JP2007205983A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a navigation system for avoiding dangerous places which are predicted in disaster occurrence without extra costs. <P>SOLUTION: When disaster information transmitted from a disaster information center is received in disaster occurrence (step S10), the determination whether a self-vehicle is located in a disaster occurrence area is made (step S20) and then a nearest evacuation site is specified at a target place when the vehicle is located in the disaster occurrence area. Then, the dangerous places predicted by the disaster is specified based on the topographic data in map data (step S50); an avoidance route that avoids the dangerous places to reach the target place is searched (step S60); and the self-vehicle is introduced (step S70). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle.

  When an emergency signal transmitted from a road traffic information communication system (VICS) center is received in the event of a disaster, it is possible to search the information on the predicted dangerous spot recorded in the database according to the type of disaster and to avoid the predicted dangerous spot A navigation device that searches for a guidance route and guides a vehicle is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-321323 A

  In order to realize the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to investigate in advance a dangerous event predicted at the time of a disaster and its occurrence location, and record the investigation result in the database as information on the predicted danger location. There is. Therefore, an extra cost for the survey cost is generated as compared with a normal navigation device.

The navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a map data acquisition means for acquiring map data including terrain data, a reception means for receiving disaster information transmitted when a disaster occurs, and a map upon receiving disaster information by the reception means. Based on the terrain data included in the map data acquired by the data acquisition means, the purpose is to avoid the dangerous spot specified by the dangerous spot specifying means that identifies the dangerous spot that is predicted when a disaster occurs, and the dangerous spot specified by the dangerous spot specifying means And an avoidance route search means for searching for an avoidance route to the ground.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device of the first aspect, when the terrain data represents geological information, and the type of disaster that has occurred is an earthquake, the dangerous location identifying means is based on the geological information represented by the terrain data. The place where the ground is loose is identified as a dangerous place.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device of the first aspect, when the terrain data represents altitude information, and the type of disaster that has occurred is heavy rain, the dangerous point identifying means is based on the altitude information represented by the terrain data. , A place with a low elevation is identified as a dangerous place.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the second or third aspect, the disaster information represents the type of disaster that has occurred, and the dangerous part identifying means determines the type of disaster that has occurred based on the disaster information. .
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the avoidance route search means searches for an avoidance route by setting the nearest evacuation place as a destination.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device of the fifth aspect, the avoidance route search means selects an evacuation place from a place that does not correspond to a dangerous place.
The invention according to claim 7 is the navigation device according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising determination means for determining whether or not the own vehicle is in a disaster occurrence area, and the avoidance route searching means is determined by the determination means. Only when it is determined that is within the disaster occurrence area, the nearest evacuation place is set as the destination and the avoidance route is searched.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device of the seventh aspect, the disaster information represents a disaster occurrence area, and the determination means determines whether or not the own vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area based on the disaster information. Is.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the navigation apparatus which avoids the dangerous location estimated at the time of disaster occurrence without producing extra cost is realizable.

  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, displays the searched recommended route on a road map, and guides the host vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route. Furthermore, the host vehicle can be guided so as to avoid a predicted dangerous spot when a disaster occurs. A navigation device 1 shown in FIG. 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, a disaster information receiving unit 18, and a disk drive 19. The disk drive 19 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 20 on which map data is recorded.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and executes a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Thereby, for example, various processes and controls such as setting a destination, searching for a recommended route, and displaying a road map are performed in the navigation device 1.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle, that is, the location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro sensor 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects a vehicle speed, It consists of various sensors, such as a GPS sensor 14c for detecting. The navigation device 1 can determine a route search start point, which will be described later, based on the vehicle position detected by the current position detection device 14, or can display a vehicle position mark on a road map.

  The image memory 15 temporarily stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes road map drawing data for displaying a road map, various graphic data, and the like, and is created by the control circuit 11 based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 20. The created image data is output from the control circuit 11 to the image memory 15, whereby a road map is displayed on the display monitor 16.

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

  The disaster information receiving unit 18 receives disaster information transmitted from a disaster information center (not shown) to the navigation device 1. The disaster information center is a facility for providing a service for transmitting, to the navigation device 1, disaster information that represents information on the type of disaster and the area where the disaster occurred when an occurrence of a disaster such as an earthquake or heavy rain is observed. . For transmission of disaster information from the disaster information center, for example, radio broadcasting or a mobile phone line can be used. Disaster information may be transmitted as part of VICS information provided by a road traffic information communication system (VICS).

  The disk drive 19 reads map data for displaying a road map from the loaded DVD-ROM 20. This map data includes route calculation data used for route search, route guidance data such as intersection names and road names used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route, road data representing roads, etc. ing. The map data also includes background data representing map elements other than roads such as rivers, railways, various facilities on the map (landmarks), and the like. Furthermore, terrain data representing terrain information such as altitude and geology is also recorded in the map data.

  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 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.

  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, a hard disk, or a memory card. Or it is good also as receiving the map data transmitted via a mobile telephone line etc. from the outside, and using the map data. That is, any method may be used for acquiring map data.

