JP2012088258A - Navigation device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device and method which show a route to a destination considered as an area even when zone information of the destination does not exist in map data.SOLUTION: Even when zone information of a destination does not exist in map data 15, a navigation device can create the zone information showing an area of the destination from information of the existing map data 15. Therefore it is possible to show a route to the destination considered as the area without increasing the map data 15. As a result, a user can recognize that he/she is guided to a boundary of the area including the intended destination point.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and a navigation method for performing route guidance to a destination designated by a user.

  The navigation device is mainly mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and uses a GPS (Global Positioning System) to grasp the vehicle position and provides route guidance to a destination designated by the user. . These navigation devices provide more accurate and easier-to-understand route guidance to users by improving vehicle position detection accuracy in recent years, enhancing route search functions that respond to user requests, improving route guidance display, etc. Is possible.

  However, the destination designated by the user does not always correspond to a point on the map data. For example, when the destination specified by the user is a large park or facility, or when the map data shows a lot number for one mountain, the destination is not a point but a range with a certain area. Become. In such a case, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the navigation apparatus performs route guidance using the representative point B within the destination range (the region indicated by the broken line in FIG. 9) as the destination point. However, when the destination range is wide, the representative point B and the destination (destination point A) as the “point” intended by the user may differ greatly. In this case, the user is dissatisfied with being guided to a representative point B different from the intended destination point A.

  With respect to this problem, the following [Patent Document 1] discloses an invention related to a navigation device that displays a range in a display form different from other regions when the destination represents the range. According to the invention of [Patent Document 1], when the destination where route guidance is performed is a range, the user can recognize that the destination indicates the range. Thereby, a user's dissatisfaction with being guided to the point different from the intended destination point can be reduced to some extent.

JP 2007-40795 A

  However, in the invention disclosed in [Patent Document 1], area information that defines the boundary is required for all destinations. For this reason, there is a problem that the amount of map data becomes enormous, and further improvement is desired in this respect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a navigation apparatus and a navigation method capable of performing route guidance that captures a destination as a range even for a destination that does not have area information in map data. The purpose is to provide.

The present invention
(1) Route guidance to a destination point designated by the user based on the location information acquisition unit 10 for specifying the position of the vehicle, the map data 15, the location information from the location information acquisition unit 10 and the map data 15 And a control unit 24 for performing
When the area information indicating the range of the destination point does not exist in the map data 15, the control unit 24 creates the area information of the destination point according to a predetermined procedure, and the area information of the destination point is predetermined. By providing a navigation device 50 that performs vehicle arrival determination based on the area information when the area is wider than the above area, the above-described problem is solved.
(2) When the area information indicating the range of the destination point does not exist in the map data 15, the control unit 24 displays other area information or point information within a predetermined search range centered on the destination point. The navigation device 50 according to (1) above, wherein the navigation device 50 according to the above (1) is created by searching and creating other area information or area information of the destination point using at least a bisector between the point information and the destination point. By providing, the above-mentioned problems are solved.
(3) The control unit 24 searches the map data 15 based on the destination information input by the user, and when there is no point information corresponding to the destination information, the destination is based on the destination point information. The above problem is solved by providing the navigation device 50 according to (1) or (2) above, in which candidates are extracted and presented to the user to specify a destination point.
(4) The step of causing the user to input destination information, the step of specifying the destination point on the map data 15 based on the destination information, and the area information indicating the range of the destination point in the map data 15 A step of creating area information of the destination point according to a predetermined procedure if not, a step of performing vehicle arrival determination with the area information when the area information of the destination point is wider than a predetermined area; The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a navigation method characterized by comprising:

  According to the present invention, even if there is no destination area information in the map data, area information indicating the range of the destination can be created from the information of the existing map data. Therefore, it is possible to perform route guidance that captures the destination as a range without increasing the map data.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a navigation device according to the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the navigation method which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart of the destination re-input flow of the navigation method according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of presentation of the destination candidate. It is a figure which shows the example of a division of the range prescribed | regulated by destination information. It is a flowchart of the area information setting flow of the navigation method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the creation example of the zone information which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the arrival determination which caught the destination as the range. It is a figure explaining the conventional arrival determination.

