JP2009257877A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system capable of preventing a driver from incorrectly recognizing an intersection corresponding to an intersection enlarged image as another not corresponding to it even if the driver have overlooked marks such as facilities outside business hours. <P>SOLUTION: When a vehicle has approached an intersection 31, intersection enlarged images 40A and 40B of the intersection 31 are superposed on maps 30A and 30B and displayed on a display monitor 16. Icons of specific names of supermarkets, gas stations, convenience stores, and post offices are displayed as marks on the intersection enlarged map 40A during the day. Icons of specific names of gas stations and convenience stores during business hours are displayed as marks on the intersection enlarged map 40B during nighttime hours, but icons of specific names of supermarkets and post offices outside business hours are not displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that displays an enlarged view of an intersection.

A vehicle-mounted navigation device that displays an enlarged view of an intersection including a landmark facility before reaching an intersection that should turn right and left on a route is known as a conventional technique (for example, Patent Document 1). In this in-vehicle navigation device, among the mark facilities displayed in the enlarged view, the mark facilities within the business hours are displayed with emphasis as compared with the mark facilities outside the business hours.
JP 2004-138394 A

  With the above technology, facilities for displaying landmarks may be missed regardless of whether the visibility is good or bad. In such a case, since the facility displayed in the enlarged view of the intersection cannot be found, there is a problem that the driver erroneously determines that the intersection corresponding to the enlarged view does not correspond to the enlarged view. .

(1) A navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a current position detection means for detecting a current position of a vehicle, an intersection approach detection means for detecting approach of an intersection of a vehicle based on the current position detected by the current position detection means, and an approach to the intersection An intersection enlarged view display control means for displaying an enlarged intersection view of the intersection on the display monitor when the approach of the vehicle is detected by the means, and a brightness determination means for judging that the outside of the vehicle is darker than the predetermined brightness, Storage means for storing the intersection mark information and the visibility information of the mark information according to the external brightness in association with each other. When it is determined that the image is darker than the brightness, the mark information is selected from the mark information stored in the storage unit based on the visibility information and displayed.
(2) The invention according to claim 2 is the navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the mark information is a facility, and the visibility information is a business hours of the facility.
(3) The invention according to claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the mark information is a signboard, and the visibility information is nighttime visibility of the signboard.
(4) The invention according to claim 4 is the navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the visibility information is information on a mark set by the user as a mark having poor visibility when the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness. It is characterized by being.
(5) The invention according to claim 5 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the brightness determination means is based on an operation of a lighting switch of a light installed in the vehicle. It is determined that the outside is darker than a predetermined brightness.
(6) The invention according to claim 6 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the brightness determination means is based on a detection result of an illuminance sensor installed in the vehicle. Is determined to be darker than a predetermined brightness.
(7) The invention of claim 7 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising information acquisition means for acquiring information of sunrise time and sunset time, wherein the brightness determination means Based on the time, the sunrise time, and the sunset time, it is determined that the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness.

  According to the present invention, when the outside of the vehicle becomes dark, the mark is not recognized, so that the mark with poor visibility is not displayed on the enlarged intersection view. Since only the mark with good visibility is displayed, it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition of the enlarged intersection view.

-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 shows a navigation device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, current location detection device 14, image memory 15, display monitor 16, speaker 17, input device 18, and disk drive 19. The disc drive 19 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 110 in which map data is stored. The navigation device 1 is connected to a headlight lighting switch 21.

  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. The control circuit 11 performs a predetermined route search process based on the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 110. Then, the processing result is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a recommended route. Further, the control circuit 11 has a timer 11a and can measure the current time.

  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 map display range, a route search start point, and the like based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14. Further, the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14 is displayed on the map as the vehicle position mark.

  The image memory 15 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 by the control circuit 11 based on the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 110.

  The disk drive 19 reads map data from the DVD-ROM 110. The map data includes map display data, route search data, intersection enlarged map display facility data, and the like. 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.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the facility data for displaying an enlarged intersection view will be described. In the intersection enlarged map display facility data, for each intersection ID for identifying the intersection, information on the facility to be displayed in the enlarged intersection map of the intersection is stored. As facility information to be displayed on the enlarged intersection, information of facility ID, business start time, business end time, facility type, facility name, and facility location (latitude / longitude) is stored. Based on these pieces of information, the facility to be displayed in the enlarged intersection map is selected.

  The map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM 110, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  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 that are operated by a user for setting various commands, and is realized by a button switch on the operation panel, a hard switch around the panel, or the like. The user sets the destination by 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, a route search end point is set at the destination. Then, route calculation from the route search start point to the route search end point is performed based on a predetermined algorithm using the route search data. The route thus obtained (hereinafter referred to as a recommended route) is displayed on the screen in a manner different 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.

