JP2006029822A - Route guide system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route guide system capable of exactly re-searching a route in early timing. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation system judges the propriety of the route accompanied with left or right turn in a branch point positioned in a front side of the advancing road of a vehicle, as to the guide route (S300), acquires information expressing a direction of a sight line directed by a driver from a sight line detector, during a period until passing the second point positioned between the branch point and the first point, after the vehicle passing the first point in a vehicle side of the branch point, when judged as the route accompanied with the left or right turn, and determines whether or not the sight line of the driver is directed from a reference line extended along a vehicular longitudinal direction to a guide route side in front of the branch point with an angle larger than a prescribed angle over a prescribed time or more, during the period (S600). When the sight line of the driver is judged not to be directed to the guide route side with the angle larger than the prescribed angle over the prescribed time or more, the route capable of guiding the vehicle along a direction different from the present guide direction is searched in the branch point to be set as a guide route (S800). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a route guidance device for guiding a route from a current location to a destination.

  Conventionally, as the route guidance device, when the destination designation information is input from the input device by the user's operation, the optimum route from the current location to the destination is searched, and this is set as the guidance route, There is known a car navigation device that guides a driver so that a vehicle can travel along a route.

  As a route guidance method, a method of displaying a set guidance route together with road map information on a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and a method of voice guidance of a turning direction at a branch point such as an intersection are known. . However, if the guidance route is displayed on the display device together with the road map information and the turning direction is guided at the intersection, etc., the driver often mistakes the turning point. A three-dimensional animation is displayed to prevent the driver from making mistakes at the turning point.

Further, in recent years, the driver's line of sight is detected, and based on the detection result, it is determined whether or not the driver's visual behavior for route guidance is correct. A method of guiding a vehicle in the correct direction has been invented (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
JP 2004-037149 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-037150 JP 2004-053541 A

  However, even if various guidance as described above is performed, the driver may drive the vehicle on a route different from the guidance route. A typical example is a case where the driver makes a mistake in the content of guidance and causes the vehicle to travel on a route different from the guidance route. In addition, when traffic jams occur on the guidance route, the driver may consciously drive the vehicle on a route different from the guidance route in order to avoid the traffic jam. In some cases, the vehicle may go straight at a branch point that guides turning (turning left or right) without changing the travel lane.

  For this reason, the car navigation apparatus is often provided with a reroute function for re-searching the route from the current vehicle position to the destination when the vehicle deviates from the guidance route by a certain distance or for a certain time.

  However, in the conventional device, if the vehicle does not deviate from the guidance route for a certain distance or a certain time or longer, the route is not re-searched. Therefore, it is not possible to provide appropriate route guidance for a predetermined period after the departure from the guidance route. There was a problem. In addition, if the route after the re-search is a vehicle that immediately turns (turns left or right), the vehicle cannot be driven along the route due to the driving lane, etc. There could be dissatisfaction.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a route guidance device that can appropriately perform route re-searching at an early stage.

  In the route guidance apparatus of the present invention made to achieve the above object, the map information acquisition means acquires road map information, and the position information acquisition means acquires position information representing the current position of the vehicle. For example, the map information acquisition means acquires road map information from a device that stores road map information, and the position information acquisition means acquires position information that represents the current position of the vehicle from a position detection device that detects the current position of the vehicle. To do. In this route guidance device, the route search means searches for a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination based on the acquired road map information and position information, and sets a guidance route.

  The route guidance device includes a line-of-sight information acquisition unit that acquires information representing the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle from a line-of-sight detection device that detects the direction of the driver's line of sight, and a forward path of the vehicle in the guidance route. Is selected according to a predetermined rule, with the selected branch point as a reference branch point, whether or not the vehicle has passed a point a predetermined distance before the reference branch point on the vehicle side, Passage determination means for determining based on the position information, and when the passage determination means determines that the vehicle has passed the point before the predetermined distance, the line-of-sight information acquisition means indicates the direction of the line of sight acquired. Based on the information, the prediction determination means predicts and determines whether or not the driver drives the vehicle along the guidance route at the reference branch point.

  When it is predicted by the prediction determination means that the driver does not drive the vehicle along the guidance route, the route guidance device causes the route search means to re-search the route by the reroute means. Specifically, a route from the reference branch point to a preset destination is searched.

  As described above, in the route guidance device according to the present invention, based on the direction of the driver's line of sight, whether or not the driver drives the vehicle along the guidance route at a branch point (intersection or the like) located in front of the vehicle's path. If it is predicted that the driver will not drive the vehicle along the guidance route, a route re-search (reroute) is performed, so the driver travels the vehicle on a route different from the guidance route. In this case, the route re-search can be appropriately performed earlier than the conventional device. The route guidance apparatus of the present invention may be configured as described in claim 2.

  In the route guidance device according to claim 2, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, the passage determination unit is a branch point with a turning of the vehicle on the guidance route set by the route search unit, The next (nearest) branch point located in front of the course of the vehicle is selected as a reference branch point, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed a point a predetermined distance before the reference branch point. Further, when it is determined by the passage determining means that the vehicle has passed the point before the predetermined distance, the line-of-sight information acquisition means detects the direction of the line of sight acquired from the line-of-sight detection device that detects the direction of the driver's line of sight. Based on the expressed information, the prediction determination means predicts and determines whether or not the driver runs the vehicle along the guidance route at the reference branch point.

  In addition, the reroute unit is a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination when the prediction determination unit determines that the driver does not drive the vehicle along the guidance route. Thus, the currently set guidance route is searched for a route that can guide the vehicle in a direction different from the guidance direction indicated at the reference branch point.

  According to this route guidance device, when the driver drives the vehicle on a route different from the guidance route, the route can be re-searched appropriately and earlier than the conventional device. For example, the driver can provide guidance. Even if you do not understand correctly and go straight at a branch point (intersection etc.) that guides a left or right turn, you can immediately correct the guide route before passing the branch point and guide the driver to the driver .

