JP2013164261A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus capable of clearly guiding a driver to an exit road as a guide route from a branch point with voice.SOLUTION: A navigation apparatus includes: a guide sentence generation unit 2 for generating a guide sentence at a branch point, on the basis of map data read out from a guide route searched by a route search unit 1 and a map database 3; a branch point feature calculation unit 4 for calculating a feature of the branch point, on the basis of the guide route and the map data; a detailed guide sentence generation unit 5 for generating a detailed guide sentence using the calculated feature of the branch point; a guide sentence synthesis unit 6 for synthesizing the generated guide sentence and detailed guide sentence; and a voice output unit 7 for outputting the synthesized synthesis guide sentence to a voice guidance.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that guides an exit guidance route from a branch point (including an intersection) to a traveling driver by voice.

  Conventionally, as this type of navigation device, when driving along the searched guidance route from the current location to the destination and approaching the intersection as a branch point, "the intersection 300m ahead is to the right", "the intersection 300m ahead Is in the right front direction ”and“ 300m ahead of the intersection is diagonally right ”.

  In this way, conventionally, guidance that informs the exit direction (angle) from the branch point and the exit operation is given to the driver by voice. However, even if the exit direction (angle) and the exit operation are transmitted, if there are two or more exit roads similar to the guided direction or the destination of the operation, it cannot be specified which road should be followed.

Therefore, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 generates easy-to-understand guidance text such as “go 40 meters toward the right thin road” using road width information in order to provide easy-to-understand road guidance for pedestrians. It is described.
In addition, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2 solves the problem by telling in advance why a “difficult intersection” is difficult in order to enable guidance by voice even at an intersection having a complicated shape. Is described.

JP 2002-257578 A JP 2007-232608 A

  However, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 focuses on easy-to-understand guidance for pedestrians. For example, the simpler and easier-to-understand guidance that does not impede driving is not taken into account, and the speed is high. This is not a guide for drivers required for in-vehicle devices. In addition, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses some additional items to improve the accuracy of voice guidance for difficult intersections. However, the angle at which the vehicle travels, the number of exit roads to the intersection, etc. There is a problem that there are some places that cannot flexibly cope with various existing patterns of roads.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that guides a driver on an exit road from a branch point (including an intersection) in an easy-to-understand manner.

  The navigation device according to the present invention calculates a feature of a branch point based on the guidance route and the map data, and a guidance sentence generation unit that generates a guidance sentence at the branch point based on the guidance route and map data searched by the route search unit. A branch point feature calculating unit; a detailed guide sentence generating unit that generates a detailed guide sentence using the calculated feature of the branch point; and a guide sentence synthesizing unit that synthesizes the created guide sentence and the detailed guide sentence; And a voice output unit for outputting the synthesized synthesized guidance sentence to voice guidance.

  According to the present invention, even when there are two or more confusing exit roads from the branch point, the guidance guidance is generated by using the feature of the exit road that is the guide route searched for the route. There is an effect that it is possible to clearly discriminate from an exit road that is a non-guided route that has not been searched, and to provide an easy-to-understand voice guidance to the exit road that is an exit route that exits from a branch point.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part which produces | generates the guidance sentence of the navigation apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the principal part which produces | generates a guidance sentence. It is a schematic diagram of the detailed guidance sentence production | generation part which is a component of the principal part which produces | generates a guidance sentence. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a detailed guidance sentence production | generation part. It is explanatory drawing of the production | generation reference | standard of a guidance sentence. It is explanatory drawing of the production | generation reference | standard of a detailed guidance sentence in case there exist two exit roads in the same area. It is explanatory drawing of the production | generation reference | standard of a detailed guidance text in case two exit roads exist within the predetermined angle beyond an area. It is explanatory drawing of the production | generation reference | standard of a detailed guidance text in case two exit roads are beyond a predetermined angle beyond an area. It is explanatory drawing of the production | generation reference | standard of the detailed guidance sentence in case there exist three exit roads. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part which produces | generates the guidance sentence of the navigation apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part that generates a guidance sentence of a navigation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A route search part 1, a guidance sentence generation part 2, a map database 3, and a road branch feature calculation part. 4. A detailed guidance sentence generation unit 5, a guidance sentence synthesis unit 6, and a voice output unit 7 are provided.

