JP2008008860A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device that guides information of content necessary for a driver in guidance with appropriate timing. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation device includes: an input part 1 accepting request for guidance from a user; a guidance data generation part 41, generating automatic guidance data for automatically performing guidance of a guidance object point and request guidance data for performing guidance, in response to the request from the user; an automatic guidance part 42 performing automatic guidance using the automatic guidance data; and a request guidance part 42 performing request guidance using request guidance data, when there is a request for guidance from the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus that guides a route to a destination, and more particularly to a navigation apparatus that performs guidance guidance by voice.

  In recent years, a car navigation system that calculates a recommended route to a destination and guides the vehicle to the destination while performing guidance guidance has become widespread. Such a car navigation system displays a map centered on the current position on the screen at the time of guidance and displays an enlarged view of an intersection when turning an intersection and also provides guidance by voice. By giving guidance by voice, the driver does not need to check the screen, so that the driver can drive without taking his eyes off from the front even during driving.

  However, the timing of voice guidance in the conventional car navigation system is fixed. When a general road intersection is turned, for example, voice guidance is performed at positions 700 m, 300 m, and 100 m before the intersection to be guided. That is, when the own vehicle reaches a point 700 m before the intersection, voice guidance “about 700 m ahead, XX intersection” is performed. However, the timing and frequency of voice guidance, guidance contents, etc. without considering surrounding conditions such as types of intersections such as three- and four-way intersections, the number of lanes to the intersection, lane width, traffic volume, and traffic information Therefore, the conventional car navigation system has not been able to provide useful information to the driver. On the other hand, some conventional car navigation systems are equipped with a “repeat function”, but the repeat function is a function that guides the contents once guided again with the same contents and does not guide real-time information. Therefore, the driver could not obtain useful information even in a car navigation system equipped with a repeat function.

On the other hand, a navigation device that enables voice output of route guidance information immediately after a driver's request has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). The navigation device of Patent Literature 1 can provide the driver with real-time guidance information including accurate remaining distance information to the intersection to be guided in response to the driver's request.
JP-A-5-99678

  However, the navigation device of Patent Document 1 provides the remaining distance information to the intersection in response to the driver's request, but only the remaining distance information is not necessarily useful information for the driver. Information that the driver wants when turning an intersection includes, for example, information about the name of the intersection and landmarks around the intersection, presence of traffic lights, which direction to turn, the name of the road ahead, the name of the intersection The shape and the number of branches can be considered. For this reason, the navigation device of Patent Document 1 cannot always provide appropriate information to the driver. On the other hand, providing all the information that the driver thinks he / she has had a problem that the driver feels bothered or listens to the voice guidance for a long time, so that his / her consciousness is easily seen.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device capable of guiding information necessary for a user in guidance guidance at an appropriate timing. .

  The object of the present invention is achieved by a navigation device having the following configuration. The navigation device is a navigation device that includes a position detection unit that detects a current position, a map data acquisition unit that can acquire map data, and a route acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure point to a destination based on the map data. An input unit that receives a request for guidance from the user, automatic guidance data for automatically performing guidance guidance on a guidance target point on the route acquired by the route acquisition unit, and guidance according to a request from the user A guidance data generation unit that generates request guidance data for performing guidance, an automatic guidance unit that performs automatic guidance using automatic guidance data, and request guidance data when a user requests guidance guidance. A request guide unit that performs request guidance.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation device capable of guiding information of contents required by a user in guidance guidance at an appropriate timing.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. The navigation device according to the present embodiment provides the driver with information on a point to be guided (hereinafter referred to as a guidance target point) such as an intersection existing on the route, and the route from the departure point to the destination. To guide you. In FIG. 1, the navigation device includes an input unit 1, a position detection unit 2, a data storage unit 3, an arithmetic processing unit 4, and an output unit 5. The arithmetic processing unit 4 includes a guide data generating unit 41 and a guidance guide unit 42.

  The input unit 1 is, for example, a remote controller, a microphone that collects voice, a mobile phone equipped with an IrDA (infrared communication) function, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) that accepts input of instructions from a driver. The driver performs various settings such as destination setting via the input unit 1. Information and operation requests input to the input unit 1 are output to the arithmetic processing unit 4. The input unit 1 includes a switch A and a switch B for the driver to request the start of guidance. In addition, the switch A and the switch B may be separately provided at a position where a driver such as a handle can be easily operated in addition to the remote controller. When the driver presses the switch A, guidance guidance regarding the distance to the guidance target point is performed. On the other hand, when the driver presses the switch B, guidance guidance regarding the landmarks present around the guidance target point is performed. Note that the number of switches for the driver to request the start of guidance guidance is not limited to two, and information serving as landmarks around the guidance target point may be subdivided and assigned to each switch.

  The position detection unit 2 detects the current position, speed, direction, and current time of the vehicle, and includes, for example, a speed sensor, a gyro sensor, and a GPS receiver. The position detection unit 2 may be configured by combining two or more of these sensors and receivers. The speed sensor detects the moving speed of the vehicle. The gyro sensor detects the traveling direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, the GPS receiver receives radio waves from a plurality of satellites, and measures the absolute position of the receiver by demodulating the received radio waves. Information detected by the speed sensor, the gyro sensor, and the GPS receiver is output to the arithmetic processing unit 4, and is used by the arithmetic processing unit 4 for map matching processing described later.

  The data storage unit 3 includes map data, various data used for route search, an automatic guidance timing table 31 used for automatically providing guidance, and request guidance distance information used for providing guidance in response to a driver's request. The basic table 32 is stored, for example, a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, HDD (hard disk drive), memory, or the like. The map data includes road network data used for route search, guidance, map matching, etc. in the arithmetic processing unit 4 and background data used for map display. The road network data is mainly composed of node data indicating intersections and link data indicating roads connecting the nodes. The map data and various data may be downloaded as appropriate from the center facility via a communication unit (not shown) of the mobile phone and stored in the data storage unit 3.

