JP2009257878A - Map display apparatus and map data creation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the relationship of connection between expressways from becoming unnatural when individually highlighting a plurality of expressways connected to one another in network form and an isolated expressway separated from the network expressways. <P>SOLUTION: The network expressways 21b-21d and the isolated expressway 21a are highlighted and displayed on a display monitor 16. General roads 22a and 22b between expressways connecting entrances and exits of the network expressways 21b-21d and entrances and exits of the isolated expressway 21a are extracted and highlighted more than other general roads and displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map display device and a map data creation device that highlight an expressway, a toll road, and the like as compared with a general road.

A navigation system that displays the width of an expressway wider than a general road and highlights the expressway is known as a prior art (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-253368

  In the conventional navigation system as described in Patent Document 1, an expressway or a toll road is displayed without being connected to another expressway or a toll road, and once it gets off the expressway or a toll road, the general It is difficult to understand when driving on a highway or toll road that is different from the previously driven highway or toll road.

(1) The map display device of the invention of claim 1 includes a storage means for storing a general road, a specific road including a highway and a toll road, and another specific road among the specific roads stored in the storage means. Extracting means for extracting a general road connecting the entrance / exit of a separated specific road (hereinafter referred to as an isolated specific road) and the entrance / exit of another specific road as an inter-specific road, the specific road and the extracted specific A display data creating means for creating display data for emphasizing and displaying roads between roads as compared with general roads, and a map display control means for displaying a map on a display monitor based on the created display data And
(2) The invention of claim 2 is the map display device according to claim 1, wherein the extraction means is provided that the distance between the entrance and exit of the isolated specific road and the entrance and exit of another specific road is within a predetermined distance. It is characterized by extracting a road between specific roads.
(3) The map data creation device of the invention of claim 3 is a storage means for storing ordinary roads and specific roads including expressways and toll roads, and other specific roads among the specific roads stored in the storage means. And an extraction means for extracting a general road connecting between the entrance and exit of a specific road (hereinafter referred to as an isolated specific road) and the entrance and exit of another specific road, and the specific road and the extracted Display data creating means for creating map display data in which roads between specific roads are emphasized compared to general roads, and distribution means for delivering display data created by the display data creating means to the map display device by wireless communication It is characterized by.
(4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the map data creation device according to the third aspect, the extracting means indicates that the distance between the entrance / exit of the isolated specific road and the entrance / exit of another specific road is within a predetermined distance. It is characterized by extracting a road between specific roads as a condition.
(5) The invention according to claim 5 is the map data creation device according to claim 3, further comprising a collecting means for collecting at least information on the position of the own vehicle from a vehicle on which the map display device is mounted. Based on the information collected by the means, a route through which a plurality of vehicles traveling from the exit of another specific road to the entrance of the isolated specific road and a plurality of vehicles traveling from the exit of the isolated specific road to the entrance of another specific road A route through which a vehicle has passed is searched, and a route having the largest number of passing vehicles is extracted from a plurality of routes as a road between specific roads.

  According to the present invention, a network specific road including a highway and a toll road connected to each other in a network form and an isolated specific road separated from the network specific road are highlighted, and the network specific road and the isolated specific road are respectively displayed. General roads connecting the entrances and exits provided are also highlighted as specific inter-roads. As a result, the highlighted network specific road and isolated specific road are not discontinuously displayed, get off the expressway or toll road once, drive on the general road, and run the previous time and differ from the expressway or toll road When the user wants to travel on a highway or a toll road, the display is easy to see.

-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 shows a navigation device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 1 highlights an expressway or a toll road displayed on a map as compared with a general road. 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 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.

  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, 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 road link information includes identification information for identifying a road (Tomei Expressway, National Highway No. 1, etc.) corresponding to the link, and road type information such as an expressway, a toll road, and a general road. Based on the road type information, a road display method such as line color and line type is determined. Further, the node information of the node corresponding to the entrance / exit of the expressway or toll road (interchange, toll gate, etc.) includes information indicating the entrance / exit of the expressway or toll road.

  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 110, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  The display monitor 16 provides the user with various information such as a road 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 road 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.

