JP2007024691A - Lane guidance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide useful lane information for a user at the time of running along the route. <P>SOLUTION: In the case, the number of leaving lanes of the crossing Is1 being a guidance point on the route is equal to or more than 2, the recommended leaving lane from the crossing Is1 is determined depending on the recommended approaching lane of a crossing Is2 being the next guidance point, at the approaching step to the crossing Is1 (before the leaving stage from this spot) informs the recommending leaving lane of the crossing Is1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lane guide apparatus.

Conventionally, for example, according to the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a large number of lanes at the departure point in order not to calculate a route that suddenly makes a right or left turn immediately after the start of route guidance. In such a case, the distance is changed so that the distance to be traveled along the road that is included in the route becomes longer.
JP 2004-271375 A

  By the way, in the conventional navigation device, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when a road that needs to turn left after three lanes (lanes) on one side and turn right immediately after that is guided as follows, Provide information to the user. That is, when the vehicle approaches the intersection Is1 to be turned to the left, as shown in FIG. 6B, an enlarged view of the intersection Is1 is displayed, an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel, and a recommended lane for making a left turn And a recommended lane for making a right turn at the next intersection Is2 is displayed on the road map. This provides information on the lane to be traveled when making a left turn at the next intersection Is1 and the lane to be traveled when making a right turn at the next intersection Is2, before passing the intersection Is1.

  However, in the case of a road with a large number of lanes as shown in FIG. 6 (a), in the stage before passing through the intersection Is1, the information on the recommended intersection from the preceding intersection Is1 rather than the information on the recommended lane when turning right at the next intersection Is2. It is beneficial for the user to provide information on recommended lanes when leaving.

  That is, in the case of the route shown in FIG. 6A, the user needs to change from the left end lane to the right end lane within the section St until the intersection Is2 is approached after turning left at the intersection Is1. In such a case, if the information of the exit lane of the intersection Is1 that can easily reach the recommended lane when making a right turn at the next intersection Is2 is provided before passing the intersection Is1, the user can obtain the information on the exit lane of the intersection Is1. Of these exit lanes, it is possible to exit from the rightmost lane. As a result, the user does not need to change lanes within the section St.

  In this way, in the stage before passing through the preceding intersection Is1, it is better to provide information on recommended lanes when exiting from the preceding intersection Is1 than information on recommended lanes when turning right at the next intersection Is2. Useful for users. However, conventional navigation devices do not provide information on recommended lanes when exiting an intersection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lane guide device that can provide lane information that is more useful to the user when traveling according to a route.

The lane guide apparatus according to claim 1, which is made to achieve the above object,
When the number of lanes on the exit road that exits at least one of the branch point, junction point, and intersection point on the route to the destination is two or more lanes, determine the recommended exit lane when leaving the point Recommended exit lane decision means,
When the vehicle travels according to the route, the vehicle is characterized by comprising lane guide means for guiding information on the recommended exit lane determined by the recommended exit lane determination means before exiting from the point.

  As a result, when the vehicle travels according to the route, information on recommended exit lanes when exiting from the point according to the route at the stage before exiting from at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route. Therefore, it is possible to provide more useful information for the user.

  The lane guide device according to claim 2 is used when entering a point when the number of lanes of an approach road that enters at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route according to the route is two or more lanes. A recommended approach lane determining means for determining a recommended approach lane, and the recommended exit lane determining means is a recommended approach for at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection existing on the route after exiting the point. It is determined based on the recommended approach lane determined by the lane determining means. Thereby, when determining the recommended leaving lane, it can be determined in association with the recommended approach lane for the next point.

  The lane guide device according to claim 3, wherein the recommended exit lane determining means is at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on a route existing after the vehicle exits from the point as the recommended exit lane. It is not necessary to change the lane before entering one point, or the exit lane is determined such that the number of lane changes is the minimum. This makes it possible to determine the optimal exit lane when the vehicle travels according to the route.

  The lane guide device according to claim 4 includes lane information storage means for storing lane information including the number of lanes for each road and the traveling direction for each lane, and the recommended leaving lane determination means is stored in the lane information storage means. It is determined based on lane information to be performed. This makes it possible to determine a recommended leaving lane based on the lane information.

  In the lane guide device according to claim 5, the lane information storage means has a traveling direction depending on a priority lane for a specific vehicle to travel with priority, a dedicated lane dedicated to the specific vehicle, and a time zone as the lane information. The information includes information on at least one lane type of the transition lane to be transitioned, and the recommended leaving lane determining unit determines the lane type in consideration. Thereby, it is possible to determine a recommended exit lane according to the type of vehicle and the time zone.

