JP2013210225A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device that can warn a user in stopping or starting up a vehicle on a slope.SOLUTION: A navigation device detects a current speed to determine the stop state with a stop determination unit 102, determines whether it is a slope from an inclination of a vehicle with an inclination determination unit 101, determines whether to give a warning according to the stop determination result and inclination determination result with a warning determination unit 103, and warns a user about the possibilities of moving forwards or backwards with a warning unit 104.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that provides information for safely driving a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a technique that maintains road inclination information in association with map information and provides a route avoiding a hill by weighting the inclination information during route search (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2010-216994 A

However, in the conventional navigation device, the route that does not stop the vehicle on the slope that is held as map information and the slope specified by the user is selected as much as possible.
Depending on the route that avoids the hill, the route to the destination may be detoured. In addition, if the user can grasp that the vehicle may move backward or forward when the vehicle moves from the stop position, the user can respond, but in the case where the information cannot be grasped or where the information is not held in the map information However, it is difficult to avoid in the prior art in advance, and there is a problem that selecting only a route that avoids a slope does not lead to technical improvement in starting a slope.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and provides a navigation device capable of notifying the user that the vehicle may move forward or backward at a position where the vehicle is stopped. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device of the present invention includes a tilt determination unit that detects the tilt of a vehicle,
Stop determination means for determining stop of the vehicle, storage means for storing the inclination of the vehicle, notification determination means for determining whether or not to notify the user of the inclination of the vehicle, and depending on the determination result of the notification determination means And informing means for informing the user.

  Further, the notification determining means of the navigation device according to the present invention is characterized in that the determination is made by using the tilt angle stored in the storage means before turning off the power of the navigation device when the navigation device is turned on.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can be determined whether the vehicle stop point is inclined, and a user can be alerted about a hill stop and a hill start. In addition, by storing the inclination at the time of stopping, even when the navigation apparatus is turned off and then turned on again, the user can be alerted about starting the slope.

The block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the navigation apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Block diagram showing the main functions of the present invention FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of a reverse warning operation when stopping on an uphill in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of a reverse warning operation when starting uphill in the first embodiment of the present invention. Image of reverse warning operation when starting uphill in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The flowchart which shows the outline of the forward warning operation at the time of the downhill stop in Embodiment 2 of this invention The flowchart which shows the outline of the forward warning operation at the time of the downhill start in Embodiment 2 of this invention

Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a CPU 2, an input unit 3, an interface (abbreviated as I / F in FIG. 1) 4, a GPS receiver 4a, a self-contained navigation unit 4b, The storage unit 5, the ROM 6, the RAM 7, the display unit 8, the audio output control unit 9, the audio output unit 10, and the bus line 11 are configured.

  Here, the CPU 2 is configured to be able to control the operation of each unit constituting the navigation device 1.

  The input unit 3 is configured to be used for user operation and data input with respect to the navigation device 1, such as a touch panel and a remote controller.

  The interface (I / F) 4 is connected to a GPS receiver 4a and a self-contained navigation unit 4b. The GPS receiver 4a receives radio waves from an artificial satellite accommodated in a positioning system represented by GPS (Global Positioning System), and outputs position information indicating the current position and current speed of the vehicle to the interface 4. It is configured to be able to. The self-contained navigation unit 4b includes a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angular velocity sensor, and outputs speed information, acceleration information, and angular velocity information representing the vehicle speed, acceleration, and angular velocity detected from them to the interface 4. It is configured to be able to. Further, the interface 4 is configured to be able to transfer the input position information, velocity information, acceleration information, and angular velocity information to the CPU 2.

  The storage unit 5 is a recording medium typically represented by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Map data necessary for navigation is recorded on the recording medium, and the necessary map data is read and transferred to the RAM 7. It is configured to be able to. Note that examples of the recording medium other than the HDD include a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a ROM such as a memory card.

The ROM 6 stores a computer program that defines the operation of the navigation device 1 of the present invention.
The RAM 7 is configured so as to be able to store information transferred from each part of the configuration of the navigation device 1 of the present invention and to delete information as necessary. Note that the RAM 7 is configured to retain information even when the navigation apparatus 1 is powered off. For example, power may be supplied to the RAM 7 from a dedicated battery, or information stored in the RAM 7 may be moved to a nonvolatile storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory when the navigation device 1 is powered off. The information held in the RAM 7 when the navigation device 1 is powered off can be used when the navigation device 1 is powered on.

  The display unit 8 is configured to be able to display a map, a recommended route, and the like in the navigation device 1, and is specifically a liquid crystal display or the like.

  The audio output control unit 9 is configured to be able to control sound and audio output to the audio output unit 10.

  The voice output unit 10 is configured to be able to emit a guidance voice, a warning sound, or the like in the navigation device 1, and is specifically a speaker or the like.

  The bus line 11 is configured to be able to connect each part of the navigation device 1 of the present invention so as to communicate with each other.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in detail the CPU in the navigation device 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the main functions of the navigation device 1 can be realized by the CPU 2 reading and executing a computer program recorded in the ROM 6. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 2 of the navigation device 1 includes an inclination determination unit 101, a stop determination unit 102, a notification determination unit 103, and a notification unit 104.

  The inclination determination unit 101 of the navigation device 1 is configured to be able to periodically detect the inclination of the vehicle. Specifically, using the acceleration information of the vehicle from the self-contained navigation unit 4b, The tilt angle in the front-rear direction can be detected.

  The stop determination unit 102 of the navigation device 1 is configured to be able to determine whether or not the vehicle is stopped by periodically detecting the current speed of the vehicle. Specifically, the stop determination unit 102 is a self-contained navigation unit. The vehicle speed information from 4b is used to detect the current speed of the vehicle and determine the stop state. The stop determination unit 102 may be configured to be able to detect the current speed of the vehicle using the vehicle acceleration information from the self-contained navigation unit 4b, and to obtain the current speed information from the GPS receiving unit 4a. You may comprise so that it can be used.

