JP2008045932A - Apparatus, method, and program for azimuth correction and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the accumulation of azimuth errors, and also to optimize azimuth correction. <P>SOLUTION: A detection part 301 detects the rectilinear movement of a mobile body. When the detection part 301 has detected the rectilinear movement, a detection part 302 detects a movement azimuth on the direction of movement of the mobile body. When the detection part 301 has detected the rectilinear movement, a computation part 303 computes road azimuths on the directions of construction of roads in the vicinity of the mobile body. A comparison part 304 compares the movement azimuth detected by the detection part 302 with the road azimuths computed by the computation part 303. A correction part 307 corrects the movement azimuth on the basis of comparison results by the comparison part 304. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an azimuth correction apparatus, an azimuth correction method, an azimuth correction program, and a computer-readable recording medium that set the current position of a moving body. However, the use of the present invention is not limited to the above-described azimuth correction apparatus, azimuth correction method, azimuth correction program, and computer-readable recording medium.

  Conventionally, a navigation device mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle calculates its own vehicle position by satellite navigation and self-contained navigation and sets it on road data. In satellite navigation, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver calculates the position of the vehicle on the ground by obtaining a geometric position with respect to the GPS satellite using radio waves received from the GPS satellite. In the self-contained navigation, the vehicle position is calculated by integrating the movement amount and the moving direction of the vehicle using the output value of a self-sustaining sensor such as a vehicle speed sensor indicating the speed and a gyro sensor indicating the direction.

  Since such a navigation device cannot receive radio waves from GPS satellites in indoor parking lots such as multi-story parking lots and underground parking lots, the vehicle position is calculated by independent navigation instead of satellite navigation. In addition, since many of the indoor parking lots do not have road data, the navigation device calculates the position of the own vehicle only by self-contained navigation without performing map matching processing.

  Therefore, the calculation of the vehicle position in the indoor parking lot cannot be performed using the vehicle position calculated by satellite navigation or the map matching process, and the normal position cannot be calculated due to the influence of the error of the self-supporting sensor. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, when the vehicle repeatedly moves around in the indoor parking lot, the gyro sensor that indicates the direction by measuring the yaw angle (rotation direction) is the vertical inclination, temperature characteristics, and sensitivity in the indoor parking lot. Accumulation of errors for each round due to learning or the like will increase the final error.

  First, the movement of the vehicle in the indoor parking lot will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of a vehicle in an indoor parking lot.

  In FIG. 1, the surrounding road 101 is close to the indoor parking lot 102, and the vehicle 104 is moving along the travel route 103 on the surrounding road 101. The peripheral road 101 is laid in parallel with the indoor parking lot 102, for example, and is connected to the entrance and exit of the indoor parking lot 102.

  The indoor parking lot 102 is close to the surrounding road 101, has a space for parking the vehicle 104 indoors from the first basement floor (B1) to the fourth floor (4F), and further parks the vehicle 104 on the rooftop. It is good also as providing.

  Further, the floors in the indoor parking lot 102 are connected by a spiral campus road, and the vehicle 104 can move to the upper floor or the lower floor by repeating the circular movement along the travel route 103.

  The vehicle 104 is moving along the travel route 103 and turns right from the surrounding road 101 to enter 1F of the indoor parking lot 102. In addition, the vehicle 101 is configured to repeatedly move around along the travel route 103 in the indoor parking lot 102 and move to the upper floor or the lower floor, and exit from the 1F of the indoor parking lot 102 to the surrounding road 101.

  However, when the vehicle 104 leaves the indoor parking lot 102, the error of the gyro sensor indicating the direction is a large error due to the circular movement in the indoor parking lot 102 as described above. Therefore, until the vehicle 104 leaves the indoor parking lot 102 and is corrected by satellite navigation or map matching, the vehicle position of the vehicle 104 is calculated as a position 105 as shown in FIG. End up.

  Here, accumulation of the azimuth | direction error accompanying the circular movement in an indoor parking lot is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing accumulation of azimuth errors accompanying circular movement in an indoor parking lot. FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view from directly above showing a surrounding road and a campus road in an indoor parking lot.

  In FIG. 2, an indoor parking lot 200 composed of a plurality of floors has a campus road 205 laid inside, and each floor is connected by a spiral campus road 205. In addition, the indoor parking lot 200 is connected to an adjacent peripheral road 201 via an entrance / exit 202, and the vehicle 203 turns right on the peripheral road 201 and enters the indoor parking lot 200.

  The movement route 204 is a locus of the vehicle position calculated by a navigation device (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 203 outside the indoor parking lot 200, and is indicated by a dotted line in FIG. The movement route 204 is a trajectory of the vehicle position calculated by, for example, satellite navigation, self-contained navigation, or map matching processing, and is along the surrounding road 201 as shown in FIG.

  The campus movement paths 210, 211, 212, and 213 are trajectories of the vehicle position calculated by a navigation device (not shown) when the vehicle 203 that entered the indoor parking lot 200 moves around the campus road 205, Similar to the movement path 204, it is indicated by a dotted line.

  Specifically, for example, the campus movement path 210 is a trajectory of the position of the vehicle where the vehicle 203 first entered the indoor parking lot 200 and moved around the campus road 205 first. This vehicle position is calculated, for example, by integrating the amount of movement and direction of movement of the vehicle 203 after the doorway 202 by a navigation device (not shown).

