JP2013210198A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To search a route including a walk-free area in which a user can walk freely, and to guide a traveling direction within the walk-free area while allowing a free walk within the walk-free area.SOLUTION: Within a walk-free area, a virtual link is set together with attribute information indicating walk-free, and road data include the virtual link. A navigation device comprises a route search section 21, an approach link detecting section 22, an exit link detecting section 23 and a virtual node forming link detecting section 24. The route search section 21 searches for a route from a departure place to a destination by referring to the road data. The approach link detecting section 22 detects an approach link to the walk-free area from information of the route. The exit link detecting section 23 defines the walk-free area as a virtual node and identifies the virtual link within the virtual node from the information of the route, thereby detecting an exit link of the virtual node. The virtual node forming link detecting section 24 successively identifies virtual links within the virtual node with the approach link as an origin and detects a non-virtual link as a virtual node forming link. Based on a positional relation between the exit link and the virtual node forming link, a traveling direction is guided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device for guiding a user to a set destination, and more particularly to a navigation device that provides route guidance including a free walking area where a user can walk freely.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation devices and navigation systems that search for a route from a desired departure place to a destination by using map data and road data and guide a user are known. As such a navigation device and navigation system, a car navigation device that is installed in an automobile and guides the route to the driver, a mobile phone is used as a navigation terminal, a route search request is sent to the route search server, and the result is received. Communication-type navigation systems for pedestrians who receive route guidance have been put to practical use. In recent years, a navigation device such as a PND (portable navigation device) that can be used as either an in-vehicle navigation device or a portable navigation device is also provided.

  The route search in the navigation device is performed based on the map information. The map information includes road data including information such as road type, number of lanes, road width, and the like. In the pedestrian navigation device, the road data includes road data dedicated to walking. The road data is composed of node data in which roads are nodes such as inflection points and branch points, and link data in which routes connecting the respective nodes are links.

  Node data and link data are composed of node number, node position coordinates (latitude / longitude), node attributes such as intersection information and information indicating intersection name, and the number of connection links, connection link number, and link cost. Is done. The link cost is information indicating how much time it can pass through the section of the link length, and average speed data (for example, legal speed set on the road) in the section of the link length is used. In a navigation device for pedestrians, the link cost uses a required time based on an average walking speed of a person.

  The navigation device refers to the map information and searches for a link from the node of the road corresponding to the current position or starting point to the node corresponding to the destination by a method such as the Dijkstra method, and the link length (link cost) And the required time is accumulated, and a route having the shortest total link length (travel distance) or total link cost (total required time) is searched for as a travel route.

  When the user proceeds on the searched route and approaches or reaches an intersection or a branch point, the navigation device outputs a voice of the traveling direction of the route (for example, right turn, left turn, or straight forward) so that the user proceeds along the route. invite.

  Such a pedestrian navigation device is disclosed in, for example, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-260160). In order to perform route guidance based on map data including road network data and landmark data, the navigation device searches for a route from a starting point to a destination designated by the user from the road network data, The road shape data is generated by analyzing the road shape in the route searched based on the data, in particular, the shape of the intersection. When an intersection shape is analyzed as a road shape, at least the number of roads connected to the intersection and the angle of the road are obtained.

  Based on the route data and the shape data, the landmark selection area necessary for route guidance along the route is determined, and the landmark data included in the landmark selection area is selected from the landmark data included in the map data. Thus, road guidance information corresponding to the route is generated using the road shape data and the selected landmark data.

  By the way, in the navigation device for pedestrians, the route to the destination may include an area where the user (pedestrian) can walk freely. For example, open spaces in parks, various event venues, and wide roads in the pedestrian area. In these places, the user can walk freely without walking a specific route. A method for searching for a route when such an area is included in the route to the destination has also been proposed.

For example, the following Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-308343) discloses an invention of a navigation system using a walkable surface. This system prescribes the surface that is a component of the walkable area by the figure figure that determines the basic figure and its size and direction, and approximates the walkable area where a pedestrian can walk freely as a set of these faces. The walking route from the starting point to the destination point specified by the pedestrian is displayed on the approximate plane drawn on the map.

