JP2007113918A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus capable of understanding travel trajectory of one's own vehicle with a language. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes a detecting means 10 and 12 for detecting the position of one's own vehicle, a travel trajectory creating means 66 for creating language information expressing the travel trajectory of one's own vehicle based on the detection result of the detecting means and storing the language information, and output means 52 and 32 for outputting the language information stored by the travel trajectory creating means. The travel trajectory creating means includes a determining means for determining whether the travel state varies, and updates the language information when the travel state is determined to vary. Preferably, the determining means determines that the travel state varies when the travel road name varies, when the vehicle passes an intersection, or when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle or the like, and more particularly to creation of a travel locus of a vehicle.

  The navigation device detects the vehicle position, draws map data around the vehicle position on the display, displays the vehicle mark on the map, and scrolls the map when the vehicle position changes. It is used to guide a road map, search for an optimal route to a destination, and guide to the destination by the searched route.

  As shown in Patent Document 1, some navigation devices have a function of storing a travel locus of a vehicle in a memory. In this document, based on a stored travel locus, travel guidance information on roads and intersections is presented to the user to assist the user in learning the route and the route.

JP 2003-287425 A

  In the conventional navigation apparatus, the traveling locus of the own vehicle is stored as two-dimensional coordinate data. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the own vehicle is traveling on the road R, the traveling locus to the own vehicle position mark M2 is the coordinate position (circle in the figure) P1, P2 on the link of the road R. ... created by sampling Pn at 10 or 15 meter intervals and stored.

  Such travel locus data cannot easily recognize what route the vehicle has traveled unless it is drawn on a road map. For example, when a user encounters an accident while traveling and explains the travel locus to the accident site to others, or when he finds a favorite store while traveling and explains how to get to that store, only from the coordinate data Then, it is not possible to explain which road the vehicle has traveled and which intersection has made a right or left turn. Further, such travel locus data cannot be used in a navigation device that is not compatible with the navigation device of the own vehicle, an external personal computer, a portable terminal, or the like, and lacks versatility.

The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can express a travel locus of a host vehicle in a language.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can use the traveling locus of the host vehicle in electronic devices such as other incompatible navigation devices.

  A navigation device according to the present invention includes a detection unit that detects a position of a host vehicle, language information that represents a travel locus of a vehicle based on a detection result of the detection unit, a travel locus creation unit that stores the language information, and a travel Output means for outputting linguistic information stored by the trajectory creation means.

  Preferably, the travel locus creation means includes determination means for determining whether or not a change has occurred in the travel state, and updates the language information when it is determined that the change has occurred in the travel state. Preferably, the determination means determines that a change has occurred in the running state when the road name changes, when an intersection is passed, or when an intersection is turned right or left. In addition, when it is determined that the traveling state has changed, the travel locus creation unit may create a new section file and create language information to be stored in the new section file.

  The language information can include text information or character information and image information related to the text information or character information. For example, when the text information includes an expression of turning left at the B intersection, the image information for guiding the intersection of the B intersection may be associated and stored.

  Furthermore, the language information may include a combination of text information or character information and a symbol. For example, a character string such as traveling on national highway X, turning left at intersection B, and traveling on prefectural road Z and the character strings may be connected by a symbol such as an arrow.

  Further, the output means includes any of a display for displaying language information, a storage medium for storing language information, or a communication means for transmitting language information to an external device. Since the language information representing the travel locus is output, the travel locus can be easily recognized even by an external device that is not compatible with the navigation device of the host vehicle.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, the language information representing the traveling locus of the vehicle is created and stored, so that the traveling locus can be easily explained to a third party by looking at the created language information. can do. Or the third party who showed the linguistic information can recognize a run locus easily. Furthermore, even if the electronic device is not compatible with the navigation device of the host vehicle, the travel path can be easily recognized by displaying or printing the output language information.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to the present invention. The navigation device 1 receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures a current position and a current direction of the vehicle, a self-contained navigation sensor 12 including a vehicle speed sensor and a gyro sensor, and an antenna 14. VICS / FM multiple receiver 16 for receiving current road traffic information, touch panel 22, user input interface 20 including voice input unit 24 and remote control operation unit 26, storage device 30 having a large-capacity hard disk, data by wireless or wired Data communication control unit 32 enabling communication, audio output unit 40 for outputting sound from speaker 42, display control unit 50 for displaying image on display 52, program memory 60 for storing program, data memory for temporarily storing data 70, vehicle by in-car communication such as vehicle bus It includes a state detection unit 80 and the control unit 90 detects the running state.

