JP2008145217A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus capable of recognizing a place having traffic information differing from current traffic information in guidance points displayed in a traffic information list. <P>SOLUTION: Traffic information received by a satellite radio receiver 110 is stored in a reception memory 111, and traffic information at the guidance points in the received traffic information is stored in a data memory 112 on a route. Traffic information in the data memory 112 on a route is stored at a list display data memory 113 for each 30 seconds. The update situation in the data memory 112 on a route is monitored for each five seconds, and traffic information in the list display data memory 113 is compared with that in the reception memory 111 when the update is detected. The list display column of a guidance point where two pieces of traffic information do not match is hatched. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that displays a list of received traffic information.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation systems that display a list of traffic information at predetermined points based on received traffic information are known. In this navigation system, when a desired point is selected from the list, traffic information around the point can be displayed on a display monitor together with a map around the point (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-11693

  In the conventional navigation system, it is necessary to update the traffic information list at a predetermined cycle. However, when the number of points is large, the update time may take several tens of seconds. Therefore, when you select a point where traffic information is displayed in the traffic information list, if the traffic at the selected point has already been resolved, the traffic information is not displayed on the map around the point on the display monitor. There is a problem that the user feels uncomfortable.

(1) The navigation device of claim 1 is a receiver for receiving traffic information from the outside, a first storage means for storing the received traffic information, and reading traffic information at a predetermined point from the first storage means, Second storage means for storing traffic information for each point; third storage means for storing traffic information for each point stored in the second storage means as list display data for displaying a list for each point; When the traffic information stored in the first storage means is updated, an update means for updating the traffic information at each point stored in the second storage means, and when the traffic information at each point is updated by the update means, The collation means for collating the list display data stored in the storage means with the traffic information in the first storage means, the traffic information list is displayed on the display monitor based on the list display data, and the traffic information is obtained by collation. The appearance of a data display field point with unmatched data, characterized by comprising a display control unit that matches to have to be different from the appearance of a data display column display.
(2) The invention according to claim 2 is the navigation device according to claim 1, wherein when the display control means designates a predetermined point in the list display data displayed on the display monitor, a map around the point is displayed. While displaying, the traffic information acquired with reference to the traffic information of a 1st memory | storage means is superimposed and displayed on a map, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
(3) The invention according to claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the display control means determines that the designation is invalid when the point where the display form of the data display column is changed is designated. The map display is not performed.
(4) The invention of claim 4 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the list display data of the third storage means uses traffic information of each point of the second storage means. The update is performed at the first time interval, and the verification unit performs the verification at a second time interval shorter than the first time interval.
(5) The invention of claim 5 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the point is a guidance point set on a recommended route.
(6) The invention of claim 6 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the receiver receives traffic information distributed via a satellite.

  According to the present invention, the received traffic information is collated with the traffic information in the traffic information list on the display screen, and the display mode of the data column at the point where the traffic information is different is different from the display mode of the other data column. . Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a discrepancy with the traffic information on the surrounding map requested from the traffic information list, and to reduce the possibility of making the user feel uncomfortable.

  FIG. 1 shows a navigation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 1 can receive satellite radio information transmitted from an artificial satellite and acquire traffic information at a plurality of points. The navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current position detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, a speaker 17, an input device 18, a satellite radio reception unit 110, a reception memory 111, an on-route data memory 112, a list. A display data memory 113 and a disk drive 114 are provided. The disk drive 114 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 115 in which map data is stored.

  The disk drive 114 reads map data including map display data and route search data from the DVD-ROM 115. The map display data and the route search data include road link information and node information stored in the map data. The map display data has map data of a plurality of scales from wide areas to details, and the scale of the display map can be changed according to a user request. The map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM 115, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. When the control circuit 11 performs a predetermined route search process based on the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 115, the processing result is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a recommended route.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the vehicle. The current location detection device 14 includes a vibration gyro 14a, a vehicle speed sensor 14b, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 14c, and the like. The vibration gyro 14a detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, the vehicle speed sensor 14b detects the vehicle speed, and the GPS sensor 14c detects a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. The navigation device 1 determines a display range of the map, a route search start point, and the like based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14, and displays the current location as a vehicle position mark on the map.

  The image memory 15 is a VRAM that stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes road map drawing data and various graphic data, which are appropriately generated based on the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 115. The navigation device 1 can perform map display and the like by using the image data generated in this way. A traffic information list display image, which will be described later, is created based on the list display data stored in the list display data memory 113, stored in the image memory 15, and displayed on the display monitor 16.