  In this system, the shortest route in the walking area is first from the starting point to the point closest to the route surface C at the tangent line between the route surface A and the route surface B, and then to the destination at the tangent line between the route surface B and the route surface C. A line is connected to the nearest point, and finally a line is connected to the destination point so that the route is displayed.

  Also, virtual pedestrians using virtual pedestrian networks that set unorganized portions of road data as virtual pedestrian segments that allow pedestrians to walk without roads, such as unpaved roads through parks and grasslands. There has also been proposed a navigation system in which orientation nodes that can be recognized by pedestrians in a segment are identified and a road close to the orientation node is identified to provide a route (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-350273 below). )reference).

JP 2002-260160 A JP 2006-308343 A JP 2006-350273 A

  As described above, in the navigation systems disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the route search is performed when a route in an area where a pedestrian can freely walk is specified and the pedestrian is guided. The unit is configured to calculate a route to be walked in the area based on a certain calculation method and present it to the user (pedestrian).

  Therefore, as long as the user is walking on the presented route, there will be no contradiction if the navigation system provides guidance prepared in advance according to the calculated route. However, since the area where the route is calculated is an area where the user can freely walk, the user does not always walk according to the route calculated by the navigation system, and the user is forced to walk. The problem arises.

  The present invention provides a navigation device that searches for a route including a free walking area where a user can walk freely, and guides the traveling direction in the free walking area while allowing free walking in the free walking area. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, the navigation device of the present invention provides:
A route search unit that searches for a route from the departure point to the destination with reference to road data composed of links and nodes;
In a free walking area where a user can walk freely, a virtual link representing a virtual walking route is set with attribute information indicating that the user is free to walk, and the road data is set in the free walking area. Including virtual links,
From the information of the route searched by the route search unit, an approach link detection unit that detects an approach link to the walking free area;
With the walking free area as a virtual node, from the information of the route searched by the route search unit, the virtual link in the virtual node is identified, and the outgoing link detection unit detects the outgoing link of the virtual node;
A virtual node forming link detection unit that sequentially identifies virtual links in a virtual node, detects non-virtual links, and specifies as a virtual node forming link, starting from the ingress link;
Guidance generating means for specifying a guidance message of the exit link for the entry link based on a positional relationship between the exit link for the entry link and the virtual node forming link;

  Further, the navigation device of the present invention detects the exit link by sequentially tracing the virtual link from the entry link and referring to the attribute information based on the route information, and determines the distance and angle of the exit link with respect to the entry link. It is characterized by calculating.

  In addition, the navigation device of the present invention traces all virtual links connected to the approach link, detects the non-virtual link with reference to the attribute information, identifies a virtual node formation link, and The distance and angle of the virtual node forming link are calculated.

  Further, in the navigation device of the present invention, the guidance generating means includes: a distance and an angle of the exit link with respect to the entrance link; and a distance and an angle of the virtual node forming link with respect to the entrance link; A positional relationship with the virtual node forming link is determined, and an exit link guidance message for the entry link is specified.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the guidance generation unit specifies a guidance message of the exit link for the entrance link based on the orientation of the exit link and the orientation of the virtual node forming link. .

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the exit link guidance message for the entry link is a positional relationship determined from the distance and angle of the exit link to the entry link and the distance and angle of the virtual node forming link to the entry link. According to the above, it is set in the storage unit in advance.

  According to the present invention, in the walking free area, the virtual link is set together with the attribute information indicating walking free, and the road data includes the virtual link. The navigation device refers to the road data and searches for a route from the departure point to the destination, a route search unit, an entry link detection unit that detects an entry link to the walking free area from the route information, and a virtual walking free area. As a node, from the path information, an exit link detection unit that identifies a virtual link in the virtual node and detects an exit link of the virtual node, and sequentially identifies a virtual link in the virtual node from the entrance link as a non-virtual link A virtual node formation link detection unit for detecting is provided, and based on the positional relationship between the exit link with respect to the entrance link and the virtual node formation link with respect to the entrance link, the traveling direction when entering the walking free area, that is, the exit link Guide the direction of travel. For this reason, it is possible to easily guide the user in the direction of travel in the walking free area while allowing free walking in the walking free area.