  The campus movement path 211 is a trajectory of the position of the vehicle where the vehicle 203 traveled around the campus road 205 in the indoor parking lot 200 on the second lap. Similarly, the campus movement path 212 is the own movement path on the third lap. The trajectory of the vehicle position and the on-site movement route 213 are trajectories of the vehicle position on the fourth lap.

  As described above, when the vehicle 203 moves around the local road 205 in the indoor parking lot 200, the calculation of the own vehicle position only by the self-contained navigation accumulates an azimuth error for each lap, The azimuth | direction error accompanying circular movement is one of the big subjects in the position recognition technique of a navigation apparatus.

  In recent years, in order to correct an azimuth error associated with a circular movement, a proposal has been made to recognize the circular movement and correct the azimuth based on the amount of azimuth deviation per rotation in the recognized circular movement (for example, , See Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2004-150975 A

  However, in the above prior art, the azimuth is corrected by using the amount of deviation per round of the circular movement, so that there is a problem that the azimuth cannot be corrected when there is a campus road that moves away from the circular movement as an example. Can be mentioned. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the indoor parking lot has a plurality of spiral campus roads, one spiral campus road travels from one spiral campus to the other so It becomes difficult to acquire the amount of deviation.

  Also, if the campus road in the indoor parking lot is not rectangular or circular, but has a complicated shape such as a non-rectangular shape including convex parts, it is difficult to determine the lap, so the amount of deviation per lap must be acquired. An example is the problem that the orientation cannot be corrected without being able to correct.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the azimuth correction apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is configured to detect that the moving body is traveling straight, and when detecting straight traveling by the detecting means, Detection means for detecting a moving direction related to the moving direction of the moving body, a calculating means for calculating a road direction related to the laying direction of a road around the moving body when the detection means detects straight travel, and detection by the detecting means Comparing means for comparing the calculated moving direction with the road direction calculated by the calculating means, and a correcting means for correcting the moving direction based on the result of comparison by the comparing means. And

  The azimuth correction method according to the invention of claim 8 is a detection step for detecting that the moving body is moving straight, and detects a moving azimuth relating to the moving direction of the moving body when the straight movement is detected by the detection step. And a detection step for calculating a road direction related to a laying direction of a road around the moving body, a movement direction detected by the detection step, and a calculation by the calculation step when straight traveling is detected by the detection step. A comparison step for comparing the road direction, and a correction step for correcting the moving direction based on the result of the comparison in the comparison step.

  An azimuth correction program according to a ninth aspect of the invention causes a computer to execute the azimuth correction method according to the eighth aspect.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium records the azimuth correction program according to the ninth aspect.

  Exemplary embodiments of an azimuth correction apparatus, an azimuth correction method, an azimuth correction program, and a computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
(Functional configuration of orientation correction device)
A functional configuration of the azimuth correction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the azimuth correction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, the azimuth correction apparatus 300 includes a detection unit 301, a detection unit 302, a calculation unit 303, a comparison unit 304, and a correction unit 307.

  The detection unit 301 detects that the moving body is traveling straight. Moreover, the detection part 301 is good also as detecting the rectilinear advance in a circular movement, for example. Specifically, for example, the detection of the straight traveling may be detected by a sensor (not shown) when the moving direction of the moving body is an output having a predetermined value or less while the moving body is moving for a certain period.

  Moreover, the detection part 301 may detect that the moving body is located in an indoor parking lot further by the parameter which shows the reception state of the electromagnetic wave of the information regarding the present position of the moving body. The reception state is a state relating to reception, for example, whether or not radio waves are easily received due to the presence or absence of structures that interfere with radio wave reception around the moving body. That is, the indoor parking lot is, for example, a parking lot surrounded by a structure that interferes with radio wave reception such as the interior of a three-dimensional parking lot or an underground parking lot.

  Specifically, for example, detection in an indoor parking lot is performed by detecting the reception strength (level) of radio waves at a predetermined time in addition to the reception strength (level) of radio waves, the elevation angle and the number of captured satellites of the GPS satellites, and the GPS satellites. It is good also as detecting using the variation | change_quantity of the elevation angle and the acquisition satellite number regarding. Further, the detection unit 301 may detect that the moving body is located in the indoor parking lot by detecting the traveling up or down the slope using an azimuth sensor or an acceleration sensor provided on the moving body. Furthermore, it may be detected that the vehicle is located in the indoor parking lot by detecting the passage of facilities such as a parking fee system installed at the entrance or exit of the indoor parking lot. In addition, the location of the indoor parking lot is associated with the road data that is a part of the map information and linked as data, and indoor parking is detected by detecting that the current location of the mobile object has reached that location. You may detect being located in the hall.

  When the detection unit 301 detects straight travel, the detection unit 302 detects a moving direction related to the moving direction of the moving body. Moreover, the detection part 302 is good also as detecting a moving azimuth | direction, when the detection part 301 detects the straight advance of a moving body within an indoor parking lot.

  When the detection unit 301 detects straight travel, the calculation unit 303 calculates a road direction related to the laying direction of the road around the moving body. For example, the calculation unit 303 may calculate the road direction of a surrounding road in which the direction difference between the moving direction and the road direction is within a predetermined range. For example, the calculation unit 303 may calculate the road direction of the surrounding road with the shortest distance between the moving body and the surrounding road. In other words, for example, the calculation unit 303 may be configured to calculate the road direction of a nearby road that is close to and parallel to the moving direction.