  The arithmetic processing unit 4 performs various processes such as route search, guidance guidance, and map matching, and includes a guidance data generation unit 41 and a guidance guidance unit 42. The guidance data generation unit 41 further includes an automatic guidance generation unit 411 and a request guidance generation unit 412. Here, the route search processing is processing for obtaining a recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the driver via the input unit 1. In the guidance guidance processing, first, the guidance data generation unit 41 generates information necessary for guidance guidance, and then the guidance guidance unit 42 presents guidance information to the destination based on the current position of the vehicle to the driver. It is. Further, the map matching process is a process of correcting the position when the current position on the map of the vehicle is off the road based on information on the current position detected by the position detection unit 2.

  The output unit 5 is, for example, a display device or a speaker that outputs information on a map, the current position of the vehicle, and guidance information. The display device visually displays the above information, and the speaker provides the above information by voice or sound information.

  Next, processing in the navigation device having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main processing procedure in the navigation apparatus. First, in step S101, a destination is set. Specifically, the driver inputs information necessary for specifying the destination by operating the input unit 1 (for example, the destination zip code and address, telephone number), or a map displayed on the display device. Specify the destination from. The arithmetic processing unit 4 sets a destination necessary for the route search based on the operation information input to the input unit 1.

  Subsequently, the process of step S102 acquires a recommended route to the destination. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 4 searches for a route to the destination set in step S101 using the current position detected by the position detection unit 2 as a starting point. As a route search algorithm, for example, the well-known Dijkstra method is used. Here, the recommended route to be acquired is composed of data on nodes and links.

  In the process of step S102, the starting point (departure point) of the route is not limited to the current position of the vehicle, and may be a point input by the driver via the input unit 1. In addition, the driver may be able to set conditions in advance for the route search. For example, before the route search is performed, the driver may operate the input unit 1 to specify the road type, such as whether to give priority to general roads or to give priority to expressways (or toll roads). In such a case, the arithmetic processing unit 4 searches for a route that satisfies the conditions of the road type specified by the driver. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 4 may obtain a plurality of routes from the current position to the destination, or may be configured such that the driver can select one of the plurality of routes as a recommended route.

  When the recommended route is acquired in step S102, the current position of the vehicle is calculated in accordance with the travel of the vehicle in step S103. Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 4 performs map matching using the moving speed and traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 2, the absolute position of the vehicle, and the map data stored in the data storage unit 3. The current position of the vehicle is calculated.

  Next, in step S104, guidance data necessary for guidance guidance is created in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle. That is, the guidance data specifies information on a guidance target point that exists on the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, such as an intersection or a branch point, a traveling direction at the guidance target point, and a guidance target point. Information, road names, and information about the timing for providing these information are included. The guidance data generation process will be described later.

  Subsequently, in step S105, guidance guidance processing is performed. That is, the guidance and guidance unit 42 outputs guidance information by voice at the timing to guide based on the positional relationship between the current position of the vehicle and the guidance target point and the instruction from the driver input to the input unit 1. To output. Here, the guidance guidance in the present embodiment includes “automatic guidance” and “request guidance”. The automatic guidance is guidance automatically performed by the device, for example, when the distance from the current position detected by the position detection unit 2 to the guidance target point is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. On the other hand, the request guidance is an arbitrary guidance given when a request is made from the driver. Therefore, according to the current position of the vehicle and the presence / absence of a request from the driver, the guidance / guidance unit 42 performs automatic guidance or request guidance using the guidance data created in step S104, and obtains sound information represented by voice. Output to the output unit 5.

  Next, in step S106, the arithmetic processing unit 4 determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, in step S107, information indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the destination is provided by the arithmetic processing unit 4 to the driver, and the processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the destination has not been reached, the process returns to step S103 again. Therefore, the processes in steps S103 to S105 are repeated until the destination is reached.

  Next, details of the guidance data generation process in step S104 of FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing guidance data generation processing. As described above, the guidance data is data used for performing guidance guidance, and in this embodiment, the guidance data is composed of automatic guidance data used for automatic guidance and request guidance data used for request guidance. In FIG. 3, first, in step S201, the guidance data generation unit 41 determines whether or not guidance data within a certain distance range from the current position has been generated. For example, it is determined whether or not guidance data is generated within a 10 km range on the recommended route from the current position. In this way, the reason for determining whether or not the guidance data within a certain range has been generated is that the guidance is not started until the vehicle approaches even if the guidance data far from the current position is held, so the processing burden This is to reduce memory consumption and make effective use of storage capacity. Therefore, the guidance data generation unit 41 creates guidance data that is sequentially necessary as the vehicle heads for the destination on the recommended route. Of course, all the guidance data up to the destination may be generated at one time. In addition, when there is a sufficient storage capacity such as a memory, all of the guidance data necessary to arrive at the destination may be generated after the route search process in step S102 of FIG.

  Subsequently, a guidance target point is extracted in step S202. Specifically, an intersection or the like whose course should be changed on the recommended route is extracted as a guidance target point based on an angle of a link connected to the node or the like. The guidance target points to be extracted are not limited to intersections, and include, for example, branch points such as Y-junctions, highway entrances, highway junctions, and the like. When the guidance target point is extracted, the process proceeds to step S203.

  In step S203, it is determined whether there is a guidance target point for which guidance data should be generated among the guidance target points extracted in step S202. If there is a guidance target point where guidance data is to be generated, automatic guidance data is generated (step S204), and then request guidance data is generated (step S205). On the other hand, when there is no guidance target point for which guidance data is to be generated, the guidance data generation process is terminated. As described above, the processing of steps S201 to S205 is repeatedly performed until the guidance data of all the guidance target points existing within a certain distance range from the vehicle position is generated.

