JP2008241720A - Route guiding method and route guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform intelligible route guide by displaying an actual image of a crossing together with map information. <P>SOLUTION: First, it is determined whether a distance from an own car position to the crossing becomes shorter than a prescribed distance or not, and when becoming shorter than the prescribed distance, image data of the crossing are retrieved. As the result of retrieval, when the image data of the crossing are stored, the image is displayed, and when the image data of the crossing are not stored, a crossing enlarged chart is displayed. Especially, when displaying the image data of the crossing, the image is displayed corresponding to a map screen of the crossing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route guidance method and a route guidance device that can be applied to a vehicle-mounted navigation device.

  In a conventional navigation device, using a road data and a photographic image stored in a map data storage device such as a CD-ROM optical disc device which is a read-only compact disc, an enlarged view of an intersection and a photograph of an intersection are displayed. The route guide (route guidance) was performed using these photograph displays.

  Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional navigation device uses an enlarged view of the intersection previously imagined at the time of creating the map data or a photograph of the intersection taken at that time, so what is the intersection that can be seen from the vehicle position when actually traveling? The display angle and the display position are quite different, and if the intersection photo is old data, the intersection itself and the surroundings are completely different. There was an inconvenience that it was difficult to determine whether or not the displayed intersection coincided.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and proposes a route guidance method and a route guidance device capable of providing easy-to-understand route guidance in the vicinity of intersections by capturing real images such as intersections. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object of the present invention, in the route guidance method of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the distance from the own vehicle position to the next intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The image data of the intersection is searched at a certain time. When the image data of the intersection is stored, the image of the intersection is displayed. When the image data of the intersection is not stored, an enlarged view of the intersection is displayed. I made it. In particular, as a preferred mode, when an image of an intersection is stored, the image is displayed together with a map screen.

  Further, the route guidance apparatus of the present invention has an image capturing unit that captures an image of an intersection on each route at a predetermined distance before the intersection, a storage unit that stores the captured image, and an object set from the position of the host vehicle. Display control means for displaying the route information to the ground together with the image, and display means for displaying the route information and / or the image. Then, it is determined whether or not the distance from the vehicle position to the next intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. When the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the stored intersection image data is searched, and the intersection image data is When the image is stored, the image is displayed. When the image data of the intersection is not stored, an enlarged view of the intersection is displayed as route information.

  Note that when the same image data corresponding to this image address already exists in the storage means when the intersection image is taken into the storage means, the image data and the image address already stored in the storage means are stored on the storage means. Overwrite new image data and image address. On the other hand, when there is no same image data corresponding to this image address in the storage means, the image data and the image address are newly written in the storage means.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the distance from the vehicle position to the intersection is equal to or less than a preset distance, and based on the current position information calculated by the positioning means such as GPS and the guide points such as the intersection, The stored image address is searched to determine whether there is an intersection image data.

  When it is determined from the search execution result that there is intersection image data in the storage means, the stored intersection image is read out and displayed on the display means together with the map screen. If no image data is stored in the storage means, the stored map data is read out and an enlarged view of the intersection is displayed on the display means together with a normal intersection map.

  According to the route guidance method and route guidance device of the present invention, information such as intersections can be dynamically collected and updated, and can always be displayed as a new real image. As a result, the amount of information given to the driver can be increased, it is possible to cope with changes in the situation, and good route guidance that is easy to understand can be made possible.

[Operation overview]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
In the navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention, an image capturing device such as a CCD (charge coupled device) camera is added to the car navigation system, and main guide points (such as intersections of main roads) during traveling are added. This is a navigation system that stores a real image in a large-capacity storage device (hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.) and realizes a good route guide by using the stored image during the next run.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation system according to the present embodiment. A GPS receiver 12 that performs positioning based on GPS data received from a GPS (global positioning system) antenna 11 supplies current position information and the like to an AV (audio / visual) system communication communication processing unit 17.

  The AV / system / communication arithmetic processing unit 17 reads out map information, road information and the like from the map data storage 13 by the driver unit 14 and displays them together with the current position information on the display unit 15.

  At that time, the memory 16 holds various data such as position information in addition to holding the captured image data. Input of commands from the outside is supplied to the AV / system / communication arithmetic processing unit 17 via the remote control light receiving unit 18 using a remote control (remote control device) 19.