  Furthermore, the calculation part 303 is good also as calculating a road direction, when the detection part 301 detects the straight travel of the said mobile body within an indoor parking lot.

  The comparison unit 304 includes a specifying unit 305 and a direction difference comparison unit 306, and compares the moving direction detected by the detection unit 302 with the road direction calculated by the calculation unit 303.

  Specifically, for example, the comparison unit 304 identifies the initial azimuth difference between the moving direction and the road direction by comparing the moving direction and the road direction by the specifying unit 305. Then, the comparison unit 304 uses the azimuth difference comparison unit 306 to determine the initial azimuth difference specified by the specification unit 305, and the azimuth difference between the moving azimuth and the road azimuth when traveling straight in circular movement (hereinafter referred to as “circular azimuth”). It is also possible to compare the difference.

  The correcting unit 307 corrects the moving direction based on the result compared by the comparing unit 304. Specifically, for example, when the comparison unit 304 compares the moving direction and the road direction with a difference between the moving direction and the road direction that is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold, the correcting unit 307 sets the moving direction to the road direction. It is good also as correcting to.

  Further, for example, when the difference between the initial azimuth difference and the circular azimuth difference is within a predetermined correction range as a result of the comparison by the azimuth difference comparison unit 306, the correction unit 307 determines that the circular azimuth difference is the initial azimuth difference. A configuration in which the moving direction is corrected may be used.

(Contents of processing of orientation correction device)
Next, the contents of processing of the azimuth correction apparatus 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the azimuth correction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, first, the detection unit 301 determines whether or not straight movement of the moving object is detected (step S401). For example, when the moving body is located in the indoor parking lot, the straight-ahead detection can be performed by detecting that the direction change while the moving body is moving for a certain section is an output of a predetermined value or less. Good.

  In step S401, it waits for detection of straight travel, and if it is detected (step S401: Yes), the detection unit 302 detects a moving direction related to the moving direction of the moving body (step S402).

  Subsequently, the calculation unit 303 calculates a road direction related to the laying direction of the road around the moving body (step S403).

  Next, the comparison unit 304 compares the moving direction detected in step S402 with the road direction calculated in step S403 (step S404).

  Then, the correction unit 307 corrects the moving direction related to the movement of the moving body based on the result of comparison in step S404 (step S405), and the series of processing ends.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the straight traveling of the moving body and correct the moving direction according to the comparison result between the road direction of the surrounding road and the moving direction, thereby preventing the accumulation of the direction error. Thus, it is possible to optimize the azimuth correction. In particular, even when the road is traveling around a complicated shape, it is possible to easily correct the azimuth without obtaining the shift amount of the round movement.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, an example in which the azimuth correcting device of the present invention is implemented by a navigation device mounted on a vehicle such as a vehicle (including a four-wheeled vehicle and a two-wheeled vehicle) will be described.

(Hardware configuration of navigation device)
The hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, the navigation device 500 is mounted on a vehicle or the like, and includes a navigation control unit 501, a user operation unit 502, a display unit 503, a position acquisition unit 504, a recording medium 505, and a recording medium decoding unit 506. A voice output unit 507, a communication unit 508, a route search unit 509, a route guidance unit 510, a voice generation unit 511, and a speaker 512.

  The navigation control unit 501 controls the entire navigation device 500. The navigation control unit 501 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes predetermined arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various control programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that functions as a work area of the CPU. It is realizable with the microcomputer etc. comprised by these.

  The navigation control unit 501 determines which map on the map based on the information on the current position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and the map information obtained from the recording medium 505 via the recording medium decoding unit 506 when the route is guided. Whether the vehicle is traveling in the position is calculated, and the calculation result is output to the display unit 503. In addition, the navigation control unit 501 inputs / outputs information on route guidance with the route search unit 509, the route guidance unit 510, and the voice generation unit 511, and displays information obtained as a result of the display unit 503 and Output to the audio output unit 507.

  The navigation control unit 501 includes an azimuth correction unit 513. The direction correction unit 513 corrects the moving direction in which the vehicle moves based on the map information, the output of a GPS receiver that constitutes the position acquisition unit 504 described later, and the outputs of various sensors. The moving direction is, for example, the moving direction indicated by the gyro sensor in the position acquisition unit 504 (hereinafter also referred to as “sensor direction”).

  Although details will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, the sensor direction correction is performed when, for example, the position acquisition unit 504 detects straight traveling of the vehicle, the road direction of the road around the vehicle, and the sensor direction. The sensor orientation may be corrected based on the result of the comparison.

  Here, for example, when detecting that the vehicle travels for a predetermined period of time using the current position of the vehicle detected by the position acquisition unit 504, it is detected that the vehicle has not changed its direction. It is. Also, the road direction is, for example, the direction related to the laying direction of the surrounding road of the vehicle, and the direction of the surrounding road where the distance between the sensor direction and the road direction is within a predetermined range or the distance from the vehicle is the closest. May be the road direction used for correcting the sensor direction.

  In addition, the comparison between the road direction and the sensor direction, for example, specifies an initial direction difference between the sensor direction and the road direction, and the initial direction difference and the sensor direction at the time of straight traveling in the circular movement of the vehicle It is good also as comparing the azimuth | direction difference between road directions (henceforth "circular azimuth | direction difference").

