JP2010078564A - Route specifying device and car navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route specifying device that can specify any of each route connecting a certain point and other points (e.g., arrival/departure points) to easily reduce those right and left turning points without any nearby landmark included in the specified route as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: This route specifying device is to specify any of each route for proceeding from the first point towards the second point. It detects right and left turning points for the reference route, that is, any one of the above previously-computed routes, while determining for the presence of specific landmark within predefined range from the above detected right and left turning points, and then uses this determination result to achieve the above routing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route specifying device that specifies any route from a certain point to another point, and a car navigation device.

  Conventionally, a car navigation device (car navigation device) for guiding a route along which a vehicle travels has been widely used. According to the car navigation system, the driver can drive the vehicle without getting lost as much as possible to the destination.

  The normal car navigation apparatus accepts designation of a departure / arrival point by the user, searches for a route connecting the departure / arrival points, and specifies the searched route as a guidance route. Further, when there are a plurality of routes connecting the departure and arrival points, for example, the route having the shortest distance or the route having the shortest scheduled travel time is selected and specified as the guide route.

  As a route guidance method, there are known a method of displaying a route route on a map, a method of giving a right / left turn instruction by voice, and the like. Although it is possible to go straight, the driver often overlooks the right / left turning point at a point that goes in a direction other than the straight direction (right / left turning point), such as a right turn or a left turn. .

Therefore, in route guidance, if there is a mark in the vicinity of the right or left turn point (for example, a mark specified by the user, such as a convenience store or a gas station), turn right at the intersection with XX. In addition, guidance using the mark may be given. This makes it possible for the driver to clearly understand where to turn and to avoid going on the wrong road (especially, overlooking the right or left turning point and going straight ahead) as much as possible. be able to.
JP 2004-108985 A

  As described above, even if there is a right / left turning point on the guidance route, if there is a mark in the vicinity of the turning point, it is possible to guide a left / right turn using the mark. However, it can be said that it is difficult for the driver to overlook the right / left turning point because it is difficult to guide the right / left turning point using the mark for the right / left turning point having no mark in the vicinity.

  For these reasons, it is desirable for the guidance route to have as few as possible left and right turning points with no landmarks in the vicinity. However, the conventional car navigation system does not specify the route for guidance from such a viewpoint, and when there is a mark near the turning point by chance, only guidance using the mark is made. Absent.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention specifies any route connecting a point and another point (for example, a departure / arrival point), and is included in the specified route and has no landmark in the vicinity. An object of the present invention is to provide a route specifying device that makes it easy to reduce the number of left turn points as much as possible.

  In order to achieve the above object, a route specifying device according to the present invention is a route specifying device that specifies any one of routes from a first point to a second point, and is one of the routes obtained in advance. A configuration for detecting a right / left turning point with respect to a certain reference route, determining whether a predetermined mark is within a predetermined range from the right / left turning point, and performing the identification using the result of the determination To do.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to detect a right / left turning point having no mark in the vicinity (within a predetermined range) of a reference route that is one of routes from the first point to the second point. For this reason, it is easy to reduce the number of right and left turning points that are not included in the vicinity and are included in the specified route as much as possible, compared to the case where such detection is not performed.

  The “first point” and the “second point” are different points from each other. Further, the “right / left turn point” is a point where the vehicle travels in any direction other than the straight traveling direction, such as a right turn, a left turn, or traveling in an oblique direction, while being able to go straight as viewed in the traveling direction.

  Further, in the above configuration, a first process of tracing the reference route from the first point and determining whether or not a predetermined mark is within a predetermined range from the right and left turning point when the right and left turning point is detected. In the first process or the third process, when it is determined that there is no mark, the rest of the reference route is corrected to a route heading for the second point after going straight through the right / left turn detected most recently, When it is determined that there is a mark, the correction is not performed, the second process, and after the second process, the trace is continued from the most recently detected right / left turning point, and another right / left turning point Is detected, a third process for determining whether or not a predetermined mark is within a predetermined range from the other right and left turning points, and a second process and a second process until the trace reaches the second point. And a route correction process including a fourth process that repeats the three processes. Based on the modified route obtained by the route modification process may be configured to perform the specified.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to correct the route so that the reference route has fewer left and right turning points with no landmarks in the vicinity. Therefore, it becomes easy to reduce the number of right and left turning points that are included in the specified route and have no landmarks in the vicinity as much as possible.