  According to the lane guiding apparatus of the sixth aspect, the lane guiding means guides the recommended approach lane information for the point together with the recommended exit lane information for the point. Thereby, when the vehicle travels according to the route, the user can simultaneously grasp the recommended approach lane and the recommended exit lane for the point at a stage before leaving the point in front of the vehicle.

  In addition, as described in claim 7, by further adding information on a recommended approach lane for at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on a route existing after exiting from that point, further forward It is possible to simultaneously grasp the recommended approach lane for this point.

  According to the lane guide apparatus of the eighth aspect, the lane guide means guides by at least one of screen display and voice. Thereby, guidance by screen display or voice becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the navigation device 100 of this embodiment includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, an external memory 9, a VICS receiver 10, a display device 11, and a voice input / output device 12. , The remote control sensor 13 and the control circuit 8 connected thereto.

  The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line for connecting these configurations. In the ROM, a program to be executed by the navigation device 100 is written, and a CPU or the like executes predetermined arithmetic processing according to this program. This program can also be acquired from the outside via the external memory 9.

  The position detector 1 includes a well-known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyro sensor 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for GPS (Global Positioning System) that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. Have. Since these have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy of each sensor, the position detector 1 may be configured as a part of the above-described ones, and a steering rotation sensor (not shown), a vehicle speed sensor for each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

  The map data input device 6 is a device for inputting various data such as map data and road data, and transmits various data in response to a request from the control circuit 8. A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is generally used as a storage medium for storing these various data, but a writable storage medium such as a memory card or a hard disk may be employed. Here, link data, node data, and intersection data constituting the road data will be described.

  First, a link is defined by dividing each road on the map at a plurality of nodes such as intersections, branches, and merging points, and each node is defined as a link. A road is constructed. The link data includes a unique number (link ID) for identifying the link, a link length indicating the length of the link, coordinates of the start and end nodes of the link (for example, latitude / longitude, etc.), road name, toll road / national road / prefecture It consists of data such as road type and road width classified by road / municipal road.

  Furthermore, the link data includes the number of lanes (lanes) for each link, the direction of travel for each lane, the priority lane for a specific vehicle to preferentially travel, the dedicated lane for a specific vehicle, and the direction of travel according to the time zone Includes lane information such as the type of lane such as transition lane, whether or not there is a right / left turn dedicated lane, and the number of lanes of the dedicated lane.

  The node data describes node IDs, node coordinates, node names, and link IDs of all links connected to the nodes for each node where roads on the map intersect, merge and branch. It consists of each data such as connection link ID.

  The operation switch group 7 is, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 11 and used for various operations such as a scroll operation of a map displayed on the screen of the display device 11 and character input. The

  The VICS receiver 10 is a device that receives information such as road traffic information distributed from a VICS (registered trademark) center via beacons laid on a road and FM broadcast stations in various places. Road traffic information includes, for example, the name of a traffic jam road, the traffic jam start position and traffic end position (for example, coordinates such as latitude and longitude), traffic jam information such as the traffic jam degree indicating the traffic jam level, Information on regulations such as lane regulations, closing of entrances and exits of expressways, etc.

  Note that the degree of congestion is expressed in a plurality of evaluation stages (for example, congestion, congestion, empty space, etc.). The received road traffic information is processed by the control circuit 8. For example, traffic jam information, regulation information, and the like are displayed superimposed on a map displayed on the screen of the display device 11.

  The display device 11 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display, and the vehicle position mark corresponding to the current vehicle position input from the position detector 1 and the map input from the map data input device 6 are displayed on the screen of the display device 11. A road map around the vehicle generated by the data can be displayed.

  The voice input / output device 12 includes an input device and an output device (not shown). The input device recognizes the utterance content of the user and is used for various inputs of the navigation device 100. On the other hand, the output device includes a speaker, an audio amplifier, and the like, and is used for voice guidance and the like.

  In addition, when the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment designates a destination using the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 13, an optimum route to the destination starting from the current location or a location designated by the user is determined. It has a so-called route guidance function that automatically searches to form and display routes. Furthermore, a reroute function is provided for automatically searching for a new route to the destination when the current position deviates from the route during route guidance.

  Such a method for automatically setting an optimum route is, for example, cost calculation by a well-known Dijkstra method, that is, using a cost value assigned to each link in consideration of the link length, the number of lanes, the road width, etc. The method of calculating the route to the destination at the lowest cost is adopted.