Next, the road display in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows an example of a road map 20 displayed on the display monitor 16 when the host vehicle is traveling on a general road outside the display screen. On the display screen, the highways 21a to 21d are displayed in an emphasized manner compared to the general road. The highways 21b, 21c, and 21d are highways connected to each other, and are referred to as network highways in this specification. The highway 21a is an isolated highway that is not connected to other highways, and is referred to as an isolated highway in this specification. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), there is a general road between the terminal entrance / exit of the isolated highway 21a and the interchange entrance / exit of the network highways 21b, 21c, 21d, but it is not highlighted. The highways are displayed as being interrupted, and the displays of the highways 21 to 21d appear unnatural.
Reference numeral 24 is a help screen for explaining the display of the road type.

FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining a display screen of the display monitor 16 when the vehicle is traveling on the isolated highway 21a. On the display screen of the display monitor 16, the vehicle position mark 23 is displayed so as to overlap the map 20. The general roads 22a and 22b are general roads that connect the terminal entrance / exit of the isolated highway 21a and the entrance / exit provided on the network highway 21b to each other. The following highlighting conditions (1) and (2) It is highlighted because it matches.
(1) Being connected as a road of the same type (2) The distance between entrances connected to each other by a general road is within a predetermined distance

  By such highlighting, the connection relationship between the isolated highway 21a and the network highway 21b is naturally displayed, and the uncomfortable feeling that the isolated highway 21a and the network highway 21b appear to be interrupted is alleviated. be able to. In this embodiment, a road that is highlighted while being a general road is called a “highway general road”.

  Next, the road display process in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing of FIG. 3 is executed in the control circuit 11 by a program that starts when a map is displayed on the display monitor 16.

  In step S301, the current location of the vehicle is detected using the current location detection device 14. In step S302, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a highway. If the vehicle is traveling on a highway, an affirmative determination is made in step S302 and the process proceeds to step S303. If the vehicle is not traveling on the highway, a negative determination is made in step S302 and the process returns to step S301.

  In step S303, all highways around the vehicle position, that is, within a predetermined distance from the current location of the vehicle, are extracted. In step S304, the doorway which exists in the map range displayed on the display monitor 16 is extracted about all the extracted highways. In step S305, the roads connected to all the extracted entrances and exits that are connected to the entrances and exits of other expressways are extracted with the same type.

  In step S306, of the extracted entrances / exits, an entrance / exit where the distance between the entrances / exits is within a predetermined distance is extracted. In step S307, the general road connecting the extracted doorway is highlighted as a highway general road. For example, the extracted entrances and exits are used as a starting point and a destination, respectively, and a recommended route is searched using a search condition that the road is connected in the same type from the starting point to the destination. A general highway connecting the extracted doorway. By displaying the road by changing the road type of the highway general road from a general road to another type such as a bypass road, the general road connecting the extracted doorway is highlighted. You may highlight by the display form allocated exclusively to the highway general road.

  In addition, the roads that reach the other entrances of the network expressway or isolated expressway are connected between the extracted entrances by going along the road connected to the one entrance that was extracted for the network expressway or isolated expressway. It may be a general road between highways.

The navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment described above has the following operational effects.
(1) A plurality of highways connected in a network, that is, network highways, and isolated highways separated from network highways, that is, isolated highways are highlighted so as to be distinguishable from general roads. . In this case, the highway general road connecting the entrance / exit of the isolated expressway and the entrance / exit of the network expressway is also highlighted. Therefore, it is displayed as if the isolated highway is connected to the network highway, and the user does not feel discomfort in the connection relationship between the isolated highway and the network highway.

(2) When the user travels along the highlighted general highway, it is possible to easily move from the network highway to the isolated highway or vice versa. That is, the highlight display of the highway general road also has a display function as a recommended route.

(3) A connection road that is within a predetermined distance between the entrance and exit of the isolated expressway and the entrance and exit of the network expressway is extracted and highlighted as a general highway. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the length of the highlighted general highway from being unnaturally long as compared with the total length of the isolated highway.

-Second Embodiment-
FIG. 4 shows a navigation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The navigation system includes a navigation device 1A and an information center 3 provided in the vehicle. The navigation device 1A and the information center 3 are connected via a network 4. In this navigation system, map data is distributed from the information center 3 to the navigation device 1A.