  In the case where the present invention is applied only to an event in which the vehicle goes straight at a branch point that guides a right or left turn, a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination, The reroute means may be configured to cause the route search means to search for a route to a destination including a road through which the vehicle passes when the vehicle goes straight at the reference branch point, and to set this as a guide route. When the reroute means is configured in this way, even when the vehicle goes straight at the branch point that guides the right or left turn, it is possible to provide route guidance appropriately immediately after passing the branch point. That is, even if the route after re-searching involves turning of the vehicle (right or left turn) immediately after passing through the branch point, it can be appropriately guided at an early stage.

  Further, the prediction determination means may be configured as described in claim 3. The prediction determination means in the route guidance device according to claim 3, wherein the driver's line of sight is based on the information indicating the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquisition means, from the reference line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The line-of-sight determination means determines whether or not the vehicle is directed at a predetermined angle or more toward the guidance path ahead of the point. If it is determined that the vehicle has not turned beyond the predetermined angle, it is predicted that the driver will not drive the vehicle along the guidance route.

  If the driver ’s line of sight is on the side of the guidance route ahead of the branch point located in front of the vehicle (specifically, if the guidance route is to turn left at the branch point (right turn), the left side of the reference line ( When the vehicle is directed to the right side)) by more than a predetermined angle, it can be said that the driver is likely to drive the vehicle along the guidance route. Therefore, according to this route guidance device, the driver can perform simple arithmetic processing. It is possible to accurately predict whether or not the vehicle will travel along the guidance route at the turning point.

  The reference line includes, in addition to a line extending in parallel with the vehicle front-rear direction, a line inclined by a predetermined angle from the line in the left-right direction of the vehicle. For example, the reference line may be set in the direction of the line of sight most frequently when the driver goes straight ahead. Further, as the predetermined angle, a predetermined angle by a test may be used, or a value calculated from a positional relationship between a vehicle position and a branch point may be used. The predetermined angle may be a fixed value regardless of the type of branch point, or may be set for each type of branch point.

  The prediction determination means may be configured as described in claim 4. The prediction determination means in the route guidance device according to claim 4 is based on the reference line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle for a predetermined time or more based on the information indicating the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquisition means. The line-of-sight determining means determines whether or not the vehicle has been directed to the guidance path ahead of the reference branch point by a predetermined angle, and the line-of-sight determination means determines that the driver's line of sight is above the reference line from the reference line for a predetermined time or more. If it is determined that the vehicle has not been directed beyond the predetermined angle toward the further guidance route side, it is predicted that the driver will not drive the vehicle along the guidance route.

  According to the route guidance device according to claim 4, by determining whether or not the driver's line of sight is directed for a predetermined angle or more toward the guidance route ahead of the reference branch point for a predetermined time or more in a predetermined period, Since the driver predicts whether or not the vehicle is driven along the guidance route at the turning point, the line of sight is directed regardless of the visual behavior before the right or left turn (the visual behavior for confirming the right / left turn position and safety) Thus, it can be suppressed that an erroneous prediction result is derived.

  The line-of-sight information acquisition means in the route guidance device may be configured as described in claim 5. The line-of-sight information acquisition means in the route guidance device according to claim 5 is characterized in that the passage determination means determines that the vehicle has passed the first point as the point before the predetermined distance and then the reference branch point and the first Information indicating the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle is acquired from the line-of-sight detection device in a period until the vehicle passes through the second point located between the line-of-sight and the point.

  According to this route guidance device, since the prediction determination is performed based on the driver's visual behavior during the period from the first point to the second point, the prediction is performed based on the instantaneous visual behavior of the driver. The prediction determination can be performed with higher accuracy than the determination.

  More specifically, the line-of-sight determination means is configured so that the driver's line of sight continues from the reference line for a predetermined time or more during a period from when the vehicle passes the first point to when the vehicle passes the second point. It may be configured to determine whether a predetermined angle or more is directed to the guide path side ahead of the reference branch point, and the driver's line of sight from the reference line to the guide path side ahead of the reference branch point in the period A configuration may be adopted in which it is determined whether or not the total amount of time facing a predetermined angle or more is a predetermined time or more.

  In addition, when the traffic light installed at the branch point is `` yellow '' or `` red '', the driver's line of sight is more likely to face the traffic signal side than the guidance route side, and the reliability of the prediction result by the prediction judgment means In such a case, the route guidance device may be configured so that route search is not performed again.

  The route guidance apparatus according to claim 6 includes speed information acquisition means for acquiring speed information representing the travel speed of the vehicle from a speed detection apparatus that detects the travel speed of the vehicle, and the speed information acquired by the speed information acquisition means. On the basis of the speed determining means, it is determined whether or not the vehicle traveling speed is less than a predetermined speed, and when the speed determining means determines that the vehicle traveling speed is less than the predetermined speed, The operation of the reroute means is prohibited by the speed dependent prohibition means.

  According to this route guidance device, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is slow and there is a high possibility that the driver's line of sight is facing the traffic light side, the reroute means does not operate. It is possible to prevent the change from being made.

  Also, if there is a building near the branch point that prevents the driver from seeing the guidance route ahead of the branch point, it is difficult for the driver's line of sight to face the guidance route. The route guidance apparatus according to claim 7, wherein shielding information indicating whether there is a building that may shield a road ahead of the branch point from the driver's field of view is attached to the road map information. It is good to configure.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a route guidance device in the vicinity of the reference branch point located in front of the course of the vehicle that is used as a reference for the passage determination by the passage determination unit based on the shielding object information. Included is a shielding object judging means for judging whether or not there is a building that may shield the guidance route from the driver's field of view. By this shielding object judging means, a guidance route ahead of the reference branch point is provided. When it is determined that there is a building that may be shielded from the driver's field of view, the operation of the reroute means is prohibited by the shielding-dependent prohibiting means.

  According to this route guidance device, when there is a possibility that the driver cannot visually recognize the guidance route ahead of the reference branch point, the reroute means is not operated, so that the guidance route is changed inappropriately due to incorrect prediction. Can be prevented.

  Note that the shielding object information is, for example, a flag indicating whether there is a building that may shield a road ahead of the branch point from the driver's field of view for each direction with respect to the branch point. It can be set as the structure provided with information.