  Further, the azimuth correction unit 513 determines the type of the parking lot where the vehicle is located based on the reception intensity of the radio wave from the GPS satellite acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 (hereinafter referred to as the GPS signal level). Good. The type of parking lot may be, for example, determining whether the parking lot is surrounded by a structure that interferes with radio wave reception such as the interior of a three-dimensional parking lot or an underground parking lot, and the amount of change in GPS signal level, The GPS signal level from the GPS satellite may be determined by weighting the elevation angle of the GPS satellite, the number of captured satellites, etc., and scoring it.

  Further, the navigation control unit 501 may set the current position of the vehicle by matching the current position of the vehicle such as the parking lot (map matching process) using the sensor orientation corrected in this way.

  The user operation unit 502 acquires information input by the user by operating operation means such as a remote controller, a switch, or a touch panel, and outputs the acquired information to the navigation control unit 501.

  The display unit 503 includes, for example, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a TFT liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, and the like. Specifically, the display unit 503 can be configured by, for example, a video display interface connected to the video I / F (interface) or the video I / F.

  Specifically, the video I / F includes, for example, a graphic controller that controls the entire display device, a buffer memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily stores image information that can be displayed immediately, and a graphic controller. Based on the output image information, the display device is configured by a control IC or the like.

  The display unit 503 displays traffic information, map information, information on route guidance, and other various information according to control related to the output of the navigation control unit 501.

  The position acquisition unit 504 includes a GPS receiver and various sensors such as a speed sensor, a direction sensor (gyro sensor), and an acceleration sensor, and acquires information on the current position of the vehicle (current position of the navigation device 500).

  The GPS receiver receives radio waves (hereinafter referred to as GPS signals) from GPS satellites and obtains a geometric position with respect to the GPS satellites. GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System, and is a system that accurately obtains a position on the ground by receiving GPS signals from four or more satellites.

  The GPS receiver includes an antenna for receiving a GPS signal from a GPS satellite, a tuner for demodulating the received GPS signal, an arithmetic circuit for calculating a current position based on the demodulated information, and the like. The speed sensor detects the speed of the vehicle. The direction sensor (gyro sensor) detects the amount of change in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle.

  Various control programs and various information are recorded on the recording medium 505 in a state readable by a computer. The recording medium 505 can be realized by, for example, an HD (Hard Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a CD (Compact Disk), or a memory card. Note that the recording medium 505 may accept writing of information by the recording medium decoding unit 506 and record the written information in a nonvolatile manner.

  The recording medium 505 records map information used for route search and route guidance. The map information recorded in the recording medium 505 includes background data representing features (features) such as buildings, rivers, and the ground surface, and road shape data representing the shape of the road. It is drawn in two or three dimensions on the display screen. When the navigation device 500 is guiding a route, the map information read from the recording medium 505 by the recording medium decoding unit 506 and the mark indicating the position of the vehicle acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 are displayed on the display unit 503. It will be.

  In this embodiment, map information or the like is recorded on the recording medium 505. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The map information or the like may be recorded on a server outside the navigation device 500. In that case, the navigation apparatus 500 acquires map information from a server via a network through the communication unit 508, for example. The acquired information is stored in a RAM or the like.

  The recording medium decoding unit 506 controls information reading from the recording medium 505.

  The audio output unit 507 controls the output to the connected speaker 512 to output audio such as guidance sound, video, music, and the like. There may be one speaker 512 or a plurality of speakers. The audio output unit 507 can be constituted by, for example, a D / A converter that performs D / A conversion of audio digital information and an amplifier that amplifies an audio analog signal output from the D / A converter.

  The communication unit 508 acquires various information from the outside. For example, the communication unit 508 communicates with other communication devices such as FM multiplex tuners, VICS (registered trademark) / beacon receivers, wireless communication devices and other communication devices, and communication media such as mobile phones, PHS, communication cards, and wireless LANs. Communicate with the device. Alternatively, a device that can perform communication by radio waves by radio broadcasting, radio waves by television broadcasting, or satellite broadcasting may be used.

  Information acquired by the communication unit 508 includes traffic information such as traffic jams and traffic regulations distributed from the road traffic information communication system center, traffic information acquired by businesses in their own way, and other publicly available data on the Internet, etc. It is. For example, the communication unit 508 may request traffic information from a server that accumulates traffic information and contents throughout the country via a network, and obtain the requested information.

  The route search unit 509 uses the map information acquired from the recording medium 505 via the recording medium decoding unit 506, the traffic information acquired via the communication unit 508, and the like to optimize the route from the departure point to the destination point. Search for a route. Here, the optimum route is a route that best matches the user's request.

  The route guidance unit 510 converts the optimum route information searched by the route search unit 509, the vehicle position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 504, and the map information obtained from the recording medium 505 via the recording medium decoding unit 506. Based on this, route guidance information for guiding the user to the destination point is generated. The route guidance information generated by the route guidance unit 510 is output to the display unit 503 via the navigation control unit 501.

  The voice generation unit 511 generates various types of voice information such as guidance sounds. That is, based on the route guidance information generated by the route guidance unit 510, the virtual sound source corresponding to the guidance point is set and the voice guidance information is generated and output to the voice output unit 507 via the navigation control unit 501.

  The detection unit 301 that is a functional configuration of the azimuth correction apparatus 300 according to the embodiment includes a detection unit 302, a calculation unit 303, a comparison unit 304 (specification unit 305, azimuth difference comparison unit 306), and a position acquisition unit 504. The correction unit 307 realizes its function by the direction correction unit 513 (navigation control unit 501).