  The route search unit 1 searches the current location with a signal from the GPS, searches for a guide route based on the current location, the destination input from the input unit, and the map data read from the map database 3, and branches on the guide route. Detect points. Based on the map data read from the map database 3, the guide route supplied from the route search unit 1, and the branch point on the guide route, the guide sentence generator 2 generates a guide sentence suitable for this branch point.

  Based on the map data read from the map database 3, the guide route supplied from the route search unit 1, and the branch point on the guide route, the road branch feature calculation unit 4 determines that the exit road from the branch point corresponds to the base point. Features such as what angle to exit with respect to the approach direction, how many exit roads from that branch point, and what angle between exit roads are calculated. The priority of this branch point feature is the order of the number of exit roads, the angle between exit roads, and the angle of the exit road from the branch point to the guide route.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the detailed guidance sentence generation unit 5 generates in advance detailed guidance sentences 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the angle with respect to the exit road from the branch point, the angle between the exit roads, and the number of exit roads. Stored in a storage medium. The guidance text synthesizing unit 6 synthesizes the guidance text from the guidance text generation unit 2 and the detailed guidance text from the detailed guidance text generation unit 5 and outputs it as one guidance text. The voice output unit 7 outputs one guidance sentence output from the guidance sentence synthesis unit 6 to the voice guidance.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main part that generates the guidance text. When the operation starts, the guidance text generation section 2 reads the map data read from the map database 3 and the guidance route supplied from the route search section 1. Based on the branch point on the guide route, a guide sentence suitable for this branch point is generated (step ST20).

  Next, the road branch feature calculation unit 4 detects a branch point on the guide route based on the map data read from the map database 3, the guide route supplied from the route search unit 1 and the branch point on the guide route, The feature of the branch point is calculated, and it is determined whether detailed guidance is necessary (step ST21). If the determination result is NO, the guidance sentence generated by the guidance sentence generation unit 2 is sent to the voice output unit 7 via the guidance sentence synthesis unit 6, and only this guidance sentence is output to the voice guidance.

  On the other hand, when the determination result is YES, the detailed guidance sentence generation unit 5 determines the angle with respect to the exit road from the branch point given by the road branch feature calculation unit 4, the angle between the exit roads, the number of exit roads, etc. Based on the feature, the reference for generating the detailed guidance text stored in the storage medium is read to generate the detailed guidance text (step ST22).

  Then, the prepared detailed guidance sentence is sent to the guidance sentence synthesizing unit 6 and synthesized with the guidance sentence sent from the guidance sentence generating unit 2 (step ST23), and the synthesized one guidance sentence is synthesized with the voice output unit. 7 and outputs the guidance text to the voice guidance (step ST24), and the operation is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the operation of the detailed guidance sentence generating unit 5. When the operation is started, it is determined whether the number of exit roads from the branch point is two or more (step ST40). If the determination result is NO, the operation is terminated. On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, it is determined whether the angle between the leaving roads is N ° or less (step ST41). If the determination result is NO, the operation is terminated. On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, angles a ° to b °, b ° to c °,... Y ° to z ° between the exit road from the branch point and the guide route (entry direction) to the branch point. Accordingly, various detailed guidance sentences A to Z (step ST43-1, step ST43-2... Step ST43-n) are generated (step ST42).

  Next, the generation of guidance text will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining guideline generation criteria. When the exit road from the branch point is within α ° to the left and right (area 1) with respect to the approach direction to the branch point G, “oblique left”, “ Guidance that speaks “slight right”, “left front”, “right front” if within right and left β ° (area 2) backward, “left”, “right” if within other angles (area 3) It is based on generating a sentence.

Next, generation of detailed guidance text will be described. 6-9 is a figure explaining the production | generation reference | standard of a detailed guidance sentence, and each figure illustrates the case where the exit road exists in the area of the right side. FIG. 6 shows an example in which there are two exit roads in the same area at the branch point. FIG. 6A shows that there are two exit roads in area 3, and the detailed guidance sentence is “This is the front road.” The combined guide sentence combined with the guide sentence shown in 5 is “right. This is the road ahead”.
In (b), there are two exit roads in area 1, the detailed guidance sentence is “The road on the right side”, and the synthesized guidance sentence synthesized with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “oblique right. It ’s the road. ”
(C) There are two exit roads in area 1, but (b) is the case where the exit road as the guide route and the exit road as the non-guide route are opposite. "The road on the left side." And the synthesized guide sentence synthesized with the guide sentence shown in FIG. 5 is "oblique right. It is the road on the left side."
In (d), there are two exit roads in area 2, the detailed guidance sentence is “the road behind it”, and the combined guidance sentence combined with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “right front”. It ’s the inner road. ” (E) There are two exit roads in area 2, but (d) is the case where the exit road as the guide route and the exit road as the non-guide route are opposite. The combined guide sentence combined with the guide sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “right front. This is the foremost road”.