  In the above configuration, the corrected route and the reference route are compared to detect a non-matching section, and for the section, the length of the corrected route or the estimated traveling time and the length of the reference route or When the difference from the scheduled travel time exceeds a predetermined threshold, the modified route may be replaced with the reference route.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the situation in which the corrected route is significantly disadvantageous compared to the reference route from the viewpoint of length or estimated travel time.

  In the above configuration, the elapsed time from the start of the first process is monitored, and if the trace does not reach the second point before the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time, the route correction process is interrupted. It is good also as a structure.

  According to this configuration, when the route correction process is prolonged, it becomes easy to interrupt the route correction process and execute a substitute process.

  A car navigation device according to the present invention includes the route specifying device having the above-described configuration, and guides the specified route to the driver.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to guide a driver or the like of a route that has as few left and right turning points as there are no landmarks in the vicinity among routes connecting the departure and arrival points. Therefore, it is possible to perform guidance using the landmarks as much as possible at the right and left turning points.

  As described above, according to the route specifying device of the present invention, a right / left turning point having no mark is detected in the vicinity (within a predetermined range) in the vicinity of a reference route that is one of routes from the first point to the second point. It becomes possible to do. For this reason, it is easy to reduce the number of right and left turning points that are not included in the vicinity and are included in the specified route as much as possible, compared to the case where such detection is not performed.

  Further, according to the car navigation device of the present invention, it is possible to guide a driver or the like of a route that has as few left and right turning points as there are no landmarks in the route connecting the departure and arrival points. Therefore, it is possible to perform guidance using the landmarks as much as possible at the right and left turning points.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below by taking a car navigation device (car navigation device) as an example. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram (block diagram) of the car navigation device. As shown in the figure, the car navigation device 9 includes a calculation control unit 1, a host vehicle position detection unit 2, an operation input unit 3, an information storage unit 4, a display unit 5, a voice output unit 6, and the like.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 is constituted by a CPU, for example, and executes various processes necessary for the car navigation device. The contents of main processing executed by the arithmetic control unit 1 will be described in detail again.

  The own vehicle position detection unit 2 includes, for example, a GPS [Global Positioning System], and continuously detects the current location (the position of the own vehicle). The detected information is transmitted to the arithmetic control unit 1 as appropriate. The operation input unit 3 includes, for example, a remote controller and a push button switch, and transmits the content of the operation by the user to the arithmetic control unit 1. Thereby, the calculation control part 1 can perform the process reflecting a user's intention.

  The information storage unit 4 is configured by, for example, a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores various information necessary for processing executed by the car navigation device 9. In addition to the map information, the information stored in the information storage unit includes the position of each landmark (landmark) on the map, the type of each landmark (for example, “convenience store”, “gas station”, etc.) Is included. The information storage unit 4 can read and write information by the arithmetic control unit 1.

  The display unit 5 includes a display and performs display based on an instruction from the calculation control unit 1. The audio output unit 6 includes a speaker, and outputs audio based on instructions from the calculation control unit 1.

  The car navigation device 9 has the configuration as described above, and is used by being mounted on a vehicle. Then, any one of the routes between the departure and arrival points designated by the user (vehicle driver or the like) is specified, and processing for guiding the specified route (route guidance processing) is executed. Next, the overall content of the route guidance process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 starts the route guidance process when there is an instruction to execute the route guidance process by the user. At this time, first, the arithmetic control unit 1 accepts designation of a departure / arrival point (departure point and arrival point) by a user and designation of a type of a mark used for route guidance (step S1). The designation of the type of landmark is realized, for example, when the user selects one of the facilities from the facility search list. The designation of the mark type can be one or more.