  Here, details of the automatic guidance data generation processing in step S204 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the automatic guidance data generation process. As described above, the automatic guidance refers to guidance automatically performed according to the distance from the current position to the guidance target point. Conventional navigation devices perform automatic guidance with predetermined contents and timing regardless of the driver's intention, and thus there is a problem that the driver feels bothered or easily looks aside. Therefore, the navigation device of the present embodiment is configured to automatically guide only the minimum necessary and important information out of a wide variety of information related to the guidance target point, and guide other information according to the driver's request. It is said.

  First, in step S301, for the guidance target point extracted in step S202 of FIG. 3, the link information to enter and the link information to exit are accessed and acquired. The link information includes, for example, road type, road width, number of lanes, road name, and the like. As a result, since the road types of the approach road and the escape road with respect to the guidance target point can be known, it is possible to determine the road type such as whether the guidance target point is an intersection of a general road or an entrance of a highway.

  Next, in step S302, the node information regarding the guidance target point is obtained by accessing the data storage unit 3. The node information includes, for example, the absolute position and name of the guidance target point, traffic regulation information such as a right turn prohibition. In addition, information regarding the road type or the like may be recorded in advance in the node information of the data storage unit 3. In such a case, the type of the guidance target point is acquired by accessing the node type information through the process of step S302.

  Then, the process of step S303 refers to the automatic guidance timing table 31 stored in the data storage unit 3, and acquires timing information corresponding to the road type. FIG. 5 is an example of the automatic guidance timing table 31 stored in the data storage unit 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the automatic guidance timing table 31 stores the relationship between the timing and the phrase or file to be guided at that timing for each road type (point pattern).

  Hereinafter, the data structure of the automatic guidance timing table will be described with reference to FIG. 5 taking the case where the road type is a general road (one lane on one side) as an example. First, the condition 1 is associated with the timing of the point 10 m before the intersection and the phrase “is in the direction of ○”. Accordingly, when guiding the vehicle, when the own vehicle reaches 10 m before the intersection, the phrase “rightward” is guided by voice. Since the point 10 m before the intersection is almost immediately before the intersection, the driver will hear voice guidance immediately before entering the intersection and turning, and can confirm the position of the intersection and the direction to bend. In addition, the condition 2 is associated with the timing of 10m to 80m before the intersection and the reproduction of the music file. Therefore, music is reproduced while the vehicle is traveling 10 m to 80 m before the intersection during guidance. As a result, the driver can easily grasp that the intersection is approaching. Since music files are played instead of phrases, the driver can intuitively recognize that the intersection is approaching and does not feel annoyed. Condition 3 is associated with the timing of the point 100 m before the intersection and phrases such as “This is the next direction” and “This is the next direction”. Accordingly, in the case of guidance, when the name of an intersection exists, when the own vehicle reaches 100 m before the intersection, for example, the phrase “Following the Dainichi intersection” will be guided. Thus, in the automatic guidance timing table 31, the phrase or file to be guided according to the distance to the guidance target point is associated with the timing. In FIG. 5, the timing of the 10m to 80m points and the reproduction of one music file are associated with each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the section 10m to 80m before the intersection may be divided into two sections (10m to 40m section and 40m to 80m section). In such a case, a music file having a faster tempo may be played in a section of 10 m to 40 m than a music file played in a section of 40 m to 80 m. This makes it easier for the driver to grasp that he is approaching the intersection. Similarly, for other point patterns such as general road intersections (two lanes on one side), general road intersections (two or more lanes on one side), highway entrances, highway branches, highway exits, etc. The timing is associated and stored in the automatic guidance timing table. In addition, in order to make it possible to change the course more surely on ordinary roads and highways with two lanes on one side, condition 4 is set, the timing at the 500m to 2000m point in front of the intersection, Associate with a phrase such as “Please stop by the lane soon.”

  In step S303, such an automatic guidance timing table 31 is referred to, and a phrase (file) to be guided and information related to timing are acquired in accordance with a spot pattern where the host vehicle travels.

  If timing information is acquired in step 303, the process of step S304 will generate automatic guidance data. That is, the automatic guidance generation unit 411 generates automatic guidance data, which is specific data necessary for guidance guidance, based on the point node information acquired in step S302 and the timing information acquired in step S303. Note that the automatic guidance generation unit 411 may generate automatic guidance data using the timing numerical values of the conditions shown in the automatic guidance timing table 31 as they are, or information on intersections and roads acquired in steps S301 and S302. The timing numerical value may be changed according to the above. FIG. 6 is an example of the automatic guidance data generated in step S304. Here, as an example, a case is shown in which the vehicle is traveling on a general road with two lanes on one side and turns right at an intersection named Dainichi. In addition, since it was found from the acquired node information that the Dainichi intersection is large in intersection size, the timing numerical value is changed, and automatic guidance data in which the timing to be guided is associated with the phrase or file to be guided at that timing Create That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the automatic guidance generation unit 411 associates the timing of the 20 m point before the Dainichi intersection with “right direction” as the guidance phrase. Similarly, the timing of the intersections 20m to 80m is associated with the file name “Music1.wav” as the music file to be reproduced. In addition, the timing of the 120m point before the intersection and the guidance phrase "Dainichi intersection will be in the right direction". Associate a phrase. As described above, in step S304, automatic guidance data in which a phrase or file to be guided is associated with timing is created.

  The automatic guidance data generated in step S304 need not satisfy all the conditions recorded in the automatic guidance timing table 31. For example, the reproduction of the music file in condition 2 may be omitted. In addition, since guidance for condition 1 is obvious if the vehicle enters the lane, guidance for condition 1 may be omitted in such a case. Furthermore, automatic guidance data to which condition 4 is added may be generated when the road type is a general road intersection (one lane on one side). Further, the timing numerical value may be changed according to each intersection (for example, when the intersection size or the right / left turn lane is long). Alternatively, in the case of an intersection having a complicated structure (for example, in the case of a seven-way difference), appropriate timing information is recorded in advance in the node information of the data storage unit 3, and the node information and the node information are processed in step S302. Timing information may be acquired and automatic guidance data may be generated. Of course, all automatic guidance data may be generated from the timing information recorded in the node information.