  Moreover, the route guidance apparatus of Claims 1-7 may be comprised by making a computer run the program for making a computer implement | achieve the function as said each means. The program may be provided in a state of being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, and a ROM, or may be provided through a network.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a car navigation apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied.
The navigation device 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a position detection device 10 that detects the current position and traveling direction of a vehicle, and a storage medium (CD-ROM, DVD, hard disk) in which map data including road map information is recorded. The map data input device 31 for reading out the map data and the like from the control circuit 20, the display device 33, the external information input / output device 35, and the user's operation information are input to the control circuit 20. The operation switch group 36, a remote control terminal (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 37a for inputting user operation information to the control circuit 20, and the signal received from the remote control 37a, as in the operation switch group 36. A remote control sensor 37b input to the circuit 20, an audio output device 38, a gaze detection device 39 for detecting the direction of the driver's gaze, and each part in the device And a control circuit 20 for integrally controlling the.

  The position detection device 10 receives a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite for GPS (Global Positioning System) via a GPS antenna, detects a current position of the vehicle, and the rotation applied to the vehicle. A gyroscope 13 that detects the magnitude of the movement (turning movement of the vehicle), a distance sensor 15 that measures the travel distance of the vehicle per unit time, and a geomagnetic sensor 17 that detects the traveling direction from the geomagnetism are provided. The control circuit 20 is configured to determine the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle using the output signals of the sensors 11 to 17 having errors of different properties while complementing each other. The configuration of the position detection device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the position detection device 10 may be configured by a part of the above-described sensors, a steering rotation sensor, A wheel sensor, an inclination angle sensor, and the like of each rolling wheel may be further added.

  On the other hand, the map data input device 31 reads various data such as the above-mentioned map data including road map information, data on buildings, etc., map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection from a recording medium, and a control circuit 20 is input.

  The road map information included in the map data forms a road map by connecting a plurality of nodes such as branch points by links. For each link, a link identification number (link ID), a link Link information including data such as a link length indicating a length, position coordinates of the start and end of the link, a road width of the link, and a road type is provided. In addition, this road map information includes, for each node, node information including data such as a node identification number (node ID), a node position coordinate, a node type (information on a branch point, information indicating the presence or absence of a traffic light), and the like. Prepare.

In addition, the road map information includes shielding object information having a configuration shown in FIG. 2 for each node representing a branch point. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the shielding object information.
Shield information is a building that may shield a road ahead of the node (branch point) from the driver's field of view in the vicinity of the node associated with itself (hereinafter referred to as “shield”). Flag information indicating whether or not there is) is provided for each direction. Specifically, the shielding object information of the present embodiment is associated with the node ID representing the branch point, and a value “1” indicating that there is a shielding object in each of the four directions, northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. Alternatively, flag information represented by a binary value “0” indicating that there is no shielding object is provided. The flag information can be created by running the vehicle, collecting data on a trial basis, and analyzing the data.

  The display device 33 is a color display device including a liquid crystal display or the like. The display screen has a map screen as a mark indicating the current position of the vehicle, map data input from the map data input device 31, and a guidance route. Etc. are displayed in layers. The external information input / output device 35 is a device for receiving information provided from an external infrastructure such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) and transmitting various information to the outside. Information received by the device 35 from the outside is processed by the control circuit 20.

  In addition, the line-of-sight detection device 39 is a non-contact type line-of-sight detection device capable of detecting the driver's line of sight without being influenced by the movement of the head, and a position where the driver's eyes can be photographed, such as a dashboard Installed. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the line-of-sight detection device 39 according to the present embodiment detects the driver's line-of-sight as a result of the driver's left side being 0 degrees and the right side being 180 degrees. Outputs the horizontal angle Θh of the line of sight, the vertical angle Θv of the driver's line of sight with 0 degrees below the vehicle and 180 degrees above, and the time T at which these angles Θh and Θv were detected, This is input to the control circuit 20. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the angles Θh and Θv detected by the line-of-sight detection device 39, and FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a part of the functions realized by the control circuit 20.

  The control circuit 20 includes a CPU 21 for performing various arithmetic processes, a ROM 22 for storing various programs executed by the CPU 21, and a RAM 23 used as a working memory when the CPU 21 executes the programs. It is used to control each part in the device and realize various functions such as route search and guidance.

  For example, the control circuit 20 functions as the position determination unit 25 by causing the CPU 21 to execute a program stored in the ROM 22 and obtains output signals of the sensors 11 to 17 from the position detection device 10 as vehicle position information. Then, the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle are determined based on these pieces of information.

  In addition, the control circuit 20 causes the CPU 21 to execute a program stored in the ROM 22 so as to function as the interface unit 26 and provide an interface with the user through the display device 33 such as display of a selection screen.

  When the destination designation information is input from the remote control sensor 37b or the operation switch group 36 via the remote control 37a, the interface unit 26 causes the CPU 21 to execute a route search program stored in the ROM 22. Thereby, the control circuit 20 functions as the route search unit 27.

  The route search unit 27 acquires information representing the current position of the vehicle from the position determination unit 25 and controls the map data input unit 31 to acquire road map information from the map data input unit 31, so Based on the information representing the position and the road map information, a known route search method such as the Dijkstra method is used to search for an optimum route from the current position of the vehicle determined by the position determination unit 25 to the designated destination, Set it as a guide route.

  Further, when the guidance route is set, the CPU 21 of the control circuit 20 functions as the route guidance unit 28 by executing a route guidance program. The route guide unit 28 understands the travel route of the vehicle based on the information indicating the current position of the vehicle determined by the position determination unit 25, and follows the guidance route set by the route search unit 27. In order to enable the vehicle to travel, a voice signal for route guidance is appropriately input to the voice output device 38 to cause the voice output device 38 to voice guidance the route.

