JP2005207943A - On-vehicle navigation system, and three-dimensional (3d) map display method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle navigation system and a three-dimensional map display method therefor capable of acquiring positional information of other vehicles to be displayed on a 3D map, and capable of preventing an accident from occurring by run-out of a vehicle from a behind side of a building. <P>SOLUTION: This on-vehicle navigation system acquires the positional information of the other vehicles by intervehicular communication, and determines the presence of the building hiding the vehicle, based on the positional information of the other vehicles and a map data. When determining the presence of the building hiding the other vehicle, the building hiding the vehicle is displayed by a translucent image to recognize the other vehicle behind the building. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device having a function of displaying a map three-dimensionally (3D) and a function of acquiring information of another vehicle via a communication device and a method of displaying the three-dimensional map.

  The vehicle-mounted navigation device includes a map data storage device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in which map data is recorded, a display device, a gyro, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and a vehicle speed sensor. A vehicle position detection device that detects a current position and a current direction of the vehicle. Then, map data including the current position of the vehicle is read from the map data storage device, a map image around the vehicle position is drawn based on the map data, and a vehicle position mark (location) is displayed superimposed on the map image. By scrolling the map image as the vehicle moves, or fixing the map image to the screen and moving the vehicle position mark, you can see at a glance where the vehicle is currently traveling Yes.

  In general, the in-vehicle navigation device is equipped with a route guidance function that allows the user to easily travel to a desired destination without making a mistake on the road. According to this route guidance function, the lowest cost route connecting from the starting point to the destination using map data is automatically searched by performing simulation calculation such as horizontal search method or Dijkstra method, and the searched route is guided. Memorize it as a route and draw a guidance route on the map image with a different color from other roads and display it on the screen while driving, or a fixed distance to the intersection where the vehicle should change the route on the guidance route When the user approaches the inside, the user is guided to the destination by drawing an arrow indicating the route at the intersection where the route on the map image should be changed and displaying it on the screen.

  Cost is based on distance, road width, road type (general road or highway, etc.), a value multiplied by a constant according to right turn and left turn, etc., estimated travel time of vehicle, etc. The degree of appropriateness as a numerical value. Even if there are two routes having the same distance, the cost differs depending on whether the user uses a toll road or whether to give priority to distance or time.

  In recent years, the performance of microcomputers mounted on navigation devices and the increase in capacity of storage media for storing map data have been remarkably increasing. Accordingly, not only planar maps but also three-dimensional maps are displayed on the screen of in-vehicle navigation devices. (Hereinafter also referred to as 3D map) can be displayed. Some buildings and the like are drawn on a map by pasting an image of an actual building or the like on a 3D polygon model. Such an in-vehicle navigation device has an advantage that a mark on the route is more easily understood because an image almost the same as the actual scenery seen from the vehicle is displayed on the display device.

  In addition, on a 3D map, roads and the like are hidden behind buildings and cannot be seen, and the guidance route may be difficult to understand. In order to solve such problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-112343 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-108458 (Patent Document 2) display a part of a building in a wire frame (contour). It is described that the visibility of the route is improved by displaying in a transparent state only with a line) or semi-transparent.

In recent years, a communication function has been installed in response to a demand for higher functionality of a vehicle-mounted navigation device. In this type of in-vehicle navigation device, traffic information, etc. is acquired from outside the vehicle and notified to the user, or by using the acquired traffic information to automatically search for a guidance route that avoids a traffic jam location, It can be shortened. Furthermore, in recent years, there has been proposed a communication system that communicates with other vehicles directly or via a predetermined server and exchanges information such as the position of the vehicle and the running state (route and speed, etc.) with each other. Such a communication system is called vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
JP 2000-112343 A JP 2001-108458 A

  By the way, when driving a vehicle, for example, the vehicle suddenly jumps out from behind the building at an intersection where there is no traffic light, which may be surprised.