  In the present invention, there is provided a navigation device that searches for a route including a walking free area where a user can walk freely, and guides a traveling direction in the walking free area while allowing free walking in the walking free area. be able to.

It is a figure for demonstrating the concept of the route search of the navigation apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention, and route guidance. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another example of the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the route search of the navigation apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention, and guidance information generation. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed procedure of the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed procedure of the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  It is a figure for demonstrating the concept of the route search of the navigation apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention, and route guidance. FIG. 1 shows a walking free area F where a pedestrian can freely walk. This walking free area F indicates a park and is connected to the road by five nodes N0 to N4. That is, the user can go in and out of the park through five nodes from the road, and can walk freely in the park except for the planting part.

  When searching for the optimal route from the departure point S to the destination G, the road data is configured as follows so that the route passing through the park F can also be searched. That is, the part which can walk freely in the said park F is divided | segmented into substantially mesh shape, and links L1-L26 shown with a dotted line are set as a virtual link, and are included in road data. Information indicating that the virtual link is a link in an area where walking is free is given as an attribute of the link.

  When an optimum route by the Dijkstra method or the like is searched using such road data, a route indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 is calculated (searched). The route in the park F is a route that passes through the links L0, L1, L2, L4, L5, and L6. The link L0 is a link connected to the road at the node N0 and is an entry link to the park F. The link L6 is a link connected to the road at the node N2, and is a leaving link from the park F.

  Here, the links L1, L2, L4, L5 and the links L0, L6 can be identified based on the attribute information as to whether the user can freely walk or not, and are distinguished from the links L0, L6. Can do. Thereby, the links L0 and L6 are connection links connected to the road, and can be specified as links connected to the entrance / exit nodes of the park F, that is, connection links of the entrance / exit of the park F.

  Next, a method for guiding the user when the route in the park F is calculated as described above will be described. Route guidance in a normal navigation device guides the user in the direction in which the user should proceed, such as turning left or right or going straight, at a branching or bending point in the searched route. When such normal route guidance is performed, the traveling direction of the virtual link is also guided for each branch point or bending point on the route.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the direction to be traveled is guided to the user for each branch point or bending point on the route constituted by the links L0, L1, L2, L4, L5, and L6. However, when such guidance is executed, it is a walking free area where the user can walk freely, but the user is guided to follow the calculated route, and is the same as the guidance method of Patent Documents 2 and 3 above. This will force the user to follow a specific route.

  Therefore, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 1, in the navigation device of one embodiment of the present invention, the entrance link (link L0) and the exit link (link L6) in the route searched for the park F as described above. Therefore, the approximate position and direction of the exit link (link L6) in the entry link (link L0) are guided by a user-friendly message. Since the user is only guided about the approximate position and direction of the exit link at the entrance link, the user can walk freely in the walk free area. You may walk linearly from the approach link toward the exit link, or you may walk while meandering toward the exit link.

  Here, in order to guide the approximate position and direction of the exit link (link L6) in the entrance link (link L0), other connection links (L3, L8, L11) of the park F that have not become routes It is necessary to know the relationship between the position and distance. In the example of FIG. 1, the exit link L6 of the route is in the right-hand direction when viewed from the entrance link L0, and there is another connection link L3 in the foreground. It is preferable to guide with the message "Please proceed."

  If the exit link on the route is the link L3, the guidance indicating that the exit is on the right-hand side is provided. If the exit link is the link L8, the guidance is provided indicating that the exit is a straight exit. If it is a link L11, the user can easily recognize the guided exit by giving guidance that the exit is “left hand exit”, and how to walk in the area is appropriately determined according to the user's preference at that time. be able to.

