JP2007086462A - Map creating device, and on-vehicle information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To comprehensively display a road map around a road having a special shape such as a roundabout. <P>SOLUTION: A predetermined road having a special shape such as a roundabout is extracted within a prescribed summary object area (step S20). A function representing an approximate figure similar to the road is derived (step S30), and the road is replaced by the approximate figure represented by the derived function (step S40). The map including the approximate figure replaced in this way is simplified by a deformation processing (step S50), and is displayed on a display monitor 16 (step S60). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map generation device and an in-vehicle information terminal that generate and display a map based on map data.

  Regarding summary display of a road map, for example, there is a technique for improving visibility by shaping on the basis of orthogonality / straight evolution of roads (see, for example, Patent Document 1). On the map, there are ring roads that connect to the main road at multiple points called roundabouts and enter to change direction, and are often seen in Europe. As for the roundabout, it is known that a roundabout pattern is drawn and only an approach road is drawn around the roundabout pattern. For example, the road entering the roundabout, the angle of the exiting road, the attachment position, the road name, the change angle of each link constituting the roundabout, the road information before and after the entering road and the exiting road, determination of the U-turn direction, left and right There is a technique for performing direction guidance and performing direction guidance (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, a method has been proposed in which a deformed figure close to the shape of an actual roundabout is created and the display pattern is displayed on a separate screen (for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 2004-139485 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-51684 JP 2004-108969 A

  It is easier for the driver to understand the map for a point where a specific driving operation is required, such as a roundabout, by clearly indicating the roundabout or the like rather than the actual road shape as it is. However, if it is deformed in the same manner as the surrounding map as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the visibility of points such as roundabouts cannot be improved. In addition to the roundabout pattern, the devices of Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 try to draw only roads that enter the roundabout pattern as close to reality as possible. It is not possible to display the map of Therefore, an easy-to-understand road map cannot be displayed around the roundabout even if the conventional techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are used.

The map generation apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is an extraction means for extracting a specially shaped road having a predetermined special shape from a predetermined map range, and an approximate figure approximating the specially shaped road extracted by the extracting means. A derivation means for deriving a function representing the function, a replacement means for replacing the special shape road extracted by the extraction means with an approximate figure represented by the function derived by the derivation means, and a map including the approximate figure replaced by the replacement means Display control means for displaying on the display monitor.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the map generating apparatus of the first aspect, the special shape road includes a roundabout, and the derivation means is a function that represents a circle or an ellipse as a function that represents an approximate figure that approximates the roundabout. Is to derive.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the map generating apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the derivation means obtains a value of each constant of the function using a least square method when deriving a function representing the approximate figure. .
The invention of claim 4 is the map generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a deforming means for simplifying a road shape in the map range, wherein the display control means is an approximation replaced by a replacing means. A summary map including a figure and a road whose shape is simplified by deforming means is displayed on a display monitor.
An in-vehicle information terminal according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a map generating device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a host vehicle position detecting unit that detects a host vehicle position, and a host vehicle detected by the host vehicle position detecting unit. Map range setting means for setting a map range based on the position.

  According to the present invention, a road map around a road having a special shape such as a roundabout can be displayed in an easily understandable manner.

  A configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. This navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, and creates and displays a map that summarizes a normal map (hereinafter referred to as a summary map) by simplifying a road shape based on the normal map. . 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current location detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, an input device 17, and a disk drive 18. The disc drive 18 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 19 in which map data is recorded.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various processes and controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. The control circuit 11 performs a summary map creation process as will be described later, whereby a summary map is created based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19 and displayed on the display monitor 16.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects a vehicle speed, and a GPS sensor that detects a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. 14c and the like. The navigation device 1 determines a range for creating a summary map, a route search start point, and the like based on the current location of the host vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14 and displays the current location on the summary map.

  The image memory 15 stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes road map drawing data for displaying a summary map, various graphic data, and the like, which are created by a summary map creation process of the control circuit 11. The display monitor 16 displays a summary map on the screen using the image data stored in the image memory 15 and provides it to the user under the control of the control circuit 11.

  The input device 17 has various input switches for the user to set a destination and a transit point (hereinafter simply referred to as a destination), which is realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. The user can set a destination by specifying a place name or a position on a map by operating the input device 17 in accordance with a screen instruction displayed on the display monitor 16.