  A navigation device and a navigation method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A navigation device 50 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 receives a radio wave from a plurality of GPS satellites, acquires a position of a vehicle on which the navigation device 50 is mounted, and a vehicle travel information. A travel information acquisition unit 12 to be acquired, a storage unit 14 having a recording medium such as an optical recording medium, a hard disk, and a nonvolatile memory in which predetermined map data 15 is recorded, and a user for operating the navigation device 50 Operation unit 18, display unit 20 that performs screen display for the user, audio output unit 22 that performs audio output for the user, vehicle position grasping, map matching, destination search, route search, route guidance, and operation of each unit And a control unit 24 that performs control and the like.

  Next, the operation of the navigation device 50 according to the present invention will be described. The navigation device 50 according to the present invention is greatly characterized by a procedure for specifying a destination point and a procedure for creating zone information. Therefore, detailed description of operations not directly related to the present invention is omitted.

  First, the navigation device 50 is activated. When the navigation device 50 is activated, the position information acquisition unit 10 receives radio waves from a plurality of (usually three or four) GPS satellites and acquires the position and distance of each GPS satellite. Then, the current position of the vehicle on which the navigation device 50 is mounted is specified from the positions and distances of the plurality of GPS satellites, and this is output to the control unit 24 as position information of the own vehicle. The control unit 24 performs map matching processing between the position information from the position information acquisition unit 10 and the map data 15 stored in the storage unit 14, and displays a map screen including the vehicle position on the display unit 20. The display unit 20 displays map display, route guidance, operation guide, and the like to the user, and a known display device such as a color liquid crystal or an organic EL display is used.

  When the vehicle travels, the travel information acquisition unit 12 acquires information related to changes in the vehicle direction due to a curve or a left / right turn, and information related to the vehicle speed and travel distance. And these are output to the control part 24 as driving | running | working information. In parallel with this, the control unit 24 acquires the position information of the own vehicle from the position information acquisition unit 10 as needed. Note that a known angular velocity sensor such as a gyro sensor is used to acquire information relating to a change in the direction of the vehicle. In addition, a known vehicle speed sensor or the like is used for acquiring information related to the vehicle speed and travel distance.

  The control unit 24 performs map matching processing from the position information, the travel information, and the map data 15 as needed, and changes the screen display of the display unit 20 so as to follow the progress of the host vehicle. These processes are continuously performed while the navigation device 50 is in operation.

  When making the navigation device 50 perform route guidance to the destination, the user calls an input screen for destination information via the operation unit 18. Here, the operation unit 18 is used to input destination information, a search method, and other instruction commands to the navigation device 50 to the navigation device 50, and is a well-known input such as a voice input device, a button input device, and a touch panel. An apparatus can be used.

  When a display request for the destination information input screen is requested, the control unit 24 specifies a destination point, creates area information, sets arrival determination, and the like according to a flow described later. Then, a route from the current position to the destination point is searched according to a known algorithm. When the route to the destination point is set by the route search, the navigation device 50 performs a route guidance operation using the display unit 20 and the audio output unit 22 such as a speaker.

  Next, a procedure for specifying a destination point and a procedure for creating area information, which are features of the navigation device 50 and the navigation method according to the present invention, will be described.

  First, when the user calls a destination information input screen by a predetermined operation, the destination setting flow shown in FIG. 2 starts (step S100). Next, the user inputs destination information via the operation unit 18 (step S102). When the destination information is input, the control unit 24 searches the map data 15 in the storage unit 14 for point information corresponding to the destination information (step S104). Next, it is determined whether or not point information corresponding to the input destination information exists (step S106). And when the point information applicable to the input destination information exists (step S106: Yes), this point is specified as a destination point and it progresses to an area information setting flow. If there is no point information corresponding to the input destination information (step S106: No), the process proceeds to the destination re-input flow.

  Next, the destination re-input flow will be described with reference to FIG. First, the destination re-input flow starts (step S200). Next, the control unit 24 narrows down destination candidates as much as possible based on the input destination information (step S202). For example, if the destination information is input only up to the address of the address and the destination point cannot be specified, in step S202, all the point information included in the range defined by the input address is narrowed down as destination candidates.

  Next, the control unit 24 determines whether the number of narrowed destination candidates is larger or smaller than a predetermined number (step S204). If the number of destination candidates is smaller than the predetermined number (step S204: No), the main destination candidates among the destination candidates are presented to the user (step S206). The main destination candidates here are frequently used as destinations by general users such as stations, government offices, schools, libraries, museums, parks, large-scale commercial facilities, large-scale leisure facilities, etc. It is a facility that can be. For the presentation of the destination candidates, a list of destination candidates may be displayed on the display unit 20, or as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the destination candidates are numbered in a map displayed based on the destination information. May be displayed.