  As described above, the present invention acquires position information of other vehicles and displays them on a 3D map, and can prevent an accident caused by a vehicle jumping out from behind a building, and a three-dimensional map display method thereof. Is to provide.

  The problems described above include map data storage means for storing map data, vehicle position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a display device, a communication device, and the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection means. Control means for controlling the map data storage means, the communicator and the display device based on the other vehicle via the communicator when displaying the three-dimensional map on the display device. Is obtained from the map data and the position information of the other vehicle, the presence or absence of a building that hides the other vehicle is determined, and when it is determined that there is a building that hides the other vehicle, the building is This is solved by an in-vehicle navigation device that displays a transparent or translucent image on a three-dimensional map so that the image of the other vehicle can be recognized.

  Further, the above-described problem is a method for displaying a three-dimensional map of a vehicle-mounted navigation device that draws a three-dimensional map based on map data and displays the map on a display device, and acquires position information of other vehicles via a communication device, The presence or absence of a building that hides another vehicle is determined from the data and the position information of the other vehicle, and when it is determined that there is a building that hides the other vehicle, the building is displayed as a transparent or translucent image on the three-dimensional map. The present invention solves this problem by a three-dimensional map display method for an in-vehicle navigation device, wherein an image of another vehicle displayed and hidden in the building can be recognized.

  In the present invention, the position information of the other vehicle is acquired via the communication device, and the presence / absence of a building that hides the other vehicle is determined from the map data and the position information of the other vehicle. When it is determined that there is a building that hides the other vehicle, an image of the building that hides the other vehicle is displayed as a transparent or translucent image so that the image of the other vehicle can be recognized.

  This makes it possible to recognize the position of the vehicle that is actually traveling where it is not visible to the driver, and to prevent an accident caused by the jumping out of another vehicle from behind the building.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  3 is a communication device for communicating with other vehicles. The in-vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication through a multi-hop wireless network. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication using the multi-hop wireless network will be described later.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation unit provided with various operation buttons and the like for operating the navigation apparatus body 10 to be described later. A GPS receiver 5 receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and detects a current position (latitude / longitude) of the vehicle. Reference numeral 6 denotes a self-contained navigation sensor, and the self-contained navigation sensor 6 includes an angle sensor 6a such as a gyro that detects a vehicle rotation angle, and a travel distance sensor 6b that generates a pulse every certain travel distance.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel. The navigation device body 10 displays a map around the current position of the vehicle on the display device 7, and displays a guidance route from the departure point to the destination, a vehicle position mark, and other guidance information. Reference numeral 9 denotes a speaker for providing guidance information to the driver by voice.

  The navigation device body 10 is composed of the following. Reference numeral 11 denotes an HDD (hard disk drive) that stores map data, and reference numeral 12 denotes a buffer memory that temporarily stores map data read from the HDD 11.

  The map data recorded on the HDD 11 is divided into latitude and longitude widths of appropriate sizes according to the scale level such as 1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000, and 1/100000. It is stored as a coordinate set of vertices (nodes) expressed by latitude and longitude. A road is formed by connecting two or more nodes, and a portion connecting two nodes is called a link. The map data includes (1) a road layer including a road list, a node table, an intersection configuration node list, and the like. (2) a background layer for displaying roads, buildings, parks, rivers, and the like on the map screen. 3) It consists of character / symbol layers for displaying administrative division names such as city names, road names, intersection names, map symbols, and the like. Further, the map data includes polygon data for 3D display of buildings and the like. A realistic 3D map image is created by pasting texture processing or an actual building image on the 3D polygon model drawn by this polygon data.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes an interface connected to the communication device 3, 14 denotes an interface connected to the operation unit 4, 15 denotes an interface connected to the GPS receiver 5, and 16 denotes an interface connected to the self-contained navigation sensor 6.