  Further, when a vehicle equipped with the navigation system of the present embodiment passes a guide point (such as an intersection of main roads), the image capturing device 21 captures an actual image of the guide point and stores it in the storage device 20. To do. And when the own vehicle passes the same guide point again, the image of the guide point memorize | stored and preserve | saved at the memory | storage device 20 is displayed on the display part 15, and a favorable route guide is performed.

[Description of node, link, own vehicle position, road]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the own vehicle position and the road and the relationship between the node and the link in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the vehicle position 23 on the road 22, a node N1 (24) indicating the same route as the travel direction, a node N2 (25) and a node N3 (26 indicating a route different from the travel direction are shown. ) Exists, the intersection of the node N1 (24) with the node N2 (25) and the node N3 (26) becomes the node NG (guide point) (27). A section having a distance L from the node NG (guide point) (27) to the own vehicle position 23 is called a link 1C (28). Here, the node NG (guide point) (27) is specifically a branch of a route, a main intersection, and the like, and includes a side road of a three-dimensional intersection, a high-speed interchange, a junction, and the like. Note that data such as the coordinate position of each node or the like is stored in the map data storage 13 shown in FIG.

[Image capture flowchart]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an image capturing operation in the present embodiment. This flowchart will be described with reference to the terms on the route shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, it is determined whether the distance L from the vehicle position 23 to the guide point (node NG) (27) or the main intersection is equal to or less than a preset distance X1 (step S1). The determination in step S1 is repeated until the distance from the own vehicle position 23 to the guide point 27 becomes X1 or less. When the distance from the own vehicle position 23 to the guide point 27 becomes X1 or less, Proceed to step S2.

  Then, based on the time calculated by the GPS receiver 12, it is determined whether it is night (whether it is during sunset) (step S2). If it is determined in step S2 that it is night, no image is captured and the process returns to step S1. This is because only images that are difficult to understand can be acquired even when image data is acquired in the dark.

  If it is determined in step S2 that it is not night, an image is captured (step S3). In step S3, the image capturing device 21 captures actual images of roads and intersections around the guide point from the front of the guide point.

  Next, the image captured in step S3 is stored in the work area of the storage device 20 (step S4). In this step S4, the image data of the guide point and information about the image (image address (for example, link number 1C, node numbers N1, N2, N3, NG, distance X1, date and time, traveling direction, etc.)) are stored. Yes.

  Next, based on the image address stored in the storage device 20 together with the image data in step S4, it is determined whether or not the same image data corresponding to this image address exists in the storage device 20 (step S5). When it is determined that there is the same image data corresponding to this image address in the storage device 20, the image data already stored in the storage device 20 and the image data captured in step S3 on the image address The image address is overwritten (step S6). And it returns to step S1 and the judgment and process from step S1 to step S6 are repeated.

  If it is determined in step S5 that the same image data corresponding to this image address does not exist in the storage device 20, the acquired image data and image address are newly written in the storage device 20 (step S7), and step S1. Returning to step S1, the determination and processing from step S1 to step S7 are repeated.

[Image display flowchart]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the image display operation in the present embodiment. In this figure, the terms on the route will be described with reference to the terms shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, first, it is determined whether the distance L from the vehicle position 23 to the guide point (node NG) (27) or the main intersection is equal to or less than a preset distance X2 (step S11). This determination step S11 is repeatedly performed until the distance from the vehicle position 23 to the guide point 27 becomes X2 or less.

  If it is determined in step S11 that the distance from the vehicle position 23 to the guide point 27 is equal to or less than X2, the image address stored in the storage device 20 is searched, and the image data of the guide point is obtained. Whether or not there is a search is performed (step S12). This search is based on the current position information calculated by the GPS receiver 12 (for example, the link number of the link 1C, the node numbers of the nodes N1, N2, N3, etc., the traveling direction), the guide point (node NG) (27), etc. This is done based on the node number.

  Subsequently, it is determined from the search execution result in step S12 whether there is guide point image data in the storage device 20 (step S13). If it is determined in step S13 that image data has been stored in the storage device 20, the stored guide point image is read out and displayed on the display unit 15 (step S14), and the process returns to step S11. The determination and processing from step S11 to step S14 are continuously repeated.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a route guide using stored image data according to the present embodiment. In the display unit 15 shown in FIG. 6, a map screen 61 is displayed on the left half, and an image display screen 62 using the image data of the storage device 20 is displayed on the right half. In this case, only the image display screen 62 using the image data of the storage device 20 may be displayed on the display unit 15.