  For this reason, in the present invention, the entry link to the walk free area and the exit link from the walk free area are identified from the searched route information, and all virtual links in the walk free area are sequentially set starting from the entry link. The non-virtual link other than the exit link is detected as a virtual node formation link, and the exit link is exited based on the exit link angle and distance relative to the entrance link and the virtual node formation link angle and distance relative to the entrance link. Guide the approximate position and direction of the link. This procedure will be described in detail later.

  Thereby, the user can know the approximate direction and position of the exit link, and can walk freely in the walking free area toward the exit link.

  Next, the configuration and function of the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 10 of the present embodiment includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 11, a map information storage unit 12, an audio output unit 13, a display unit 14, and an operation unit 15. The storage unit 16 and the control unit 20 are provided.

  The control unit 20 includes a processor including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (all not shown), executes predetermined processing based on a control program recorded in the ROM and RAM, and operates each unit of the navigation device 10. To control. In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 has been described as reading and executing a control program recorded in the ROM or RAM. However, the control program is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. It is also possible to provide it to the control unit 20.

  Then, the control unit 20 executes the above-described control program, thereby causing the route search unit 21, the incoming link detection unit 22, the outgoing link detection unit 23, the virtual node formation link detection unit 24, and the guidance generation unit. A functional configuration of 25 is realized.

  The GPS receiver 11 detects the current position and the traveling direction of the navigation device 10. For example, the GPS receiver 11 receives radio waves including time information and position information from three or more GPS satellites orbiting the earth. It operates as current position detecting means for detecting the current position by processing.

  The control unit 20 complements the position information using not only the current position detected by the GPS receiver 11 but also acceleration and direction detected by an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor (both not shown). Also good. In this case, the GPS receiver 11, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like constitutes a current position detection unit that detects the current position.

  The map information storage unit 12 stores map information. This map information includes road data including information such as road type, number of lanes, and road width, facility data including information on the location, type, and name of facilities such as convenience stores and gas stations, coastlines, lakes , Topographic data including information such as river shape and administrative boundary information.

  The road data is composed of node data in which roads are nodes such as inflection points and branch points, and link data in which routes connecting the respective nodes are links. The node data includes node number, node position coordinates (latitude / longitude), and link cost data. The link cost is information indicating how much time it can pass through the section of the link length, and average speed data in the section of the link length (for example, legal speed set on the road, average walking speed for pedestrians) ) Etc. are used.

  The link data includes the node numbers that are the start and end points of the link, the road type for distinguishing expressways, ordinary roads, streets, etc., the distance and / or required time between nodes, and the road name such as the national highway It is comprised including the data of.

  In the navigation device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described with reference to FIG. 1, the walking free area where the pedestrian can freely walk is set by virtual walking links divided in a substantially mesh shape. is there. These virtual links are provided with attribute information indicating that they are links within an area where walking is free as link attributes, and are included in the road data.

  The route search unit 21 uses the departure point set by the user via the operation unit 15 or the current position detected by the GPS receiver 11 or the like as the departure point to the destination set by the user via the operation unit 15. The map information (road data included in the map information) stored in the map information storage unit 12 is referred to and an optimal route is searched using the Dijkstra method or the like.

  The voice output unit 13 provides route guidance to the user based on the search result, and is configured by a speaker that outputs voice guidance for route guidance, a sound necessary for operation of the navigation device 10, a buzzer sound such as a warning, and the like. Is done. As a result of the search, a route passing through the free walking area may be searched. The guidance in this case will be described later in detail.

  The display unit 14 displays a map image based on the map information stored in the map information storage unit 12, a route searched by the route search unit 21, a current position mark indicating the current position, and the like, and an input operation by the operation unit 15. For example, a liquid crystal panel. In addition, the display part 14 can also be provided with the function of the operation part 15 by using a touch panel.

  The operation unit 15 is operated by a user and used when inputting route search conditions such as a destination and a waypoint.

  The storage unit 16 stores various types of information such as the route searched by the route search unit 21 and the destination set via the operation unit 15, and is configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The storage unit 16 does not need to have an independent configuration. For example, the RAM of the control unit 20 may be used as the storage unit 16.