  Next, details of the request guidance data generation processing in step S205 of FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing the main processing for generating request guidance data. As described above, the request guidance is guidance performed when a request is made from the driver. In the present embodiment, the information guided by the request guidance includes information related to the traveling direction at the intersection and information related to landmarks existing around the intersection. As shown in FIG. 7A, in the request guidance data generation process, first, in step S401, data related to the distance is generated, and subsequently, information related to the landmark is generated in step S402.

  FIG. 7B is a flowchart showing data generation processing related to distance in the request guide data. First, in step S501, node information related to a guidance target point is acquired. By obtaining the node information, it is possible to determine the road type (point pattern) such as whether the guidance target point is a general road intersection or an expressway entrance. Since the node information is acquired in step S302 of the automatic guidance data generation process, the data held at that time may be accessed, or the node information may be acquired in the same procedure as in step S302. .

  Next, in step S502, based on the road type acquired in step S501, the request guidance distance information basic table is referred to acquire timing information. FIG. 8 is an example of the request guidance distance information basic table 32 stored in the data storage unit 3. As shown in FIG. 8, the request guidance distance information basic table 32 stores the timing and the phrase to be guided in association with each road type (point pattern). For example, if the point pattern (road type) is a general road, the timing of the point from 0m to 100m before the intersection and the phrase “This is the direction of the future ○” are associated. Similarly, the distance (timing) to the intersection is associated with the phrase to be guided.

  Subsequently, in step S503, basic information of request guidance distance data is created. That is, the request guidance generation unit 412 creates request guidance distance data, which is specific data necessary for guidance guidance, based on the timing information acquired in step S502. For example, when the road type is a general road intersection and the intersection name is “Dainichi intersection”, request guidance distance data as shown in FIG. 9 is created. In FIG. 9, the request guidance distance data correlates the timing of the point 0 m to 100 m before the intersection with the phrase “this is the right direction ahead”, and the timing and phrase “much more ahead of the intersection at the point 100 m to 300 m before the intersection. ”It ’s right”. In the same way, the points 300m to 700m before the intersection are associated with the phrase "the Dainichi intersection is in the right direction for a while", and the points 700m or more in front of the intersection and the phrase "the Dainichi intersection at least 1km is in the right direction" Is associated. The request guide distance data may be generated using the timing numerical values of the respective conditions shown in the request guide distance information basic table 32 as they are, or generated by changing the timing numerical values according to the intersection and the road. May be. Alternatively, appropriate timing information may be recorded in advance in the node information of the data storage unit 3 and generated using the timing information.

  When the basic information of the request guidance distance data is created, additional information related to the guidance target point is acquired in step S504. Here, the additional information is, for example, guidance information regarding signs at intersections, signs at highway entrances, traffic lights, and landmarks existing around intersections. Such additional information does not exist at all guidance target points, and is different information for each guidance target point. FIGS. 10A to 10C show examples of acquiring additional information. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), when there is a guide sign indicating the course of each direction 300m before the intersection, as additional information, the timing of the point 300m to 400m before the intersection and the phrase "Osaka about 300m away Get additional information associated with Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B, when there is a guide sign indicating the entrance to the expressway 500m before the intersection, as additional information, the timing at the point 500m to 600m before the guide sign and the phrase "approximately 500m ahead Acquire additional information that associates Suita Interchange with Kyoto. Note that the additional information to be acquired is not limited to information regarding the guide sign. As shown in FIG. 10C, when a case where a traffic light or a gas station is present at a guidance target point and a traffic light is present at an intersection 200m before the guidance target point is considered as an example, 0m to the guidance target point You may acquire the additional information which matched the timing of a 200-m point, and the phrase "the next signal is right direction". Thus, after the driver passes through the first intersection, the phrase “next signal is in the right direction” is guided, so that the guidance target point to be changed is not mistaken. Further, for example, additional information for associating the point 0 m to 70 m before the guidance target point with the phrase “a gas station is a landmark” may be acquired. Thereby, since the driver can use landmarks and the like that can be easily confirmed as landmarks, the guidance target point to be changed is not mistaken. Thus, in step S504, additional information corresponding to each guidance target point is acquired. Thus, by superimposing the visual guidance by the guidance sign or mark and the guidance by voice, the driver can easily specify the guidance target point. In addition, the timing which guides each phrase is an example, and each timing should just be set to the distance area which a driver can visually recognize a guidance sign and a mark.

  Subsequently, in step S505, the information acquired in step S504 is added to the request guide distance data created in step S503. FIGS. 11A to 11C show an example of request guidance distance data including additional information. FIG. 11A shows request guidance distance data when the road type is a general road intersection, and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 11B shows request guidance distance data when the road type is an expressway entrance, and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 11C is an example of request guidance distance data when the road type is a general road intersection, and corresponds to FIG. As can be seen from the basic information of the request guide distance data shown in FIG. 9, in the request guide distance data of FIG. 11A, the request guide distance is such that the additional information is guided preferentially over the basic information. Set at the top of the data. Similarly for the request guide distance data of FIGS. 11B and 11C, the additional information is set at the upper level of the request guide distance data. When the request guide distance data is created, the data generation process regarding the distance is terminated.

  When the data regarding the distance is generated among the request guidance data, the data regarding the mark is generated in step S402. Hereinafter, the data generation process regarding the mark will be described. Examples of information that can be used to identify an intersection include the name of the intersection, the number of branches at the intersection, the shape of the intersection, the size of the intersection, the name of the branch road, the road width / lane number of the branch road, the presence or absence of traffic lights, and the footbridge The presence / absence of pedestrian crossings, presence / absence of pedestrian crossings, presence / absence / type of landmarks, etc. However, if all the information is guided at once according to the driver's request, the amount of information is large and it takes time to complete the guidance. Therefore, the navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment classifies the information serving as the mark into the following three items (1) to (3), and the request guidance is configured to guide information of one item among the three items. Specifically, of the information on the landmark, item (1) is classified into information on the shape (number of branches) and scale of the intersection, and item (2) is information on the branch direction and supplementary information (road width, etc.). In addition, item (3) further classifies information on the presence / absence of traffic lights and landmarks. Then, for each item, the request guidance generation unit 412 creates request guidance landmark data in which the landmark node and link for specifying the intersection are associated with the phrase to be guided. When request guide landmark data is generated by the process of step S402, the request guide data generation process ends.