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a control unit constituted by a microcomputer. The control unit 17 detects the current position of the vehicle based on signals input from the interfaces 15 and 16, reads map data within a predetermined range from the HDD 11 to the buffer memory 12, and map data read to the buffer memory 12. Various processes such as searching for a guidance route from the starting point to the destination are performed under the search conditions set using.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a map drawing unit that draws a map image using the map data read out to the buffer memory 12, and 21 denotes various menu screens (operation screens) and various marks such as a vehicle position mark and a cursor corresponding to the operation status. This is an operation screen / mark drawing unit.

  22 is a guide route storage unit that stores the guide route searched by the control unit 17, and 23 is a guide route drawing unit that draws the guide route. In the guide route storage unit 22, all nodes of the guide route searched by the control unit 17 are stored from the departure point to the destination. The guide route drawing unit 23 reads the guide route information (node sequence) from the guide route storage unit 22 and draws it with a color and thickness different from those of other roads.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image composition unit. The image composition unit 24 displays various marks and operation screens drawn by the operation screen / mark drawing unit 21 on the map image drawn by the map drawing unit 20, or a guide route drawn by the guide route drawing unit 23. The images are superimposed and output to the display device 7. An audio output unit 25 supplies an audio signal to the speaker 8 based on a signal from the control unit 17.

  In the vehicle-mounted navigation device configured as described above, the control unit 17 detects the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the vehicle from the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 4 and the signal input from the autonomous navigation sensor 6. Then, the map data of the area around the current position of the vehicle is read from the HDD 11 to the buffer memory 12. The map drawing unit 20 generates a map image based on the map data read into the buffer memory 12 and displays a map image around the current position of the vehicle on the display device 7. Thereafter, the control unit 17 superimposes and displays a vehicle position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle on the map image, and moves the vehicle position mark on the map image as the vehicle moves or scrolls the map image. .

  When the user operates the operation unit 3 to set a destination, the control unit 17 searches for a guidance route from the departure point to the destination under a preset condition using the current position of the vehicle as a departure point. The guidance route obtained by the above is stored in the guidance route storage unit 22. And the control part 17 outputs guidance information suitably with a driving | running | working of a vehicle, and guides a vehicle to drive | work along a guidance route to the destination.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of inter-vehicle communication by a multi-hop wireless network. In vehicle-to-vehicle communication over a multi-hop wireless network, when communication with a partner (another vehicle or a communication facility that does not move) is not possible, a signal (packet signal) transmitted from the transmission source is a communication mounted on another vehicle. It is transmitted to the other party via a machine (hop).

  The source communication device adds the information (address or other information: hereinafter referred to as destination specification information) for specifying the source address and the destination (destination) to the header of the packet signal for transmission. The communication device that has received the packet signal checks the destination designation information added to the header, and if it is addressed to itself (self-communication device), captures the packet signal, and if it is not addressed to itself or if there is another destination Forwards the packet signal.

  In the in-vehicle navigation device of this embodiment, when acquiring position information of another vehicle, a packet is transmitted to a vehicle within a certain range around the host vehicle as a destination. In this case, the in-vehicle navigation apparatus uses the latitude / longitude information indicating the range surrounded by a certain latitude width and longitude width around the vehicle position as destination designation information.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation at the time of 3D map display of the vehicle-mounted navigation device of the present embodiment.

  First, in step S <b> 11, the control unit 17 detects the latitude / longitude of the vehicle position based on signals input from the GPS receiver 5 and the self-contained navigation sensor 6. Then, the map data of the area around the vehicle position is read from the HDD 11 to the buffer memory 12. The map drawing unit 20 draws a 3D map based on the map data read out to the buffer memory 12 and displays it on the display device 7.

