JP2012112889A - In-vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide in-vehicle navigation devices which enable users to easily grasp positional relation between respective vehicles when a group of a plurality of vehicles drive to a common destination.SOLUTION: An in-vehicle navigation device comprises: map information storage means for storing map information; current position detection means for detecting a current position of an own vehicle; and display means for displaying the current position of the own vehicle with the map information corresponding to the current position. Also, the in-vehicle navigation device comprises: other vehicles information acquisition means for acquiring other vehicles information including current positions of other vehicles traveling to a common destination with the own vehicle; meeting place calculation means for calculating a meeting place for the own vehicle and the other vehicles; and display control means for controlling the display means to display the current position of the other vehicles having arrived at the meeting place with the current position of the own vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation apparatus, and more particularly to a vehicle navigation system in which a current position of each vehicle is displayed together with map information when traveling in a group with a plurality of vehicles and heading for a common destination. It relates to the device.

  A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) typified by GPS (Global Positioning System) is used to detect the current position of the vehicle and display it on a display together with map information. 2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle navigation device that searches for a route from a departure point to a destination and displays the route on a display and guides a user to the destination is known.

  There has been proposed a vehicle navigation apparatus that can comfortably perform group traveling by a plurality of vehicles.

  For example, in the vehicle navigation device disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-28295), information received from other vehicles when traveling in a group with a plurality of vehicles toward a common destination. Based on the above, the current position of the other vehicle, the running situation, etc. are calculated, and the current position, the running situation, etc. of the other vehicle are displayed together with the current position of the own vehicle.

  According to the invention of Patent Document 1, it is possible to grasp the position and traveling state of other vehicles at a glance, and perform smooth group traveling even when the destination is far away or the traveling route is difficult to understand. Is possible.

  In addition, in the navigation device disclosed in the following Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-217011), when traveling in a group, the scale of the map is set, and the current position and the destination of the host vehicle are displayed at the same time. The other vehicle position information is acquired from the other vehicle, and the current position of the other vehicle is displayed. Then, the distance between the current position of each vehicle and the destination is calculated, ranked in order of proximity to the destination, and the ranking is displayed.

  According to the invention of Patent Document 2, it is possible to easily grasp what positional relationship each vehicle has with respect to the destination.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-28295 (paragraph [0027]) JP-A-9-210701 (paragraphs [0004], [0009], [0010], [0012], [0013])

  However, in the inventions of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, the current position of each vehicle can be known, but if the traveling route between the host vehicle and another vehicle is different, the relative positional relationship between the vehicles. It is difficult to grasp easily. For example, when the host vehicle reaches the destination first, it is difficult to estimate the time until the other vehicle reaches the destination from the current position of the other vehicle.

  Also, if the distance between vehicles is far away, if you try to display the current position of each vehicle at the same time, the map must be set to a larger scale, which makes it difficult to grasp the current position of each vehicle. In addition, there is a problem that correct recognition of the positional relationship between the vehicles becomes difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is a vehicle navigation apparatus that can easily grasp the positional relationship of each vehicle when traveling in a group with a plurality of vehicles and heading to a common destination. Is intended to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
Map information storage means for storing map information; current position detection means for detecting the current position of the host vehicle; and display means for displaying the current position of the host vehicle together with the map information corresponding to the current position. In a vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:
Other vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring other vehicle information including the current position of the other vehicle moving to a common destination with the host vehicle;
A merging point calculation means for calculating a merging point where the host vehicle and the other vehicle merge based on the acquired other vehicle information;
Display control means for controlling the display means to display the current position of the other vehicle after reaching the merge point together with the current position of the host vehicle;
It is characterized by providing.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means sets the merging point and / or the destination to the own vehicle and the other vehicle. The display unit is controlled to display the current position together with each current position.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display control means is provided between the current position of the host vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle. And / or a control for causing the display means to display an estimated travel time required to travel between the current position of the host vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle.

The invention according to claim 4 of the present application is the vehicle navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising route search means for searching the route of the host vehicle to the destination. The other vehicle information includes route information of other vehicles searched for in other vehicles,
The said junction point calculation means calculates the said junction point based on the said route of the said own vehicle searched and the acquired said other vehicle information.

  In the invention according to claim 1, map information storage means for storing map information, current position detection means for detecting the current position of the host vehicle, and the current position of the host vehicle corresponding to the current position In a vehicle navigation device comprising display means for displaying together with map information, other vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring other vehicle information including a current position of the other vehicle moving to a common destination with the host vehicle, and the acquired A merging point calculation means for calculating a merging point where the own vehicle and the other vehicle merge based on other vehicle information, and the current position of the other vehicle after reaching the merging point And display control means for controlling the display on the display means.