  When the number of destination candidates is larger than the predetermined number in step S204 (step S204: Yes), the control unit 24 presents the point information set by the predetermined procedure as the destination candidates among the destination candidates. (Step S208). The destination candidate presented in step S208 takes, for example, the deviation of all coordinates of the destination candidates narrowed down in step S202, and the destination candidate closest to the approximate center of the deviation or the point located at the approximate center of the deviation Information is preferred. According to this structure, the point where the destination candidates are dense can be presented to the user.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), for example, area information provided in the map data 15 or boundary data such as prefectures, municipalities, etc., which are defined by the inputted destination information (indicated by broken lines in FIG. 5). Further, the map data 15 is divided into unique data, and the approximate center point in the segment with the most point information, or the approximate center point in the segment with the highest population density and the number of stores among the segments, is set as the destination candidate C. May be presented. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the divisions for the above range may be grid-like divisions with a predetermined interval. The information on the population density and the number of stores may be information recorded uniquely as the map data 15, or the estimated population density and the actual number of stores recorded in the map data 15. Furthermore, the population density may correspond to the nighttime population or the daytime population according to the input time of the destination information.

  Next, the user confirms the presented destination candidate and selects a destination candidate that seems to be close to the destination intended by the user or the intended destination. If there is no destination candidate that satisfies the user, the user selects that there is no destination candidate that satisfies the user (step S210). Next, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the selection input in step S210 is selection of a destination candidate (step S212). When the destination candidate is selected (step S212: Yes), the control unit 24 specifies the destination candidate selected by the user as the destination point (step S214). Then, the destination re-input flow is terminated (step S216), and the process proceeds to the area information setting flow.

  If the selection input in step S210 is not selection of a destination candidate, that is, if there is no destination candidate that satisfies the user in the destination candidate (step S212: No), the control unit 24 adds additional destination information to the user. Is requested (step S218). As additional destination information at this time, for example, re-input of destination information, additional input of destination information, additional input of destination information by other words, a touch panel while viewing a map displayed on the display unit 20 Input etc. are mentioned. And it returns to step S202 and repeats step S202-step S218 until a user selects the destination candidate in step S210. The above is the description of the destination re-input flow.

  With this destination re-input flow, if the user does not know the destination information, for example, address, telephone number, name, etc., and the destination information cannot be input to the navigation device, Even when the map data does not cover the destination point to be performed, the point information close to the destination intended by the user can be set as the destination point. Therefore, route guidance can be performed to the vicinity of the destination intended by the user.

  When the destination point is specified in step S106 or the destination re-input flow, the area information setting flow shown in FIG. 6 is started (step S300). Note that the procedure for creating area information according to the area information setting flow shown in FIG. 6 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  When the area information setting flow starts, it is first determined whether or not the specified destination point has area information in the map data 15 (step S302). And when it has area information (step S302: Yes), the area information is decided (step S324), and an area information setting flow is complete | finished (step S326).

  When the destination point does not have area information (step S302: No), the control unit 24 sets the search range upper limit (MAX LEN) to an initial value (step S304). This upper limit value (MAX LEN) is a sufficiently large value within a range in which an excessive load is not given to the control unit 24. Next, the control unit 24 sets the search range (LEN) to an initial value (step S306). The initial value of the search range (LEN) may normally be 0. Next, the control unit 24 determines whether there is other area information within the search range (LEN) centered on the destination point (step S308). And when area information exists (step S308: Yes), this area information is acquired. Then, the area information of the destination point is created based on the area information (step S310), and the process proceeds to step S312. If there is no other area information within the search range (LEN) (step S308: No), the process proceeds to step S312.

  Next, the control unit 24 determines whether there is other point information within the search range (LEN) centered on the destination point (step S312). If there is other point information within the search range (LEN) (step S312: Yes), the control unit 24 creates area information of the destination point based on this point information (step S314), and the process goes to step S316. Transition. If no other point information exists in the search range (LEN) (step S312: No), the process proceeds to step S316 as it is.

  Next, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the area information of the destination point created in step S310 and step S314 is closed (step S316). If the area information of the destination point is closed (step S316: Yes), the upper limit value (MAX LEN) of the search range is decreased by a predetermined value (step S318).

  Next, the control unit 24 increases the value of the search range (LEN) by a predetermined amount (step S320). Then, it is determined whether or not the increased search range (LEN) is greater than or equal to the upper limit value (MAX LEN) of the search range (step S322a). If the search range (LEN) is less than the upper limit (MAX LEN), the process proceeds to step S322b, and steps S308 to S320 are repeated. If the search range (LEN) is equal to or greater than the upper limit (MAX LEN), the zone information of the created destination point is determined (step S324), and the zone information setting flow is terminated (step S326).