  Next, user guidance when the searched route includes a free walking area will be described. Here, description will be given using an example in which the route search unit 21 searches for a route from the departure point S to the destination G through the walking free area F (for example, a park) shown in FIG. In the following description, the walking free area F is expressed by the term virtual node.

  Each time a pedestrian walks a certain distance range, route guidance acquires map information of the next predetermined range that includes the searched route, and is included in the information based on the searched route information. This is performed by generating a guidance (voice message) about a guidance point (for example, an intersection or a bending point). When a pedestrian approaches an area of a predetermined range including a virtual node, processing described below is performed.

  If the routes in the park of FIG. 1 are links L0, L1, L2, L4, L5, and L6, the link L0 is a link connected to the road at the node N0 and an entry link to the park F. The link L6 is a link connected to the road at the node N2, and is a leaving link from the park F. Based on the attribute information, the links L1, L2, L4, and L5 and the links L0 and L6 can identify whether the user can freely walk, and can be distinguished from the links L0 and L6.

  The approach link detection unit 22 identifies the approach link L0 of the virtual node as described above. On the other hand, the exit link detection unit 23 follows the virtual links L1, L2, L4, and L5 from the approach link L0 based on the information of the route searched by the route search unit 21, and reaches the link L6 having different attribute information. The link L6 can be detected as an exit link of the virtual node.

  When the exit link L6 is detected, the exit link detection unit 23 calculates the distance between the entrance link L0 and the exit link L6 in order to identify the positional relationship of the exit link L6 with respect to the entrance link L0. Further, the angle between the entry link L0 and the exit link L6 is calculated. The calculation of the angle and the distance does not necessarily have to be performed by the exit link detection unit 23, and may be configured to be performed by a guide generation unit or other calculation unit described later.

  In order to guide the approximate position and direction of the exit link L6 in the approach link L0, it is necessary to know the mutual relationship between the position and distance with other non-virtual links (L3, L8, L11). In the example of FIG. 1, the exit link L6 of the route is in the right-hand direction when viewed from the entrance link L0, and there is another non-virtual link L3 in the foreground. Proceed with the message "Please proceed towards".

  Therefore, the virtual node formation link detection unit 24 detects all non-virtual links L3, L8, and L11 including the outgoing link L6 as follows. The virtual node formation link detection unit 24 starts from the ingress link L0 and sequentially follows virtual links that can proceed from the ingress link L0 (for example, in the case of FIG. 1, the link L1 and the link L21 connected to the ingress link L0). A non-virtual link is detected to identify a virtual node forming link. The order of following the links may be either clockwise or counterclockwise, and the virtual node forming link can be specified by examining all links connected to the virtual link.

  When all the virtual node forming links have been identified, the virtual node forming link detection unit 24 identifies the ingress link L0 and each virtual node in order to identify the positional relationship of the virtual node forming links L3, L8, and L11 with respect to the ingress link L0. The distances between the links L3, L8, and L11 are calculated. Moreover, the angle between each virtual node formation link L3, L8, and L11 with respect to the approach link L0 is calculated.

  The data such as the angles and distances of the entrance link, the exit link, and the exit link, the angles of the virtual node formation links and the virtual node formation links, and the distances obtained as described above, together with the position information of the walking free area, etc. , Temporarily stored in the storage unit 16.

  The mutual positional relationship between the leaving link L6 and the virtual node forming links L3, L8, and L11 with respect to the entering link L0 can be determined from the angle and distance of the leaving node, and the angle and distance of each virtual node forming link. Therefore, the guidance generation unit 25 guides the user in the walking free area based on the mutual positional relationship determined from the angle and distance between the exit link L6 and the virtual node formation links L3, L8, and L11 with respect to the entrance link L0. Select a message to generate guidance information.

  Since the mutual positional relationship between the ingress link, the egress link, and the virtual node formation link can be categorized as described later, a message can be set in advance for each type and stored in the storage unit 16. Thereby, the guidance generating unit 25 determines the type of mutual positional relationship between the exit link L6 and the virtual node formation links L3, L8, and L11 with respect to the entrance link L0, selects a preset message, and displays guidance information. Can be generated.