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the direction correction of the sensor direction in the indoor parking lot using the road direction of the road around the vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing azimuth correction when there is a surrounding road parallel to the indoor road of the indoor parking lot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 6 is a bird's-eye view from directly above showing the indoor parking lot 600 and the surrounding roads 601 and 606 laid around the indoor parking lot 600. In FIG. 6, the indoor parking lot 600 is composed of a plurality of floors, and a campus road 605 is laid spirally inside. In addition, the indoor parking lot 600 is connected to a neighboring peripheral road 601 via an entrance / exit 602, and the vehicle 603 can enter the indoor parking lot 600 by turning right on the peripheral road 601.

  The peripheral roads 601 and 606 are laid in the directions of road directions 622a and 622b, respectively. In the description of FIG. 6, the directions of the arrows of the road directions 622a and 622b are adjusted to the sensor directions 621a and 621b of the vehicles 603a and 603b on the campus movement path 610, which will be described later, as shown in the figure, but are inverted by 180 degrees. It may be in the orientation.

  The movement route 604 is a locus of the vehicle position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and the navigation control unit 501 in the navigation device 500 mounted on the vehicle outside the indoor parking lot 600, and is indicated by a dotted line in FIG.

  The campus movement path 610 is a trajectory of the own vehicle position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and the navigation control unit 501 in the navigation device 500 when the vehicle 603 entering the indoor parking lot 600 moves around the campus road 605. In the same manner as the movement route 604, it is indicated by a dotted line.

  Specifically, for example, the on-site movement route 610 is a vehicle 603a that is set to be the sensor direction 621a when traveling straight, as indicated by the vehicle 603 entering the indoor parking lot 600 and moving around the campus road 605. This is a trajectory of the vehicle 603b or the like whose sensor direction is 621b.

  Here, the azimuth | direction correction | amendment of the sensor azimuth | direction 621a is demonstrated. Specifically, for example, when the azimuth difference between the sensor azimuth 621a and the road azimuth 622a is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold, the sensor azimuth 621a is corrected according to the road azimuth 622a. That is, when the difference in direction between the sensor direction 621a and the road direction 622a is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value, it is considered that the straight road on the local road 605 and the surrounding road 601 are parallel, and the sensor direction 621a is determined as the road direction. The configuration may be 622a.

  The predetermined threshold value may be, for example, a value obtained by adding the allowable range of the azimuth error regarding the road laying direction and the allowable range of the sensor error of the azimuth sensor (gyro sensor). That is, by performing direction correction using this predetermined threshold value, if the error between the road direction 622a of the surrounding road 601 and the sensor direction 621a of the local road 605 is within the predetermined threshold value, the surrounding road The sensor orientation 621a may be corrected by regarding 601 and the local road 605 as parallel.

  Further, the azimuth correction in the vehicle 603a may be corrected, for example, for each round of the circular movement of the vehicle 603 (603a, 603b) in the indoor parking lot 600, and the sensor error is small without being accumulated. Can be estimated. In other words, if the azimuth correction is performed in this manner, even if the vehicle 603 (603a, 603b) moves around the local road 605, the sensor error of the azimuth sensor can always be kept small.

  This azimuth correction is, for example, correction that utilizes the fact that, in general, a local road in an indoor parking lot is often parallel to a surrounding road in order to secure a large site area of the indoor parking lot. In addition, when a local road and a surrounding road are not parallel, it demonstrates using the vehicle 603b and FIG.

  Here, the surrounding road 601 serving as a reference for azimuth correction in the vehicle 603a is, for example, the road closest to the vehicle 603a and parallel or approximate to parallel. Specifically, for example, the surrounding road 601 is perpendicular to the road laid in a predetermined range from the vehicle 603a, the distance of the vertical is short, and the azimuth difference from the sensor azimuth 621a is within a predetermined range. It is a road (close to parallel).

  In other words, for azimuth correction, for example, when straight travel is detected in the vehicle 603a, the peripheral road 601 is selected that has a short road 622a that is short in distance to the vehicle 603a and parallel to the sensor orientation 621a during straight travel. Then, based on the result of comparing the road direction 622a of the selected surrounding road 601 and the sensor direction 621a, the direction correction may be performed as described above.

  Next, the direction correction of the sensor direction 621b will be described. Specifically, for example, when the difference in orientation between the sensor orientation 621b and the road orientation 622b is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the sensor orientation 621b and the road orientation 622b are regarded as not parallel and the orientation compensation of the sensor orientation 621b is performed. You may not do it. That is, the azimuth correction is a configuration in which an incorrect azimuth correction is not performed in accordance with the surrounding road 606 that is not parallel. Even in this case, the azimuth correction may be performed when the vehicle 603b travels straight in the vehicle 603a due to the circular movement.

  Here, the surrounding road 606 is perpendicular to the road laid in a predetermined range from the vehicle 603b, and although the distance of the vertical is short, the difference in direction from the sensor direction 621b is larger than the predetermined (not parallel) ) Road.