  When the guidance data including the automatic guidance data and the request guidance data is generated, guidance guidance is performed in step S105 of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the guidance guidance process. First, in step S601, based on the current position of the vehicle and the automatic guidance timing table 31, it is determined whether or not it is a timing for performing automatic guidance. If it is the timing of automatic guidance, a corresponding phrase or file (automatic guidance information) is output in step S602. For example, when the own vehicle is at a point 100 m before the general road intersection, the guidance guide unit 42 causes the output unit 5 to output the phrase “This is the direction of the next circle” based on the automatic guidance data shown in FIG. 6.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S601 that it is not the timing of automatic guidance, it is determined whether or not there is a request from the driver. When the driver pushes the switch A, information indicating the traveling direction at the guidance target point is guided by voice. That is, the guidance and guidance unit 42 refers to the request guidance distance data in step S604 and causes the output unit 5 to output a phrase at a predetermined timing according to the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the guidance target point. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S603 that the switch A is not pressed by the driver, it is subsequently determined in step S605 whether the switch B is pressed. When it is determined that the driver has pressed the switch B, information regarding the mark is guided by voice. That is, the guidance guide unit 42 refers to the request guide mark data in step S606, and causes the output unit 5 to output a phrase corresponding to the mark at a predetermined timing. As described above, the information serving as the mark is classified into three items, and each time the switch B is pressed, the information included in each of the items (1), (2), and (3) is sequentially guided. The Specifically, when the driver presses the switch B once, the information included in the item (1) (for example, the phrase “is a big intersection of five differences”) is voice-guided. Further, when the driver presses the switch B twice, information included in the item (2) (for example, a phrase “slightly in the left direction, enter a narrow road”) is voice-guided. Further, when the driver presses the switch B three times, the information included in the item (3) (for example, the phrase “There is a convenience store near the intersection with a traffic light”) is voice-guided. In addition to the above, for example, if the point pattern is an entrance to an expressway, voice guidance may be provided for the name of the expressway, the name of the expressway entrance, the direction name, the exit name of the expressway, and the required fee. . The processes in steps S601 to S606 are performed at each guidance target point until the host vehicle arrives at the destination from the departure point.

  Note that when the timing of automatic guidance comes during request guidance, it is interrupted even during the request guidance, and automatic guidance is given priority. Alternatively, even when there is a request guidance request from the driver during automatic guidance, the request guidance is not accepted until the automatic guidance is completed. This is because the information guided by the automatic guidance includes the minimum necessary information and is more important than the request guidance. In addition, although it is good also as a structure which gives priority to request guidance over automatic guidance, in such a case, it is necessary to make the structure guided by request guidance the information guided by automatic guidance.

  Further, when the switch A is pressed while the switch A is pressed by the driver and the request guidance regarding the distance is being performed, the request guidance regarding the distance may be interrupted and the request guidance regarding the mark may be performed. Alternatively, when the switch B is pressed while the switch B is pressed and the request guidance regarding the mark is being performed, the request guidance regarding the mark may be interrupted and the request guidance regarding the distance may be performed. Alternatively, another request guidance may not be accepted until the currently implemented request guidance is completed.

  If the switch A is pressed while the switch A is pressed by the driver and the distance guidance is being executed, the current request guidance is interrupted and the distance request is again You may start. Similarly, if switch B is pressed while switch B is being pressed by the driver and the switch B is pressed, the current request request is interrupted and the request guide related to the mark is renewed. May be implemented. Alternatively, even if the same switch is pressed during request guidance, another guidance may not be provided until the current guidance is finished.

  As described above, the navigation device according to the present embodiment converts the information related to the guidance target point existing on the route to the destination into the information to be automatically guided and the information to be guided according to the driver's request. Classify. As a result, the driver can listen to the guidance at the discretion of the driver, so there are fewer missed hearings and the guided information is likely to remain in the head. In addition, the minimum necessary information about the guide target point is automatically guided according to the distance to the guide target point, etc., so the driver can hear only important information and never pass the guide target point. .

  In addition, the navigation device according to the present embodiment further classifies the information to be guided according to the driver's request into information on the traveling direction at the guidance target point and information on the landmark for specifying the guidance target point. As a result, the driver can select information necessary for his / her own judgment.

  In addition, the navigation device according to the present embodiment further classifies the information related to the mark for specifying the guidance target point into a plurality of items according to the type of information. As a result, the driver can easily obtain the minimum information required.

  In the present embodiment, phrases and timings stored in each timing table are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which a driver can change each phrase and timing via an input part.