  The display monitor 16 provides the user with various information such as a map near the vehicle position as a screen display based on various information such as map data. The speaker 17 outputs sound for instructing the user to perform various input operations and for guiding the route. The input device 18 has operation keys for the user to set various commands, and is realized by a button switch on the operation panel, a hard switch around the panel, or the like. The user manually sets the destination by manually operating the input device 18 in accordance with an instruction on the display screen of the display monitor 16 or a voice instruction from the speaker 17.

  When the destination is set by the user, the navigation apparatus 1 performs a route calculation from the current location detected by the GPS sensor 14c to the destination based on a predetermined algorithm. The route obtained in this way (hereinafter referred to as a recommended route) is stored as recommended route data in a predetermined storage area, and guidance data composed of the traveling direction at the guidance point is also stored in the predetermined storage area. Is done. The recommended route is displayed on the screen separately from other roads by changing the display form, for example, the display color. Thereby, the user can recognize the recommended route on the map on the screen. In addition, the navigation device 1 instructs the user in the direction of travel using a screen or voice at each guidance point based on the guidance data described above so that the vehicle can travel according to the recommended route, thereby guiding the route of the vehicle. To do.

  The satellite radio reception unit 110 receives satellite radio information supplied from a satellite radio station (not shown) via an artificial satellite and outputs the satellite radio information to the control circuit 11. The satellite radio information includes traffic information such as traffic congestion information such as traffic jams, traffic jams, traffic fault information such as accidents and broken cars, and traffic regulation information such as road closures and closures. These pieces of traffic information are associated with major points such as intersections.

  The reception memory 111 is constituted by a rewritable nonvolatile recording medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk, and stores traffic information received by the satellite radio reception unit 110. For example, the latest traffic information is distributed every 5 minutes, and the reception memory 111 is updated every 5 minutes according to the latest traffic information received by the satellite radio receiver 110. The update process takes about 30 seconds. As shown in FIG. 2A, the reception memory 111 stores data such as the latitude / longitude of the location, the connection link number, the content of traffic congestion, and traffic regulations for each location name. This data structure is an example, and the reception memory 111 can be constructed in various forms.

  The on-route data memory 112 is constituted by a rewritable nonvolatile recording medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk, and extracts the traffic information of the guidance point set on the recommended route from the traffic information stored in the reception memory 111. And remember. As shown in FIG. 2B, the route data memory 112 stores traffic information and data indicating the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point for each guidance point name. When the traffic information stored in the reception memory 111 is updated, the on-route data memory 112 is also updated with the update data in the reception memory 111.

  The list display data memory 113 copies the guidance point traffic information stored in the on-route data memory 112 and stores it as list display data, for example, every 30 seconds. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the list display data memory 113 stores traffic information and data indicating the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point for each guidance point name. The CPU of the control device 11 creates image data of the guidance point traffic information list based on the list display data and displays the image data on the display monitor 16.

  The update status of data in the on-route data memory 112 is detected at intervals of 5 seconds, and when any data update occurs, the traffic information in the list display data memory 113 and the traffic information in the reception memory 111 are collated. If it is determined from the collation result that there is traffic information that does not match the data, the corresponding data column of the traffic information list displayed on the display monitor 16 is displayed with hatching (see FIG. 6).

  In this embodiment, the data in the list display data memory 113 is copied and stored and updated by copying the data in the on-route data memory 112. Therefore, even if data update in the on-route data memory 112 is detected, each time Update every 30 seconds without updating.

  The traffic information list described above will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the input device 18 is operated to select a predetermined menu, a traffic information display screen 20 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display monitor 16. On the traffic information display screen 20, traffic information stored in the on-route data memory 112 is displayed as a traffic information list 21. That is, when a traffic information list display request is input from the user, image data of the traffic information list 21 shown in FIG. 3 is created based on the list display data in the list display data memory 113. This list display image data is developed in the image memory 15 and displayed as a traffic information list 21 on the display monitor 16.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the traffic information list 21 includes a point name 22 of a place having traffic information such as traffic jam, traffic information 23, and a distance 24 from the vehicle position. When the input device 18 is operated and a desired point (guidance point) name is selected from the point names 22 displayed in the traffic information list 21, the detailed information of the traffic information at that point displays the traffic information. Displayed as a map. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the display column 25 of “XX intersection” is selected, the CPU of the control device 11 reads the detailed traffic information of the corresponding point in the reception memory 111, and as shown in FIG. “Observation” The map 30 around the intersection is displayed, and traffic information is displayed as arrows 32 a to 32 h on the map 30. Here, the arrows 32a to 32h are red arrows that display a traffic jam. Thereby, the user can recognize the detailed information of the traffic information of “XX intersection”. As described above, the traffic congestion display lines 32 a to 32 h are drawn on the map data based on the traffic information stored in the reception memory 111.