  Here, an example of a procedure for creating area information according to the area information setting flow will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  First, a series of operations from step S308 to step S320 are performed. For example, when the search range (LEN) = 5 (for example, 50 m), as shown in FIG. It is assumed that other area information L exists within the search range (LEN = 5). Note that the upper limit (MAX LEN) of the search range at this time is a sufficiently large value that cannot be illustrated. At this time, in step S310, the control unit 24 creates area information of the destination point indicated by a broken line based on the area information L. However, at this point, the area information of the destination point is not closed. In step S312, when no other point information exists within the search range of (LEN = 5), the process proceeds to step S316. In step S316, it is determined that the area information is not closed, and in step S320, the search range (LEN = 5) is increased to, for example, (LEN = 6) (60 m).

  If no new area information exists in the search range of LEN = 6 and the point information Q1 and Q2 exist in step S312, the control unit 24, for example, in step S314, as shown in FIG. A bisector indicated by a chain line in FIG. 7 between the destination point P and the point information Q1 is created. Similarly, the control unit 24 creates a bisector between the destination point P and the point information Q2. Then, the area information is created so as to surround the destination point P based on the two bisectors and the previous area information L. However, at this point, the area information of the destination point is not closed. Therefore, in step S316, it is determined that the area information of the destination point is not closed, and in step S320, the search range (LEN = 6) is increased to, for example, (LEN = 7).

  If no new area information exists in the search range of LEN = 7 and new point information Q3 exists in step S312, the control unit 24 sets the purpose in step S314 as shown in FIG. 7C. A bisector of the point P and the point information Q3 is created. Then, the area information is created so as to surround the destination point P based on the bisector by the point information Q3, the bisector by the previous point information Q1 and Q2, and the area information L. At this point, the area information of the destination point is closed. Therefore, in step S316, it is determined that the area information of the destination point is closed, and the process proceeds to step S318. In step S318, for example, the farthest point R1 from the destination point is specified in the created area information of the destination point. Then, the upper limit value (MAX LEN) of the search range is decreased to a value twice the distance from the destination point P to the point R1. According to this configuration, the point information that is the basis of the bisector is always present within the upper limit (MAX LEN). Next, the process proceeds to step S320, and the control unit 24 increases the search range (LEN = 7) to, for example, (LEN = 8).

  If there is no new area information in the search range of LEN = 8 and new point information Q4 exists in step S312, the control unit 24 sets the destination point P and the point information as shown in FIG. A bisector with the point information Q4 is created. And area information is created so that the destination point P may be enclosed based on the bisector by the point information Q1-Q4, and the area information L. FIG. Thereby, the area information of the destination point P is reduced more than the area information in the search range (LEN = 7). Next, the control unit 24 determines that the area information is closed in step S316, and proceeds to step S318. In step S318, the point R2 farthest from the destination point P among the new area information is specified. Then, the upper limit value (MAX LEN) of the search range is decreased to a value twice the distance from the destination point P to the point R2. At this time, since the distance from the destination point P to the point R2 is smaller than the distance from the destination point P to the point R1, the upper limit value (MAX LEN) at the point R2 is further greater than the upper limit value (MAX LEN) at the point R1. Will decrease. Therefore, the upper limit value (MAX LEN) of the search range is gradually reduced, and the search range (LEN) is gradually increased. When the search range (LEN) becomes equal to or greater than the upper limit (MAX LEN) of the search range, the control unit 24 determines the area information at that time as the area information of the destination point in step S324. The above is the description of the area information setting flow.

  As described above, the above-described procedure for creating the area information is an example. As another area information creation procedure, for example, when the destination point does not have the area information in step S302, the control unit 24 creates a circle with a predetermined radius around the destination point, and uses this circle as the destination point. You may make it set as area information.

In addition, when the destination information input by the user does not indicate a specific point but indicates a range having a predetermined area such as “XX prefecture Δ △ city”, the destination re-input flow is not performed. The range indicated by the minimum unit of the address of the input destination information, that is, in the above case, the area information of “ΔΔ city” may be used as the area information of the destination point. Alternatively, a circle with a predetermined radius may be created around a representative point within the range indicated by the minimum unit of the address of the destination information, and this circle may be set as the area information of the destination point. Furthermore, the radius of the circle at this time may be changed according to the area of the range indicated by the minimum unit of the address of the destination information. For example, if the area of the minimum address range of the destination information is 3 km ² or less, the radius of the circle is 1.0 km, and if it is 5 km ² or less, the radius of the circle is 1.5 km and 8 km ² or less. In this case, the radius of the circle may be set to 2.0 km. Further, the radius of the circle may be calculated sequentially from the area of the minimum unit range of the address.