  If it is determined in step S13 of FIG. 4 that no image data is stored in the storage device 20, the map data stored in the map data storage 13 is read and an enlarged intersection map is displayed on the display unit 15. (Step S15). Then, the process returns to step S11, and the determination and processing from step S11 to step S15 are repeated.

  FIG. 5 shows a route guide using the map data storage of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the display unit 15 displays a map screen 51 on the left half, and an intersection enlargement screen 52 using data of the map data storage 13 on the right half. In this case, only the intersection enlarged screen 52 may be displayed on the display unit 15.

[How to install the car navigation system]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of attaching the car navigation system to the automobile according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the image capturing device 21 is installed at a position so as to capture an image as close as possible to the driver's line of sight of the driver's seat 71 and not to disturb the driving. . For example, the image capturing device 21 is installed under the windshield 74 in front of the handle 72 on the driver's seat 71 side and in contact with the outside or the inside of the windshield 74.

  The display unit 15 is installed on a dashboard in front of the windshield 74 at an intermediate position between the driver seat 71 and the passenger seat 73, for example, and the navigation system main body 75 is installed in the accessory storage unit below the display unit 15. Install.

[Selection of guide points]
The guide point refers to a main branching point on the route guide from the starting point to the destination, which is likely to be erroneous. The guide point is selected according to a plurality of conditions such as the number, type, shape, and number of lanes of intersecting roads.

[Conditions for image capture and display]
First, the image capturing condition is that a route from the departure point to the destination is set and captured at a guide point in the route guide. Secondly, when the route guide is not being used, it is taken in at a main branch point or an intersection that becomes a guide point.

  When capturing an image, it is possible to capture a clear image that satisfies a certain image quality at the time of reproduction when it is not captured at night (when it is dark enough to capture a clear image) or in the rain.

  For day / night determination (light / dark determination), the time calculated by the GPS receiver 12, a clock, an optical sensor, or the like is used. In addition, the rainy weather is determined by a wiper operation of a vehicle or a raindrop sensor.

  Furthermore, day and night images can be recorded even with image data of the same guide point, and the day and night images can be effectively utilized by switching the operation mode, and can be selectively used according to the time for displaying the images. For example, a guide point on a route that travels only at night is marked by a neon sign or the like that is lit only at night, so the operation mode is switched to capture an image even at night. The image display condition is displayed when image data is stored in the storage device 20 at the guide point during the route guide to the destination.

[Image capture and display timing]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image capture point and an image display point when the vehicle approaches an intersection in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the distance X1 from the node NG (guide point) 83 is the image capture point CP (85) and the distance from the node NG (guide point) 83 with respect to the vehicle position 82 on the road 81. X2 becomes the image display point DP (84).

  In route guidance in navigation systems, what is important is to acquire information that allows the driver to drive comfortably by knowing as soon as possible the situation ahead in the direction of travel. Therefore, it is an important condition that the image display point DP (84) at the guide point (node NG) 83 is in front of the traveling direction with respect to the image capture point CP (85).

  For example, the image capture point at a certain guide point is 30 meters before the guide point, and the image display point at the time of route guidance is 300 meters before the guide point. By doing so, the previous situation (situation 30 meters before the guide point) can be known at 300 meters before the guide point, and a comfortable driving is possible.

  If the distance between the image capture point CP (85) and the guide point (node NG) (83) is X1, and the distance between the image display point DP (84) and the guide point (node NG) (83) is X2, then X2 The relationship of ≧ X1 is established.

  The values of X1 and X2 may be determined in advance. In particular, X2 can be dynamically changed based on the vehicle speed signal from the vehicle or the speed calculated by the GPS receiver 12. A good guide is possible.

  For example, when the vehicle is moving at high speed on an expressway or the like, driving with a guide point image displayed in front of the vehicle can be performed more comfortably than when traveling at a low speed on a general road. When X2 during high speed movement is X2H and X2 during low speed movement is X2L, the relationship X2H ≧ X2L is established.

  According to the route guidance apparatus of the present embodiment, only the data stored in the map data storage such as a CD-ROM is displayed as shown in the enlarged view of the intersection conventionally used for route guidance (route guide). Instead, new information necessary for route guidance can be acquired by taking a branch point or main intersection of the route as a guide point and capturing an image of the point.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, information on guide points such as intersections can be dynamically collected and updated. For this reason, the amount of information to be displayed can be increased, and it is possible to cope with changes in various situations, so that it is possible to provide good and easy-to-understand route guidance.