  The storage device 30 stores a program and a database for executing various navigation functions. The program includes functions necessary for navigation such as route search to a destination, creation of travel locus data, and other route guidance.

  The database includes map data, facility data, and the like, and the map data includes road (link) data and intersection data related to roads. Link data is data related to roads connecting intersections, node data indicating the coordinates of the start and end points of roads, type data indicating road types (national roads, ordinary roads, prefectural roads, etc.), width, and regulations. In addition to data such as the number of lanes (for example, one-way traffic), information on the link cost used for route search or the time required for the link is included. The intersection data includes restriction data relating to the coordinate position of the intersection, the name of the intersection, the right / left turn of the intersection, and the like. The facility data includes information such as the location and name of restaurants, parking lots, shops, buildings, and many other landmarks.

  The data communication control unit 32 enables data communication with an external network or an external electronic device via an internal communication function or an external communication function such as a mobile communication terminal. For example, it communicates with other navigation devices or performs data communication with a mobile phone or a network server.

  The program memory 60 loads a program stored in the storage device 30 and stores, for example, a program 62 that searches for a route to a destination, a program 64 that provides route guidance, a program 66 that creates travel locus data, and the like. The data memory 70 stores map data 72 read from the storage device 30, route data 74 searched for a route, travel locus data 76 created, and the like. It is also possible to use an external memory that can be attached to and detached from the navigation device.

  The state detection unit 80 is connected to the vehicle bus, detects a vehicle speed pulse signal of the own vehicle, steering wheel steering angle information, parking information, and the like, and outputs these signals to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 determines the traveling state of the vehicle based on the signal from the state detection unit 80, and further controls the navigation operation according to various programs stored in the program memory 60 in response to an instruction from the user interface 20. .

  The navigation apparatus according to the present invention has a novel feature regarding creation and output of vehicle travel locus data. Hereinafter, the operation will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a general operation flow for creating travel locus data. When the ACC power of the navigation device is turned off (step S101), the vehicle position is detected by the GPS receiver 10 and / or the self-contained navigation sensor 12 (step S102). The control unit 90 reads map data around the vehicle position from the storage device 30, and the map data is displayed on the display 52 by the display control unit 50. Further, the control unit 90 performs map matching on the detected vehicle position to the link data, and displays the vehicle position mark on the road (step S103).

  Along with the start of traveling of the host vehicle, the control unit 90 creates travel locus data (step S104). The control unit 90 creates a travel locus management table as shown in FIG. 3 when creating the travel locus data. The traveling locus management table includes an identification number for identifying the traveling locus data, a date and time when the traveling locus data was created, a starting point and an ending point of the traveling locus, and the traveling locus data is stored in the storage device 30 in association with the identification number. Saved in. The start point is a point at which the vehicle starts to travel, and for example, its address is registered. The end point is a point at which the travel locus ends. For example, the address and the destination are registered.

  It should be noted here that the generated travel locus data is language information representing the travel locus of the host vehicle. Of course, you may make it produce the coordinate position of the own vehicle collectively. Language information, for example, expresses the name of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the name of the intersection where the vehicle has passed, the right / left turn of the intersection, the distance traveled, etc., in text or text combining characters, character strings, symbols, etc. Is. Details of the travel locus data will be described later.

  When the traveling of the host vehicle is stopped, the creation of the travel locus data is finished (step S105), and the created travel locus data is stored in the storage device 30 (step S106).

  In addition, the start of running track data is automatically started not only when the ACC power is turned off, but also when an instruction from the user is input, when searching for a route to the destination, or when registering a favorite point. May be performed automatically. Further, the creation of the travel locus data may be terminated when an instruction from the user is input or when the destination is reached, in addition to when the vehicle is stopped.

  Next, an example of creating travel locus data will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. The travel locus data is composed of a plurality of section files indicating the travel locus from the start point to the end point, and a new section file is generated and added each time the traveling state of the vehicle changes. To do.