  When the area information of the destination point is confirmed, the process returns to the flow of FIG. 2, and the control unit 24 determines whether or not the area information is wider than a predetermined area (step S108). And when it is judged that it is not a wide area, the arrival determination of a vehicle is set to the destination point (step S110). Then, the destination setting flow is terminated (step S114). Next, after searching for a route to the destination point, the control unit 24 performs route guidance to the destination point. At this time, arrival determination based on route guidance is performed at the destination point. Therefore, when the navigation device 50 arrives in the vicinity of the set destination point, the navigation device 50 notifies the user that it has arrived at the destination point, and ends the route guidance.

  If it is determined in step S108 that the area information is wider than the predetermined area, the control unit 24 sets the arrival determination to the area information of the destination point (step S112). Then, the destination setting flow is terminated (step S114). Next, after searching for a route to the destination point, the control unit 24 performs route guidance to the destination point. The route guidance at this time is performed in the same manner as normal route guidance, but arrival determination is performed based on destination area information. That is, when the arrival determination is set in the area information indicated by the broken line in FIG. 8, the navigation device 50 at the point D that has reached this area information, for example, “Arrive at the destination point range”. An output is made to notify the user that the vehicle has arrived within the range of the destination point. Then, the route guidance ends. Therefore, in this case, the navigation apparatus 50 regards the destination as a range defined by the area information, and determines that the destination has arrived at the boundary of this range, that is, when the area information is reached. Accordingly, the user can recognize that the user has been guided to the boundary of the range including the intended destination point, and can advance the vehicle toward the intended destination point by checking the map on the display unit 20. At this time, a map including the entire area information area may be displayed on the display unit 20 to prompt the user to re-enter the destination point.

  When arrival determination is set in the area information, a display form in which the range of the destination point is different from the other area, for example, by changing the color within the range of the destination point specified by the area information from the other area. Is preferably displayed. According to this configuration, it is possible to make the user recognize that the destination point performing route guidance indicates the range.

  As described above, according to the navigation device 50 and the navigation method of the present invention, even if there is no destination area information in the map data 15, the area indicating the range of the destination from the information of the existing map data 15 Information can be created. Therefore, route guidance can be performed with the destination as a range without causing an increase in the map data 15. Accordingly, the user can recognize that the user has been guided to the boundary of the range including the intended destination point, and can take an action such as advancing the vehicle toward the intended destination point. In addition, since the existing map data 15 can be used, it is not necessary to newly create map data to which area information is added, and the cost of creating map data can be reduced.

  Furthermore, even when there is no point information corresponding to the input destination information, the destination candidate based on the input destination information is presented, so that the destination point can be specified to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to improve convenience when inputting destination information of the user.

  Note that the operation, configuration, procedure, and the like of each part of the navigation device 50 described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto, and the present invention is modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention. Is possible.

10 Location information acquisition unit
15 Map data
24 Control unit
50 Navigation device

Claims (4)

A position information acquisition unit for specifying the position of the vehicle;
Map data,
A control unit that performs route guidance to a destination point designated by the user based on the position information from the position information acquisition unit and the map data,
The controller is
When there is no area information indicating the range of the destination point in the map data,
While creating area information of the destination point according to a predetermined procedure,
When the area information of the destination point is wider than a predetermined area,
A navigation device characterized in that a vehicle arrival determination is performed based on the area information. The controller is
When there is no area information indicating the range of the destination point in the map data,
Search other area information or point information within a predetermined search range centered on the destination point,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area information of the destination point is created using at least another area information or a bisector between the point information and the destination point. The controller is
Search the map data based on the destination information entered by the user,
When there is no point information corresponding to the destination information,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a destination candidate is extracted based on the destination point information and presented to a user to identify the destination point. Allowing the user to enter destination information;
Identifying a destination point on map data based on the destination information;
Creating area information of the destination point according to a predetermined procedure when there is no area information indicating the range of the destination point in map data;
Performing the arrival determination of the vehicle in the area information when the area information of the destination point is wider than a predetermined area;
A navigation method characterized by comprising:

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