  In addition, the image capturing device 21 used in the present embodiment can capture the image at a predetermined distance before a branching point, an intersection, or the like, so when approaching a specific location such as an intersection in the traveling direction. Can be acquired as they are, and an easy-to-understand image can be displayed during route guidance.

  Furthermore, in this image capturing device 21, when an image having the same image address is stored, the captured image is overwritten, and when an image having the same image address is not stored, the captured image is stored as a new image. Therefore, when there is the same image, it can be sequentially updated to a new image and a lot of new image information can be acquired.

  Further, the image capturing device 21 can capture only clear images except for unclear images at night. Also, if there is image data such as an intersection before the intersection in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the image is displayed in correspondence with the route information such as the map data, and if there is no image data, only the route information is displayed. To. Thereby, it is possible to provide easy-to-understand route guidance by effectively using the image data.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the image capturing device captures an image at a predetermined distance in front of an intersection or the like, so that an image when approaching a specific location such as an intersection in the traveling direction is displayed. It can be acquired as it is, and an easy-to-understand image can be displayed for route guidance.

  In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, a clear real image before a specific location such as an intersection in the traveling direction of the host vehicle can be acquired as it is. Then, image data such as an intersection can be stored together with an image address and displayed together with the map screen when approaching the intersection.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, when an image having the same image address is stored, the captured image is overwritten. When an image having the same image address is not stored, the captured image is replaced with a new image. Therefore, when there is the same image, it can be sequentially updated to a new image and a lot of new image information can be acquired.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the distance from the vehicle position to a specific location such as the next intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. When image data is stored, the image is displayed. Then, when image data of a specific location such as an intersection is not stored, only route information is displayed, so that easy-to-understand route guidance can be performed near the intersection in the traveling direction.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the route information displayed on the display unit when image data of a specific location such as an intersection is not stored is an enlarged display of a branch point or an intersection of the route. Therefore, easy-to-understand route guidance can be performed even when there is no image data.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, when image data of a specific location such as an intersection is stored, the image of the intersection or the like is displayed corresponding to the route information such as map data, so that it is easy to understand. Route guidance can be performed.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that other various modifications and application examples are included without departing from the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation system in the embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the node in the example of embodiment of this invention, a link, the own vehicle position, and a road. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of image capture in the embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the image display in the embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the route guide display using the map data storage in the embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the route guide display using the stored image data in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows attachment of the car navigation system to the motor vehicle in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the capture of an image and the display timing in the example of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... GPS antenna, 12 ... GPS receiver, 13 ... Map data storage, 14 ... Driver part, 15 ... Display part, 16 ... Memory, 17 ... AV system・ Communication calculation processing unit, 18: remote control light receiving unit, 19: remote control, 20 ... storage device, 21 ... image capture device, 22, 81 ... road, 23 ... own vehicle Position, 24-26 ... Node, 27, 83 ... Node (guide point), 28 ... Link, 51 ... Map screen, 52 ... Intersection enlarged view, 61 ... Map screen, 62 ... Image display screen, 71 ... Driver seat, 75 ... Car navigation system body, 82 ... Vehicle position, 84 ... Image display point, 85 ... Image capture point

Claims (3)

Determine whether the distance from your vehicle position to the next intersection is less than or equal to a predetermined distance,
When the distance is less than the predetermined distance, the intersection image data is searched,
When the image data of the intersection is stored, the image is displayed,
A route guidance method for displaying an enlarged enlarged view of the intersection when the image data of the intersection is not stored.   2. The route guidance method according to claim 1, wherein a map screen is displayed together with the image when image data of the intersection is stored. Image capturing means for capturing an image of an intersection in each route at a predetermined distance before the intersection;
Storage means for storing the image;
Display control means for displaying route information from the vehicle position to the set destination together with the image;
Display means for displaying the route information and / or the image;
Determine whether the distance from your vehicle position to the next intersection is less than or equal to a predetermined distance,
When it is less than the predetermined distance, search the image data of the intersection,
When the image data of the intersection is stored, the image is displayed,
Control means for controlling to display an enlarged view of the intersection as the route information when image data of the intersection is not stored;
A route guidance device comprising:

Images