  The disk drive 18 reads map data for creating a summary map from the loaded DVD-ROM 19. This map data includes route calculation data used to calculate the recommended route to the destination, route guidance data used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route, such as an intersection name and a road name, It includes road data representing roads, background data representing map shapes other than roads, such as rivers, railways, and various facilities (landmarks) on maps.

  In the road data, the minimum unit representing a road section is called a link, and each road is composed of a plurality of links. A point connecting the links, that is, an end point of each link is called a node, and each node has position information (coordinate information). The link shape, that is, the shape of the road is determined based on the position information of the node. In order to express a complicated road shape, a point called a bending point or a shape interpolation point may be set in the middle of the link as needed. In the following description, these points are collectively referred to as a node.

  A summary map is created by executing a summary map creation process described later on the road data as described above. Information about the type of road (link type) is set for each link. Although an example using a DVD-ROM is described here, the map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  When the destination is set by the user as described above, the navigation device 1 uses the current location detected by the current location detection device 14 as a route search start point, and calculates a route to the destination based on the above-described route calculation data. And a predetermined algorithm. The recommended route thus obtained is displayed on the summary map separately from other roads by changing its display form, for example, display color. Thereby, the user can recognize the recommended route on the summary map on the screen. In addition, the navigation device 1 guides the host vehicle by instructing the traveling direction by an image or voice to the user so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. In this way, the vehicle is guided to the destination.

  A flowchart of the summary map creation process executed in the control circuit 11 is shown in FIG. In step S10, a map range (summary target range) for which a summary map is to be created is set. Here, for example, within a predetermined range from the own vehicle position is set as a summary target range.

  In step S20, a roundabout road is extracted within the summary target range by determining whether or not there is a roundabout within the summary target range set in step S10. A roundabout is also called a roundabout or a roundabout, and is a special road having a circular shape that allows an entering vehicle to go around only in a predetermined direction. Whether or not the roundabout is determined may be determined based on a link type set in advance in the map data, or may be determined from a road shape. If there is a roundabout within the range to be summarized, the process proceeds to step S30. However, if there is no roundabout within the summary target range, the process proceeds to step S50 without executing the processes of steps S30 and S40 as described below.

  In step S30, the figure approximates the road shape of the roundabout determined to be within the summary target range in step S20, and replaces the roundabout with the summary map (hereinafter referred to as an approximate figure). . At this time, the approximate figure is represented by a function using the map coordinate value as a variable, and the approximate figure is calculated by deriving a function that has a shape closest to the original roundabout. The function representing the approximate figure is obtained by using an optimization calculation such as a least square method based on the original road shape. Specifically, a function representing an approximate figure is derived as described below.

Since a roundabout generally has a shape close to a circle or an ellipse, a round or an ellipse is used as an approximate figure of the roundabout. A function representing this approximate figure is shown in the following formula (1). By creating a summary map by replacing the roundabout portion with a circular or elliptical approximate figure represented by Expression (1), the user can easily recognize the presence of the roundabout on the summary map.
(X−x ₀ ) ² / a ² + (y−y ₀ ) ² / b ² = 1 (1)

In Expression (1), x and y represent map coordinate values of the approximate figure. That is, by drawing the locus of the point (x, y) satisfying the condition of Expression (1) on the map, a circular or elliptical approximate figure is represented. x ₀ , y ₀ , a and b all represent constants, and the values of these constants are the closest to the roundabout shape in the original map where the circle or ellipse drawn by equation (1) To be decided. If a and b are not the same in equation (1), an approximate figure of an ellipse is formed, and if a = b, a circular approximate figure is obtained.

For the determination of each of the above constant values, an optimization calculation method of a nonlinear function called a nonlinear least square method can be used. That is, the sum of squares of the distances between the trajectory of equation (1) and each node constituting the original roundabout is calculated, and constants x ₀ , y ₀ , a and b that minimize the value are obtained. Thus, a circular or elliptical approximate figure that most closely approximates the roundabout in the original map is obtained. Since the coordinates (x ₀ , y ₀ ) represent the center point of the approximate figure, if the center point of the original roundabout is known, the constants x ₀ and y ₀ may be determined based on the coordinate values.

  In step S30, an approximate figure is calculated by obtaining each constant value of the function of equation (1) as described above.

  In the above description, the approximate figure of a circle or an ellipse represented by the expression (1) is used, but other shapes can also be used as the approximate figure. For example, various figures such as a rectangle, a square, a track course type, a semicircle, a square with rounded corners, a gourd type, and a water drop type can be used as approximate figures. In that case, a function corresponding to the approximate figure is used instead of the equation (1). Furthermore, a plurality of types of figures can be selected, and the closest figure to the original roundabout may be used as an approximate figure. Further, when obtaining each constant value of a function representing an approximate figure, various optimization calculation methods can be used in addition to the least square method.