  In this case, by displaying the current position of the other vehicle on the common route to the destination after reaching the joining point on the display means together with the current position of the own vehicle, the own vehicle is ahead of the other vehicle. In this case, since the other vehicle is traveling on the route on which the host vehicle has already traveled, the relative positional relationship between the vehicles can be easily grasped. In addition, when the other vehicle is ahead of the host vehicle, the relative positional relationship between the vehicles can be clearly grasped when the host vehicle reaches the junction.

  In the invention according to claim 2, by grasping the junction point and / or the destination together with the current positions of the own vehicle and the other vehicle on the display means, the positional relationship is grasped based on the common point for each vehicle. be able to.

  In the invention according to claim 3, it is necessary to travel between the current position of the own vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle and / or between the current position of the own vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle. By displaying the estimated traveling time on the display means, it is possible to accurately grasp the relative positional relationship of each vehicle based on specific data.

  In the invention concerning Claim 4, it comprises route searching means for searching for the route of the host vehicle to the destination, and the other vehicle information to be acquired includes route information of the other vehicle searched in the other vehicle, The said junction point calculation means can calculate the said junction point based on the said route of the said own vehicle searched and the acquired said other vehicle information.

It is explanatory drawing of the path | route at the time of carrying out group driving | running | working with two vehicles carrying the vehicle navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention, and heading to a common destination. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the route guidance in the vehicle carrying the vehicle navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the display screen in the navigation apparatus for vehicles concerning the Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiment described below exemplifies a vehicle navigation device for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention as this vehicle navigation device. In addition, the present invention can be equally applied to the vehicle navigation apparatus of other embodiments included in the claims.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of routes R1 to R3 when a group travels by two vehicles A and B equipped with a vehicle navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and travels to a common destination G.

  The vehicle A passes through the routes R1 and R3 and reaches the common destination G. The vehicle B passes the routes R2 and R3 and reaches the common destination G. In this case, the route R3 is a common route for the vehicles A and B. Further, the routes R1 and R2 merge at a junction J that is an intersection. As will be described later, between the vehicles A and B, destination information for specifying the common destination G, information on the routes of the vehicles A and B to the common destination G, and the current positions of the vehicles A and B Information is transmitted and received.

  In addition, about the route of each vehicle A and B, you may search the route to the common destination G with the navigation apparatus mounted in each vehicle, or both with the navigation apparatus mounted in any one vehicle. The routes of the vehicles A and B may be searched, and the searched route may be transmitted to the other navigation device.

  In the following embodiment, each route of the vehicles A and B will be described as being searched by a navigation device mounted on each vehicle.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the vehicle navigation device 10 mounted on the vehicle A. As shown in FIG. Note that the vehicle navigation device mounted on the vehicle B is configured similarly. In addition, although the number of vehicles shown in FIG. 1 is two, the present invention is not limited to two vehicles, and may be any number of vehicles.

  The control means 11 is constituted by a microprocessor having a CPU 12, a ROM 13, and a RAM 14, and controls the operation of each part of the vehicle navigation device 10 according to a control program recorded in the ROM 13. The control unit 11 functions as a display control unit that controls the display image on the display unit 21.

  The current position detection means 15 receives radio waves (satellite signals) including time information from a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting the earth at predetermined time intervals, and obtains position information (GPS positioning position) of the vehicle A. calculate. The position is calculated by latitude and longitude. Note that the current position of the vehicle A can also be calculated using autonomous navigation means including an angular velocity sensor such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor mounted on the vehicle A. Further, the positioning position calculated based on the radio wave received from the GPS satellite can be corrected using the autonomous navigation means.

  The route search means 16 refers to the map information stored in the map information storage means 17 when the user inputs a destination using the input means 20, and the current position of the vehicle A detected by the current position detection means 15 An optimum route from the position to the destination or from the desired starting point designated by the user to the destination is searched for. The route search is performed by searching for a link from the node corresponding to the current position or starting point to the node corresponding to the destination, and the node by various methods such as Dijkstra method, and the link length (link cost) and required By accumulating time and the like, a route having the shortest total link length (movement distance) or total required time is searched, and nodes and links belonging to the route are provided as route data.

  The map information storage means 17 is a map including road node data whose nodes are nodes such as intersections that are road branch points, road link data whose links are links between the nodes, and topographic map data. I remember information.

  The road node data includes road node numbers, position coordinates, number of connection links, branch point names, etc., and route guidance that provides route guidance such as turning left and right and straight ahead at a guide point that is a predetermined distance away from the branch point. Data and position coordinates of the guide point are stored.