  In the description of FIG. 6, the azimuth correction of the sensor azimuth 621a is performed in the vehicle 603a in accordance with the parallel surrounding road 601 and the azimuth correction of the sensor azimuth 621b is performed in the vehicle 603b because the surrounding road 606 is not parallel. However, when the surrounding road 606 is parallel or nearly parallel in the vehicle 603b, the direction correction may be performed in both the vehicle 603a and the vehicle 603b. Moreover, even if it does not perform azimuth | direction correction | amendment for every circumference | surroundings, in order to simplify a process, it is good also as azimuth | direction correction | amendment every other 1 round or 2 rounds.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, a description will be given of the direction correction of the sensor direction in the indoor parking lot using the road direction of the surrounding road of the vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention when there is no parallel surrounding road. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing azimuth correction when there is no surrounding road parallel to the indoor road of the indoor parking lot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 7 is a bird's-eye view from directly above showing an indoor parking lot 700 and a surrounding road 701 laid around the indoor parking lot 700. In FIG. 7, the indoor parking lot 700 is composed of a plurality of floors, and a campus road 705 is spirally laid inside. In addition, the indoor parking lot 700 is connected to a nearby surrounding road 701 via an entrance / exit 702, and the vehicle 703 can turn right on the surrounding road 701 and enter the indoor parking lot 700.

  The peripheral road 701 is laid in the direction of the road direction 722. In the description of FIG. 7, the direction of the arrow of the road direction 722 is matched with the sensor direction 721 of the vehicle 703a on the campus movement path 710, which will be described later, as shown in the figure. Also good.

  The movement path 704 is a trajectory of the vehicle position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and the navigation control unit 501 in the navigation device 500 mounted on the vehicle outside the indoor parking lot 700, and is indicated by a dotted line in FIG.

  The campus movement path 710 is a trajectory of the vehicle position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and the navigation control unit 501 in the navigation device 500 when the vehicle 703 entering the indoor parking lot 700 moves around the campus road 705. In the same manner as the movement route 704, it is indicated by a dotted line.

  Specifically, for example, the campus movement path 710 is a trajectory of the vehicle 703a as a sensor direction 721 when traveling straight, which is indicated by the vehicle 703 entering the indoor parking lot 700 and moving around the campus road 705. is there.

  Here, the direction correction of the sensor direction 721 will be described. Specifically, for example, when the difference in orientation between the sensor orientation 721 and the road orientation 722 is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the sensor orientation 721 and the road orientation 722 are considered not parallel. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the sensor orientation 721 and the road orientation 722 have an angle difference θ.

  In this case, in the vehicle 703a, the angle difference θ between the sensor direction 721 and the road direction 722 (hereinafter also referred to as “initial direction difference”) at the time of detection of straight ahead is stored, and almost the same angle difference θ is detected for each lap. In this case, the sensor orientation 721 may be corrected to a value obtained by adding the angle difference θ to the road orientation 722 using this as an offset.

  In other words, the initial angular difference θ in the circular movement is stored, and if the second and subsequent rounds are values close to the angular difference θ, the circular movement is the same locus, and the angular difference due to the error of the sensor orientation 721. It can be determined that θ is shifted. Accordingly, the sensor orientation 721 may be corrected so that the angle difference θ is also the second and subsequent rounds.

  Note that the substantially same value of the angle difference θ may be, for example, a configuration in which the azimuth correction is performed every round, for example, every time the sensor error exceeds the allowable range.

  Specifically, for example, in the azimuth correction performed every round, if the allowable range of the sensor error is 5 degrees and the angular difference θ of the first round is 30 degrees, the angular difference θ of the second round is 33 degrees. The sensor orientation 721 is corrected so that the value becomes 30 degrees. The azimuth correction beyond the allowable range is, for example, when the allowable range of the sensor error is 5 degrees, the angular difference θ of the first round is 30 degrees, and the angular difference θ of the second round is 33 degrees. Correction is not performed, and the sensor orientation 721 may be corrected so that the value becomes 30 degrees when the angle difference θ in the third round is 37 degrees.

  Further, when the angle difference θ after the second round exceeds the permissible range of the sensor error, the circular movement of the local road 705 is not a constant trajectory, and the direction correction may not be performed. As described above, when the local road 705 is endless in length and breadth, it is possible to prevent erroneous direction correction.

  If the surrounding road 701 is not parallel, another road (not shown) different from the surrounding road 701 is selected, and the direction of the sensor direction 721 is corrected when the road direction of the other road is parallel. Good.

(Outline of indoor parking lot)
Next, the outline of the indoor parking lot according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the indoor parking lot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 8, the parking lot group 800 includes a blue sky parking lot 801 close to the surrounding road 810, a rooftop parking lot 802, an underground parking lot 803, and a three-dimensional parking lot 804. Moreover, the blue sky parking lot 801, the rooftop parking lot 802, the underground parking lot 803, and the three-dimensional parking lot 804 each have a parking space where the vehicle 811 can be parked.

  The blue sky parking lot 801 is adjacent to the surrounding road 810 and has a parking space where the position acquisition unit 504 can receive radio waves from GPS satellites. The rooftop parking lot 802 is installed on the rooftop of the multi-story parking lot 804, and has a parking space that can receive radio waves from GPS satellites by the position acquisition unit 504, like the blue sky parking lot 801.

  Indoor parking lots such as an underground parking lot 803 and a three-dimensional parking lot 804 have a structure that obstructs reception of radio waves in the surroundings, and a parking space in which reception of radio waves from GPS satellites by the position acquisition unit 504 is difficult. It has. Further, in the underground parking lot 803 and the multi-story parking lot 804, for example, pillars are regularly installed, and the vehicle 811 traveling inside moves within the premises with some regular orbital movement. That is, in the underground parking lot 803 and the multi-story parking lot 804, even if it is difficult to receive radio waves from GPS satellites, the direction correction shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be performed.