FIG. 7 shows a case where there are two exit roads within a predetermined angle across the area at the branch point, and (a) has two exit roads, one for area 1 and one for area 3, The detailed guidance sentence is “This is the road ahead”, and the combined guidance sentence combined with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “Right. This is the road ahead”.
(B) is a case where the exit road as the guide route and the exit road as the non-guide route are opposite to each other, and the detailed guide sentence is “the road on the left side”, as shown in FIG. The combined guideline combined with the guideline shown in is “Slight right. It is the left side of the road”.
In (c), there are two exit roads, one for each of area 2 and area 3, and the detailed guidance sentence is “Oku no Michi”. The combined guidance sentence combined with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. Is “right.
(D) is the case where the exit road as the guide route and the exit road as the non-guide route are opposite to each other, and the detailed guide sentence is “the frontmost road”, as shown in FIG. The combined guide sentence combined with the previous guide sentence is “right front.

FIG. 8 shows a case where two exit roads cross the area at the branch point and are at a predetermined angle or more.
In (a), there are two exit roads, one for each of area 1 and area 3, but the detailed guidance is not necessary because the angle between the exit roads is more than a predetermined angle. Only the guidance sentence “It is right” shown in FIG.
In (b), there are two exit roads, one for each of area 2 and area 3, but the detailed guidance is not necessary because the angle between the exit roads is more than a predetermined angle. Only the guidance sentence “It is in front of right” shown in FIG.
In (c), there are two exit roads, one for each of area 1 and area 3, but the detailed guidance is not necessary because the angle between the exit roads is more than a predetermined angle. Only the guide sentence “It is diagonally right” shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of generation criteria for a detailed guidance sentence when there are three exit roads at a branch point.
In (a), there are three exit roads, one in area 2 and two in area 3, and the central road is the exit road as a guide route, so the detailed guidance sentence is “the middle road. , And the synthesized guide sentence synthesized with the guide sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “right. Middle way”.
(B) has three exit roads, one in area 2 and two in area 3, and the closest road is the exit road as a guide route. The combined guide sentence combined with the guide sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “right front. This is the foremost road”.
In (c), there are three exit roads, one for each of area 1, area 2 and area 3, and the road in area 1 is an exit road as a guide route. And the combined guidance sentence combined with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “oblique right. It is the way behind”.
(D) is a total of 3 exit roads, 2 in area 1 and 1 in area 2, and the road from area 3 in area 1 is an exit road as a guide route. The combined guide sentence combined with the guide sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “oblique right. It is the middle road.” In this case, if the angle between the guide route and one of the exit roads is more than the predetermined angle, it may be guided as “oblique right. This is the front road”.
(E) is a total of 3 exit roads, 2 in area 1 and 1 in area 2. (d) is the case where the exit road as the guide route and the exit road as the non-guide route are opposite. , The detailed guidance sentence is “Oku no Michi”, and the combined guidance sentence combined with the guidance sentence shown in FIG. 5 is “oblique right.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not there is a leaving road as a non-guide route close to the leaving road as a guide route from a branch point, and there is a leaving road as a close non-guide route. In this case, based on the information of the exit road as the guide route, a feature that is different from the exit road as the non-guide route is determined, and the determination result is used for guidance. In other words, there are two or more exit roads from the branch point, and the angle between the exit roads is equal to or less than a preset angle, and a detailed guidance sentence is generated according to the angle of the exit road with respect to the approach direction with respect to the branch point. Since it is combined with the basic guidance text and output, an effect that the exit road as the guidance route from the branch point can be guided in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part that generates a guidance sentence of the navigation device according to the second embodiment. The configuration of the first embodiment includes a camera 8, an image analysis unit 9, and a road attribute adding unit 10. Since the situation detecting unit 11 is added and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description is omitted.