  These functions are executed mainly by performing various arithmetic processes by the control circuit 8. That is, when the destination is designated, the control circuit 8 calculates a route by using the map data and road data of the map data input device 6, and for example, as shown in FIG. A road map indicating the current location of the vehicle on the route is displayed on the display device 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the control circuit 8 is a branch point, junction point or intersection on the route where the vehicle needs to turn right or left or change course (intersections Is1, Is2 in FIG. 6 (a)). When approaching a guide point, etc., an enlarged view of the guide point is displayed, and an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel and a recommended approach lane for entering the guide point are displayed in the enlarged view. Or make a voice output in the direction to go. Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the control circuit 8 displays a recommended approach lane when entering the intersection Is2, which is the next guide point, on the road map.

  This recommended approach lane is displayed when the number of lanes of the approach road that enters the guide point on the route is two or more lanes, and the link data lane included in the road data input to the map data input device 6 Based on the information, a lane that can be followed along the route is determined as a recommended approach lane.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the number of road lanes constituting the route is large, at the stage before passing through the intersection Is1, the information on the recommended approach lane for the intersection Is1 and the information when exiting from the intersection Is1. It is beneficial for the user to provide information on recommended lanes (recommended exit lanes).

  That is, in the case of the route shown in FIG. 6A, the user needs to change from the left end lane to the right end lane within the section St until the intersection Is2 is approached after turning left at the intersection Is1. In such a case, if the information of the recommended exit lane when exiting from the intersection Is1 that can easily reach the recommended approach lane when making a right turn at the next intersection Is2 is provided before passing the intersection Is1. The user can exit from the rightmost lane among the exit lanes at the intersection Is1. As a result, the user does not need to change lanes within the section St.

  Therefore, in the navigation device 100 of this embodiment, when the number of lanes of the exit road that exits from the guide point on the route according to the route is two or more lanes, the recommended exit lane for leaving from the guide point is determined, and the guidance Information on recommended exit lanes is provided when approaching the point (before exiting from the point).

  Next, the route guidance function processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when route guidance is started, in step (hereinafter referred to as S) 10 shown in FIG. 5, whether or not a guide point on the route has been approached (for example, the distance to the guide point is equal to or less than a predetermined distance). Whether or not). If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to S20. If the determination is negative, the standby state is maintained.

  In S20, the number of lanes of the approach road that enters the guide point on the route and the number of lanes of the exit road that exits from the guide point according to the route are acquired from the lane information. In S30, it is determined whether or not the number of lanes of the approach road and / or exit road acquired in S20 is two or more. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to S40. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to S50.

  In S40, a recommended approach lane and / or a recommended exit lane are determined based on the lane information. The recommended approach lane is determined as a recommended approach lane among lanes of approach roads that enter the guide point that can be followed according to the route.

  For example, at the intersection Is1 on the route shown in FIG. 2A, a straight / left turn lane that can be followed according to the route is determined as a recommended approach lane among the lanes of the approach road to the intersection Is1. For the next intersection Is2 after the intersection Is1, a right turn exclusive lane that can be followed according to the route among the lanes of the approach road to the intersection Is2 is determined as the recommended approach lane.

  On the other hand, the recommended leaving lane is determined based on the recommended approach lane determined for the next guiding point that exists after leaving the guiding point. Thus, when determining the recommended leaving lane, it is determined in association with the recommended approach lane for the next guide point. In more detail, it is not necessary to change the lane after exiting the guide point and entering the guide point that exists after leaving the guide point, or an exit lane with the minimum number of lane changes is recommended. Determined as exit lane.

  For example, at the intersection Is1 shown in FIG. 2A, the recommended approach lane for the next intersection Is2 is a right-turn exclusive lane, so the lane is changed in the section St until the entry to the intersection Is2 after leaving the intersection Is1. The rightmost lane that does not occur is determined as the recommended exit lane. This makes it possible to determine the optimal exit lane when the vehicle travels according to the route.

  For example, in the case of the route as shown in FIG. 4, there are a plurality of recommended exit lanes at the intersection Is3 which is the guide point on the route, based on the approach lane of the intersection Is4 which is the next guide point. As described above, when the recommended exit lane cannot be uniquely determined, it may be determined based on the recommended approach lanes at the further guide points on the route (recommended approach lanes at about 10 guide points ahead).

  That is, in the case of the route shown in FIG. 4, since the recommended approach lane at the intersection Is5 is the leftmost lane, the recommended exit lane at the intersection Is4 is determined as the leftmost lane, and the recommended approach lane at the intersection Is4 is the right turn located in the center. Decided to be a dedicated lane. Therefore, the recommended leaving lane at the intersection Is3 is uniquely determined as the lane located at the center.

  In S40, the recommended approach lane and / or the recommended exit lane may be determined in consideration of the lane type included in the lane information. Thereby, it is possible to determine a recommended exit lane according to the type of vehicle and the time zone.

