JP2010266412A - Device, method and program for guiding route - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve precision of route matching when passing through a portion where a plurality of sections are close to each other on a guiding route. <P>SOLUTION: A vehicle enters a loop-shaped road 300 from a lower part of the drawing, turns in a counter clockwise direction and gets out from a right part of the drawing. An arrow 400 shows a locus that the vehicle travels, and the vehicle reaches a portion in the vicinity of a cubic interchange section 301. P1 and P2 are position locating positions. Q1 and Q2 are positions obtained by correcting the P1 and P2 by a route matching processing. G1, G2, G3 and G4 are segments and the latest matching position Q2 is on the segment G1. When a current location P3 is to be corrected, first, it is determined whether a perpendicular line can be drawn to the segment G1. When it can be, the perpendicular line is drawn thereto and the matching is made. When it cannot be, it is determined whether the perpendicular line can be drawn to the segment G2 at the front side of the segment G1. After that, the processing is performed similarly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route guidance device, a route guidance method, and a route guidance program that guide a user from a current location to a destination.

  In recent years, the performance of mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones and PHS (Personal Handyphone System) has been dramatically improved and multi-functionalized. In particular, the data communication function is strengthened in addition to the call function, and various data communication services are provided to the user via the Internet. A navigation service is one of them, and a service that provides route guidance from a current location to a destination for mobile phone users is being implemented.

  As an invention related to a navigation service for such a mobile phone, there is a navigation system described in Patent Document 1. The navigation system includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit, a GPS control unit, and means for receiving GPS signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites by a mobile phone with a GPS function including a GPS antenna in the mobile phone, Packet transmission of position information obtained by analyzing satellite position, distance information between satellite receivers and clock information included in a plurality of GPS signals, and data such as the telephone number and search information of the mobile phone with GPS function And means for receiving the data, detecting the position of the mobile phone with the GPS function and the destination, and transmitting map data such as map information, route information and distance of the appropriate scale to the mobile phone with the GPS function. Is provided with a map service center.

  By the way, in the navigation system using the above-described mobile phone and the normal car navigation device, since the positioning data of the current position of the moving device includes an error, the current position obtained by positioning is displayed on the road of the map. Or the process which corrects on a guidance route is performed. In general, the former is called map matching processing, and the latter is called route matching processing.

  The route matching process is disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. Patent Document 2 relates to a communication-type navigation device. In a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, when the position of a measured vehicle deviates from a guide route (route), the closest guide route is detected and the current vehicle state is detected. The position is corrected on the guide route.

  However, in the case of the route matching process described in Patent Document 2, mismatching may occur when the vehicle passes through a location where a plurality of parts are close to each other on the guide route.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, the vehicle enters the loop-shaped road 300 on the guide route from the lower side of the figure, travels counterclockwise, and exits from the right side of the figure. A straight line 400 in the figure is a locus on which the vehicle has traveled, and indicates that the vehicle has reached the front of the three-dimensional intersection 301. P1 and P2 are positioning positions, and Q1 and Q2 are positions obtained by correcting the positioning positions P1 and P2 by route matching processing. The positioning positions P1 and P2 can be accurately corrected by matching with the positions Q1 and Q2 on the guide route closest to each.

  However, for the next positioning position P3, the guide routes (roads 300) are close to each other in the vicinity of the three-dimensional intersection 301, and the position Q4 on the other side that is three-dimensionally intersected with the position Q3 to be corrected is more suitable. Since it is close, there is a problem that it matches the position Q4 by mistake. As a result, the current position pointer 501 and the traveling locus 502 displayed on the display of the navigation device suddenly change from those corresponding to the position Q2 as shown in FIG. 8 to those corresponding to the position Q4 shown in FIG. Such mismatching is not limited to the vicinity of a three-dimensional intersection, and may occur, for example, in a portion of a substantially Ω-type planar road that is close to each other.