  The road link data includes a road node number as a start point and an end point, a road type, a link length (link cost) as distance information between nodes, a required time, the number of lanes, a road width, and the like. Further, data such as bridges, tunnels, railroad crossings, toll booths, speed limits, and the like are given as link attributes to the road link data. The road type is information including distinction between highways and toll roads, distinction between national roads and prefectural roads.

  The topographic map data includes background data consisting of water system data such as coastlines, lakes, and river shapes, administrative boundary data, facility locations including parking lots, facility shapes, and facility data including facility names.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the joining point calculation means 18 joins the routes R1 to R3 from the current position or starting point to the common destination G searched by the vehicle navigation device 10 of each vehicle A and B. The point J is calculated. The current positions or starting points of the vehicles A and B are usually different, and the routes R1 and R2 merge at a certain point approaching the common destination G to form a common route R3. The junction point calculation means 18 calculates the junction point J as the start point of the common route R3. Note that when the vehicles A and B move to the common destination G from completely different directions, the junction J may become the common destination G.

  The communication unit 19 receives vehicle information (other vehicle information) including the current position and route information of the vehicle B from the vehicle B by wireless communication. The communication unit 19 transmits information on the common destination G to the vehicle B by wireless communication, and transmits vehicle information including the current position and route information of the vehicle A.

  The input means 20 includes operation keys in the vehicular navigation device 10, a departure point for searching a route, various keys for inputting a common destination G, a touch panel, a remote controller, and the like.

  The display means 21 is for displaying the map image, the route R1 to R3, the current position of the vehicles A and B, the junction point J, the common destination G and the like so that the user can visually recognize the map image, such as a liquid crystal display. Consists of.

  Note that a speaker (not shown) that outputs voice guidance necessary for navigation can be connected to the control means 11.

  Next, based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, detailed processing when traveling in a group with two vehicles A and B toward the common destination G will be described.

  In the vehicle A, the user operates the input means 20 to set the common destination G of the vehicles A and B, and sets a desired departure place as necessary (step S101). When the common destination G is set, the control means 11 transmits information related to the common destination G to the vehicle B via the communication means 19 (step S102).

  The route search means 22 reaches the common destination G from the current position of the vehicle A detected by the current position detection means 15 based on the map information stored in the map information storage means 17 or the departure place designated by the user. The optimum routes R1 and R3 are searched (step S103).

  That is, the current position detection means 15 detects the current position of the vehicle A by receiving a radio wave including position information from a GPS satellite. The route search means 16 extracts the corresponding map information from the map information storage means 17 based on the detected current position, and based on the node data and link data constituting the map information, for example, the required time to the common destination G Are searched for as the optimum routes R1 and R3, or all routes with the shortest distance to the destination.

  The searched routes R1 and R3 of the vehicle A are displayed on the display means 21 of the vehicle navigation device 10 together with the current position of the vehicle A and map information (step S104).

  Similarly, the vehicle B that has received the information related to the common destination G from the vehicle A searches for the optimal routes R2 and R3 from the current position of the vehicle B or the designated departure point to the common destination G, and the route. R2 and R3 are displayed on the display means of the navigation device of the vehicle B together with the current position of the vehicle B and the map information.

  Next, the users of the vehicles A and B start group traveling according to the routes R1, R3, R2, and R3 displayed on the display means 21 of the vehicle A and the display means of the vehicle B (step S105). In this case, a map image including necessary ranges of the routes R1 and R3 centering on the current position of the vehicle A is displayed on the display means 21 of the vehicle A. As the vehicle A travels, the map image is scrolled and displayed. The range moves. Similarly, in the vehicle B, as the vehicle B travels, necessary ranges of the routes R2 and R3 centering on the current position are displayed.

  When the group travel is started, the control means 11 of the vehicle A requests vehicle information from the vehicle B via the communication means 19 and acquires vehicle information (other vehicle information) from the vehicle B in response to this request ( Step S106). The vehicle information of the vehicle B includes the current position of the vehicle B and route information regarding the routes R2 and R3 to the common destination G searched in the same manner as the vehicle A. The control unit 11 requests vehicle information from the vehicle B at predetermined time intervals, and sequentially acquires vehicle information including information on the latest current position of the vehicle B. Similarly, the vehicle B requests vehicle information from the vehicle A, and sequentially acquires the current position of the vehicle A and route information regarding the routes R1 and R3 in response to the request.

  The merging point calculation unit 18 of the vehicle A is based on the routes R1 and R3 of the vehicle A searched by the route search unit 16 and the routes R2 and R3 of the vehicle B acquired through the communication unit 19. Is calculated (step S107). In this case, since the destinations G of the vehicles A and B are common, the route R3 between the common destination G and the junction point J is a common route of the vehicles A and B. The junction point J is usually an intersection. Similarly, in the vehicle B, the junction point J may be calculated, or the information on the calculated junction point J may be transmitted from the vehicle A to the vehicle B.