  When these inputs are made (Y in step S1), the arithmetic control unit 1 executes a route search according to the conventional method, and specifies any one of the routes connecting the input / output points as a reference route ( Step S2). The route search of the conventional method includes, for example, a route searching for the shortest distance among routes connecting two points, but is not limited thereto. Further, since such a route search method itself is known, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  When the reference route is specified, route correction processing for correcting the reference route is executed to specify the corrected route (step S3). Note that the route correction process may be interrupted during the process, as will be described later.

  If the route correction process has not been interrupted (completed normally) (N in step S4), the reference route specified in the process in step S2 and the corrected route specified in the process in step S3 are included. Are displayed on the display unit 5 (step S5). In this state, the arithmetic control unit 1 accepts selection of one of the routes by the user (step S6). When one is selected (Y in step S6), route guidance is executed for the selected route (step S7).

  On the other hand, when the route correction process is interrupted (Y in step S4), the user is notified through the display unit 5 or the voice output unit 6 that the route correction process is interrupted (step S8) and displayed. The reference route identified by the process of step S2 is displayed on the part 5 (step S9). Then, the calculation control unit 1 performs route guidance for the displayed route (step S10).

  Note that the route guidance by the processes of steps S7 and S10 is continuously executed while the vehicle is traveling between the departure and arrival points. According to the route guidance, the display of the route and the mark of the route is displayed on the map through the display unit 5. In addition, a voice for notifying the distance to the arrival point, the position of the right / left turning point, and the like is output at any time through the voice output unit 6. In particular, regarding the position of the right / left turn, if there is a mark in the vicinity of the right / left turn (within the predetermined range from the right / left turn), for example, “Please turn right at the intersection with XX” (XX (○ indicates a landmark), and guidance using the landmark is made.

  Next, the contents of the above-described route correction process (step S3) will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The arithmetic control unit 1 starts tracing from the starting point (tracking) for the reference route specified in the process of step S2 (step S31). After that, whether a right / left turning point is detected in the middle of the trace (step S32), whether the trace has reached the arrival point (step S33), and whether a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the trace (step S34), Monitor continuously. Note that the “right / left turn point” is a point that travels in any direction other than the straight traveling direction, such as a right turn, a left turn, or traveling in an oblique direction, while being able to travel straight in the traveling direction.

  As a result of the monitoring, if a right / left turning point is detected (Y in step S32), the arithmetic control unit 1 performs a step near the right / left turning point (within a predetermined range from the right / left turning point). It is determined whether or not there is a type of mark input in the process of S1 (step S35). As a result, if it is determined that there is a mark (Y in step S35), turn right or left at the right / left turn point (for example, right turn, left turn, or traveling in a diagonal direction) The tracing is continued (from the most recently detected right / left turning point), and the process returns to step S32.

  However, if it is determined that there is no mark (N in step S35), the arithmetic control unit 1 corrects the reference route so as to go straight at the turning point (step S37). More specifically, a route that connects the right and left turning points and the arrival point and goes straight at the right and left turning points is specified by route search of the conventional method. Then, the route that has been traced so far is traced from the starting point to the right turn point, and the reference route is corrected to the route that follows the newly specified route from the right turn point to the arrival point. That is, the rest of the reference route is corrected to a route that goes straight to the right / left turning point detected most recently and then heads to the arrival point.

  According to the revised reference route, it can be said that the vehicle always goes straight at the turning point (right / left turning is not permitted). After the reference route is corrected in this way, the arithmetic control unit 1 continues the trace from the right / left turning point (step S38), and returns to the process of step S32.

  If the trace has arrived at the arrival point (Y in step S33), the arithmetic control unit 1 determines that the route traced from the departure point to the arrival point (referred to as “temporarily modified route”) and the original reference route ( Compared with a reference route that has not been corrected), each of the sections that do not match each other (that is, the section from the branch to the rejoining is called the “branch section”) is detected. To do. If the difference between the length of the temporary correction route and the length of the original reference route exceeds a predetermined threshold for each branch section, the temporary correction route is replaced with the original reference route (step S39).