  In step S40, the roundabout within the summary target range found in step S20 is replaced with the approximate figure calculated in step S30. At this time, the road connected to the roundabout is extended or shortened as necessary, and connected to the approximate figure after replacement.

  In step S50, deformation processing for simplifying the road shape within the summary target range is performed. This deformation process is performed by making the intersection angle of the roads as orthogonal as possible and evolving the roads that follow the roads as straight as possible. The specific method will be described later. In addition, about the approximate figure replaced by the roundabout in step S40, the deformation process is performed within a range satisfying the expression (1) so that the shape is also maintained in the deformation process.

  In step S60, the summary map created by the deformation process in step S50 is displayed on the display monitor 16. As a result, a summary map is displayed that includes the approximate figure of Expression (1) replaced with the roundabout in step S40 and roads other than the roundabout whose shape has been simplified by the deformation process in step S50. In step S70, the vehicle position and the traveling direction are displayed on the summary map displayed in step S60. After executing Step S70, the processing flow of FIG. A summary map creation process is performed as described above, and a summary map is displayed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the summary map created as described above. FIG. 3A shows a map before summarization, and the roundabout road shape indicated by reference numeral 20 is shown on the map as it is. FIG. 3B shows a map after summarization, in which the roundabout is replaced by a circular approximate figure indicated by reference numeral 21 and the shapes of other road shapes are simplified.

  Next, the deformation process executed in step S50 of FIG. 2 will be described. In the deformation process, as described above, the road crossing angle is orthogonalized as much as possible, and the road shape that progresses as straight as possible is simplified. Such processing is realized by a known processing method called orthogonal / linearization processing. The contents of the orthogonal / straightening process will be described below.

  The orthogonalization / straightening process sets the position of each node including the end point and bending point of each link in the road map as an initial arrangement, and evaluates an optimization processing loop that rearranges each node based on a predetermined evaluation function. This is done by repeating until the convergence condition of the function is satisfied. The evaluation function includes a first term indicating preservation of road length, a second term indicating road orthogonalization, and a third term indicating direct evolution of the road. That is, (A) Save the road length as it is as the initial value (preserve the road length), (B) Make the intersection angle between the roads as orthogonal as possible (orthogonalization of the road), (C) Make the road Orthogonal / straightening processing is performed with the ultimate goal of evolving the road ahead as much as possible (direct evolution of the road).

Specifically, the first term E1 indicating the preservation of the road length described in (A) above, the second term E2 indicating the orthogonalization of the road described in (B) above, and the above (C) The evaluation function E including the third term E3 indicating the direct evolution of the road described above is set as in the following equation (2). Based on the evaluation function E, optimization processing for obtaining E1, E2, and E3 that minimizes the value of the evaluation function E is performed, and the nodes and shape interpolation points of each link are rearranged according to the result. As a result, orthogonal / linearization processing is performed.
E = E1 + E2 + E3 (2)

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the orthogonal / direct evolution process. In the orthogonal / linear evolution processing, each point is rearranged based on the initial placement step S51 for setting the initial placement of the points (nodes and shape interpolation points) constituting each link and the evaluation function E of Expression (2). A rearrangement step S53 for performing the determination, a convergence determination step S54 for determining a convergence of the rearrangement result, and an optimization processing loop step S52.

  In the initial placement step S51, the initial shape of the road map is input based on the map data, and is set as the initial placement of each point on the link including the end points and the bending points. In the rearrangement step S53, from the first term E1 indicating the preservation of the road length in the equation (2), the second term E2 indicating the orthogonalization of the road, and the third term E3 indicating the direct evolution of the road. Each node is rearranged based on the above evaluation function E. In the convergence determination step S54, it is determined whether or not a predetermined convergence condition is satisfied. In the optimization processing loop step S52, the relocation step S53 and the convergence determination step S54 are repeated until it is determined in the convergence determination step S54 that the convergence condition is satisfied.