  The information center 3 includes a server 31. The server 31 stores map data representing a road map stored in the DVD-ROM 110 of the first embodiment and map data processed and transmitted for each vehicle based on the map data. The information center 3 is a network highway highlighting process, an isolated highway highlighting process, an inter-highway general road for data related to all highways existing in the nationwide area or service providing area stored in the server 31. Each highlight display process is performed and stored. When map data is requested from a vehicle traveling on the highway, peripheral map data centered on the vehicle position of the vehicle is extracted and distributed to the corresponding vehicle from the communication device 32. This map data is received by the navigation apparatus 1A via the network 4.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the configuration of the navigation device 1 </ b> A will be described mainly with respect to differences from the navigation device 1 of the first embodiment. Unlike the navigation device 1 of the first embodiment, the navigation device 1A acquires map data from the information center 3. Therefore, the communication apparatus 111 that transmits and receives data to and from the information center 3 and the data storage apparatus 112 that stores map data acquired from the information center 3 are provided.

  The communication device 111 is a device that performs data communication with the information center 3 using radio waves, acquires map data from the information center 3, and stores it in the data storage device 112. Further, the communication device 111 transmits information such as the current location of the vehicle to the information center 3. The data storage device 112 is configured by a rewritable recording medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk.

  Also in the second embodiment, as in FIG. 2B of the first embodiment, in the map displayed on the display monitor 16 of the navigation device 1A, the network expressway 21b, the isolated expressway 21a, and the expressway The general roads 22a and 22b are highlighted so as to be distinguishable from other general roads.

  Next, map data distribution processing in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process of FIG. 6 is executed in the information center 3. The navigation device 1A identifies the network highway 21b, the isolated highway 21a, and the highway general roads 22a and 22b from other general roads using the map data distributed in this process and stored in the data storage device 112. Display as highlighted as possible. Steps common to the processing of FIG. 3 are denoted by common reference numerals, and different portions from the processing of FIG. 3 will be mainly described.

  In step S601, information on the current location of the vehicle requesting map distribution is acquired from the navigation device 1A. Then, the process proceeds to step S302. If a positive determination is made in step S302, the process proceeds to steps S303 to S306.

  In step S602 following step S306, map display data in which the highway general road connecting the extracted doorway is also highlighted is created. In step S603, the created map display data is distributed to the navigation device 1A. The navigation device 1A displays a map as shown in FIG. 2 on the display monitor 16 based on the received map display data.

The navigation system according to the second embodiment described above has the same operational effects as the first embodiment and the following operational effects.
Since map display data is created by the server 31 of the information center 3, that is, the server 31 whose processing speed is faster than the processor of the in-vehicle navigation device, highway highlighting processing and highway general road extraction / highlighting processing Can be executed in a short time.

  In FIG. 2 (b) of the first and second embodiments, the general road connecting the end or base of the isolated highway and the entrance / exit of the network highway is emphasized as a highway general road. It shows. In the present invention, a general road that connects an entrance such as an interchange other than the terminal or base end entrance of an isolated highway and various entrances of a network expressway may be highlighted as a highway general road.

-Third embodiment-
In the navigation system of the second embodiment described above, connected roads that are within a predetermined distance between the entrance / exit of the isolated expressway and the entrance / exit of the network expressway are extracted and highlighted. However, general highway roads may be extracted using probe information including vehicle position information and time information collected from each vehicle in the information center 3.

  For example, the information center 3 is a vehicle that moves from an isolated highway to a network highway or from a network highway to an isolated highway based on probe information collected over a predetermined time or a predetermined number of days (referred to as a high-speed moving vehicle). ) Route and number of units. Since there are a plurality of types of routes for moving vehicles between high speeds, one route having a traffic volume equal to or higher than a predetermined level is selected from the plurality of routes as a general highway road. The information sensor 3 creates map display data that highlights the selected highway road.

  As in the second embodiment, the information center 3 targets all highways existing in the nationwide area or the service providing area, highlighting processing of network highways, highlighting processing of isolated highways, A highway general road highlighting process is performed, and distribution map display data is created in advance and stored in the server 31. When map data is requested from a vehicle traveling on the highway, peripheral map data centered on the vehicle position of the vehicle is extracted and distributed to the corresponding vehicle from the communication device 32. This map data is received by the navigation device 1A via the network 4.

  Next, map data distribution processing created using probe information will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process of FIG. 6 is executed in the information center 3.