  When the user operates the input device 17 to set the destination, 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 predetermined algorithm based on the above-described route calculation data. By doing so, a route search from the present location to the destination is performed. The recommended route obtained as a result of the route search is displayed on the road map separately from other roads by changing its display form, for example, display color. Thus, the user can recognize the recommended route on the road map displayed on the display monitor 16. 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, route guidance to the destination is performed by displaying the road map and guiding the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route.

  Next, the operation of the navigation device 1 when a disaster occurs will be described. The navigation apparatus 1 receives the disaster information transmitted from the disaster information center when a disaster occurs by the disaster information receiving unit 18 as described above. The disaster information receiving unit 18 outputs the received disaster information to the control circuit 11.

  When the disaster information receiving unit 18 receives the disaster information, the control circuit 11 performs the following processing. First, based on the disaster occurrence area represented by the received disaster information and the own vehicle position at the time of receiving the disaster information, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area. When the vehicle position is within the disaster occurrence area, the driver is notified of the occurrence of the disaster by outputting a warning corresponding to the type of the disaster by voice or screen display.

  When the driver is notified of the occurrence of a disaster as described above, the nearest evacuation site is automatically set as the destination. Here, the evacuation place set as the destination may be selected from the places set in advance as the evacuation designated place in the map data. Or you may choose from the place which does not correspond to a dangerous place like the after-mentioned. That is, when the type of disaster that occurred is an earthquake, it is possible to select one of the hard places as an evacuation place and set the evacuation place as a destination. When the type of disaster that has occurred is heavy rain, it is possible to select a hill with an altitude higher than the surroundings as an evacuation site and set the evacuation site as a destination.

  After that, the dangerous location predicted for the type of disaster that occurred is specified based on the terrain data among the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 20. For example, when the type of disaster that occurred is an earthquake, based on the geological information represented by the topographic data, a place where the ground is considered to be damaged is identified as a dangerous place. Further, when the type of disaster that occurred is heavy rain, based on the altitude information represented by the topographic data, a low altitude location considered to be at risk of flooding is identified as a dangerous location.

  After identifying the dangerous place as described above, an avoidance route that reaches the evacuation place set as the destination by avoiding the dangerous place is searched based on the map data. If the avoidance route can be searched, the vehicle is guided to the evacuation site according to the avoidance route.

  Based on the disaster information received by the disaster information receiving unit 18, the processing as described above is executed in the control circuit 11. Thereby, at the time of disaster occurrence, the navigation apparatus 1 can guide the host vehicle so as to avoid the predicted dangerous spot.

  A flowchart showing the flow of the above processing is shown in FIG. This flowchart is executed in the control circuit 11 while the host vehicle is traveling. In step S <b> 10, it is determined whether disaster information from the disaster information center has been received by the disaster information receiving unit 18. If disaster information is received, it will progress to the following step S20.

  In step S20, based on the disaster occurrence area information included in the disaster information received in step S10 and the own vehicle position detected by the current location detection device 14, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area. judge. If it is determined that the host vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area, the process proceeds to step S30. If it is determined that the vehicle is outside the disaster occurrence area, the process proceeds to step S80. Hereinafter, the case where the process proceeds to step S30 will be described.

  In step S30, a warning based on the screen display of the display monitor 16 or audio output is output. At this time, based on the disaster type information included in the disaster information received in step S10, a warning with contents corresponding to the type of disaster that has occurred is output.

  In step S40, the evacuation place located closest to the vehicle position is set as the destination. This evacuation place is selected from a place set in advance in the map data as described above or a place that does not correspond to the dangerous place specified in the next step S50.

  In step S50, the dangerous location predicted for the type of disaster that occurred is identified. Here, based on the terrain data among the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 20, in the disaster occurrence area represented by the disaster information received in step S10, as described above, a place with a loose ground or a low altitude. Are identified as dangerous spots.

  In step S60, an avoidance route to the nearest evacuation site set as the destination in step S40 is searched based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 20, while avoiding the dangerous location specified in step S50. At this time, if the dangerous location cannot be completely avoided because the location of the vehicle and all roads to be passed are included in the dangerous location, the passing distance of the dangerous location will be as short as possible. It is preferable to search for such a route as an avoidance route.

  In step S70, the host vehicle is guided to the nearest evacuation site that is the destination in accordance with the avoidance route searched in step S60. If step S70 is performed, the flowchart of FIG. 2 will be complete | finished. In this way, the host vehicle is guided so as to avoid a dangerous spot predicted when a disaster occurs.

  Next, a case where the process proceeds from step S20 to step S80 will be described. In step S80, it is determined whether or not the route at that time, that is, the route searched for the destination set before receiving the disaster information in step S10, passes through the disaster occurrence area.

  When the route passes through the disaster occurrence area, the process proceeds to step S90, and a warning corresponding to the type of disaster that has occurred is output in step S90 in the same manner as in step S30. At this time, if the vehicle follows the current route, the vehicle will pass through the disaster occurrence area. Therefore, a notification that the route should be reset so that the destination can be reached while avoiding the disaster occurrence area should be provided. Is preferred. After step S90, the process proceeds to step S50, and the processes from step S50 to step S70 as described above are executed. That is, after identifying a dangerous location based on the topographic data in the map data, searching for an avoidance route to the destination by avoiding the dangerous location, the vehicle is guided to the destination. The destination at this time is not the nearest evacuation place set in step S40, but the destination set before receiving the disaster information.