  When creating the travel locus data, the controller 90 first creates the section file # 1 (step S201). The section file # 1 represents a traveling locus including the starting point of the traveling locus, and the control unit 90 stores the language information in the section file # 1 (step S202). The language information is created corresponding to the traveling state of the vehicle. For example, when the host vehicle is traveling on a road, the road name of the link data, for example, national highway No. X, is extracted by referring to the link data in which the host vehicle position is map-matched, and this is stored in the section file. Store in # 1. Alternatively, if the vehicle passes through an intersection, the name of the intersection is stored in the section file # 1. If there is no intersection name, the name of a landmark existing near the intersection is stored.

  Next, the control unit 90 monitors the traveling state of the host vehicle and determines whether or not a change has occurred in the traveling state (step S203). Changes in driving conditions include, for example, when the name of a running road changes, when crossing an intersection, turning right or left at an intersection, passing a bridge, or performing a steering operation at a constant speed, etc. It is. Whether the road name has changed, whether it has passed an intersection, whether it has passed a bridge, etc. is determined by referring to link data and intersection data that are map-matched based on the vehicle location information can do. The right or left turn at the intersection can be determined from the steering angle of the state detection unit 80 or the traveling direction of the vehicle of the self-contained navigation sensor 12. The constant speed can be calculated from the number of vehicle speed pulses.

  If the controller 90 determines that a change has occurred in the running state, it creates a new section file # 2 (step S204), and creates language information representing the running locus (step S205). For example, if the road name is changed, the control unit 90 creates language information “running the national highway No. ○” if the road name is changed. Create linguistic information that says “Pass”. If the steering wheel operation is performed at a constant speed, the language information “○ meters from the intersection” is created as the distance between the intersections (the distance traveled on the road). Further, when creating the section file # 2, the control unit 90 stores the travel time traveled in the section file # 1 in the section file # 1.

  For example, the language information may be selected from predetermined language formats. Language formats include, for example, “run on national highway ○”, “run prefectural road ○”, “turn right at intersection ○”, “pass through intersection ○”, “pass through bridge ○”, “stop at ○ meters from intersection ○ A plurality of expressions representing a running state such as “” are prepared, a corresponding one is selected from among them, and a name or number corresponding to “◯” is inserted.

  The created language information is stored in the section file # 2 (step S206), and the above operation creates a new section file each time it is determined that the running state has changed. The linguistic information representing the travel locus is stored.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of travel locus data. The travel locus data in FIG. 5 corresponds to the identification number 1 in the travel locus management table in FIG. 3, and this travel locus data is composed of section files # 1, # 2,. . Each section file is created when a change occurs in the traveling state of the host vehicle, and stores language information indicating a traveling locus at that time and traveling time for each section.

  FIG. 6 is an operation example when the traveling locus data is output. When there is an output instruction from the user (step S301), the control unit 90 displays the travel locus management table shown in FIG. 3 on the display 52 (step S302). When the user selects any travel locus data (step S303), the control unit 90 reads the corresponding travel locus data from the storage device 30 (step S304), and displays the language information on the display 52 (step S305). . When displaying, the control unit 90 sequentially links or edits the language information of the section file.

  FIG. 7 is a display example of the travel locus data shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the language information is expressed by connecting linguistic information with punctuation marks, such as “run on national highway X, turn left at intersection Y, and travel on prefectural road Z,” or As shown in FIG. 7 (b), an arrow symbol is interposed between the language information and the language information, such as "run on national highway X-> turn left at intersection Y-> run on prefectural road C-> ..." You may make it make it. Alternatively, instead of an arrow, it is possible to display such as “running on national road X: turning left at intersection Y: traveling on prefectural road C:. In addition, the travel date and time, travel time, start point, and end point may be displayed together with the language information. The travel time is the total travel time from the section file 1 to the section file n.

  Returning to FIG. 6 again, the control unit 90 displays an output destination selection screen (step S306). This selection screen may be performed in conjunction with the display of the travel locus data of FIG. The output destination displays, for example, a memory medium, an external navigation device, a portable terminal, an external network device, and the like. If a printer or the like is connected, it may be included.

  The control unit 90 outputs the travel locus data to the output destination according to the selection from the user (step S307). For example, when an external device is selected, the control unit 90 transmits language information that is travel locus data to the external device via the data communication control unit 32.