  Note that the navigation device according to the present embodiment classifies the information on the landmarks into three items, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information regarding the landmark may be classified into three or more items or three or less items according to the characteristics of the guidance target point. In the guidance guidance processing of the present embodiment, every time switch B is pressed, voice guidance is performed in the order of item (1), item (2), and item (3). However, the order is changed appropriately. Also good. Alternatively, a switch may be further prepared, and item (1), item (2), and item (3) may be associated with each switch.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the navigation device according to the second embodiment. The navigation device according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the navigation device according to the first embodiment, but a reference is provided for classifying the guidance information into information used for automatic guidance and information used for request guidance. Is different. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

  In the block diagram of FIG. 13, the data storage unit 3 stores a timing basic table 33, and the guidance data generation unit 41 generates automatic guidance data and request guidance data based on the timing basic table 33. FIG. 14 is an example of the timing basic table 33 stored in the data storage unit 3. As shown in the figure, in the basic timing table 33, the relationship between the timing and the phrase or file to be guided at that timing is stored in the conditions 1-6. The guidance data generation unit 41 classifies the conditions 1 to 6 into conditions used for creating automatic guidance data and conditions used for creating request guidance data according to a predetermined standard, and creates each guidance data. In the present embodiment, the following references (1) to (10) are provided as an example. That is, each condition of the timing basic table 33 is as follows: standard (1): type of guidance target point, standard (2): number of lanes of approach road, standard (3): type of approach road, standard (4): guidance target point Distance, standard (5): importance of guidance information, standard (6): driver characteristics, standard (7): time zone, standard (8): weather and visibility, standard (9): vehicle type (vehicle height ), Standard (10): classified based on traffic conditions, traffic volume, and the like. The driver can select a desired reference via the input unit 1. Details of each criterion will be described below.

  In the criterion (1), each condition is classified into a condition used for automatic guidance and a condition used for request guidance according to the type of guidance target point. The types of guidance target points are, for example, “general road crossroads”, “general road three-way”, “general road branch”, “general road merge”, “general road Y-junction”, “highway” "Inlet", "Highway exit", "Highway junction (junction)", "Highway confluence", "General road five-way", "General road six-way", "General road seven-way Road "and the like. FIG. 15 is an example of a condition classification table showing the relationship between the type of guidance target point and each condition to be classified. In the figure, for example, in “cross road of general road”, among the conditions of the basic timing table, condition 1 and condition 2 are classified as automatic guidance, and conditions 3 to 6 are classified as request guidance. Further, since the guidance target point of the type “seven-way crossing of general roads” is a complex intersection, it is necessary to automatically guide from a point before the guidance target point. Therefore, among the conditions in the basic timing table, conditions 1 to 4 are classified as automatic guidance, and conditions 5 to 6 are classified as request guidance. Furthermore, since the high-speed travel is performed at the guidance target point of the type “exit highway”, it is necessary to automatically guide further from the front. Therefore, conditions 1 to 6 are classified as automatic guidance. Based on such a condition classification table, the automatic guidance generation unit 411 generates automatic guidance data, and the request guidance generation unit 412 generates request guidance data. FIG. 16 is an example of generated automatic guidance data and request guidance data, and shows a case where the type of the guidance target point is “cross road of general road”. As shown in FIG. 15, in the case of “general road crossing”, conditions 1 and 2 are classified as automatic guidance, and conditions 3 to 6 are classified as request guidance. Therefore, the automatic guidance generation unit 411 performs the reproduction of the timing 10 m before the intersection and the phrase “right” (condition 1), the timing 10 m to 80 m before the intersection and the file “music.wav” (condition 2). Automatic guidance data associated with each is generated. Similarly, the request guide generation unit 412 has a timing of 100 m before the intersection and a phrase “this is right ahead” (condition 3), a timing 100 m to 300 m before the intersection and a phrase “about 300 m ahead right” ( Condition 4), the timing of 300m to 700m before the intersection and the phrase "It is about 700m ahead right" (Condition 5), the timing of 700m to 1000m before the intersection and the phrase "It is about 1km ahead right" (Condition) 6) request guidance data associated with each is generated. Therefore, on the crossroads of general roads, in accordance with the generated automatic guidance data and request guidance data, request guidance is started at the request of the driver 100 m or more before the crossroads, and automatic guidance is started from the position 80 m before the crossroads.

  In the condition classification table shown in FIG. 15, the conditions in the basic timing table are continuously classified into automatic guidance and request guidance, but are not limited thereto. For example, as shown in the condition classification table of FIG. 17, each condition may be individually selected and classified. Specifically, when the type of guidance target point is “seven-way road of general road”, conditions 1, 2 and 4 are classified into automatic guidance, and conditions 3, 5 and 6 are classified into request guidance. May be classified.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the condition classification table and each piece of guidance data may be generated using a timing basic table that is different for each type of guidance target point. Further, the automatic guidance data and the request guidance data may be generated by combining the condition classification table of FIG. 15 and the condition classification table of FIG.

  Next, in criterion (2), the conditions in the basic timing table are classified into conditions used for automatic guidance and conditions used for request guidance according to the number of road lanes entering the guidance target point. Each condition in the basic timing table is classified according to, for example, the number of lanes on one side of the approach road is “1 lane”, “2 lanes”, “3 lanes”, “4 lanes”, “5 lanes or more”. A classification table is created (not shown). For example, in the case of one lane on one side, there is no need to change the course until just before the guidance target point. Therefore, among the conditions in the basic timing table in FIG. 6 is classified as a request guide. Thereafter, as in the case of the reference (1), automatic guidance data and request guidance data are generated based on the condition classification table.

  In criterion (3), the conditions in the basic timing table are classified into conditions used for automatic guidance and conditions used for request guidance according to the type of road entering the guidance target point. The types of roads that enter here are, for example, “highway”, “capital highway”, “toll road”, “national road”, “prefectural road”, “city road”, “general road”, and the like. Each condition in the basic timing table is classified according to the type of approach road. For example, since the host vehicle is traveling at high speed on the type of approach road “highway”, it is necessary to start automatic guidance before the guidance target point. Therefore, among the conditions in the timing basic table, conditions 1 to 5 are classified into automatic guidance, and a condition classification table in which condition 6 is classified into request guidance is generated (not shown).

  In criterion (4), the conditions in the basic timing table are classified into conditions used for automatic guidance and conditions used for request guidance according to the distance to the guidance target point.