  Next, the traffic information list display process in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 7 are executed in the control circuit 11 by a program that starts when the navigation apparatus is powered on.

  In step S501, it is determined whether or not traffic information is newly received from the satellite radio reception unit 110. If step S501 is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S502, and the traffic information stored in the reception memory 111 is updated based on the received new traffic information. In step S503, it is determined whether the searched recommended route data is stored. If an affirmative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S504. If there is no recommended route data, this process is terminated. In step S504, the traffic information of the guidance point set on the recommended route is extracted from the traffic information stored in the reception memory 111, and the traffic of the guidance point is stored in the on-route data memory 112 based on the extracted traffic information. Store and update as an information list.

  In step S505, the traffic information list in the on-route data memory 112 is directly stored in the list display data memory 113 as traffic information list display data. In step S506, a 5-second timer and a 30-second timer are set.

  In step S507, it is determined whether or not 5 seconds have elapsed since the traffic information list was created or updated by determining whether or not the 5-second timer has been counted up. When 5 seconds have elapsed, it is determined in step S508 whether the traffic information in the on-route data memory 112 has been updated. If updated, in step S509, the traffic information of the guidance point stored in the list display data memory 113 is compared with the traffic information of the corresponding point in the reception memory 111. In step S510, it is determined whether or not the comparison and collation results match. If it is determined that they do not match, the process proceeds to step S511, and a process of hatching the traffic information list display data field of the guidance points that do not match is executed. As a result, on the traffic information list display screen, as shown in FIG. 6, the data column of “XX intersection” is hatched.

  If the collation results match, step S510 is affirmed, and the 5-second timer is set again in step S512. In step S513, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have elapsed since the traffic information list was created or updated by determining whether or not the 30-second timer has been counted up. If 30 seconds have not elapsed, the process returns to step S507, and steps S507 to S512 are repeated.

  When the 30-second timer counts up and step S513 is affirmed, the list display data memory 113 is updated with the data contents of the on-route data memory 112 in step S514. Thereafter, in step S515, the 5-second timer is reset, and the process returns to step S501.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a program executed by interruption when a request for displaying a list of traffic information is input from a user. In step S701, a traffic information list image is created based on the data in the list display data memory 113, stored in the image memory 15, and displayed on the display monitor 16 (see FIG. 3). In step S702, it is determined whether detailed information is requested from the list display screen. If a positive determination is made, the traffic information of the requested point is acquired from the reception memory 111 in step S703. In step S704, a map around the requested point is displayed on the display monitor 16, and a congestion line or the like is superimposed on the map based on the acquired traffic information (see FIG. 4).

The advantages of the navigation device that performs such list display processing will be described below.
As described above, the reception memory 111 and the on-route data memory 112 are updated based on traffic information that is updated and distributed every five minutes. The traffic information list display image is created based on the list display data in the list display data memory 113, and this list display data is updated every 30 seconds based on the traffic information stored in the on-route data memory 112. Therefore, if the traffic information of the guidance point displayed in the traffic information list has changed during the 30 seconds, the traffic information of the traffic information list displayed on the display monitor 16 and the actual guidance point It may happen that traffic information, for example, traffic jam information does not match. In this case, when the user requests detailed information on the guidance point, the displayed traffic information does not match the traffic information displayed on the map, and the user feels uncomfortable.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, although the list display data is updated every 30 seconds, the traffic information in the list display data memory 113 is changed to the traffic in the reception memory 111 that stores the latest traffic information every 5 seconds at the shortest. When it matches with the information and does not match, the data field of the corresponding guidance point on the list display screen is hatched to alert the user. Since the on-route data memory 112 is updated when the reception memory 111 is updated, in the above embodiment, the update status of the on-route data memory 112 is monitored every 5 seconds. As described above, the traffic information in the list display data memory 113 and the traffic information in the reception memory 111 are collated to identify the non-matching guidance points.