  3-8 is a figure which shows the type of guidance concerning the navigation apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 shows a guidance method in each case where the exit link can be taken as in the case of OUT1 when the exit link is OUT1, when OUT2, and when OUT3. When the exit link is OUT1, the other links (OUT2, OUT3) are virtual node formation links. For each case, the direction, distance, and angle of the exit link as viewed from the entrance link IN are calculated as shown in the table.

  3 to 8, “direction” indicates the direction of the exit link itself, “distance” indicates the distance from the entrance link to the exit link, and “angle” indicates the angle from the entrance link to the exit link entrance point. ing.

  When the exit link in the route searched by the route search unit 21 is OUT1, the user is prompted to proceed to the right exit with respect to the ingress link IN, for example, “Go to the right exit. A message such as “Please” can be generated as guidance information.

  FIG. 4 shows a guidance method in each case where the exit link can be taken as in the case of OUT1, when the exit link is OUT2, and when the exit link is OUT3. Unlike FIG. 3, this is a type of case in which the difference in angle and distance is large between the exit links OUT1 and OUT3. In this case, considering the angle and distance, when guiding OUT1 as the exit link, a guidance “exit right front” is generated, and when guiding OUT3 as the exit link, “exit left back” is generated. If the guide is generated and guided including the approximate distance of the exit link, the guide becomes easier to understand.

  FIG. 5 shows a type in which the outgoing links OUT1 and OUT2 can be taken on the same side (right side) with respect to the incoming link. In this case, when guiding OUT1 as the exit link, a guidance “exit on the right front” may be generated, and when guiding OUT2 as the exit link, a guidance “exit behind the right hand” may be generated.

  FIG. 6 shows a type in which the exit links OUT1 to OUT3 can be taken on the same side (right side) with respect to the entrance link. In this case, when guiding OUT1 as the exit link, a guidance “exit right front” is generated. When guiding OUT2 as the exit link, a guidance “exit right middle” is generated, and OUT3 is set. In the case of guiding as an exit link, it is only necessary to generate a guide with “exit on the back of the right hand”.

  FIG. 7 is an example in which two exit links OUT1 and OUT2 can be taken in the straight direction with respect to the approach link IN, and shows a type in which the left and right are not uniquely determined. In this case, when guiding OUT1 as an exit link, a guide with "an oblique right exit" may be generated, and when guiding OUT2 as an exit link, an "exit left exit" may be generated. .

  FIG. 8 shows a type in which the outgoing links OUT1 and OUT2 can be taken on the same side (right side) with respect to the incoming link. Unlike FIG. 5, the types of cases where the distances from the entrance link IN to the exit links OUT1 and OUT2 are equal, the angles to the entrance points of the exit links OUT1 and OUT2 are equal to the entrance link IN, and the directions of the exit links OUT1 and OUT2 are different. It is. In this case, when guiding OUT1 as the exit link, the guidance “right exit” is generated, and when guiding OUT2 as the exit link, the guidance “diagonal right exit” may be generated.

  Of course, the configuration types of the virtual node forming links are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, but it is considered that most of other types can be categorized by combinations of the types shown in FIGS. 3 to 8.

  As described above, if the entrance link and the exit link can be identified and the positional relationship between the plurality of virtual node forming links forming the virtual node is calculated, the guide information set in advance according to the type is selected. Can provide easy-to-understand guidance to the user.

  Next, with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, a procedure of route guidance processing in the navigation device 10 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an outline of the route guidance procedure, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S14 in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S15 in FIG. It is.

  In the following description, for ease of understanding, the route searched by the route search unit 21 is taken as an example in which the walking free area shown in FIG. 1 is included, and referring to FIG. 1 as appropriate. explain. First, the route search unit 21 uses the current position or the departure point set by the user as the departure point S, and searches for a route to the destination G set by the user (step S11). It is assumed that the search result is a route passing through the walking free area shown in FIG.

