked has been described, both arrows may continue to be lit.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which switches and displays the arrow which shows the advancing direction in several continuous guidance intersections with respect to the display area where the 2nd area | region 12 and the 3rd area | region 13 differ. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, an arrow indicating a traveling direction at a plurality of continuous guidance intersections may be displayed in the same display area by switching in order and displayed together with a number indicating the order of guidance intersections. A screen display example in this case is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5A shows an example in which a plurality of arrows 52 are sequentially switched and displayed in one display area 51, and a number 53 indicating the order of turning left and right is displayed in the vicinity of the arrow 52. FIG. 5B shows an example in which a plurality of arrows 56 are sequentially switched and displayed in one display area 54, and numbers 57 representing the order of turning left and right are displayed in a dedicated display area 55. FIG. 5C shows an example in which a plurality of arrows 59 are sequentially switched and displayed in one display area 58 and a number 60 indicating the order of turning left and right is displayed inside the arrow 59.

  In this way, when a plurality of arrows are switched in order using one display area and displayed, a small display screen can be used effectively. Even when the number of consecutive guided intersections is as large as three or more, only one arrow display area is required, and guidance for continuous intersections can be provided in a user-friendly manner with a small display area.

  In addition, each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a simple navigation device that displays a traveling direction at a guidance intersection only with an arrow when a vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on a guidance route without displaying a map image on a screen.

It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display for demonstrating the outline | summary of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example for implement | achieving the method of the intersection guidance by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the navigation apparatus by this embodiment to which the functional structure shown in FIG. 2 is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the intersection guidance process by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the intersection guidance screen by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the guidance route containing a continuous intersection.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 2nd area | region 13 3rd area | region 21 Guidance route memory 22 Continuous intersection judgment part 23 Display control part 24 Monitor 25 Traveling position detection part 26 Passing judgment part 27 Traveling speed detection part 37 CPU
38 ROM
39 RAM
40 Image generator

Claims (8)

When a vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on a guidance route, a navigation device that displays an advancing direction at the guidance intersection with an arrow,
A judging means for judging whether or not a plurality of guided intersections continue within a predetermined distance;
When it is determined by the determination means that a plurality of guidance intersections are continuous, control is performed so that arrows indicating the traveling directions at the plurality of consecutive guidance intersections are displayed in sequence before entering the nearest guidance intersection. A navigation device comprising display control means. 2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls the arrows indicating the traveling directions at a plurality of continuous guidance intersections so as to be switched and displayed in order in different display areas. The display control means performs control so that an arrow indicating a traveling direction at a plurality of continuous guidance intersections is sequentially switched in the same display area and displayed together with a number representing the order of guidance intersections. The navigation device according to claim 1. Provided with speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle;
The navigation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display control means variably controls the switching speed of the arrow display according to the travel speed detected by the speed detection means. apparatus. Position detecting means for detecting the traveling position of the vehicle;
Pass determination means for determining the passage of the guidance intersection based on the travel position information detected by the position detection means,
The display control means controls to display only an arrow indicating a traveling direction at the remaining guidance intersections excluding the passed guidance intersection when the passage judgment means determines that the guidance intersection has been passed. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the navigation device is characterized in that: When the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on the guidance route, an intersection guidance method for a navigation device that displays an advancing direction at the guidance intersection with an arrow,
The navigation device determines whether or not a plurality of guided intersections are continuous within a predetermined distance, and when a plurality of guided intersections are continuous, before entering the nearest guided intersection, at a plurality of consecutive guided intersections. An intersection guidance method, wherein arrows indicating the direction of travel are displayed sequentially in order. When the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the navigation device is smaller than a predetermined speed, the display of the arrow is switched at the first switching speed, and when the traveling speed of the vehicle is larger than the predetermined speed, the first switching speed. The intersection guide method according to claim 6, wherein the display of the arrow is switched at a second switching speed larger than the second switching speed. Based on the travel position information of the vehicle detected by the navigation device, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection. If the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection, the traveling direction at the remaining guidance intersections excluding the guidance intersection that has passed Only the arrow which shows is displayed, The intersection guide method of Claim 6 or 7 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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