  In the process of step S39, instead of paying attention to the length, it is also possible to pay attention to the estimated travel time (the time estimated to be required to complete the route). In this case, for a branch section, if the difference between the estimated travel time of the temporarily corrected route and the estimated planned time of the original reference route exceeds a predetermined threshold, the temporarily corrected route is replaced with the original reference route. It will be. Further, the threshold used in the process of step S39 may be set by the developer of the car navigation device 9, or may be set by the user.

  Then, the arithmetic control unit 1 identifies the temporarily corrected route corrected by the replacement as the corrected route (step S40). On the other hand, if a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the trace (Y in step S34) before the trace reaches the arrival point, the arithmetic control unit 1 interrupts the route correction process (step S41). In addition, after the process of step S40 or S41, it progresses to the process of step S4.

  Next, in order to facilitate understanding of the contents of the route correction process, a specific example of the process will be described below.

  In this example, a road situation map as shown in FIG. 4 is assumed, and a position indicated by “A” is a starting point designated in advance and a position indicated by “B” is also an arrival point. In this figure, each of C1 to C9 indicates one of the intersections on the map, and M1 and M2 indicate one of the positions (marked with circles) of the mark of the category designated in advance. ing. Also, it is assumed that a route that passes through C1, C2, C6, C3, and C4 in order is specified as the reference route by the processing in step S2, as indicated by the dashed arrows.

  When the route correction process is started, tracing of the reference route is started from the starting point (step S31). Thereafter, the intersection C1 is detected as a right / left turn (step S32). Since there is no mark of the designated category in the vicinity of the intersection C1 (N in step S35), a new route between the intersection C1 and the arrival point is specified, and the reference route is corrected (step S37). ).

  The reference route modified this time is represented by C1, C5, C6, C3, and C4 as shown by solid arrows (routes traced so far) and broken arrows (newly identified routes) in FIG. It is assumed that the route is routed in order. Then, tracing from the intersection C1 is continued for the corrected reference route (step S38).

  Thereafter, the intersection C5 is detected as a right / left turn (step S32). Since there is a mark M1 of the designated category in the vicinity of the intersection C5 (Y in step S35), the left turn is permitted and the trace is continued as it is (step S36). In addition, although it reaches the intersection C6 on the way, it cannot be regarded as a right-left turn point because it cannot move straight in the direction of travel (is blocked by a wall).

  Thereafter, the intersection C3 is detected as a right / left turn (step S32). Since there is no mark of the designated category in the vicinity of the intersection C3 (N in Step S35), a new route between the intersection C3 and the arrival point is specified, and the reference route is corrected (Step S37). ). It is assumed that the reference route corrected this time is a route that passes through C1, C5, C6, C3, C8, C9, and C4 in order, as indicated by solid or dashed arrows in FIG. Then, tracing from the intersection C3 is continued for the corrected reference route (step S38). Note that the intersection C8 is not regarded as a left / right turn as in the case of the intersection C6 described above.

  Thereafter, the intersection C9 is detected as a right / left turning point (step S32). Since there is a mark M2 of the designated category in the vicinity of the intersection C5 (Y in step S35), the left turn is permitted and the trace is continued as it is (step S36).

  Thereafter, it is detected that the trace has reached the arrival point (Y in step S33), and the process proceeds to step S39. Here, the temporary correction route is a route that passes through C1, C5, C6, C3, C8, C9, and C4 in order, as indicated by solid arrows in FIG. 7, and the initial reference route is also a dashed arrow As shown by, the route passes through C1, C2, C6, C3, and C4 in this order.

  Therefore, a section between the intersection C1 and the intersection C6 (referred to as “first section”) and a section between the intersection C3 and the intersection C4 (referred to as “second section”) are detected as branch sections. Therefore, for each of the first section and the second section, it is determined whether or not the difference between the length of the temporarily corrected route and the length of the original reference route exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  As a result of the determination, for example, when it is determined that the threshold value is exceeded only for the second section, the temporary correction route is corrected to the original reference route only for the second section. As a result, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 8, a route that passes through C1, C5, C6, C3, and C4 in order is specified as a corrected route.