(Contents of processing of navigation device 500)
Here, the contents of the processing of the navigation apparatus 500 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, first, the position acquisition unit 504 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling off the road (step S901). The determination as to whether or not the vehicle is outside the road is based on, for example, information on the current position acquired by the position acquisition unit 504 and map information obtained from the recording medium 505 via the recording medium decoding unit 506. It may be configured to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a road.

  In step S901, when the vehicle is traveling outside the road (step S901: Yes), the position acquisition unit 504 determines whether or not the own vehicle position is located in the indoor parking lot (step S902). Judgment whether the own vehicle position is located in the indoor parking lot is, for example, the reception strength (level) of radio waves at a predetermined time in addition to the reception strength (level) of radio waves, the elevation angle with respect to GPS satellites, and the number of captured satellites themselves. The determination may be made by using the elevation angle and the change amount of the number of captured satellites regarding the GPS satellite. In addition, the determination of whether the vehicle position is located in the indoor parking lot may be made by, for example, detecting uphill traveling or downhill traveling using an azimuth sensor or an acceleration sensor. It may be determined by detecting that the vehicle position has passed through facilities such as a parking fee system installed at the entrance and exit of the vehicle. In addition, the location of the indoor parking lot is associated with the road data that is part of the map information and linked as data, and if the current location of the vehicle reaches the location, the location is within the indoor parking lot. You may make it judge that. In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that various aspects are applied without the judgment whether the own vehicle position is located in an indoor parking lot.

  In step S901, if the vehicle is not traveling outside the road (step S901: No), all information is initialized by the navigation control unit 501 (step S916), and the series of processing ends. All the information is, for example, distances and directions detected and calculated in the processing after step S903, and will be described in detail later.

  In step S902, when the vehicle position is an indoor parking lot (step S902: Yes), the position acquisition unit 504 determines whether or not the vehicle has detected straight ahead (step S903). The straight-ahead detection may be detected, for example, when the position acquisition unit 504 outputs an azimuth change while the vehicle is moving in a certain section when the output is a predetermined value or less.

  In step S902, when the vehicle position is not an indoor parking lot (step S902: No), all information is initialized by the navigation control unit 501 (step S916), and the series of processing ends.

  If it is detected in step S903 that the vehicle is traveling straight (step S903: Yes), the position acquisition unit 504 detects the sensor orientation (hereinafter referred to as “Sns Dir”) (step S904). The sensor orientation may be, for example, a moving orientation indicated by an orientation sensor (gyro sensor) in the position acquisition unit 504. In addition, for example, when the straight direction is detected in step S903, an average value of the sensor directions during a predetermined time may be used as the sensor direction.

  In step S903, when the vehicle does not detect straight travel (step S903: No), the process returns to step S901 and the process is repeated.

  Next, the nearest surrounding road is selected from the own vehicle position by the direction correction unit 513 (step S905). The selection of surrounding roads is performed by, for example, selecting a road having a shortest vertical distance as a surrounding road from the own vehicle position at which straight travel is detected in step S903 (hereinafter referred to as “selected road”). It is also possible to do this.

  Subsequently, the direction correction unit 513 calculates the distance to the selected road selected in step S905 (hereinafter referred to as “Rd Dist”) and the road direction (hereinafter referred to as “Rd Dir”) (step S906). .

  Then, the azimuth correction unit 513 determines whether or not the Rd Dist calculated in step S906 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step S907). The threshold value may be, for example, a value for determining whether or not it is sufficiently close to the vehicle position as a road used for azimuth correction described later, and may be set to several tens of meters to several hundreds of meters. This is because if the road that is far from the vehicle position is selected, the direction correction may not be performed accurately due to the influence of the road direction error. That is, if the road direction error is minimal, the threshold value may be set large.

  In step S907, when Rd Dist is equal to or smaller than the threshold value (step S907: Yes), the azimuth correction unit 513 calculates a difference between Sns Dir and Rd Dir (hereinafter referred to as “Dir Er”) ( Step S908). Dir Er can be calculated by the following equation (1), for example.

  Dir Er = Sns Dir−Rd Dir (1)

  In step S907, when Rd Dist is larger than the threshold value (step S907: No), the series of processing is ended as it is.

  Next, the azimuth correction unit 513 determines whether Dir Er calculated in step S908 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step S909). This threshold value is, for example, a value that can be determined that Sns Dir at the time when straight traveling is detected in step S903 and Rd Dir of the selected road are close to parallel, and the allowable range of the azimuth error shown in FIG. A value obtained by adding the allowable range of the sensor error of (gyro sensor) may be used.

  In step S909, when Dir Er is equal to or smaller than the threshold value (step S909: Yes), the azimuth correction unit 513 corrects the sensor azimuth with Dir Er calculated in step S908 (step S910), and a series of steps. End the process. The correction of the sensor orientation can be calculated by the following formula (2), for example.

  Sensor orientation = Current sensor orientation−Dir Er (2)

  If Dir Er is larger than the threshold value in step S909 (step S909: No), the direction correction unit 513 determines whether the selected road selected in step S905 was the first comparison. (Step S911).

  In step S911, when the selected road is the first comparison control (step S911: Yes), the recording medium 505 stores the Dir Er calculated in step S908 (step S912), and ends the series of processing. . That is, in step S911, it may be determined whether or not there is Dir Er stored in the recording medium 505 (hereinafter referred to as “Mem Dir Er”) by the iterative process of the flowchart of FIG.