Moreover, the control circuit 20 implement | achieves the reroute function in case a vehicle does not drive | work along a guidance route by making CPU21 run the program memorize | stored in ROM22.
The reroute control unit 29 realized by the control circuit 20 by the above program causes the route search unit 27 to re-search the route from the current vehicle position to the destination when the vehicle deviates from the guidance route by a certain distance or a certain time or more. , Reset the guidance route. Further, the extended reroute control process shown in FIG. 5A is executed every time a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, every time the vehicle passes through a branch point), thereby realizing the function according to the present invention. FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing an extended reroute control process that the CPU 21 repeatedly executes.

  When the extended reroute control process is executed, the CPU 21 obtains information indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle from the position determination unit 25 (S100), and based on this information, the next guidance route from the current position, that is, ahead of the course of the vehicle. Is determined (S200), and it is determined whether or not the guidance route includes a branch point that involves turning (right or left turn) within a predetermined distance ahead of the course from the current position of the vehicle (S300).

  If the CPU 21 determines that the guidance route does not include a branch point involving turning (turning left or right) within a predetermined distance ahead of the course from the current position of the vehicle (No in S300), the CPU 21 proceeds to S100. Thus, the above-described processing is repeated until a branch point involving turning (right / left turn) appears within a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle path from the current position. When the CPU 21 determines that the guidance route includes a branch point that involves turning (turning left or right) within a predetermined distance ahead of the course from the current position of the vehicle (Yes in S300), the CPU 21 determines a predetermined distance ahead of the course of the vehicle. The nearest branch point with turning (right / left turn) is set as the determination target of the shielding object, and the shielding object pre-processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed in S400. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the shielding object determination pre-processing executed by the CPU 21.

  When the shield determination pre-processing is executed, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the traveling direction of the vehicle is east based on the acquired information in S100 (S410). If it is determined that the traveling direction is east (Yes in S410), it is determined whether the guidance route is a right turn or a left turn at the determination target branch point (S420). If it is determined that the vehicle is to turn right, the CPU 21 obtains the shielding object information associated with the node ID of the branch point to be determined from the map data input device 31 in S423, and from this shielding object information. Get southwest flag information. On the other hand, if it is determined in S420 that the guidance route is to turn left at the determination target branch point, in S427, the northwest flag is determined from the shielding information corresponding to the determination target branch point in the same manner as described above. Get information.

  In addition, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is east in this way, the southwest or northwest flag information is acquired when the vehicle is traveling from the west to the east. This is because the road extending from the bifurcation point to the north and south may be shielded from the driver's line of sight by the shielding object existing in the northwest. In this way, after the flag information is read in S423 or S427, the process proceeds to S500.

  On the other hand, when the CPU 21 determines that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not east (No in S410), the CPU 21 determines whether or not the traveling direction is west (S430), and determines that the traveling direction is west (Yes in S430). It is determined whether the route is a right turn or a left turn at the determination target branch point (S440).

  If it is determined that the vehicle is to turn right, the CPU 21 obtains northeast flag information from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point in S443, and determines that the vehicle is to turn left in S447. The southeast flag information is acquired from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point. In addition, after reading the flag information in this way, the process proceeds to S500.

  If the CPU 21 determines that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not west (No in S430), the CPU 21 determines whether the traveling direction is south (S450), and determines that the traveling direction is south (Yes in S450). It is determined whether the route is a right turn or a left turn at the determination target branch point (S460).

  If it is determined that the vehicle is to turn right, the CPU 21 obtains northwest flag information from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point in S463, and determines that the vehicle is to turn left in S467. The northeast flag information is acquired from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point. In addition, after reading the flag information in this way, the process proceeds to S500.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the traveling direction of the vehicle is north instead of south (No in S450), then, in S470, whether the guidance route turns right or left at the determination target branch point. If it is determined that the vehicle is to turn right, in S473, the southeast flag information is acquired from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point, and if it is determined that the vehicle is to turn left, S477 is performed. The southwest flag information is acquired from the shielding object information corresponding to the determination target branch point. Then, the process proceeds to S500.

  In S500, based on the flag information acquired by the shielding object determination pre-processing, the CPU 21 is located near the determination target branch point located in front of the course of the vehicle (i.e., the guide route ahead of the branch point (that is, the guide route). When the vehicle travels along the road, it is determined whether there is a building that may block the route of the vehicle planned to travel after passing through the determination target branch point from the driver's field of view. Specifically, when the flag information acquired by the above-described pre-shielding object determination process indicates the value “1”, the CPU 21 may block the guidance route ahead of the branch point from the driver's field of view. It is determined that an object exists (Yes in S500), and the extended reroute control process is temporarily terminated without executing the processes of S600 to S800.

  On the other hand, when the flag information acquired by the above-described pre-obstruction determination process indicates a value “0”, the CPU 21 detects a building that may block the guidance route beyond the branch point from the driver's view. It is determined that it does not exist (No in S500), and the line-of-sight / speed monitoring process shown in FIG. 7 is executed (S600). FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a line-of-sight / speed monitoring process executed by the CPU 21.

  When the line-of-sight / speed monitoring process is executed, the CPU 21 acquires information representing the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle from the position determination unit 25 (S610), and this information and the determination target branch included in the road map information. Based on the position coordinates of the point, has the vehicle passed a point (hereinafter referred to as “first point”) that is a predetermined distance X1 away from the determination target branch point to the branch point side? It is determined whether or not (S615). In this determination, the difference between the position coordinates of the branch point to be determined included in the road map information and the coordinates of the current position of the vehicle is less than a predetermined distance X1, and the traveling direction of the vehicle faces the branch point side. It can be realized by determining whether or not.

  If it is determined that the vehicle has not passed the first point (No in S615), the CPU 21 waits until the vehicle passes the first point, and if it is determined that the vehicle has passed (Yes in S615), the process proceeds to S620. Thus, the traveling speed V of the vehicle is grasped. Specifically, the CPU 21 acquires, as speed information, an output signal of the distance sensor 15 that can detect the travel speed of the vehicle, and sets the travel distance of the vehicle per unit time indicated by the output signal as the travel speed V of the vehicle. To do.

  Thereafter, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the traveling speed V of the vehicle is less than a preset threshold value Vs based on a test or the like (S630), and determines that it is less than the threshold value Vs (Yes in S630). A reroute prohibition flag for prohibiting reroute is set (S640), and the process proceeds to S700.