JP 2003-28662 A JP 2002-310961 A

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to improve route matching accuracy when passing through a portion where a plurality of portions are close to each other on a guide route. .

The route guidance apparatus of the present invention includes a GPS receiver, means for acquiring route data from a server on the network, and correction means for correcting the current position acquired by the GPS receiver on the route based on the route data. In the route guidance device, the route data includes position information of a divided position obtained by dividing the route into a plurality of sections, and the correction unit can draw a perpendicular to a section to which the latest matching position belongs or a section following it. It is a route guidance apparatus characterized by having a judging means for judging whether or not, and a matching means for matching with the closest position in the section determined to be able to drop a perpendicular by the judging means.
The route guidance method of the present invention includes a step of acquiring a current position by a GPS receiver, a step of acquiring route data from a server on a network, and a current position acquired by the GPS receiver on the route based on the route data. The route data includes a position information of division positions obtained by dividing the route into a plurality of sections, and the correction step includes the section to which the latest matching position belongs or the next A route guidance comprising: a determination step for determining whether or not a vertical line can be dropped in a section of the current route; and a matching step for matching to the closest position in the section determined to be able to drop a vertical line by the determination step Is the method.
The route guidance program of this invention is a route guidance program for functioning the computer of the portable terminal device which has a GPS receiver as each means of the route guidance device of this invention.

[Action]
According to the present invention, when performing route matching that corrects the current position acquired by the GPS receiver on the route, it is determined whether or not a vertical line can be dropped in the section to which the latest matching position belongs or the next section. , Matching to the closest position in the section determined to be able to drop the perpendicular.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the route matching precision at the time of passing through the location where several parts are adjoining on a guidance route improves.

It is a figure which shows the route guidance system of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of a route search process. It is a flowchart of a route guidance process. It is a flowchart of a route matching process. It is a figure which shows the route matching in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the route display screen by route matching of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the conventional route matching. It is a figure which shows an example of the route display screen by the conventional route matching. It is a figure which shows another example of the route display screen by the conventional route matching.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration of route guidance system>
As shown in FIG. 1, the route guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a route search server 100, a map server 150, and a mobile phone 200 as a route guidance device. The mobile phone 200 functions as a pedestrian navigation device when carried by a person, and functions as a car navigation device when mounted on a vehicle.

  The mobile phone 200 includes a GPS receiver 201, a display panel 202, an audio output unit 203, a wireless communication circuit 205, a command input unit 206, a main control unit 210, and a call control unit 220.

  The main control unit 210 is a controller for controlling each unit of the mobile phone 200. The main control unit 210 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 211, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 212, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 213. The CPU 211 implements various processes to be described later by loading the control program stored in the ROM 213 into the RAM 212 and executing it.

  The GPS receiver 201 is a device that receives radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites. The main control unit 210 detects (positions) the current position based on the radio wave received by the GPS receiver 201. If the GPS receiver 201 can receive radio waves from three satellites, the main control unit 210 can detect a two-dimensional current position, and if the GPS receiver 201 can receive radio waves from four satellites, 3 A dimensional current position can be detected. In addition, if radio waves can be received from five or more satellites, the current position can be detected with high accuracy.

  The display panel 202 includes a liquid crystal display and a drive circuit that drives the liquid crystal display. The main control unit 210 controls the display panel 202 to display a map image, a recommended route, a current position, and the like. The display panel 202 can employ various display devices such as an organic EL display as well as a liquid crystal display.

  The voice output unit 203 includes a speaker for outputting voice during route guidance, a circuit for driving the speaker, and the like.

  The wireless communication circuit 205 is a circuit for performing data communication or voice communication with the base station BS. A route search server 100 and a map server 150 are connected to the base station BS via the Internet INT. The wireless communication circuit 205 can access the route search server 100 and the map server 150 via the base station BS.

  The call control unit 220 is a circuit that performs incoming calls and calls for voice calls, conversion of voice signals and electrical signals, and the like.