  If the selected road is not the first comparison control in step S911 (step S911: No), the direction correction unit 513 causes the difference between Dir Er and Mem Dir Er (hereinafter referred to as “Er Er”). Is calculated (step S913). Er Er can be calculated by the following equation (3), for example.

  Er Er = Dir Er−Mem Dir Er (3)

  Then, the orientation correction unit 513 determines whether the Er Er calculated in step S913 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step S914). This threshold value is, for example, a value indicating a sensor error due to the vehicle's orbital movement, and may be an allowable range of the sensor error of the direction sensor (gyro sensor) shown in FIG.

  In step S914, if Er Er is equal to or smaller than the threshold value (step S914: Yes), the azimuth correction unit 513 corrects the sensor azimuth with the Er Er calculated in step S913 (step S915), and a series of steps. End the process. The correction of the sensor orientation can be calculated by the following equation (4), for example.

  Sensor orientation = Current sensor orientation−Er Er (4)

  In step S914, if Er Er is larger than the threshold value (step S914: No), the series of processes is terminated as it is. In other words, if Er Er is larger than the threshold value, it can be determined that they are not the same trajectory due to the circular movement, and therefore, a configuration in which no azimuth correction is performed may be employed.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to easily and appropriately correct the direction of the sensor direction using the road direction of the surrounding road at the position of the host vehicle. Even without this, it is possible to output an accurate sensor orientation.

  In particular, even when the vehicle repeats circular movements such as multi-story parking lots and underground parking lots, the sensor orientation can be corrected when straight ahead is detected, so accurate sensor orientation output without accumulating sensor errors Can do.

  In addition, since the sensor direction is corrected when straight ahead is detected, the local road in the indoor parking lot is not a rectangle or a circle, but a complicated shape such as a non-rectangular shape including a convex portion, for example. However, accurate azimuth correction can be performed.

  The azimuth correction method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

It is explanatory drawing shown about the movement of the vehicle in an indoor parking lot. It is explanatory drawing shown about accumulation | storage of the azimuth | direction error accompanying the circular movement in an indoor parking lot. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a functional structure of the azimuth | direction correction apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the azimuth | direction correction apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing shown about azimuth | direction correction | amendment when there exists a surrounding road parallel to the local road of the indoor parking lot concerning the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing shown about azimuth | direction correction | amendment when there is no surrounding road parallel to the premise road of the indoor parking lot concerning the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the indoor parking lot concerning the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

300 Direction Correction Device 301 Detection Unit 302 Detection Unit 303 Calculation Unit 304 Comparison Unit 305 Identification Unit 306 Direction Difference Comparison Unit 307 Correction Unit

Claims (10)

Detection means for detecting that the moving body is traveling straight;
When detecting straightly by the detecting means, detecting means for detecting a moving direction related to the moving direction of the moving body;
When straight detection is detected by the detection means, calculation means for calculating a road direction related to the laying direction of the road around the moving body;
Comparison means for comparing the moving direction detected by the detection means with the road direction calculated by the calculation means;
Correction means for correcting the moving direction based on the result of comparison by the comparison means;
An azimuth correction apparatus comprising: The calculating means includes
The azimuth correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth correction apparatus calculates the road azimuth of the surrounding road in which a azimuth difference between the movement azimuth and the road azimuth falls within a predetermined range. The calculating means includes
The azimuth correction apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the azimuth correction apparatus calculates the road azimuth of the surrounding road with the shortest distance between the moving body and the surrounding road. The correction means includes
As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, when a difference in direction between the moving direction and the road direction is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the moving direction is corrected to be the road direction. The azimuth | direction correction apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3. The detection means includes
Detecting straight travel in the circular movement of the moving body,
The comparison means includes
A specifying means for identifying an initial azimuth difference between the moving direction and the road direction by comparing the moving direction and the road direction;
Comparing the azimuth difference between the initial azimuth difference specified by the specifying means and the azimuth difference between the moving azimuth and the road azimuth at the time of straight traveling in the circular movement (hereinafter referred to as “circular azimuth difference”). Means,
The azimuth correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The correction means includes
As a result of the comparison by the azimuth difference comparison means, if the difference between the initial azimuth difference and the circular azimuth difference is within a predetermined correction range, the circular azimuth difference becomes the initial azimuth difference, The azimuth correcting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the moving azimuth is corrected. The detection means includes
Furthermore, it detects that the moving body is located in an indoor parking lot,
The detection means includes
When detecting the straight traveling of the moving body in the indoor parking lot by the detection means, detecting the moving direction,
The calculating means includes
The azimuth correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the road azimuth is calculated when the detection unit detects straight travel of the moving body in the indoor parking lot. A detection process for detecting that the moving body is moving straight;
When detecting straight traveling by the detection step, a detection step of detecting a moving direction related to the moving direction of the moving body;
When straight detection is detected by the detection step, a calculation step for calculating a road direction related to a laying direction of a road around the moving body;
A comparison step of comparing the moving direction detected by the detection step with the road direction calculated by the calculation step;
A correction step of correcting the moving direction based on the result compared by the comparison step;
An azimuth correction method comprising:   An orientation correction program for causing a computer to execute the orientation correction method according to claim 8.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the azimuth correction program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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