  As described above, each time a pedestrian walks within a certain distance range, route guidance acquires map information of the next predetermined range including the searched route, and uses the searched route information as information on the searched route. Based on this, a guidance (voice message) about a guidance point (for example, an intersection or a bending point) included therein is generated. When the pedestrian approaches an area of a predetermined range including the walking free area, the processes after step S12 are performed.

  The approach link detection unit 22 detects the approach link L0 (see FIG. 1) to the walking free area (virtual node) from the searched route information (step S12). The detection is performed by sequentially examining the links that are routes. That is, when a virtual link (link indicating that the attribute information is a walking free area) L1 connected to a link (walking link) on the route is detected, the link L0 immediately before the virtual link L1 is an approach link.

  Next, the control part 20 specifies the point which performs guidance based on the detected approach link L1 (step S13). At intersections and branching points, a point where the user reaches a little before these points is set as a guide point. Here, a point before entering the walking free area is set as a guide point. Then, in the process after step S14, a guidance for outputting a voice to the user at the identified guidance point is generated.

  The exit link detection unit 23 refers to the information on the route, detects the exit link by sequentially tracing the virtual link that is the route, starting from the ingress link L0 detected by the ingress link detection unit 22 (step S14). In the example of FIG. 1, the link L6 is detected as an exit link.

  The flowchart of FIG. 10 shows the detailed processing procedure of step S14. The exit link detection unit 23 refers to the route information, and acquires, as a determination link, a link that is a route connected to the entry link L0 with the entry link L0 detected by the entry link detection unit 22 as a starting point ( Step S21).

  Then, it is checked whether or not the acquired determination link is a virtual link and its attribute information (attribute information indicating that it is a link in the walking free area) (step S22). If it is a virtual link, the next link is acquired, the determination link is changed (step S23), and the process returns to the determination process of step S22.

  If the determination link is a link that is not a virtual link (NO in step S22), the determination link is specified as an exit link (link L6 in FIG. 1) (step S24).

  Next, the exit link detection unit 23 calculates the angle of the exit link L6 with respect to the entrance link L0 (step S25), and calculates the distance of the exit link L6 with respect to the entrance link L0 (step S26).

  When the processing of the exit link detection unit 23 is completed in this way, the process returns to FIG. 9 and proceeds to the virtual node formation link detection process. The virtual node formation link detection unit 24 detects a non-virtual link connected to the virtual node (walking free area) as a virtual node formation link (step S15). In the example of FIG. 1, non-virtual links L3, L8, and L11 are specified as virtual node formation links.

  The flowchart of FIG. 11 shows the detailed processing procedure of step S15. The virtual node formation link detection unit 24 acquires all the links connected to the ingress link L0 as a determination link group (step S31). In the example of FIG. 1, the links L1 and L21 connected to the approach link L0 are acquired as the determination link group.

  The virtual node formation link detection unit 24 acquires one link of the determination link group (step S32), checks its attribute information, and determines whether the selected link is a virtual link (step S33). If the acquired determination link is not a virtual link (NO in step S33), the acquired link is stored as a virtual node formation link (step S34).

  On the other hand, if the acquired determination link is a virtual link, the process proceeds to determination in step S35, and all links (excluding the exit link) connected to the determination link are acquired as a determination link group. And a process progresses to the determination process of step S36. In the determination process of step S36, if all the processes of the determination link group are not completed, the process returns to the process of step S32. If all the processes of the determination link group are completed, the virtual node forming link detection process is Complete.

  By performing the above processing, the virtual node forming link is specified.

  When the virtual node formation link is specified, the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 9 again, and the virtual node formation link detection unit 24 generates a virtual node shape (step S16).

  Specifically, this processing is performed for the virtual node forming link (links L3, L8, and L11 in the example of FIG. 1) detected by the virtual node forming link detection unit 24, and the incoming link (link L0 in the example of FIG. 1). This is a process of calculating the angle and distance with respect to and quantifying the positional relationship of each connection link. The angle and distance with respect to the exit link L6 have been calculated by the exit link detection unit 23 in the process of step S14.