  In criterion (5), according to the importance of the guidance information, the guidance information for guiding guidance is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance. In the data storage unit 3, points are set in advance according to the guide information (phrase), and for example, a table in which the guide information and the points are associated with each other is stored as shown in FIG. The data storage unit 3 stores a coefficient and a threshold value for each guidance target point. The arithmetic processing unit 4 calculates the importance by multiplying the point and the coefficient, determines that the guidance information whose importance exceeds the threshold is high, and classifies the guidance information as automatic guidance. On the other hand, guidance information whose importance does not exceed the threshold is determined to be low in importance and classified as request guidance. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example in which guidance information is classified based on the criterion (5). The data storage unit 3 stores in advance a table indicating the relationship between guidance information (phrases) and points, an intersection coefficient of 0.8, and a threshold value 300 at the intersection. At this intersection, if the importance, which is a value obtained by multiplying the point and the coefficient, has a threshold value of 300 or more, the guidance information is classified as automatic guidance, and if it is 300 or less, the guidance information is classified as request guidance. Accordingly, in FIG. 20, the arithmetic processing unit 4 classifies the guidance information exceeding the threshold 300 “This is the direction of the future ○” and “XX intersection is the direction of ○” as automatic guidance, and classifies the remaining guidance information as request guidance. . In this way, guidance information is classified according to importance, so only the minimum necessary and important information is automatically guided at each guidance target point, thus reducing driver's missed listening. And the driver will not be bothered.

  In criterion (6), according to the characteristics of the driver, the guidance information is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance. The characteristics of drivers include, for example, gender, driving experience, beginners, paper drivers, weekend drivers, and the like. The points shown in FIG. 19 are changed according to these characteristics, and the guidance information is classified by the same processing as in the reference (5). In addition to changing the points according to the characteristics of the driver, the guidance information may be classified by changing coefficients and threshold values. For example, for the driver having abundant driving experience, only the guidance information regarding the traveling direction is automatically guided by setting the information point regarding the traveling direction at the guidance target point high. On the other hand, for beginner drivers, information on intersection names and landmarks is automatically guided by setting a high point of information for specifying a guidance target point. In this way, the content of guidance information and the timing of presentation are changed according to the characteristics of the driver, so that it is possible to eliminate the anxiety of a driver who is unfamiliar with driving and not to bother an experienced driver. .

  In the reference (7), the guidance information is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance according to the time zone. The time zone includes, for example, “early morning”, “morning”, “daytime”, “afternoon”, “evening”, “night”, “midnight”, and the like. The points are changed according to these time zones, and the guidance information is classified by the same processing as in the reference (5). In addition to changing the points according to the time zone, for example, the guide information may be classified by changing a coefficient or a threshold. For example, in the time zone with good visibility such as daytime, the information point for specifying the guidance target point is set high. Thereby, guidance information regarding landmarks such as intersection names and landmarks is automatically guided during daytime hours. On the other hand, in the time zone where the line of sight is bad, such as at night, the importance point regarding the traveling direction is set high. Thereby, the guidance information regarding the traveling direction is automatically guided in the night time zone.

  In the reference (8), the guidance information is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance according to the weather. Since the visible distance changes depending on the weather, points, coefficients, and thresholds are changed according to the weather such as “Sunny”, “Rain”, “Cloudy”, “Fog”, “Snow”, “Thunder”, etc. Guidance information is classified by the same processing as (5). Thereby, the automatically guided information is set according to the weather.

  In the reference (9), the guidance information is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance according to the vehicle height. Since the visually recognizable distance varies depending on the vehicle height, the points, coefficients, and threshold values are changed according to the vehicle height, and the guidance information is classified by the same processing as in the reference (5). Thereby, the automatically guided information is set according to the vehicle height.

  In the criterion (10), the guidance information is classified into guidance information used for automatic guidance and guidance information used for request guidance according to surrounding traffic conditions. Since the content of information to be guided varies depending on traffic conditions such as whether or not it is in a traffic jam, points, coefficients, and thresholds are changed according to the surrounding traffic conditions, and the guidance information is processed by the same processing as in the standard (5). being classified. Thereby, the automatically guided information is set according to the traffic situation. The traffic situation may be acquired via a network, for example, or the surrounding situation may be captured with an in-vehicle camera and the traffic volume may be recognized by image processing.

  As described above, the navigation device according to the present embodiment is provided with a reference for classifying guide information into information to be automatically guided and information to be guided according to a driver's request. Therefore, the navigation device according to the present embodiment can guide only the minimum and important information among a wide variety of information related to the guidance target point. No side effects.

  In the present embodiment, the information that is automatically guided or requested is set according to the guidance target point, the road, the surrounding environment, the driver, etc., so that the driver can acquire appropriate information and improve convenience. A high navigation device can be provided.

  In addition, the navigation apparatus of this Embodiment may classify | categorize guidance information not only based on one reference | standard but combining two or more reference | standards.

  In the present embodiment, the criteria (1) to (10) have been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the guidance information may be classified according to other criteria.

  In the present embodiment, the number of conditions in the timing basic table is six, but is not limited to this. The number of conditions may be increased or decreased if not necessary. In addition, the guidance information is classified into two types, that is, information that should be automatically guided and information that should be guided by request, but is not limited thereto, and may be classified into two or more. For example, the guidance information may be classified into two or more such as “automatic guidance”, “request guidance 1”, “request guidance 2”, “request guidance 3”. In such a case, the user may select a desired request guide via the input unit.

  In the first and second embodiments, each component can be arbitrarily combined. For example, various combinations such as a system example in which the arithmetic processing unit and the output unit are physically separated from each other can be used. You may think.

  In addition, in each process of Embodiment 1 and 2, although the case where a driver operated an input part was demonstrated to the example, it is not restricted to this. For example, another user such as a passenger in the passenger seat of the vehicle may operate the input unit.