  On the other hand, when the route does not pass through the disaster occurrence area, or when the destination is not set and the route is not searched, the flowchart of FIG. 2 is finished as it is, and the state before receiving the disaster information is returned.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) Map data including terrain data is acquired from the DVD-ROM 20 using the disk drive 19, and disaster information transmitted from the disaster information center when a disaster occurs is received by the disaster information receiving unit 18. When the disaster information is received, the dangerous location predicted at the time of disaster occurrence is specified based on the map data included in the acquired map data (step S50), and the avoidance route to the destination by avoiding the specified dangerous location (Step S60). As a result, the risk that is predicted when a disaster occurs can be predicted using the terrain data included in the map data, without incurring the extra cost of investigating the dangerous event that is predicted when the disaster occurs and its location in advance. The place can be avoided.

(2) When the type of disaster that occurred is an earthquake, in step S50, based on the geological information represented by the topographic data, a place where the ground is loose is identified as a dangerous location. Since it did in this way, the place considered that the damage by an earthquake is large can be specified as a dangerous place.

(3) If the type of disaster that occurred is heavy rain, in step S50, a location with a low elevation is identified as a dangerous location based on the elevation information represented by the topographic data. Since it did in this way, the place considered that there is a danger of flooding can be specified as a dangerous place.

(4) Since the type of disaster that has occurred is determined based on the disaster information, the type of disaster that has occurred can be determined easily and accurately.

(5) Since the nearest evacuation place is set as the destination (step S40) and the avoidance route is searched, the host vehicle can be promptly guided to the evacuation place when a disaster occurs.

(6) When setting the nearest evacuation place as the destination in step S40, if the evacuation place is selected from the places not corresponding to the dangerous place, the nearest evacuation place can be selected without setting the evacuation place in the map data in advance. An evacuation site can be set as a destination.

(7) It is determined whether or not the own vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area (step S20), and only when it is determined that the own vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area, the own vehicle determines the nearest evacuation place in step S40. It was decided to search for avoidance routes by setting the destination. As a result, if the vehicle is in the disaster area and needs to be evacuated, the vehicle is promptly guided to the evacuation site, and the vehicle is not in the disaster area and evacuation is not required. It is possible to prevent the vehicle from being guided to the evacuation site in vain.

(8) When it is determined in step S20 whether or not the host vehicle is in the disaster occurrence area, the determination is made based on the disaster information. It can be determined whether or not there is.

  In the above embodiment, the disaster information receiving unit 18 and the map data obtaining unit are realized by the disk drive 19 and the DVD-ROM 20, respectively, and the other dangerous point specifying unit, avoidance route searching unit, and determining unit are controlled. This is realized by the processing of the circuit 11. However, the above description is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, there is no limitation or restriction on the correspondence between the items described in the above embodiment and the items described in the claims. Moreover, each embodiment described above and various modifications are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process performed by a navigation apparatus.

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 Disaster information receiving unit 19 Disk drive 20 DVD-ROM

Claims (8)

Map data acquisition means for acquiring map data including terrain data;
A receiving means for receiving disaster information transmitted in the event of a disaster;
When receiving disaster information by the receiving means, based on the terrain data included in the map data acquired by the map data acquiring means, a dangerous location specifying means for specifying a dangerous location that is predicted when a disaster occurs,
A navigation apparatus comprising: avoidance route search means for searching for an avoidance route that reaches the destination while avoiding the danger location specified by the danger location specifying means. The navigation device according to claim 1.
The terrain data represents geological information,
The navigation apparatus characterized in that, when the type of disaster that has occurred is an earthquake, the dangerous part specifying means specifies a place where the ground is loose as a dangerous part based on the geological information represented by the topographic data. The navigation device according to claim 1.
The terrain data represents elevation information,
The navigation device characterized in that, when the type of disaster that has occurred is heavy rain, the dangerous location identifying means identifies a location with a low elevation as a dangerous location based on elevation information represented by the topographic data. The navigation device according to claim 2 or 3,
The disaster information represents the type of disaster that occurred,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dangerous part specifying means determines a type of disaster that has occurred based on the disaster information. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the avoidance route searching means searches for the avoidance route by setting a nearest evacuation place as a destination. The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the avoidance route search means selects the evacuation place from a place that does not correspond to the dangerous place. The navigation device according to claim 5 or 6,
A determination means for determining whether or not the host vehicle is in a disaster occurrence area;
The avoidance route search means sets the nearest evacuation place as a destination and searches for the avoidance route only when the determination means determines that the host vehicle is in a disaster occurrence area. Navigation device. The navigation device according to claim 7, wherein
The disaster information represents a disaster occurrence area,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the host vehicle is in a disaster occurrence area based on the disaster information.

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