  In step S701, an isolated highway is extracted based on the map data of the server 31. An isolated highway map data may have a flag for identifying it. In step S702, the terminal or base exit / exit of the isolated isolated highway (referred to as the end entrance / exit) is extracted. In step S702, based on the probe information, a general road that exits from the terminal exit of the isolated highway, reaches the entrance of the network highway, and has the largest number of vehicles passing through the highway is extracted. In step S703, a general road with the largest number of vehicles passing from the exit of the network expressway to the base end entrance of the isolated expressway and entering the isolated expressway is extracted from the probe information. In step S704, among the general roads extracted in steps S702 and S703, a road with a large amount of traffic is designated as a highway general road, and highlighted map display data is created.

  In step S705, information on the current location of the vehicle that requests distribution of map data from the navigation device 1A is acquired. In step S706, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling on a highway. If the vehicle is traveling on a highway, an affirmative determination is made in step S706 and the process proceeds to step S707. If the vehicle is not traveling on the highway, a negative determination is made in step S706, and the process returns to step S705. In step S707, the created map display data is distributed to the navigation device 1A.

  The navigation device of the third embodiment also has the effect that the connection relationship between the network-like highway and the isolated highway can be displayed naturally, like the navigation devices of the first and second embodiments. be able to.

The first to third embodiments described above can be modified as follows.
(1) The method for determining the highway road to be highlighted is not limited to the method described above. You may highlight all the general roads which connect the entrance / exit of an isolated highway and the entrance / exit of a network highway.

(2) The highlighting method for highlighting the road is not limited to the embodiment as long as it is a display method that makes the road stand out. For example, the display color of the road may be changed to a conspicuous color and highlighted, or the road width may be displayed wide and highlighted.

(3) Although the expressway has been described, in the display screen including specific roads such as a highway, a toll road, an intercity highway, and a vehicle-only road, general roads (specific roads) connecting the specific roads are displayed. It may be extracted and highlighted.

(4) In the case of a map display system that receives map data distributed from the information center and displays a map related to the map data, the map display system is not limited to the in-vehicle navigation system, and may be a mobile phone capable of displaying a map.

  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 storage means of the present invention corresponds to the DVD-ROM 110, the RAM 13, or the data storage device 112, and the extraction means, display data creation means, and map display control means correspond to the control circuit 11 and the server 31. The distribution unit corresponds to the communication device 32 and the communication device 112. The map data creation device corresponds to the server 31 of the information center 3. 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 road display in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the road display process in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the outline | summary of the navigation system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which comprises the navigation system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the various processes in the navigation system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the various processes in the navigation system of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1A Navigation device 3 Information center 4 Network 16 Display monitor 21a-21d Isolated highway 21b-21d Network highway 22a, 22b General road

Claims (5)

Storage means for storing ordinary roads and specific roads including expressways and toll roads;
Among the specific roads stored in the storage means, the general road that connects between an entrance / exit of a specific road (hereinafter referred to as an isolated specific road) separated from another specific road and an entrance / exit of the other specific road Extraction means for extracting as a road between specific roads;
Display data creation means for creating display data for emphasizing and displaying the specific road and the extracted road between the specific roads compared to the general road;
A map display device comprising map display control means for displaying a map on a display monitor based on the generated display data. The map display device according to claim 1,
The map display device characterized in that the extraction means extracts the road between specific roads on the condition that a distance between the doorway of the isolated specific road and the doorway of the other specific road is within a predetermined distance. Storage means for storing ordinary roads and specific roads including expressways and toll roads;
Among the specific roads stored in the storage means, the general road that connects between an entrance / exit of a specific road (hereinafter referred to as an isolated specific road) separated from another specific road and an entrance / exit of the other specific road Extraction means for extracting as a road between specific roads;
Display data creation means for creating display data of a map in which the specific road and the extracted road between specific roads are emphasized compared to the general road;
A map data creation device used in an information center, comprising: a delivery means for delivering the display data created by the display data creation means to a map display device by wireless communication. In the map data creation device according to claim 3,
The extraction means extracts the road between specific roads on the condition that a distance between the entrance and exit of the isolated specific road and the entrance and exit of the other specific road is within a predetermined distance. . In the map data creation device according to claim 3,
Further comprising collecting means for collecting at least information of the vehicle position from a vehicle equipped with the map display device;
Based on the information collected by the collecting means, the extracting means is based on a route through which a plurality of vehicles traveling from an exit of the other specific road to an entrance of the isolated specific road and an exit of the isolated specific road Map data, wherein a route through which a plurality of vehicles traveling to the entrance of the other specific road has passed is searched, and a route having the largest number of passing vehicles is extracted from the plurality of routes as the road between the specific roads. Creation device.

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