  The command input unit 206 includes a group of buttons such as a numeric keypad 206a and a cursor key 206b. By using these buttons, the user can input the starting point and destination used for route search.

  The map server 150 includes a communication unit 152, a control unit 154, and a storage device 155. The storage device 155 stores a map database 156. The communication unit 152 can communicate with the mobile phone 200 via the Internet INT. In the map database 156, map data to be supplied to the mobile phone 200 is recorded in a vector format. This map data includes data representing the shape of topography, buildings, roads, and the like. When there is a map data acquisition request from the mobile phone 200, the control unit 154 searches the map database 156 for map data in the specified range, and transmits the map data to the mobile phone 200 via the communication unit 152.

  The route search server 100 includes a communication unit 102, a control unit 104, and a storage device 105. The communication unit 102 can communicate with the mobile phone 200 via the Internet INT. The storage device 105 stores a route database 106 in which road connection states are recorded. The road connection state is represented by node data representing intersections, branch points, and the like, and link data representing roads by line segments connecting the node data. When there is a route search request from the mobile phone 200, the route search server 100 uses the route database 106 to search for a recommended route connecting the designated departure place and destination. Then, the recommended route data obtained as a result of the search (hereinafter simply referred to as route data) is transmitted to the mobile phone 200 via the communication unit 102.

  In the present embodiment, the route data is obtained by arranging position data indicating division positions obtained by dividing a recommended route (hereinafter simply referred to as a route) into a plurality of sections in the order of the route. In other words, the latitude and longitude of the current position is (X0, Y0), the latitude and longitude of the destination is (Xn, Yn), and the position (X1, Y1) that divides the route into n sections from the current position to the destination To (Xn-1, Yn-1) are defined and arranged in the order (X0, Y0, X1, Y1, X2, Y2, ... Xn-1, Yn-1, Xn, Yn) .

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 104 of the route search server 100 performs a route search using the route database 106 stored in its own storage device 105. However, when the route database 106 is stored in the map server 150, the route database 106 may be read and used via the Internet INT. The route search server 100 and the map server 150 can also be configured as an integrated server. Further, instead of the mobile phone 200, another mobile terminal device (PDA: Personal Digital Assistant) having a communication function and an image display function can be used.

<Route search processing>
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of route search processing executed by the main control unit 210 of the mobile phone 200. This process is executed when the user calls the route guidance function of the mobile phone 200 using the command input unit 206. Here, it is assumed that the user is on the vehicle.

  When the route search process is started, first, the main control unit 210 receives an input of a departure point, a destination, and the like from the user via the command input unit 206 (step S1). The departure point can be the current position detected by the GPS receiver 201. Upon receiving these inputs, the main control unit 210 transmits a route search request signal to the route search server 100 using the wireless communication circuit 205 (step S2). This request signal includes the information input in step S1.

  When the route search server 100 receives the route search request signal from the mobile phone 200, the route search server 100 refers to the route database 106 stored in the storage device 105 and connects the departure point and the destination included in the request signal (route point). If the route is set, the route will be calculated. The route is calculated using, for example, a well-known Dijkstra method. When the latitude and longitude of the departure point or destination acquired from the mobile phone 200 are not on the route recorded in the route database 106, the route search server 100 performs the well-known map matching process to obtain the point The point on the road closest to is the starting point or destination. When the route search server 100 calculates the route, it returns the route data described above to the mobile phone 200.

  When receiving the route data from the route search server 100 (step S3), the main control unit 210 of the mobile phone 200 stores the route data in the RAM 212 (step S4). The route data stored in the RAM 212 is displayed on the display panel 202 in a map display process described later. The route data transmitted from the route search server 100 to the mobile phone 200 includes the type of route (highway, general road, sidewalk, railroad, etc.), and the latitude and longitude of intersections and branch points where guidance display should be performed. You may include the positional information to show and the image data which should be displayed on a screen at the time of guidance display. Image data to be displayed on the screen at the time of guidance display includes, for example, image data representing a detailed connection state of roads at intersections and branch points, and image data imitating an interchange or lamp guide plate.