  According to the route correction processing described above, the right and left turning points having no predetermined mark (of the type designated by the user) in the vicinity are minimized as compared with the reference route obtained by the route search of the conventional method. A route can be identified as a modified route. For example, in the reference route shown in FIG. 4, there are two right and left turning points that do not have a predetermined mark in the vicinity of the intersection C1 and the intersection C3, but in the corrected route shown in FIG. 8, there is only one intersection C3. ing.

  Therefore, according to the car navigation apparatus 9 of the present embodiment that employs the corrected route as a guidance route, there are as few left and right turning points as there are no marks in the vicinity (right and left turning points that are difficult to guide using the marks) as much as possible. It is possible to guide the route that has become. Therefore, it is possible to provide guidance using landmarks as much as possible at the right and left turning points. As a result, it is possible for the driver to avoid as much as possible the situation where he / she overlooks the right / left turning point, and to drive smoothly to the arrival point.

  In addition, the car navigation device 9 compares the temporarily corrected route with the original reference route through the process of step S39, and detects a non-matching section (branch section). If the difference between the length of the temporarily corrected route (or scheduled travel time) and the length of the original reference route (or scheduled travel time) exceeds a predetermined threshold for this section, the temporary corrected route is It is designed to replace the original reference route.

  Therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the situation in which the temporarily corrected route is significantly disadvantageous compared to the original reference route in terms of length or scheduled travel time.

  In addition, for example, when there are few designated types of marks between the arrival and departure points designated in step S1, route correction processing (processing from the start of tracing the reference route to the completion of the tracing) is smoothly performed. It can take a lot of time without progress.

  Therefore, the car navigation device 9 monitors the elapsed time from the start of the trace of the reference route (step S31), and if the trace does not reach the arrival point before the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time, the route correction process is completed. The route correction process is interrupted (steps S34 and S41). Thereby, when the route correction process is prolonged, it is easy to interrupt the route correction process and execute an alternative process (steps S8 to S10).

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these. The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used in the field of car navigation devices and the like.

It is a lineblock diagram of a car navigation device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart regarding route guidance processing. It is a flowchart regarding a route correction process. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route correction process. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route correction process. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route correction process. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route correction process. It is explanatory drawing regarding a route correction process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computation control part 2 Own vehicle position detection part 3 Operation input part 4 Information storage part 5 Display part 6 Voice output part 9 Car navigation apparatus

Claims (5)

A route specifying device for specifying any of the routes from the first point to the second point,
For a reference route that is one of the routes determined in advance, a right / left turning point is detected, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined mark is within a predetermined range from the right / left turning point.
A route identifying apparatus that performs the identification using a result of the determination. Tracing the reference route from a first point, and when a right / left turn point is detected, a first process for determining whether or not a predetermined mark is within a predetermined range from the right / left turn point;
In the first process or the third process, when it is determined that there is no mark, the rest of the reference route is corrected to a route heading for the second point after going straight on the right / left turn detected most recently. If it is determined that there is a second process, the second process is performed so that the correction is not performed.
After the second processing, the trace is continued from the most recently detected right / left turning point, and if another right / left turning point is detected, is there a predetermined mark within a predetermined range from the other right / left turning point? A third process for determining whether or not;
A fourth process that repeats the second process and the third process until the trace reaches the second point;
Execute route correction processing including
The route specifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specifying is performed based on a correction route obtained by the route correction processing. Comparing the corrected route with the reference route to detect non-matching sections,
About the section
The correction route is replaced with the reference route when a difference between a length of the correction route or a planned traveling time and a length of the reference route or a planned traveling time exceeds a predetermined threshold. Item 3. The route specifying device according to Item 2. Monitoring the elapsed time from the start of the first process,
The route specifying device according to claim 2, wherein if the trace does not reach the second point before the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time, the route correction processing is interrupted. A route specifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:
A car navigation device characterized by guiding a specified route to a driver.

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