  The camera 8 refers to some photographing member attached to the vehicle body. Specifically, a rear (back) camera for confirming the blind spot of the vehicle body, a side camera, a camera for taking a record of vehicle operation represented by a front camera and a drive recorder, and a dedicated product attached for this purpose may be used. .

The image analysis unit 9 analyzes the camera image and extracts the following information.
(1) An RGB value region exceeding a predetermined threshold value is extracted from the camera image and output together with the RGB value.
(2) A region having a luminance exceeding a predetermined threshold value is extracted from the camera image and output together with the luminance value.

  The road attribute assigning unit 10 supplies the RGB and luminance value regions obtained by the image analyzing unit 9 to the detailed guidance sentence generating unit 5, and a plurality of exit road regions supplied from the road branching feature calculating unit 4. Are associated with each other, and information on RGB values and luminance values is assigned as road attributes for each exit road.

Since the second embodiment has the above-described configuration, the presence / absence of a leaving road as a non-guide route close to the leaving road as a guide route from the branch point in the first embodiment is determined, and the adjacent non-guide route When there is a leaving road as a guide route, a feature that is different from the exit road as a non-guide route is determined based on the information of the exit road as a guide route, and guidance is performed using the determination result. That is, there are two or more exit roads from the branch point, and the angle between the exit roads is equal to or less than a preset angle, and information on RGB values and luminance values according to the angle of the exit road with respect to the approach direction with respect to the branch point A detailed guidance sentence to which etc. are added is generated. For example,
・ Guidance using color and brightness as RGB value and brightness value information "Roads with a right turn and road painted blue"
"Turn right and the brighter road"
・ Guidance using the prospects “Turn right and the road has better prospects”

If the map data includes road information, traffic rule information, etc. corresponding to the road, the information also generates detailed guidance text in addition to the RGB value and luminance value information in the second embodiment. be able to. For example,
・ Guidance using the width of the road "Turn right and wide (narrow) road"
“To the right, turn to the wide (narrow) road”
・ Guidance using the positional relationship of the road "Turn right, the road on the near side (the back)"
"Turn right, the second road from the front"
・ Guidance using the relationship between the position of the vehicle and the road "Turn right, the road on the far side"
・ Guidance using elevation difference “The way to turn right and go down”
・ Guide using a curve "The road that turns to the right and curves"
・ Guidance using traffic rules "Turn right, one-way street"
"Turn to the right and have a pedestrian crossing"

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is determined whether or not there is a leaving road as a non-guide route close to the leaving road as a guide route in the first embodiment, and there is a leaving road as a non-guide route that is close. In this case, based on the information of the exit road as the guide route, a feature that is different from the exit road as the non-guide route is determined, and the guidance is performed using the determination result. Since detailed guidance text including information, road information, traffic rule information, and the like is generated, it is possible to guide the driver on the exit road as a guide route from the branch point in an easy-to-understand manner.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Route search part, 2 Guide sentence production | generation part, 3 Map database, 4 Road branch feature calculation part, 5 Detailed guidance sentence production | generation part, 6 Guide sentence synthesis part, 7 Voice output part, 8 Camera, 9 Image analysis part, 10 Road Attribute assignment unit, 11 road condition detection unit.

Claims (5)

  A guidance sentence generation unit that generates a guidance sentence at a branch point based on the guidance route and map data searched by the route search unit; a branch point feature calculation part that calculates a feature of the branch point based on the guidance route and map data; A detailed guidance sentence generating unit that generates a detailed guidance sentence using the calculated feature of the branch point, a guidance sentence synthesizing part that synthesizes the created guidance sentence and the detailed guidance sentence, and the synthesized synthesized guidance sentence A navigation device comprising a voice output unit that outputs voice as voice guidance.   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a road condition detection unit that detects a road condition in a traveling direction and supplies the detection information to a detailed guidance sentence generation unit.   The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the road condition detection unit includes a camera, an image analysis unit, and a road attribute assignment unit.   The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the features of the branch point are an angle of the exit road from the branch point with respect to the guide route, an angle between the exit roads, and the number of exit roads.   3. The navigation according to claim 1, wherein the priority of the branch point features is the number of exit roads, the angle between exit roads, and the order of the angle with respect to the guide route of the exit road from the branch point. apparatus.

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