  On the other hand, when determining that the traveling speed V of the vehicle is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vs (No in S630), the CPU 21 looks from the line-of-sight detecting device 39 to the direction of the driver's line of sight at that time. A detection result is acquired (S650), and this is written in the RAM 23, and a detection result history table having the configuration shown in FIG. 8 is created (S660). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the detection result history table. Specifically, the CPU 21 associates the line-of-sight detection result acquired from the line-of-sight detection device 39 with the distance X from the determination target branch point of the point where the vehicle is located at the time of the line-of-sight detection, and detects the detection result history. Write to the table (S660).

  Thereafter, the CPU 21 acquires information representing the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle from the position determination unit 25 (S670), and based on this information, the point located between the branch point to be determined and the first point It is then determined whether or not the vehicle has passed a point at a distance X2 (X2 <X1) from the determination target branch point (hereinafter referred to as “second point”) to the branch point side. (S675).

  Here, if it is determined that the vehicle has not passed the second point (No in S675), the CPU 21 proceeds to S620, grasps the current traveling speed V of the vehicle, and the traveling speed V of the vehicle still remains. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value Vs, a line-of-sight detection result representing the driver's line-of-sight direction at that time is acquired from the line-of-sight detection device 39 (S650), and this is the distance X representing the current vehicle position (ie, Along with information on the distance X) from the branch point, it is written in the detection result history table (S660). In this case, the detection result history table is created by arranging the detection results in the order of detection for the convenience of calculating the time when the line of sight is directed from the time T indicated by the time stamp in the subsequent processing.

On the other hand, when the traveling speed V of the vehicle falls below the threshold value Vs, the CPU 21 determines Yes in S630, sets a reroute prohibition flag (S640), and proceeds to S700.
If it is determined that the vehicle has passed the second point (Yes in S675), the CPU 21 executes the line-of-sight analysis process shown in FIG. 9 (S680). FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a line-of-sight analysis process executed by the CPU 21. When the line-of-sight analysis process is executed, the CPU 21 sets thresholds Θvs1 and Θvs2 of the angle Θv representing the direction of the driver's vertical line-of-sight used for determination when setting or resetting the reroute prohibition flag. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing threshold values Θvs1, Θvs2 and threshold values Θhs1, Θhs2. The threshold values Θvs1 and Θvs2 are determined based on a range in which the driver can visually recognize the outside world through the windshield.

  For example, as the threshold Θvs1, the vertical angle Θv obtained from the line-of-sight detection device 39 can be set when the driver directs his / her line of sight to the lower edge of the outside that can be viewed from the driver's seat through the windshield. it can. Further, as the threshold value Θvs2, the vertical angle Θv obtained from the line-of-sight detection device 39 can be set when the driver turns his / her line of sight toward the upper edge of the outside world that can be viewed from the driver's seat through the windshield. it can.

  In this process, the angle Θv when the line of sight is directed to the lower edge of the outside world that the driver can visually recognize from the driver's seat through the windshield, and the driver can visually recognize from the driver's seat through the windshield by a test in advance. By obtaining the angle Θv when the line of sight is directed to the upper edge of the external environment, storing this in an EEPROM (not shown), etc., reading this stored value from the EEPROM, and setting the threshold values Θvs1, Θvs2, It is possible to realize. When the processing in S681 is completed, the CPU 21 sets thresholds Θhs1 and Θhs2 of the angle Θh indicating the direction of the driver's horizontal line of sight used for determination when setting or resetting the reroute prohibition flag in subsequent S682. .

  Specifically, when the guidance route turns left at the determination target branch point, the CPU 21 sets the threshold value Θhs1 to a value (ΘHS−ΔΘh1) as shown in FIG. 10B (Θhs1 = ΘHS). −ΔΘh1) and the threshold Θhs2 is set to 180 ° (Θhs2 = 180 °). The angle ΘHS is an angle in the horizontal direction of the reference line LN for evaluating the direction of the driver's line of sight. For example, when the driver is driving the vehicle straight, the direction of the most frequent line of sight is displayed. The represented horizontal angle Θh can be the angle ΘHS. Alternatively, the angle ΘHS = 90 ° may be set. In addition, the angle ΔΘh1 represents the deviation of the line of sight from the reference line LN.

  In the present embodiment, when the direction of the driver's line of sight is an angle ΔΘh1 or less to the left of the reference line LN in the horizontal direction, the driver's line of sight has not moved to the guide path extending to the left from the determination target branch point. And evaluate. For this reason, as the angle ΔΘh1, the horizontal direction from the reference line LN, which is appropriate to evaluate that the driver's line of sight has not moved to the side of the guide route extending to the left from the branch point to be determined in advance by a test or the like. The limit value of the angle is set. The value (ΘHS−ΔΘh1) may be stored in advance in an EEPROM or the like based on the test result. In S682, the stored value in the EEPROM may be set to the threshold value Θhs1.

  On the other hand, when the guidance route turns right at the determination target branch point, the CPU 21 sets the threshold value Θhs1 to 0 ° (Θhs1 = 0 °) and sets the threshold value Θhs2 as shown in FIG. The value (ΘHS + ΔΘh2) is set (Θhs2 = ΘHS + ΔΘh2). Note that the angle ΔΘh2 represents the deviation of the line of sight from the reference line LN. In the present embodiment, when the direction of the driver's line of sight is an angle ΔΘh2 or less to the right of the reference line LN in the horizontal direction, the driver's line of sight has not moved to the guidance path extending to the right from the branch point to be determined. And evaluate.

  For this reason, as the angle ΔΘh2, the horizontal direction from the reference line LN that is appropriate to evaluate that the driver's line of sight has not moved to the side of the guidance route extending to the right from the branch point to be determined is determined in advance by a test or the like. The limit value of the angle is set. The value (ΘHS + ΔΘh2) may be stored in advance in an EEPROM or the like. In S682, the stored value in the EEPROM may be set to the threshold value Θhs2.