<Route guidance processing>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the route guidance process executed following the route search process shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the main control unit 210 of the mobile phone 200 executes this process once per second.

  When the route guidance process is executed, first, the main control unit 210 detects the current position using the GPS receiver 201 and stores the detection result in the RAM 212 (step S11). Next, the main control unit 210 acquires map data of a predetermined range (for example, 500 m square) including the detected latitude and longitude from the map server 150 (step S12). When map data around the current position is buffered in the RAM 212, the main control unit 210 acquires map data corresponding to the current position from the buffered data. The range of the map data to be acquired can be adjusted according to the map display scale set by the user.

  When the map data is acquired, the main control unit 210 inputs route data from the RAM 212 (step S13). This route data is data received from the route search server 100 in step S3 of the route search process shown in FIG. Instead of receiving the route data at step S3 in FIG. 2, as in the case of the map data, data within a predetermined range from the current position is received during the route guidance process in FIG. 3 (after steps S11 to S13). You may comprise.

  Subsequently, route matching is performed using the current position detected in step S11 and the route data input in step S13 (step S14). Details of route matching will be described later.

  Next, the main control unit 210 draws a map with the map data in the vector format acquired at step S12, draws a route with the route data input at step S13, and superimposes the route on the map on the display panel 202. indicate. Further, a mark indicating the current position of the vehicle and a travel locus are superimposed on the route in step S14.

<Route matching process>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the route matching process of FIG. When this route guidance process is executed, first, the main control unit 210 inputs the current position data detected in step S11 from the RAM 212 (step S141). Next, the main control unit 210 inputs the current line segment data from the RAM 212 (step S142). A line segment is a section obtained by dividing a route into n sections, and the current line segment is a line segment (section) to which the latest matching position (the last matching position up to the present time) belongs. It is.

  Here, the current line segment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the vehicle enters the loop-shaped road 300 from the lower side of the figure, travels counterclockwise, and exits from the right side of the figure. An arrow 400 in the figure is a locus on which the vehicle has traveled, and indicates that the vehicle has reached the front of the three-dimensional intersection 301. P1 and P2 are positioning positions, and Q1 and Q2 are positions obtained by correcting the positioning positions P1 and P2 by route matching processing. GI, G2, G3, and G4 are line segments, and the position of the boundary line indicated by the dotted line is one of the positions (X1, Y1) to (Xn-1, Yn-1) obtained by dividing the route into n. Correspond. Here, for convenience, four line segments are shown as GI, G2, G3, and G4, but the loop-shaped road 300 includes more line segments. The latest matching position is Q2, which belongs to the line segment G1 (is on the line segment G1).

  Next, the main control unit 210 determines whether or not a vertical line can be dropped from the current position to the current line segment using the current position data input in step S141 and the current line segment data input in step S142. (Step S143).

  As a result of the determination, when the perpendicular can be lowered (S143: YES), the current position is matched with the position where the perpendicular is lowered (step S144). On the other hand, when the perpendicular cannot be lowered (S143: NO), it is determined whether or not the perpendicular can be lowered to one line segment ahead of the current line segment (step S145). In the case of FIG. 5, since a perpendicular cannot be dropped from the current position P3 to the current line segment G1, the process proceeds from S143 to S145.

  As a result of the determination, when the perpendicular can be lowered (S145: YES), the current position is matched with the position where the perpendicular is lowered (step S144). In the case of FIG. 5, the perpendicular line L1 can be dropped from the current position P3 to the line segment G2 one forward of the current line segment, so the process proceeds from S145 to S144. Therefore, the current position P3 is corrected to the position Q3 of the intersection of the perpendicular L1 and the route. As a result, the current position pointer 501 and the travel locus 502 displayed on the display panel 202 of the mobile phone 200 are slightly different from those in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG.