  Further, the navigation device 1 instructs the user in the direction of travel using a screen or voice so that the vehicle can travel according to the recommended route, thereby guiding the route of the vehicle. In this route guidance, when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection (an intersection that turns such as a right or left turn when the vehicle travels according to a recommended route), an enlarged view of the guidance intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16.

  The headlight lighting switch 21 is a switch for turning on / off the headlight of the vehicle. The navigation device 1 can detect whether the headlight is turned on or off based on a signal output from the headlight lighting switch 21.

  Next, display of an enlarged intersection view according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining a display screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the vehicle approaches the intersection 31 during the daytime. A vehicle position mark 32 is displayed at the vehicle position along with a map 30A around the vehicle position on the display screen. In addition, a recommended route 33 is displayed over the map 30A. The recommended route 33 is a route that turns right at the intersection 31.

  In order to ensure that the driver can turn right at the intersection 31, an enlarged intersection view 40 </ b> A of the intersection 31 is displayed on the display monitor 16 so as to overlap the map 30 </ b> A. In the enlarged intersection view 40A, icons of “Super XX”, “XX Petroleum”, “Convenience Store ΔΔ”, and “□□ Post Office” are displayed as landmark facilities.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram for explaining a display screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the vehicle approaches the intersection 31 at night. The time when this display screen is displayed is the time within the business hours of “XX Oil” and “Convenience Store △△”, and the time outside the business hours of “Super XX” and “□□ Post Office”. It will be explained as being. A map 30B around the vehicle position is displayed on the display screen. In order to prevent the map 30B at night from becoming dazzling, the map 30B is displayed by changing the contrast and color with the map 30A of FIG. 3A displayed in the daytime.

  Similar to the map 30A of FIG. 3A, the vehicle position mark 32, the recommended route 33, and the enlarged intersection view 40B of the intersection 31 are displayed on the display screen so as to overlap the map 30B. In order to prevent the intersection enlarged view 40B at night from becoming dazzling, the intersection enlarged view 40B is displayed by changing the contrast and color from the intersection enlarged view 40A of FIG. 3A displayed in the daytime.

  In order to ensure that the driver can make a right turn at the intersection 31, the facility as a landmark is displayed in the enlarged intersection 40B as well as the enlarged intersection 40A in FIG. However, in the enlarged intersection view 40B, “XX Oil” and “Convenience Store Δ △” icons within business hours are displayed, and “Super XX” and “□□ Post Office” icons outside business hours are displayed. Is not displayed.

  Next, display processing of an enlarged intersection view in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5. The processing in FIGS. 4 and 5 is executed in the control circuit 11 by a program that starts when route guidance is started.

  In step S401, the current location of the vehicle is detected using the current location detection device 14. In step S402, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has reached the position 500m before the next guidance intersection. If the vehicle has reached the position 500 m before the guidance intersection, an affirmative determination is made in step S402 and the process proceeds to step S403. If the vehicle has not yet reached the position 500m before the guidance intersection, a negative determination is made in step S402, and the process returns to step S401.

  In step S403, a candidate for a facility (facility candidate) to be displayed on the enlarged intersection map of the guided intersection is specified from the enlarged intersection map facility data using the intersection ID of the guided intersection as a clue. In step S404, it is determined based on a signal output from the headlight lighting switch 21 whether the headlight is lit. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not the outside of the vehicle is darker than the predetermined brightness. If the headlight is on, an affirmative determination is made in step S404 and the process proceeds to step S405. If the headlight is not turned on, a negative determination is made in step S404, and the process proceeds to step S408.

  In step S405, the current time is measured by the timer 11a. In step S406, the measured current time is collated with the business start time and business end time of the facility candidate. Then, among the facility candidates, a facility whose current time is within business hours is specified as a facility to be displayed on the enlarged intersection view. In step S407, image data of the enlarged intersection map is created by superimposing and drawing the facility icon to be displayed on the enlarged intersection map on the detailed map around the guidance intersection. Then, the process proceeds to step S501 in FIG.

  In step S408, all facility candidates are displayed on the enlarged intersection view regardless of the business start time and the business end time. Then, the process proceeds to step S407.

  In step S501 of FIG. 5, the current location detection device 14 detects the current location of the vehicle. In step S502, it is determined whether the vehicle has arrived at a position 300m before the guidance intersection. If the vehicle has arrived at a position 300 m before the guidance intersection, an affirmative decision is made in step S502 and the process proceeds to step S503. If the vehicle has not yet arrived at the position 300 m before the guidance intersection, a negative determination is made in step S502 and the process returns to step S501. In step S503, the intersection enlarged view of the guidance intersection is superimposed on the map around the vehicle position and displayed on the display monitor 16 in a pop-up screen.