  Next, the guidance generation unit 25 determines the mutual positional relationship between the exit link L6 and each virtual node formation link L3, L8, L11 with respect to the entrance link L0, the angle and distance of the exit node, and the angle and distance of each virtual node formation link. And the type (an example of which is shown in FIGS. 3 to 8) is identified.

  And the guidance production | generation part 25 selects the guidance message to the user with respect to the approach link L0 according to the identified type, and produces | generates the information of guidance (step S17).

  In step S18, it is determined whether or not the process for the route to the destination has been completed. If the process has not been completed, the process returns to step S12 and the same process as described above is performed. If completed, the route guidance is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a route including a walking free area where a user can freely walk is searched for, and a free walking in the walking free area is allowed, while a traveling direction in the walking free area is determined. It is possible to provide a navigation device that guides the user.

  The order of the exit link detection process on the route (the process of step S14 in FIG. 9) and the virtual node formation link detection process (step S15 of FIG. 9) may be reversed.

  In the above embodiment, the calculation of the exit link angle and distance with respect to the entrance link and the calculation of the angle and distance of the virtual node formation link with respect to the entrance link are respectively performed by the exit link detection unit 23 and the virtual node formation link detection unit 24. However, the calculation of the angle and the distance is not limited to this, and other means may be used. For example, the guidance generation unit 25 may calculate the guidance.

  According to the present invention, the walking free area (virtual node) is included in the road data, and the configuration of the link (virtual node forming link) that forms the walking free area is known in advance. It is also possible to previously create a database of guidance types (see FIGS. 3 to 8) when the entry link and the exit link of the walking free area are specified.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Navigation apparatus 11 GPS receiver 12 Map information storage part 13 Audio | voice output part 14 Display part 15 Operation part 16 Memory | storage part 20 Control part 21 Path | route search part 22 Incoming link detection part 23 Exit link detection part 24 Virtual node formation link detection part 25 Guidance generator

Claims (6)

A route search unit that searches for a route from the departure point to the destination with reference to road data composed of links and nodes;
In a free walking area where a user can walk freely, a virtual link representing a virtual walking route is set with attribute information indicating that the user is free to walk, and the road data is set in the free walking area. Including virtual links,
From the information of the route searched by the route search unit, an approach link detection unit that detects an approach link to the walking free area;
With the walking free area as a virtual node, from the information of the route searched by the route search unit, the virtual link in the virtual node is identified, and the outgoing link detection unit detects the outgoing link of the virtual node;
A virtual node forming link detection unit that sequentially identifies virtual links in a virtual node, detects non-virtual links, and specifies as a virtual node forming link, starting from the ingress link;
A navigation apparatus, comprising: a guidance generation unit that identifies a guidance message of an exit link for the entry link based on a positional relationship between the exit link for the entry link and the virtual node formation link.   The virtual link is sequentially traced from the approach link based on route information, the exit link is detected with reference to the attribute information, and the distance and angle of the exit link with respect to the entrance link are calculated. The navigation device according to 1.   Trace all virtual links connected to the ingress link, refer to the attribute information to detect the non-virtual link, identify the virtual node forming link, and determine the distance and angle of the virtual node forming link with respect to the ingress link. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the navigation device calculates.   The guide generation means determines the positional relationship between the exit link and the virtual node formation link with respect to the entrance link from the distance and angle of the exit link with respect to the entrance link and the distance and angle of the virtual node formation link with respect to the entrance link. The navigation apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: identifying a leaving link guidance message for the entry link.   The exit link guidance message for the entrance link is set in the storage unit in advance according to the positional relationship determined from the distance and angle of the exit link to the entrance link and the distance and angle of the virtual node forming link to the entrance link. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is provided.   The said guidance production | generation means specifies the guidance message of the leaving link with respect to the said approaching link based on the direction of the said leaving link, and the direction of the said virtual node formation link, Any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The navigation device according to claim 1.

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