  Next, it transfers to step S12, and the control part 17 performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication via the communication apparatus 3, and acquires information, such as a position of another vehicle, and a driving | running | working state (route | route and speed). And it transfers to step S13 and the image of another vehicle is displayed on 3D map. FIG. 4 shows a screen display example (schematic diagram) in which an image of another vehicle is displayed on a 3D map.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the in-vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment, when a 3D map is displayed, a building behind the current position of the host vehicle is displayed in a wire frame. In addition, for a building ahead of the current position of the host vehicle, a 3D polygon model in which texture processing or an image of the actual building is pasted is displayed. Then, an image of the other vehicle is drawn on the 3D map based on the position information of the other vehicle acquired by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

  Next, it transfers to step S14 and the control part 17 determines the presence or absence of the image of the building which hides the image of another vehicle. If the control unit 17 determines that there is no building image that hides the image of the other vehicle, the process ends. If it is determined that there is a building image that hides the image of the other vehicle, the process proceeds to step S15. Transition to display a semi-transparent image of the building that hides other vehicles. FIG. 5 shows a screen display example (schematic diagram) in which an image of a building that hides other vehicles is displayed in a translucent manner. As shown in FIG. 5, the user can check other vehicles hidden behind the building through the building displayed translucently.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the position information of the other vehicle is acquired by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the image of the other vehicle is displayed on the 3D map, and the image of the other vehicle is hidden in the image of the building. Since the image of the building that hides other vehicles is displayed in a translucent manner, the vehicle behind the building can be confirmed. Thereby, the vehicle suddenly jumps out from behind the building and is not surprised, and a collision accident can be prevented.

(Modification 1)
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the first modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. In Modification 1, the building behind the host vehicle is displayed in a wire frame, the building within a certain range in front of the host vehicle is displayed as a translucent image, and the building farther than that is textured. Or it displays with the 3D polygon model which stuck the image of the actual building.

  However, in the modification 1, among the buildings within a certain range in front of the host vehicle, an image of a building that overlaps with another vehicle is displayed in a wire frame. Thereby, since the vehicle which is comparatively far among the vehicles which overlap with a building is no longer displayed on a 3D map, in addition to the effect of the above-mentioned embodiment, the effect that the screen becomes easy to see is obtained. Instead of displaying an image of a building overlapping another vehicle with a wire frame, the transparency of the image may be increased.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the second modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. Also in the modified example 2, the building behind the host vehicle is displayed in a wire frame, the building within a certain range in front of the host vehicle is displayed as a translucent image, and the building farther than that is textured. It is displayed as a 3D polygon model with images of processed or actual buildings.

  In the second modification, for a building image that overlaps with another vehicle among buildings within a certain range in front of the host vehicle, a circular part centering on the image of the other vehicle is displayed transparently such as a spotlight. ing. In the second modification, the same effect as in the first modification can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The in-vehicle navigation device according to the second embodiment displays a 3D map as in the first embodiment, and determines a dangerous vehicle based on information on other vehicles acquired through vehicle-to-vehicle communication. , Has a function to inform the driver. The basic configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation device of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The in-vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment is based on the information on the position and traveling state (speed, route, traveling locus, etc.) of other vehicles acquired by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and satisfies the following conditions (1) to (5): A vehicle corresponding to any one is determined as a dangerous vehicle.

  (1) A vehicle that is traveling on a narrow road that intersects the road on which the host vehicle is traveling, and that may collide when the host vehicle and other vehicles travel at the same speed.

  (2) A vehicle that is traveling on a road on which the host vehicle is traveling and may collide if the vehicle travels at this speed.

  (3) A vehicle that is traveling in a certain range in front of the host vehicle (for example, within 100 m) and that has rapidly decreased (rapidly braked).

  (4) A vehicle that is traveling on a road on which the host vehicle is traveling and that frequently repeats lane changes.

  (5) Other vehicles that are judged to be suspicious. For example, a vehicle in which acceleration and deceleration are unnatural compared to the surrounding vehicles, a vehicle in which the position and timing at which the brake is applied is unnatural, or a vehicle in which the traveling locus is meandering.

  Further, in the future, it has been proposed to mount a camera for photographing the driver and a sensor for detecting the pulse or breathing state of the driver on the vehicle. When a driver's abnormality is detected based on information from these cameras and sensors, the vehicle on which the driver is on may be determined as a dangerous vehicle.