  By executing each of the above steps, it is possible to make the crossing angle between the roads as orthogonal as possible while keeping the road length as the initial value as much as possible, and to make the road proceeding along the road as straight as possible. Here, the road proceeding along the road represents a road having high straightness at the intersection, and the combination having the smallest difference in elevation at the intersection is determined to have high straightness when the elevation difference is small. That is, in the orthogonal / direct evolution processing, an optimum node arrangement is obtained while rearranging the nodes based on the evaluation function E. Thereby, even if it is a shape where a plurality of roads intersect complicatedly, effective deformation is enabled.

  When setting the evaluation function E of Expression (2), the terms E1 to E3 are set as follows. The first term E1 indicating the preservation of the road length is a function that is minimized when the road length is the initial value and increases as the difference from the initial value increases, for example, so as to preserve the road length with the initial value as much as possible. Set.

  In the second term E2 indicating the orthogonalization of the road, for example, a function that becomes the minimum when the intersection angle of the road is an ideal angle is set so that the intersection angle of the road is orthogonalized as much as possible. Here, the ideal angle is a value obtained by normalizing the initial angle in units of 90 degrees, and when the topology preservation condition such as the sum of the intersection angles around the node being 360 degrees is not satisfied, for example, By taking measures such as renormalization at an angle of 1/2, the topology preserving condition is set as much as possible.

  The third term E3 indicating the straight evolution of the road is minimized when, for example, the intersection angle is 180 degrees with respect to a combination of roads that are highly straight ahead at the intersection so that the road that follows the road evolves as much as possible. Set the function. In the determination of the straightness at the intersection, for example, it is determined that the straightness is high when the difference in the elevation angle is equal to or less than the threshold in a combination that minimizes the difference in the elevation angle. As indicated by the third term E3, the orthogonal / direct evolution processing aims to make the roads as orthogonal as possible rather than normalizing the road directions. Therefore, the problem that the result differs depending on the orientation of the first map is solved, and deformation that does not depend on coordinate rotation is enabled.

  A specific method for setting the terms E1, E2, and E3 of the evaluation function E is shown in FIG. FIG. 5A shows a setting method of the first term E1 indicating preservation of the road length. The first term E1 is calculated as the sum of terms corresponding to each of the links connecting the nodes. FIG. 5B shows a setting method of the second term E2 indicating the orthogonalization of the road. The second term E2 is calculated as the sum of terms corresponding to each of the relative angles between adjacent links. FIG. 5C shows a setting method of the third term E3 indicating the direct evolution of the road. The third term E3 is calculated as the sum of terms corresponding to each of the relative angles between the links determined to go straight at a node to which three or more links are connected.

  As described above, the first term E1 is set as a function that becomes the minimum when the link length is the initial value, for example. The second term E2 is set, for example, as a function that becomes the minimum when the relative angle is an ideal angle. For example, the third term E3 is set as a function that becomes the minimum when the relative angle is 180 degrees.

  By doing so, the first term E1 indicating the preservation of the road length, the second term E2 indicating the orthogonalization of the road, and the third term E3 indicating the straight evolution of the road are comprehensively included. Can be evaluated. As a result, the entire road map can be deformed in a balanced manner and without contradiction.

  Further, by setting the weighting coefficient of each term in the third term E3 indicating the direct evolution of the road depending on the road width, the weighting coefficient of each term is large when the road width is wide, and the road width is narrow. In some cases, it can be set small. By doing so, it is possible to realize a demand to prioritize direct evolution of a wide road. When setting the weighting coefficient of each term, it may be set using the type of road instead of the road width.

  When setting the evaluation function E of Equation (2), the first term indicating the preservation of the road length, the second weighting factor indicating the orthogonalization of the road, and the third term indicating the direct evolution of the road The priority of each term may be changed according to the iteration step by changing the weighting coefficient of each term according to the number of iterations of the optimization processing loop. As a result, the priority of each term can be controlled according to the iteration step, so even if the preservation of the road length, the orthogonalization of the road, and the straight evolution of the road conflict, The contradiction can be resolved and an effective deformation result can be obtained.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of how the number of iterations and the size of each term change when the coefficients of the terms E1, E2, and E3 of the evaluation function E are changed according to the number of iterations. In FIG. 6, (a) is a first term E1 indicating preservation of road length, (b) is a second term E2 indicating road orthogonalization, and (c) is a third term indicating direct evolution of the road. The dependence on the number of iterations of E3 is shown respectively. This figure shows that the weighting coefficient of the first term E1 and the second term E2 is attenuated along with the repetition factor while keeping the weighting coefficient of the third term E3 constant. It represents that the attenuation is performed more rapidly than the second term E2. That is, it represents that the direct evolution of the road is given the highest priority, followed by the orthogonalization of the road and the preservation of the road length in this order. As described above, by appropriately changing the weighting coefficient of each term, it is possible to realize a request to give the highest priority to the direct evolution of the road and to prioritize the orthogonalization of the road over the preservation of the road length.