  In step S504, the current location of the vehicle is detected by the current location detection device 11. In step S505, it is determined whether the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection. If the vehicle has passed the guidance intersection, an affirmative determination is made in step S505, and the process proceeds to step S506. If the vehicle has not yet passed the guidance intersection, a negative determination is made in step S505, and the process returns to step S504. In step S506, the intersection enlarged view is deleted.

The navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment described above has the following operational effects.
(1) When the outside of the vehicle becomes darker than the predetermined brightness, facilities outside business hours are not displayed on the enlarged intersection map. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition of the enlarged intersection map when the driver overlooks a facility outside business hours.

(2) The display mode of the intersection enlarged view 40B at night is made different from the display mode of the intersection enlarged view 40A at daytime. Thereby, the driver can recognize that the facility outside the business hours is not displayed, and even if the driver finds the facility not displayed in the enlarged intersection view 40B at night at the intersection 31, the intersection corresponding to the enlarged intersection view Can be prevented from being misidentified as not.

-Second Embodiment-
A navigation apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of the navigation device of the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the navigation device 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, an advertising billboard is displayed on the enlarged intersection view as a mark when determining an intersection where the vehicle turns right or left. In general, a signboard is prominently installed, so it is effective as a mark for an intersection.

  In the case of billboards, signs that cannot be seen at night are not displayed in the enlarged view of the intersection. Since the visibility is good, it is displayed on the enlarged intersection. The determination as to whether or not the signboard has good visibility even at night is made based on the signboard data for displaying an enlarged intersection shown in FIG.

  The intersection enlarged map display signboard data is stored in the DVD-ROM 110 and can be read out by the disk drive 19. The intersection enlarged map display signboard data stores the information of the signboard to be displayed on the intersection enlarged view of the intersection for each intersection ID for identifying the intersection. Information on signboard ID, night visibility, signboard display, and signboard position (latitude / longitude) is stored as signboard information displayed on the enlarged intersection. Based on these pieces of information, the signboard to be displayed on the enlarged intersection is selected and displayed.

  Next, the signboard display in the enlarged intersection view will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining an enlarged view of the intersection displayed on the display monitor 16 when the vehicle approaches the intersection 31 during the daytime. In the enlarged intersection view 50A, signs of “100m to restaurant”, “◯ △ hospital”, “convenience store Δ △”, and “XX construction” are displayed as signboards as landmarks.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining an enlarged view of the intersection displayed on the display monitor 16 when the vehicle approaches the intersection 31 at night. “○ △ Hospital” and “○ □ Construction” signs are poorly visible at night, and “○ × 100m to restaurant” and “Convenience Store Δ △” signs are well visible due to night lighting etc. Will be described. In the enlarged view of the intersection 50B, the sign icons “100m to the restaurant” and “Convenience store △△”, which are well visible at night, are displayed. The sign icon is not displayed.

  Next, the signboard display processing of the enlarged intersection view will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The processing of FIGS. 5 and 8 is executed in the control circuit 11 by a program that starts when route guidance is started. The same reference numerals are given to the processes common to the processes in FIGS. 4 and 5, and different parts from the processes in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be mainly described.

  If a positive determination is made in step S402, the process proceeds to step S801. In step S801, candidate signboards (signboard candidates) to be displayed on the enlarged intersection map of the guidance intersection are specified from the intersection enlarged map display signboard data using the intersection ID of the guidance intersection as a clue. Then, the process proceeds to step S404. If a positive determination is made in step S404, the process proceeds to step S802. If a negative determination is made in step S404, the process proceeds to step S804.

  In step S802, a sign with night visibility is specified as a sign to be displayed on the enlarged intersection from the information on presence / absence of night visibility in the sign data for displaying the enlarged intersection map. In step S803, image data of the enlarged intersection map is created by superimposing and drawing a signboard icon to be displayed on the enlarged enlarged map around the guidance intersection. Then, the process proceeds to step S501 in FIG.

  In step S804, all signboard candidates are displayed on the enlarged intersection view regardless of whether or not night visibility is present. Then, the process proceeds to step S803.

The navigation device 1 according to the second embodiment described above has the following operational effects.
(1) When the outside of the vehicle becomes dark, signboards with poor night visibility are not displayed on the enlarged intersection map. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition of the enlarged intersection view when the driver overlooks a signboard with poor visibility at night.

(2) The display mode of the enlarged intersection map 50B at night is made different from the display mode of the enlarged map 50A at daytime. Accordingly, the driver can recognize that a signboard with poor visibility at night is not displayed, and even if the driver finds a signboard that is not displayed at the intersection enlarged view 50B at night at the intersection 31, it corresponds to the enlarged view of the intersection. It is possible to prevent the intersection from being misidentified as not being.