  When the process in S682 is finished, the CPU 21 is the line-of-sight detection result acquired from the line-of-sight detection device 39 after the vehicle passes the first point and passes the second point, and the determination in S685 Of the line-of-sight detection results that are not the target, the one with the oldest time T in the time stamp is read out from the inspection result history table (S684).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the vertical angle Θv indicated by the read visual line detection result is within the range from the value Θvs1 to Θvs2 (S685). That is, in S685, it is determined whether or not the vertical angle Θv indicated by the line-of-sight detection result read out in S684 is a value satisfying the relational expression Θvs1 ≦ Θv ≦ Θvs2.

  If it is determined that the angle Θv is not a value satisfying the relational expression Θvs1 ≦ Θv ≦ Θvs2 (No in S685), the CPU 21 proceeds to S684 and includes the unprocessed line-of-sight detection results at the time T. The oldest one is read out from the inspection result history table, and it is determined whether or not the vertical angle Θv indicated by the line-of-sight detection result is within the range from the value Θvs1 to Θvs2 (S685).

  If it is determined that the vertical angle Θv indicated by the line-of-sight detection result read out in S684 is a value satisfying the relational expression Θvs1 ≦ Θv ≦ Θvs2 (Yes in S685), the CPU 21 reads out in S684 in subsequent S687. It is determined whether or not the horizontal angle Θh indicated by the line-of-sight detection result is within the range from the value Θhs1 to Θhs2. That is, in S687, it is determined whether the horizontal angle Θh indicated by the line-of-sight detection result read out in S684 is a value satisfying the relational expression Θhs1 ≦ Θh ≦ Θhs2.

  When it is determined that the horizontal angle Θh satisfies the relational expression Θhs1 ≦ Θh ≦ Θhs2 (Yes in S687), the process proceeds to S684, and among the unprocessed gaze detection results, the oldest at time T Is read from the inspection result history table, and it is determined whether or not the angle Θv indicated by the line-of-sight detection result is within the range from the value Θvs1 to Θvs2.

  On the other hand, when the horizontal angle Θh is determined to be a value that does not satisfy the relational expression Θhs1 ≦ Θh ≦ Θhs2 (No in S687), the CPU 21 determines that the horizontal angle Θh is a value from the time T indicated by the time stamp. A time T0 that does not fall within the range from Θhs1 to Θhs2 is calculated (S689).

  Specifically, here, the time stamp of the line-of-sight detection result determined that the angle Θh representing the driver's horizontal line-of-sight direction does not satisfy the relational expression Θhs1 ≦ Θh ≦ Θhs2 is the time T [n. ], The time (T [n] −T [n−1]) represented by the time T [n−1] represented by the time stamp of the line-of-sight detection result detected in the previous round of the line-of-sight detection is used. ) Is calculated as a time T0 when the angle Θh representing the direction of the driver's horizontal line of sight does not fall within the range from the value Θhs1 to Θhs2. However, when the line-of-sight detection result read out in S684 is the first line-of-sight detection result after passing through the first point (that is, when n = 1), the time T0 is calculated by the method described above. Therefore, the time T0 = 0 is set.

  When the processing in S689 is completed, the CPU 21 proceeds to S691, and calculates the total T1 of the time T0 when the detected horizontal angle Θh is not within the range from the value Θhs1 to Θhs2. Specifically, by setting the initial value of the variable T1 to 0 and adding the time T0 obtained in S689 to the variable T1, the angle Θh representing the driver's horizontal line-of-sight direction is changed from the value Θhs1 to Θhs2. The total T1 of the time T0 that does not fall within the range is calculated.

  Thereafter, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the total T1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold Ts (S693), and determines that the total T1 is less than the threshold Ts (No in S693), the test result history table. It is determined whether or not the determination in S685 has been completed for all the line-of-sight detection results for each time described (S695).

  If it is determined that the process has not been completed (No in S695), the next gaze detection result is read from the inspection result history table, and the vertical angle Θv satisfies the relational expression Θvs1 ≦ Θv ≦ Θvs2. When the horizontal angle Θh is a value that does not satisfy the relational expression Θhs1 ≦ Θh ≦ Θhs2, the time T [n] indicated by the time stamp of the line-of-sight detection result and the time before this line-of-sight detection are detected. The time T0 = T [n] −T [when the horizontal angle Θh does not fall within the range from the value Θhs1 to Θhs2 using the time T [n−1] indicated by the time stamp of the sight line detection result. n-1] is calculated (S689), and the total T1 is updated (S691).

  If the total T1 is equal to or greater than the threshold Ts as a result of repeating such processing, the CPU 21 determines Yes in S693, proceeds to S697, sets the reroute prohibition flag, and proceeds to S700. On the other hand, even if the above-described processing is repeated for the entire line-of-sight detection result, if the total T1 is less than the threshold value Ts, the CPU 21 proceeds to S699 when the processing for the entire line-of-sight detection result is completed (Yes in S695). Then, the line-of-sight analysis process ends with the reroute prohibition flag reset. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S700.

  When the process proceeds to S700, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the reroute may be executed by determining the state of the reroute prohibition flag. Here, if the reroute prohibition flag is set, the CPU 21 determines No and terminates the extended reroute control process without executing the reroute (the process in S800).

  On the other hand, when determining that the reroute prohibition flag has been reset, the CPU 21 determines Yes in S700 and proceeds to S800, sets a search condition in the route search unit 27, and from that position, determines the current position of the vehicle. The optimal route to the destination is searched and set as a guide route. Thereafter, the extended reroute control process is temporarily terminated.

  Specifically, when it is determined Yes in S700, the driver's line of sight is longer than or equal to a predetermined time Ts during the period from when the vehicle passes the first point until it passes the second point. From the reference line LN extending to the road, the driver is not expected to drive the vehicle along the guidance route at the turning point because it is not directed to the guidance route ahead of the determination target branch point by a predetermined angle ΔΘh1 or ΔΘh2. The Therefore, in S800, the route search unit 27 is searched for a route that can guide the vehicle in a direction different from the guidance direction indicated by the branch point to be determined by the currently set guidance route.

  FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing an example of the processing content executed in S800 of the extended reroute control processing. In the process shown in FIG. 5B, first, the link connected to the determination target branch point (node) is grasped based on the road map information (S810), and among the links connected to the branch point. Then, a link other than the link included in the currently set guidance route that can be entered by the vehicle is selected as a route search target (S820). Note that the link included in the currently set guidance route is a link on the vehicle side of the determination target branch point, and the link where the vehicle is currently traveling, and ahead of the determination target branch point indicated by the guidance route. It is a link.

  Then, for each of the selected links, the route search unit 27 is searched for an optimal route from the current position including the link to the destination (S830), and the optimal route among the routes including the selected links is selected. Is set as a guide route (S840). In S840, for example, a route in a direction in which the vehicle goes straight at the determination target branch point can be preferentially selected as the guidance route. In the process of S800, the guidance route from the current position of the vehicle to the determination target branch point ahead of the route is not changed because the guidance route to the determination target branch point ahead of the route is not basically changed. As a premise, the route search unit 27 may search for a route from the determination target branch point to the destination.

  The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above. In the navigation device 1, the guidance route set by the route search unit 27 is a route involving a turn of the vehicle at a branch point located in front of the vehicle. In addition, based on the information representing the current position of the vehicle obtained from the position determination unit 25 by the CPU 21, the first point X1 before the predetermined distance X1 from the nearest branch point with the turn located in front of the course of the vehicle. It is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed (S615).

  A line of sight representing the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle during a period from when the vehicle passes through the first point until it passes through the second point located between the branch point and the first point. The detection result is acquired from the line-of-sight detection device (S650). Further, based on the acquired line-of-sight detection result, the line-of-sight analysis process (S680) predicts whether or not the driver will drive the vehicle along the guidance route at the nearest (next) branch point involving the turn. .

  Here, the CPU 21 branches the reference line LN from the reference line LN that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle for a predetermined time Ts or more during a period from when the vehicle passes the first point to when it passes the second point. It is determined whether the direction toward the guide path ahead of the point is larger than the predetermined angles ΔΘh1 and ΔΘh2 along the horizontal direction (S684 to S695).

  If it is determined that the driver's line of sight is not more than the angle ΔΘh1, ΔΘh2 from the reference line LN to the guide route side for a time Ts or longer, the driver does not drive the vehicle along the guide route at the branch point. (S699), a route that can guide the vehicle in a direction different from the guidance direction indicated by the branch point indicated by the currently set guidance route is searched for and set as the guidance route (S800). On the other hand, when the driver's line of sight is more than the angle ΔΘh1, ΔΘh2 from the reference line LN to the guide route side for the time Ts or longer, the driver travels along the guide route at the branch point. The reroute prohibition flag is set (S697), and the reroute in S800 is prohibited.

  That is, in this navigation device 1, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 11, when the guidance route is a route with a left turn at a branch point in front of the vehicle, the driver's line of sight changes in the guidance direction (left direction). If the vehicle is not facing and the driver has not shown an intention to turn, there is a guidance route for guiding the vehicle in a direction (straight direction or right direction) different from the current guidance direction (left direction) in the process of S800. It is set before the branch point is passed and guided to the driver (see the right figure in FIG. 11). On the other hand, if the driver's line of sight is pointing in the guidance direction (left direction) and the driver is showing an intention to turn in the guidance direction, the process of S800 is not performed and the same guidance route ( The left figure in FIG. 11 is guided.

  Therefore, according to the navigation device 1, when the driver drives the vehicle on a route different from the guidance route, the route can be re-searched appropriately and earlier than the conventional device, and appropriate route guidance can be performed. Can be executed. For example, even if the driver does not understand the guidance correctly and goes straight at the branch point that guides the right or left turn, immediately correct the guide route before passing the branch point and guide the driver to the guide route. can do. In addition, if the driver's behavior is predicted using the above method, it is possible to suppress erroneous prediction results due to the line of sight regardless of the right / left turn position and visual confirmation behavior for safety confirmation. It is possible to accurately predict whether or not the driver will drive the vehicle along the guidance route by simple arithmetic processing.

  Further, in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU 21 acquires an output signal from the distance sensor as speed information representing the travel speed of the vehicle (S620), and grasps the travel speed V of the vehicle based on this output signal. . Then, based on this information, it is determined whether or not the vehicle traveling speed is less than a predetermined speed Vs (S630). If the vehicle traveling speed V is less than the predetermined speed Vs, the reroute is performed. It is prohibited (S640).

  Therefore, according to the navigation device 1, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is slow and there is a high possibility that the driver's line of sight is facing the traffic light side, it is preferable for the user not to perform reroute due to erroneous prediction. It is possible to prevent the guide route from being changed when there is no time.

  In addition, in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU 21 shields the guidance route ahead of the branch point from the driver's view near the branch point located in front of the vehicle path based on the shielding object information. It is determined whether or not there is a building that has a possibility of causing (S400 to S500), and it is determined that there is a building that may shield the guidance route beyond this branch point from the driver's view. In such a case, rerouting is prohibited by skipping the processing of S600 to S800.

  If there is a building in the vicinity of the branch point that prevents the driver from seeing the guidance route ahead of the branch point, the driver's line of sight is difficult to face toward the guidance route, which may lead to incorrect prediction results. According to the navigation device 1, when there is a possibility that the driver cannot visually recognize the guidance route beyond the branch point, the process in S800 is not performed, so the guidance route is changed at a time that is not preferable for the user. Can be prevented from being executed.

  The passage determination means of the present invention is realized in S615 executed by the CPU 21, and the line-of-sight information acquisition means is realized in S650. In addition, the prediction determination unit is realized by the line-of-sight analysis process (S680), and the reroute unit is realized by S800.

  In addition, the speed information acquisition means of the present invention is realized in S620 executed by the CPU 21, the speed determination means is realized in S630, and the speed-dependent prohibiting means is realized in S640. Further, the shielding object judging means is realized by S400 to S500 executed by the CPU 21, and the shielding object dependent prohibiting means is realized by a process of temporarily ending the extended reroute control process without executing the process of S800. ing.