  By performing the orthogonalization / linearization processing as described above, the deformation processing is executed in step S50 of FIG. As a result, the shape of the road is simplified and a summary map is created.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) A road having a predetermined special shape such as a roundabout is extracted within a predetermined summary target range (step S20), and a function representing an approximate figure approximating the road is derived (step S30). Then, the road is replaced with an approximate figure represented by the derived function (step S40). A map including the approximate figure replaced in this way is displayed on the display monitor 16 (step S60). Since it did in this way, the road map around the road which has a special shape like a roundabout can be displayed clearly.

(2) In step S30, a function representing a circle or an ellipse is derived as a function representing an approximate figure approximated to a roundabout. Since it did in this way, a suitable approximate figure can be calculated | required about the roundabout which has the shape close | similar to circular or an ellipse generally.

(3) Since the value of each constant of the function is obtained using the least square method when the function representing the approximate figure is derived in step S30, the value of each constant can be obtained easily and reliably.

(4) The road shape within the summary target range is simplified by the deformation process (step S50), and a summary map including the approximate figure replaced with the roundabout and the road with the simplified shape is displayed (step S60). As a result, a map that is easier to understand can be displayed.

  In the above embodiment, the roundabout has been described as an example of a road having a special shape. However, the road may be applied to other roads. For example, the present invention can be applied to a side road of a three-dimensional intersection. Moreover, it is good also as applying to a railroad etc. besides a road. Also for these, a function representing an approximate figure can be derived and replaced by a method similar to that described above.

  In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the navigation device reads map data from a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM to create a summary map, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even a device other than a navigation device such as a personal computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or a mobile phone can be applied to various devices that generate and display a map based on map data. The present invention can also be applied to a communication navigation apparatus that downloads map data from an information distribution center using wireless communication using a mobile phone or the like. In this case, the summary map creation process as described above may be performed in the information distribution center, and the result may be output as a signal from the information distribution center and distributed to the navigation device. That is, the information distribution center includes a device that creates a summary map and a device that outputs the summary map to the outside.

  Each embodiment and various modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

  In the above embodiment, the vehicle position detection means is set by the current position detection device 14, and the other means are realized by the processing of the control circuit 11. Specifically, the map range setting means is realized by step S10, the extraction means is step S20, the derivation means is step S30, the replacement means is step S40, the deformation means is step S50, and the display control means is realized by step S60. Yes. However, this is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, there is no limitation or restriction on the correspondence between the description items of the above-described embodiments and the description items of the claims.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of a summary map creation process. It is an example of the produced | generated summary map, (a) represents the map before a summary, (b) represents the map after a summary, respectively. 5 is a flowchart of orthogonal / direct evolution processing. This is a specific method for setting the terms E1, E2 and E3 of the evaluation function E. It is the figure which showed an example of the mode of a change of the frequency | count of repetition and the magnitude | size of each term when the coefficient of each term E1, E2, and E3 of the evaluation function E is changed according to the frequency | count of repetition.

Explanation of symbols

1 Navigation device 11 Control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 17 Input device 18 Disk drive 19 DVD-ROM

Claims (5)

Extraction means for extracting a specially shaped road having a predetermined special shape from within a predetermined map range;
Derivation means for deriving a function representing an approximate figure approximating the special shape road extracted by the extraction means;
Replacement means for replacing the specially shaped road extracted by the extracting means with an approximate figure represented by the function derived by the deriving means;
A map generation apparatus comprising: a display control means for displaying a map including the approximate graphic replaced by the replacement means on a display monitor. The map generation device according to claim 1,
The special shape road includes a roundabout,
The derivation means derives a function representing a circle or an ellipse as a function representing an approximate figure approximating the roundabout. The map generation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The map generation apparatus characterized in that the derivation means obtains a value of each constant of the function using a least square method when deriving a function representing the approximate figure. The map generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further comprising a deformation means for simplifying the road shape within the map range,
The map generation apparatus characterized in that the display control means displays a summary map including an approximate figure replaced by the replacement means and a road whose shape is simplified by the deforming means on a display monitor. The map generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own vehicle position;
An in-vehicle information terminal comprising: a map range setting unit that sets the map range based on the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection unit.

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