  In the first and second embodiments, the automatic guidance that is automatically guided by the device is performed based on the distance to the guidance target point, but is not limited thereto. For example, automatic guidance may be performed according to time, or the guidance may be automatically performed based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for a car navigation device, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA, etc. that require a navigation device that eliminates missed listening and can easily obtain desired information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the main processes in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. The flowchart which shows the guidance data generation process in Embodiment 1 The flowchart which shows the automatic guidance data generation process in Embodiment 1 An example of an automatic guidance timing table stored in the data storage unit included in the first embodiment Example of automatic guidance data generated in the first embodiment (A) is a flowchart which shows the main processes of request guidance data generation, (b) is a flowchart which shows the data generation process regarding the distance among request guidance data. Example of request guide distance information basic table stored in data storage unit included in embodiment 1 An example of request guidance distance data created in the first embodiment It is a figure which shows the example when acquiring additional information, and when Fig.10 (a) has the guidance sign which shows the course of each direction, FIG.10 (b) has the guidance sign which shows the entrance of a highway. In this case, FIG. 10 (c) is a diagram showing a case where there is a traffic light or a gas station at the guidance target point, and a traffic light is present at the intersection before the guidance target point. FIG. 11A is an example of request guidance distance data including additional information, FIG. 11A shows request guidance distance data when the road type is a general road intersection, and FIG. 11B shows a case where the road type is an expressway entrance. FIG. 11C shows an example of request guidance distance data when the road type is a general road intersection. The flowchart which shows the guidance guidance process in Embodiment 1. Block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to the second embodiment An example of a timing basic table stored in the data storage unit of the second embodiment In Embodiment 2, an example of a condition classification table indicating the relationship between the type of guidance target point and each condition to be classified Examples of automatic guidance data and request guidance data in the second embodiment An example of a condition classification table in which each condition is individually selected and classified in the second embodiment An example of a basic timing table that is different for each type of guidance target point in the second embodiment An example of a table in which guidance information and importance are associated in the second embodiment The figure which shows the example which classifies guidance information by standard (5) in Embodiment 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input part 2 Position detection part 3 Data storage part 4 Arithmetic processing part 5 Output part 31 Automatic guidance timing table 32 Request guidance distance information basic table 33 Timing basic table 41 Guidance data generation part 42 Guidance guidance part 411 Automatic guidance generation part 412 Request Guidance generator

Claims (14)

A navigation device comprising a position detection unit that detects a current position, a map data acquisition unit that can acquire map data, and a route acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure point to a destination based on the map data,
An input unit for receiving a request for guidance from a user;
Automatic guidance data for automatically performing guidance guidance on the guidance target point on the route acquired by the route acquisition unit and request guidance data for performing guidance guidance in response to a request from the user are generated. A guidance data generation unit,
An automatic guidance unit for performing automatic guidance using the automatic guidance data;
A navigation apparatus comprising: a request guidance unit that performs request guidance using the request guidance data when a user requests guidance guidance.   The guidance data generation unit generates guidance information for guiding guidance on the route from automatic guidance information and a user to automatically perform guidance guidance on a guidance target point based on at least one predetermined criterion. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is classified into request guidance information to be guided according to a request, and automatic guidance data and request guidance data are generated from the automatic guidance information and the request guidance information, respectively. The automatic guidance information includes information indicating a guidance direction at the guidance target point,
The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the request guidance information includes information indicating a guidance direction at the guidance target point and information for specifying the guidance target point.   The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the input unit further receives from the user designation of information to be requested and guided among guidance information for guiding and guiding the route.   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic guidance unit performs guidance guidance with priority over the request guidance unit. The guidance data generation unit further includes an automatic guidance data generation unit that generates the automatic guidance data and a request guidance data generation unit that generates the request guidance data,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic guidance data generation unit generates automatic guidance data in which a phrase indicating a guidance direction at the guidance target point is associated with a timing at which the phrase is to be output.   The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the automatic guidance data generation unit determines the timing according to a combination of a type of a guidance target point and a type of an approach road.   The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the automatic guidance data generation unit determines the timing according to a road width of an approach road. The guidance data generation unit further includes an automatic guidance data generation unit that generates the automatic guidance data and a request guidance data generation unit that generates the request guidance data,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the request guidance data generation unit generates first request guidance data in which a phrase indicating a guidance direction at the guidance target point is associated with a timing at which the phrase should be output.   The navigation according to claim 1, wherein the request guidance data generation unit generates second request guidance data in which a phrase indicating information for specifying the guidance target point is associated with a timing at which the phrase should be output. apparatus. The request guidance data generation unit generates the second request guidance data by classifying information for specifying the guidance target point for each group according to the type,
The input unit accepts a designation of the group to be requested from the group, from a user,
The navigation device according to claim 10, wherein the request guidance unit performs request guidance using second request guidance data of the designated group when a user requests guidance guidance.   The guidance data generation unit provides guidance information for guiding and guiding the route, the type of guidance target point, the number of road lanes entering the guidance target point, the type of road entering the guidance target point, the importance, the user The automatic guidance information and the request guidance information are classified based on at least one of the following criteria: characteristics, time zone, weather, vehicle height, and surrounding traffic conditions. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus generates data and the request guidance data. A navigation method in a navigation device comprising a position detection unit for detecting a current position, a map data acquisition unit capable of acquiring map data, and a route acquisition unit for acquiring a route from a departure point to a destination based on the map data. And
An input step for receiving a guidance request from the user;
Automatic guidance data for automatically performing guidance guidance on the guidance target point on the route acquired by the route acquisition unit and request guidance data for performing guidance guidance in response to a request from the user are generated. A guidance data generation step,
An automatic guidance step for performing automatic guidance using the automatic guidance data;
A navigation method, comprising: a request guidance step for performing request guidance using the request guidance data when a user requests guidance guidance. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a navigation device,
An input step for receiving a guidance request from the user;
Guidance for generating automatic guidance data for automatically performing guidance guidance on a guidance target point on the route acquired by the route acquisition unit and request guidance data for performing guidance guidance in response to a request from the user A data generation step;
An automatic guidance step for performing automatic guidance using the automatic guidance data;
A computer program that executes a request guidance step for performing request guidance using the request guidance data when a user requests guidance guidance.

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