  Note that when the configuration in which the list display data memory 113 is updated in real time according to the update status of the on-route data memory 112 is adopted, the load on the CPU becomes heavy, which causes an increase in system cost. In other words, it is possible to provide a list display process that does not give the user an uncomfortable feeling while suppressing the system cost by the list display process described above.

The above embodiment can be modified as follows.
(1) Of the guidance points displayed as the traffic information list 21, the data fields of the points that do not match the traffic information in the reception memory 111 are hatched, but if they are displayed in a manner different from the display form of the matching points Not limited to hatching. For example, instead of hatching, it may be shaded or displayed in a different color. In this case, it is preferable that the processing time is shorter than recreating the traffic information list 21.

(2) Among the guidance points displayed as the traffic information list 21, the data column of points that do not match the traffic information in the reception memory 111 is hatched to alert the user. However, even if detailed information is specified for a hatched point, the surrounding map is not displayed, that is, the specification may be invalidated so that detailed traffic information such as a congestion line is not displayed. In this case, it is not necessary to perform hatching, but conversely, since the user may feel uncomfortable, it is necessary to sufficiently consider notification by a display form such as hatching on the user interface.

(3) If the amount of traffic information to be received is large, it may be divided and received. For example, when it takes 30 seconds to receive all the traffic information, the traffic information may be received every 10 seconds and the traffic information in the reception memory 111 may be rewritten sequentially.

(4) Of the traffic information stored in the on-route data memory 112, it is preferable to sequentially delete the traffic information of points where the vehicle has passed. Since the amount of data to be processed is reduced, the processing time for creating the traffic information list is shortened.

(5) The traffic information stored in the route data memory 112 and the list display data memory 113 is not limited to the embodiment, and the information content to be displayed in a list may be selected as necessary. Not only the guidance point of the recommended route by the route search, but also a list display of traffic information of points such as main intersections on the route set by other methods may be used.

(6) In addition to the traffic information on the recommended route, a list of traffic information on points within a predetermined distance from the current location of the vehicle may be displayed. Even when not traveling on the recommended route, traffic information around the vehicle can be recognized, which is convenient.

(7) Although traffic information is distributed from satellite radio, the present invention can also be applied to a navigation device that receives traffic information distributed via FM multiplex broadcasting and various beacons from a so-called VICS information distribution center. .

  The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The correspondence between the elements of the claims and the embodiments will be described.
The receiver of the present invention corresponds to the satellite radio receiver 110, the first storage means corresponds to the reception memory 111, the second storage means corresponds to the on-route data memory 112, and the third storage means corresponds to the list display data memory. Corresponding to 113, the updating means, the collating means, and the display control means correspond to the control circuit 11. In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and when interpreting invention, it is not limited to the correspondence of the component of said embodiment and the component of this invention at all.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of memory. It is a figure which shows an example of a traffic information list display. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the detailed information of the traffic information of the point selected from the traffic information list. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the traffic information list display process in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the traffic information list display which has the data column to which hatching was given. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of the detailed information in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 11 Control circuit 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 18 Input apparatus 21 Traffic information list 32a-32h Arrow which shows traffic jam 110 Satellite radio receiving part 111 Reception memory 112 On-route data memory 113 List display data memory

Claims (6)

A receiver for receiving traffic information from outside;
First storage means for storing the received traffic information;
Second storage means for reading out traffic information at a predetermined point from the first storage means and storing it as traffic information at each point;
Third storage means for storing traffic information of each point stored in the second storage means as list display data for displaying a list for each point;
When the traffic information stored in the first storage means is updated, an update means for updating the traffic information of each point stored in the second storage means;
When the traffic information at each point is updated by the update means, a collation means for collating the list display data stored in the third storage means with the traffic information in the first storage means,
A traffic information list is displayed on a display monitor based on the list display data, and the display form of the data display column of the point having data that does not match the traffic information by the collation is changed to the display form of the matching data display column. And a display control means for displaying differently. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
When the display control means designates a predetermined point in the list display data displayed on the display monitor, the display control means displays a map around the point and obtains it by referring to the traffic information in the first storage means A navigation apparatus characterized by displaying the traffic information superimposed on the map. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein when the point where the display form of the data display column is changed is specified, the display control means determines that the specification is invalid and does not perform map display. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The list display data of the third storage means is updated at a first time interval using the traffic information of each point of the second storage means, and the collating means is shorter than the first time interval. A navigation device characterized in that the collation is performed at a second time interval. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the point is a guidance point set on a recommended route. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The navigation apparatus, wherein the receiver receives traffic information distributed via a satellite.

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