The navigation device 1 according to the first and second embodiments described above can be modified as follows.
(1) What is displayed on the enlarged intersection view is not limited to facilities or signboards as long as it is a mark for judging an intersection where the vehicle turns right or left. For example, it may be a pedestrian bridge.

(2) The headlight lighting switch 21 determines whether or not the outside of the vehicle is darker than the predetermined brightness. However, the headlight lighting switch 21 is limited as long as it can detect that the outside of the vehicle is dark. Not. You may make it determine whether the exterior of a vehicle is dark based on the light reception sensor which detects the brightness of the exterior of a vehicle. In this case, when the illuminance outside the vehicle detected by the light receiving sensor is smaller than the predetermined illuminance, it is determined that the outside of the vehicle is dark.

(3) The current time may be collated with the sunrise time and sunset time to determine whether or not the outside of the vehicle is dark. This is because the outside of the vehicle is dark because the sun is setting before sunrise and after sunset. Since the sunrise time and sunset time vary depending on the latitude and longitude of the current location of the vehicle, the latitude and longitude of the current location of the vehicle may be taken into account when determining the sunrise time and sunset time. In this case, ON / OFF of the headlight lighting switch 21 is not detected. When the navigation device includes a communication unit, the communication unit may acquire the sunrise time information and the sunset time information from the outside. Further, sunrise time information and sunset time information may be stored in storage means such as the DVD-ROM 110, and read from the storage means to obtain sunrise time information and sunset time information. .

(4) In the above embodiment, the map is a plane map, but it may be a bird's eye view map, a three-dimensional map of a building, or a driver's view that is a map from the driver's viewpoint. .

(5) When the outside of the vehicle becomes dark, a facility that is displayed on the enlarged intersection view or is not displayed may be set by a user operation. This is because there is a facility that can be used as a mark because it is well lit even outside business hours.

(6) Although the case where an enlarged map is displayed at a guidance intersection for a recommended route set in advance by route search or the like has been described, the present invention can also be applied to an enlarged map display such as a main intersection. It can also be applied to a probe information that induces a left or right turn.

  It is also possible to combine one or a plurality of embodiments and modifications. It is possible to combine the modified examples in any way.

  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 present location detecting means of the present invention corresponds to the current location detecting device 14, and the intersection approaching means corresponds to the control circuit 11, the disk drive 19 and the DVD-ROM 110. The intersection enlarged view display control means and the brightness determination means correspond to the control circuit 11, and the storage means and the information acquisition means correspond to the control circuit 11, the disk drive 19, and the DVD-ROM 110. 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 of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the facility data for intersection enlarged view display. It is a figure for demonstrating the display of the intersection enlarged view in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of the intersection enlarged view in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of the intersection enlarged view in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the signboard data for an intersection enlarged view display. It is a figure for demonstrating the signboard display in an intersection enlarged view. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the signboard display process of an intersection enlarged view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 11 Control circuit 11a Timer 14 Present location detection apparatus 16 Display monitor 19 Disk drive 30A, 30B Map 40A, 40B, 50A, 50B Crossing enlarged view 110 DVD-ROM

Claims (7)

Current location detection means for detecting the current location of the vehicle;
Based on the current location detected by the current location detection means, an intersection approach detection means for detecting the approach of the intersection of the vehicle;
An enlarged intersection display control means for displaying an enlarged enlarged view of the intersection on the display monitor when the intersection approach of the vehicle is detected by the intersection approaching means;
Brightness determination means for determining that the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness;
Storage means for storing the intersection landmark information and the visibility information of the landmark information according to external brightness in association with each other,
The intersection enlarged view display control means, when the brightness determination means determines that the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness, based on the visibility information from the mark information of the storage means A navigation apparatus characterized by selecting and displaying landmark information. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The landmark information is a facility,
The navigation apparatus characterized in that the visibility information is a business hours of the facility. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The landmark information is a signboard,
The navigation device, wherein the visibility information is night visibility of the signboard. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the visibility information is information on a mark set as a mark that deteriorates the visibility when the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said brightness determination means determines the exterior of the said vehicle is darker than predetermined brightness based on operation of the lighting switch of the light installed in the said vehicle, The navigation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said brightness determination means determines the exterior of the said vehicle is darker than predetermined brightness based on the detection result of the illumination intensity sensor installed in the said vehicle, The navigation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
It has information acquisition means to acquire information on sunrise time and sunset time,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brightness determination unit determines that the outside of the vehicle is darker than a predetermined brightness based on a current time, the sunrise time, and the sunset time.

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