  If it is not possible to drop a vertical line on one line ahead of the current line segment (S145: NO), it is determined whether or not a vertical line can be dropped on two or more lines ahead of the current line segment. The determination is made while proceeding forward one by one (step S146). Then, the perpendicular line is dropped to the line segment that is first determined to be dropped and matched (step S144). For example, when a perpendicular line is not dropped on the line segment G3 and a perpendicular line can be dropped on the line segment G4, the perpendicular line is dropped on the line segment G4 and matched. If no perpendicular line can be drawn from the current position to any two or more forwards of the current line segment (S146: NO), the route search process (FIG. 2) is executed to perform reroute.

  As described above, according to the route guidance system of the present embodiment, when performing route matching for correcting the current position acquired by the GPS receiver 201 on the route, the route forward in order from the line segment to which the latest matching position belongs. It is determined whether or not a perpendicular line can be dropped on the line segment, and it is matched to the closest position in the line segment that is determined to be able to drop the perpendicular line first. Matching accuracy when passing is improved.

<Modification>
(1) The solid intersection 301 on the route is identified based on the map data and the route data, and the matching process shown in FIG. 4 is executed only when the latest matching position exists near the solid intersection 301. In the case of, matching is made to the position closest to the positioning position. As a result, the matching process needs to be improved only in a situation where mismatching is likely to occur, so that the matching process is simplified.

  (2) If a perpendicular line cannot be dropped on a line segment one forward of the current line segment, it is forcibly matched with that line segment. As a result, a perpendicular line can be drawn down to the current line segment or a line segment in front of the current line segment, and matching can be performed by simple processing.

  (3) The length of the perpendicular is calculated, and matching is performed only when the length is within a predetermined threshold (eg, 1/2 of the line segment length). Thereby, matching accuracy can be improved.

  (4) The traveling speed is calculated from the difference data of the positioning position, and the matching position is determined in consideration of the traveling speed. Thereby, matching accuracy can be improved.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Route guidance system, 100 ... Route search server, 150 ... Map server, 200 ... Mobile phone, 201 ... GPS receiver, 210 ... Main control part.

Claims (5)

A route guidance device comprising a GPS receiver, means for acquiring route data from a server on a network, and a correction means for correcting the current position acquired by the GPS receiver on the route based on the route data,
The route data includes position information of a division position obtained by dividing the route into a plurality of sections, and the correction means determines whether or not a perpendicular line can be drawn in a section to which the latest matching position belongs or a next section. A route guidance apparatus comprising: 1 determination means; and first matching means for matching to a closest position in a section determined to be able to drop a perpendicular by the first determination means. In the route guidance device according to claim 1,
When the first determination means determines that the perpendicular cannot be lowered, the second determination means determines whether or not the perpendicular can be dropped from the current position to the front section of the next section, in the order of the sections; A route guidance device comprising: second matching means for matching with a closest position in a section determined to be able to drop a perpendicular by the second determination means. In the route guidance device according to claim 1,
Third matching means for matching the route closest to the current position, intersection detection means for detecting the intersection of the route, and the first matching when the latest matching position is located near the intersection And a control means for operating the third matching means in other cases. A route having a step of acquiring a current position by a GPS receiver, a step of acquiring route data from a server on a network, and a correction step of correcting the current position acquired by the GPS receiver on the route based on the route data A guide method,
The route data includes position information of a division position obtained by dividing the route into a plurality of sections, and the correction step determines whether or not a perpendicular line can be drawn in a section to which the latest matching position belongs or the next section. A route guidance method comprising: a step and a matching step for matching with a closest position in a section determined to be able to drop a perpendicular in the determination step.   The route guidance program for functioning the computer of the portable terminal device which has a GPS receiver as each means of the route guidance apparatus described in any one of Claims 1-3.

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