  In the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the vehicle is a dangerous vehicle, as shown in the screen display example (schematic diagram) in FIG. And this mark is blinked. As shown in FIG. 9, the building in front of the dangerous vehicle may be displayed in a blinking manner, or the road on which the dangerous vehicle is traveling may be displayed in a blinking manner as shown in FIG. Moreover, you may make it notify a user of presence of a dangerous vehicle with an audio | voice.

  In this embodiment, in addition to being able to obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment, the user can quickly recognize a dangerous vehicle and can avoid the danger.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the basic configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation device is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  One of the 3D map display methods is a real 3D display that simulates a landscape when viewed from the driver's seat. In the present embodiment, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 11, when real 3D display is performed, only the low-rise part (for example, the first to third floors) of the building is displayed in a wire frame. Thereby, the other vehicle after the building can be confirmed.

  By the way, landmarks that serve as landmarks at the time of route guidance, for example, stores such as convenience stores, are often in the low-rise part, and if the low-rise part of the building is displayed in a transparent or translucent manner, the landmark becomes difficult to understand. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in the screen display example of FIG. 12, the landmark icon in the low-rise part is displayed large on the first floor part.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the information on the position and running state of the other vehicle is acquired by the multi-hop wireless network. However, the position and running state of the own vehicle with respect to a predetermined server. The information on the vehicle position and the running state may be acquired via the server.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of inter-vehicle communication by a multi-hop wireless network. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of 3D map display of the vehicle-mounted navigation device of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) in which an image of another vehicle is displayed on a 3D map in the in-vehicle navigation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) in which an image of a building that hides another vehicle is displayed translucently in the in-vehicle navigation device of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the second modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to a modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to another modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a 3D map display method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example (schematic diagram) according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

3 ... Communicator,
4 ... operation part,
5 ... GPS receiver,
6 ... Self-contained navigation sensor,
7 ... display device,
9 ... Speaker,
10 ... navigation device body,
11 ... HDD (hard disk drive),
12 ... Buffer memory,
17 ... control unit,
20 ... map drawing part,
21. Operation screen / mark drawing section,
22 ... guide route storage unit,
23: Guide route drawing unit,
24. Image composition unit,
25: Audio output unit.

Claims (5)

Map data storage means for storing map data;
Vehicle position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
A display device;
A communication device,
Control means for controlling the map data storage means, the communication device and the display device based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection means;
The control means acquires the position information of the other vehicle via the communication device when displaying the three-dimensional map on the display device, and hides the other vehicle from the map data and the position information of the other vehicle. When it is determined whether or not there is a building that hides the other vehicle, the building is displayed as a transparent or translucent image on the three-dimensional map so that the image of the other vehicle can be recognized. A vehicle-mounted navigation device.   The control means acquires information on the traveling state of other vehicles via the communication device, determines whether or not the vehicle is a dangerous vehicle according to a predetermined standard, and if it is determined to be a dangerous vehicle, displays the dangerous vehicle on the three-dimensional map. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein display is performed. In a 3D map display method of an in-vehicle navigation device that draws a 3D map based on map data and displays it on a display device,
Obtain the location information of other vehicles via a communication device,
Determine the presence or absence of a building that hides the other vehicle from the map data and the position information of the other vehicle,
When it is determined that there is a building that hides another vehicle, the building is displayed as a transparent or translucent image on the three-dimensional map so that an image of the other vehicle hidden by the building can be recognized. A method for displaying a three-dimensional map of an in-vehicle navigation device.   The 3D map display method of the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 3, wherein only a part of an image of a building that hides the other vehicle is transparent or semi-transparent.   5. The vehicle-mounted vehicle according to claim 3, wherein a landmark icon is displayed when the building displayed transparently or translucently on the three-dimensional map is a landmark that serves as a landmark for route guidance. 3D map display method for navigation device

Images