  Moreover, the route guidance apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms. For example, the navigation device 1 of the above embodiment may be provided with a function for learning and updating the values Θvs1, Θvs2, ΘHS, ΔΘh1, ΔΘh2, Ts, and Vs. If a learning update function is provided, reroute can be executed at a more suitable timing.

It is a block diagram showing the structure of the car navigation apparatus 1 of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing showing the structure of shielding object information. It is explanatory drawing showing angle (theta) h and (theta) v detected by the gaze detection apparatus 39. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a part of functions realized by a control circuit 20. FIG. The flowchart (a) showing the extended reroute control process which CPU21 repeatedly performs, and the flowchart (b) which showed the specific example of the processing content performed by S800. It is a flowchart showing the shield determination pre-processing which CPU21 performs. It is a flowchart showing the eyes | visual_axis and speed monitoring process which CPU21 performs. It is explanatory drawing showing the structure of a detection result log | history table. It is a flowchart showing the visual line analysis process which CPU21 performs. It is explanatory drawing showing threshold value Θvs1, Θvs2, Θhs1, Θhs2. It is explanatory drawing which showed the change aspect of the guidance route by an extended reroute control process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation apparatus, 10 ... Position detection apparatus, 11 ... GPS receiver, 13 ... Gyroscope, 15 ... Distance sensor, 17 ... Geomagnetic sensor, 20 ... Control circuit, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... ROM, 23 ... RAM, 25 ... Position determining unit, 26 ... Interface unit, 27 ... Route search unit, 28 ... Route guidance unit, 29 ... Reroute control unit, 31 ... Map data input device, 33 ... Display device, 35 ... External information input / output device, 36 ... Operation switch group, 37a ... remote control, 37b ... remote control sensor, 38 ... audio output device, 39 ... gaze detection device

Claims (7)

Map information acquisition means for acquiring road map information;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the current position of the vehicle;
Based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means and the road map information acquired by the map information acquisition means, a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination is searched and a guidance route is set. Route search means to
A route guidance device comprising:
Line-of-sight information acquisition means for acquiring information representing the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle from a line-of-sight detection device that detects the direction of the line of sight of the driver;
Based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, one of the branch points located in front of the vehicle on the guidance route set by the route search means is selected according to a predetermined rule, and the selected branch point As a reference branch point, passage determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle has passed a point a predetermined distance closer to the vehicle side than the reference branch point;
When it is determined by the passage determining means that the vehicle has passed the point before the predetermined distance, based on information indicating the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquiring means, the driver at the reference branch point Prediction determination means for predicting whether to drive the vehicle along the guidance route;
A reroute means for causing the route search means to search for a route from the reference branch point to a preset destination when the prediction determination means predicts that the driver does not drive the vehicle along the guidance route; ,
A route guidance device comprising: Map information acquisition means for acquiring road map information;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the current position of the vehicle;
Based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means and the road map information acquired by the map information acquisition means, a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination is searched and a guidance route is set. Route search means to
A route guidance device comprising:
Based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, the next branch point located in front of the vehicle path among the branch points accompanied by turning of the vehicle on the guidance route set by the route search means is used as a reference branch point. A passage determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle has passed a point a predetermined distance before the reference branch point on the vehicle side;
Information indicating the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle from the line-of-sight detection device that detects the direction of the line of sight of the driver when the passage determining unit determines that the vehicle has passed the point a predetermined distance before. Gaze information acquisition means for acquiring
Based on information representing the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquisition unit, a prediction determination unit that predicts whether or not the driver drives the vehicle along the guidance route at the reference branch point;
If it is predicted by the prediction determination means that the driver does not drive the vehicle along the guidance route, the route search means is a route from the current position of the vehicle to a preset destination, and the current setting A reroute means for searching for a route capable of guiding the vehicle in a direction different from the guidance direction indicated by the reference branch point at the guided route,
A route guidance device comprising: The prediction determination means includes
Whether the driver's line of sight is directed at a predetermined angle or more from the reference line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle toward the guidance route ahead of the reference branch point based on the information indicating the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquisition unit Gaze judging means for judging whether or not,
And when the driver determines that the driver's line of sight has not been directed at a predetermined angle or more from the reference line toward the guide path ahead of the reference branch point, the driver follows the guide path. The route guidance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a prediction is made that the vehicle is not allowed to travel. The prediction determination means includes
Based on the information indicating the direction of the line of sight acquired by the line-of-sight information acquisition means, the driver's line of sight is predetermined on the guide route side beyond the reference branch point from a reference line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle for a predetermined time or more. A line-of-sight judging means for judging whether or not the angle is more than
And when the driver determines that the driver's line of sight has not been directed at a predetermined angle or more from the reference line toward the guide path beyond the reference branch point for a predetermined time or more, The route guidance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a prediction determination is made that the vehicle does not travel along the route.   The line-of-sight information acquisition means is determined between the reference branch point and the first point after the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed the first point as the point before the predetermined distance. The information representing the direction of the line of sight directed by the driver of the vehicle is acquired from the line-of-sight detection device during a period until the vehicle passes through the second point located. 5. The route guidance device according to any one of 4. Speed information acquisition means for acquiring speed information representing the travel speed of the vehicle from a speed detection device that detects the travel speed of the vehicle;
Speed determining means for determining whether the traveling speed of the vehicle is less than a predetermined speed based on the speed information acquired by the speed information acquiring means;
When the speed determining means determines that the traveling speed of the vehicle is less than a predetermined speed, a speed-dependent prohibiting means for prohibiting the operation of the reroute means;
The route guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: The road map information includes, for each branch point, shielding object information indicating whether or not there is a building in the vicinity of the branch point that may block a road ahead of the branch point from the driver's view. And
The route guidance device
Based on the shielding object information, a shielding object that determines whether or not there is a building in the vicinity of the reference branch point that may shield a guidance route ahead of the reference branch point from the driver's field of view. Judgment means,
When the shielding object judging means judges that there is a building that may shield the guidance route ahead of the reference branch point from the driver's view, the dependence on the shielding object is prohibited. Type prohibition means,
The route guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

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