  In S50, as shown in FIG. 2B, the recommended approach lane and the recommended exit lane for the intersection Is1 are displayed on the enlarged intersection map, the recommended approach lane for the next intersection Is2 is displayed on the road map, and “intersection” “Left direction. Please come to the rightmost lane.

  As a result, when the vehicle travels according to the route, the user can simultaneously grasp the recommended approach lane and the recommended exit lane for the guidance point by the screen display and voice guidance before leaving the point ahead of the vehicle. it can. In addition, by adding information on the recommended approach lane of the next guide point, it is possible to simultaneously grasp the recommended approach lane for the further guide point.

  In S60, it is determined whether the user has left the guidance point. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to S10 and the above-described process is repeated. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S50, and the intersection enlarged view is repeatedly displayed.

  With this route guidance function, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, useful information can be provided to the user even when the guidance point is a branch point Is7. That is, when the vehicle approaches the intersection Is6, as shown in the enlarged view of the intersection in FIG. 3 (b), the recommended approach lane to the next branch point Is7 together with the recommended approach lane (right turn exclusive lane) at the intersection Is6 The recommended exit lane (left lane) at the intersection Is6 can be guided based on the (left turn / straight lane).

  As described above, when the number of lanes of the exit road that exits from the guide point on the route according to the route is two or more lanes, the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment determines a recommended exit lane when exiting from the guide point, Information on recommended exit lanes is provided when approaching the guide point.

  As a result, when the vehicle travels according to the route, the recommended exit lane information for leaving the guide point according to the route is provided before the user exits the guide point on the route. Can provide more useful information.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, when there is a lane that cannot be driven due to lane regulation due to an accident or construction, the recommended approach lane and the recommended exit lane are determined in consideration of the regulation information of the road traffic information received by the VICS receiver 10. It may be. Thereby, it is possible to determine the recommended approach lane and the recommended exit lane except for the lanes to be regulated.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a navigation device 100. FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the intersections Is1 and Is2 which are the guide points on a path | route, (b) is a figure which shows the recommended exit lane of the intersection Is1 and the intersection Is1, and the recommended approach lane of the intersection Is1. (A) is a figure which shows the intersection Is6 and the branch point Is7 which are the guidance points on a route, (b) is a figure which shows the recommended exit lane of the intersection Is6 and the branch point Is7, and the recommended exit lane of the intersection Is6. is there. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination method of a recommended leaving lane. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a route guidance process. (A) is a figure which shows the intersections Is1 and Is2 which are the guide points on a path | route, (b) is a figure which shows the recommended approach lane of intersections Is1 and Is2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detector 6 Map data input device 7 Operation switch group 8 Control circuit 9 External memory 10 VICS receiver 11 Display device 12 Voice input / output device 13 Remote control sensor 14 Remote controller (remote control)

Claims (8)

If the number of lanes on the exit road that exits at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route to the destination is two or more lanes, a recommended exit lane for exiting from the point A recommended exit lane determination means to determine;
A lane guidance device comprising: lane guidance means for guiding information on the recommended exit lane determined by the recommended exit lane determination means in a stage before exiting from the point when the vehicle travels according to the route. . A recommendation for determining a recommended approach lane for entering the point when the number of lanes of the approach road that enters the route according to the route to at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route is two or more lanes With an approach lane determination means,
The recommended exit lane determining means is based on the recommended approach lane determined by the recommended approach lane determining means for at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection existing on the route after exiting the point. The lane guide device according to claim 1, wherein the lane guide device is determined.   The recommended exit lane determining means, as the recommended exit lane, enters at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route that exists after the vehicle leaves the point and then exits from the point. 3. The lane guide apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the exit lane is determined so that the lane change is not required before the lane change or the lane change count is the minimum. Lane information storage means for storing lane information including the number of lanes for each road and the traveling direction for each lane;
The lane guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recommended leaving lane determining means determines based on lane information stored in the lane information storage means. The lane information storage means includes, as the lane information, at least one of a priority lane for a specific vehicle to preferentially travel, a dedicated lane dedicated to the specific vehicle, and a transition lane whose traveling direction changes depending on a time zone. Including type information,
The lane guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recommended leaving lane determining means determines in consideration of the lane type.   The lane guide device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the lane guide unit guides information on a recommended approach lane for the point together with information on a recommended exit lane for the point.   7. The lane guide means performs guidance by adding information on a recommended approach lane for at least one of a branch point, a junction point, and an intersection on the route existing after leaving the point. Lane guide device.   The lane guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the lane guide means guides by at least one of screen display and voice.

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