  Next, FIG. 8 shows an operation flow when the travel locus data is edited. Steps S401 to S404 are the same as in the data output example described above. When the travel locus data is read from the storage device 30, the control unit 90 causes the display 52 to display all section files of the relevant travel locus data and their language information (step S405). The user can correct or delete the language information by selecting the section file (step S406). When changing the language information, the character information is input via the input interface 20. If the section file is unnecessary for the user, the section file is deleted.

  Next, a specific example of creating travel locus data will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the vehicle position mark M1 is the start position of the travel locus, and the vehicle position mark M2 is the end point. If your car had such a trajectory, cross the A bridge, turn left at the B intersection, drive along the C road, pass through the D intersection, and turn left at the intersection where you travel 150 meters. Language information “Convenience store E” is created and stored. In this example, the language information of each section file is connected by punctuation marks.

  The language information representing the travel locus can be displayed alone, but may be displayed together with the travel locus drawn on the road map as shown in FIG. If the display supports two-screen display, it may be displayed on each screen.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the language information representing the travel locus is generated and stored. However, in the second embodiment, the image information specified by the language information is added to the language information. It also saves and enables output.

  For example, when the vehicle has a travel locus as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 90 creates language information that turns left at the intersection B, and at the same time, displays an intersection guidance display image displayed on the display 52 during route guidance. Save the data in the section file or save the storage address of the image data. Preferably, the image data is stored in a highly versatile format such as JPEG or BMP.

  When the travel locus data is displayed on a display or the like, or when it is output to another electronic device, image data associated with language information can be displayed. Thus, by combining the language information and the image data, it is possible to easily and easily explain the travel locus such as the destination to a third party.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Deformation / change is possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the travel locus data is configured by a plurality of section files has been shown. However, the section files are not necessarily essential, and language information may be stored in one file.

  The present invention is used as a navigation device capable of recognizing travel locus data by language, and in particular, the travel locus data can be used in an incompatible external device. Furthermore, the navigation device can be used as a navigation system combined with other audio devices and video devices.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the creation flow of the travel locus data in the navigation apparatus of a present Example. It is a figure which shows a driving locus management table. It is an operation | movement flow which shows the example of preparation of the driving locus data by a present Example. It is a figure which shows the example of preparation of travel locus data. It is a flow which shows the example of an output of driving locus data. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of language information. It is a flow which shows the example of edit of driving locus data. It is a figure explaining the example of creation of the language information when there exists a specific travel locus. It is a figure explaining preparation and display of conventional run locus data.

Explanation of symbols

1: Navigation device 10: GPS receiver 12: Autonomous navigation sensor 20: User interface 30: Storage device 32: Communication control unit 52: Display 60: Program memory 66: Traveling track creation program 70: Data memory 80: State detection unit 90: Control unit

Claims (11)

A navigation device having a road map guidance function,
Detecting means for detecting the vehicle position;
Based on the detection result of the detection means, creates language information representing the travel locus of the vehicle, and travel locus creation means for storing the language information;
Output means for outputting linguistic information stored by the travel locus creating means;
A navigation device. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the travel locus creating means includes determination means for determining whether or not a change has occurred in the travel state, and updates the language information when it is determined that a change has occurred in the travel state. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the determination means determines that a change has occurred in the running state when the road name changes, when an intersection is passed, or when an intersection is turned right or left. The navigation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the travel locus creating means creates a new section file and creates language information to be stored in the section file when it is determined that a change has occurred in the traveling state. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the language information includes text information or character information and image information related to the text information or character information. The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the language information includes a combination of text information or character information and a symbol. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the language information includes any one of a road name, an intersection name, a landmark name, a travel distance, and a right / left turn at the intersection. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes any one of a display that displays language information, a storage medium that stores language information, or a communication unit that transmits language information to an external device. A method for creating travel locus data in a navigation device,
Detecting the vehicle position, and creating language information representing the traveling locus of the vehicle based on the detection result;
Saving the created language information;
Outputting saved language information; and
For creating travel locus data including The creation method according to claim 9, wherein the step of creating language information is updated every time a change occurs in the traveling state of the host vehicle. The creation method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the language information includes any of a road name, an intersection name, a landmark name, a travel distance, and a right / left turn at the intersection.

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