  After the junction point J is calculated, the control unit 11 sequentially acquires information on the latest current position of the vehicle B, and determines whether or not the vehicle B has reached the junction point J based on the information ( Step S108). If it is determined that the vehicle B has arrived at the junction point J (step S108, YES), the control means 11 controls the display means 21, and the current position of the vehicle A currently displayed on the display means 21 and a predetermined range. Instead of the routes R1 and R3, the route R3 is displayed with a range including the current position of the vehicle A, the acquired current position of the vehicle B, and the joining point J (see step S109, FIG. 4). Similarly, in the case of the vehicle B, if it is determined that the vehicle A has arrived at the junction point J, the current position of the vehicle B, the current position of the vehicle A, and a route R3 in a range including the junction point J are displayed.

  The control means 11 of the vehicle A adjusts the display scale so that the vehicles A and B and the junction point J can be displayed on the display means 21 simultaneously. In this case, after the vehicle B reaches the junction point J, the map image of only the necessary range including the vehicles A and B and the junction point J is displayed on the display means 21, so that the scale of the map becomes larger than necessary. The positions of the vehicles A and B can be confirmed in a good normal state. The same applies to the vehicle B.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, after the vehicle A first passes the junction point J and enters the route R3, when the vehicle B reaches the junction point J, the user of the vehicle A displays the display means. From the position of the junction point J displayed at 21 (the position of the junction point J that the vehicle has passed a little before) and the position of the vehicle B that is already traveling on the common route R3, The positional relationship with the vehicle B can be easily estimated. In general, the driver knows sensuously the elapsed time and distance traveled since the vehicle passed through the junction point J, and it was found that another vehicle reached the junction point J later. For example, this is based on the knowledge that the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle can also be intuitively recognized. Since the junction point J is a point that serves as a mark such as an intersection, it is easily stored in memory, and the positional relationship can be easily grasped accordingly. The same applies to the vehicle B.

  In addition, when the vehicle B reaches the junction point J ahead of the vehicle A, the user of the vehicle A and the vehicle B traveling ahead on the common route R3 after reaching the junction point J Can be easily estimated. The same applies to the vehicle B.

  The display means 21 displays the common destination G at the same time in addition to the junction point J and the current positions of the vehicles A and B, thereby more specifically grasping the positional relationship between the vehicles A and B. Can do.

  In addition, after the vehicles A and B arrive at the merge point J, the distance between the current positions of the vehicles A and B is displayed on the display means 21 so that the positional relationship between the vehicles A and B is based on specific data. In addition, it can be grasped accurately. Furthermore, by calculating the estimated travel time required to travel the distance and displaying it on the display means 21, for example, how much the subsequent vehicle B is behind the preceding vehicle A. Can be grasped.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case of group traveling with two vehicles A and B has been described. However, as described above, the present invention can be easily expanded and applied to a group traveling with three or more vehicles. . In addition, the vehicles A and B do not necessarily have to search for a route to the common destination G. For example, the history of the traveling route of the preceding vehicle A is stored, and the following vehicle B is the traveling route of the vehicle A. It is also possible to display the vehicle B on the display means 21 by using the point where the vehicle has entered as a meeting point.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle navigation apparatus 11 ... Control means 15 ... Current position detection means 16 ... Route search means 17 ... Map information storage means 18 ... Junction point calculation means 19 ... Communication Means 20 ... Input means 21 ... Display means G ... Destination J ... Joint points R1-R3 ... Route

Claims (4)

Map information storage means for storing map information; current position detection means for detecting the current position of the host vehicle; and display means for displaying the current position of the host vehicle together with the map information corresponding to the current position. In a vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:
Other vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring other vehicle information including the current position of the other vehicle moving to a common destination with the host vehicle;
A merging point calculation means for calculating a merging point where the host vehicle and the other vehicle merge based on the acquired other vehicle information;
Display control means for controlling the display means to display the current position of the other vehicle after reaching the merge point together with the current position of the host vehicle;
A vehicle navigation device comprising:   The said display control means performs the control which displays the said junction and / or the said destination on the said display means with the said each current position of the said own vehicle and the said other vehicle, The said display means is characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle navigation device.   The display control means is used to travel between the current position of the host vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle and / or between the current position of the host vehicle and the current position of the other vehicle. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control for displaying an estimated traveling time on the display unit is performed. Comprising route search means for searching the route of the host vehicle to the destination,
The other vehicle information to be acquired includes route information of the other vehicle searched in the other vehicle,
The said junction point calculation means calculates the said junction point based on the said path | route of the searched said own vehicle, and the acquired said other vehicle information, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle navigation device.

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