  The notification determination unit 103 of the navigation device 1 determines whether it is necessary to notify a hill warning. Here, since the criterion for providing the climbing lane on the expressway is a vertical gradient of 5% (about 3 degrees), in this embodiment, the criterion for determining whether or not to notify the hill warning is set to 3 degrees. I will explain. Specifically, when the stop determination unit 102 determines that the vehicle is in a stopped state, the notification determination unit 103 determines whether the vehicle is tilted forward or backward by 3 degrees or more from the vehicle tilt angle detected by the tilt determination unit 101. If it is in a tilted state, it is configured so that it can be determined that it is necessary to notify a slope warning.

  The notification unit 104 of the navigation device 1 is configured to notify a user of the navigation device 1 of a hill warning based on the determination result of the notification determination unit 103. Specifically, a warning may be displayed on the display unit 8, or a warning sound or a warning sound may be output by the audio output control unit 9 and the audio output unit 10.

Next, with reference to FIG.3 and FIG.4, detailed operation | movement of the navigation apparatus in this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the reverse warning process at the time of stopping on the uphill in the navigation device 1 of the present invention. In the navigation apparatus 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the stop determination unit 102 acquires speed information from the self-contained navigation unit 4b (S11), and determines whether or not the vehicle is stopped (S12). In S12, when the vehicle is stopped from the speed information acquired in S11 (S12, YES), the notification determination unit 103 acquires the vehicle inclination angle from the inclination determination unit 101 (S13). In addition, the notification determination unit 103 determines whether the inclination angle at the current position of the vehicle acquired in S13 is an uphill of 3 degrees or more (S14), and the inclination angle of the current position is 3 degrees or more in S14. When it is an uphill (S14, YES), the notification unit 104 is instructed to notify a reverse warning (S15). And the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by S13 is memorize | stored in RAM7 (S16), and a flow is complete | finished.

In addition, when the vehicle has not stopped from the speed information acquired in S11 (S12, NO), the flow ends.
In S14, when the notification determining unit 103 determines that the vehicle is not uphill (S14, NO), the inclination angle acquired in S13 is stored in the RAM 7. Furthermore, the navigation device 1 of the present invention is configured to repeat the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 at a constant cycle. The reason why the inclination angle is stored in the RAM 7 is to notify the backward warning even when the vehicle is parked (engine stopped) and started (engine restart). The processing after the restart will be described next. To do.

  The navigation device 1 of the present invention configured as described above indicates that when the user stops the vehicle on an uphill of 3 degrees or more, there is a possibility that the vehicle may move backward unintentionally to the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, notification can be made using a display or sound.

Next, in the navigation device 1 of the present invention, the detailed operation of the reverse warning process from the parking state (engine stop) will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the reverse warning processing from the parking state in the navigation device 1 of the present invention. The navigation device 1 of the present invention can notify the user of a backward warning as long as the user starts the vehicle from the parked state as long as it is uphill. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, when the navigation apparatus 1 is powered on (S21), the notification determination unit 103 acquires the vehicle inclination angle at the time of stopping immediately before the power is turned off from the RAM 7 (S22). ). The notification determination unit 103 determines whether or not the inclination angle at the current position of the vehicle acquired in S22 is an uphill of 3 degrees or more (S23), and in S23, the inclination of the current position is 3 degrees or more. (S23, YES), the notification unit 104 is instructed to notify the reverse warning (S24), and the flow ends. Here, when the notification unit 104 receives an instruction from the notification determination unit 103 to notify the backward warning, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the notification unit 104 displays a backward warning sentence on the display unit 8 and warns the voice output control unit 9. Sound output can be instructed. Note that if the notification determination unit 103 determines in S23 that the current position is not an uphill with an inclination angle of 3 degrees or more (S23, NO), the flow ends.

  The navigation device 1 of the present invention in the first embodiment of the present invention described above automatically detects the inclination angle even when the user starts the vehicle from stopping on an uphill of 3 degrees or more during driving. It is possible to notify the user that the vehicle may move backward.

Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Since the block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the navigation device in the present embodiment is the same as the block diagram (FIG. 1) in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. Since the block diagram showing the main configuration of the navigation device is also the same as the block diagram (FIG. 2) in the first embodiment, its detailed description is omitted.

Next, with reference to FIG.6 and FIG.7, the detailed operation | movement of the navigation apparatus in this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the forward warning process at the time of stopping downhill in the navigation device 1 of the present invention. In the navigation apparatus 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the stop determination unit 102 acquires speed information from the self-contained navigation unit 4b (S31), and determines whether or not the vehicle is stopped (S32). In S32, when the vehicle is stopped from the speed information acquired in S31 (S32, YES), the notification determination unit 103 acquires the vehicle inclination angle from the inclination determination unit 101 (S33). Further, the notification determination unit 103 determines whether or not the inclination angle at the current position of the vehicle acquired in S33 is a downhill of 3 degrees or more (S34), and the inclination angle of the current position is 3 degrees or more in S34. When it is a downhill (S34, YES), the notification unit 104 is instructed to notify a forward warning (S35). And the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by S33 is memorize | stored in RAM7 (S36), and a flow is complete | finished.

  In addition, when the vehicle has not stopped from the speed information acquired in S31 (S32, NO), the flow ends. If the notification determination unit 103 determines that the vehicle is not downhill in S34 (S34, NO), the inclination angle acquired in S33 is stored in the RAM 7. Furthermore, the navigation device 1 of the present invention is configured to repeat the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 at a constant cycle. The reason why the inclination angle is stored in the RAM 7 is to notify a forward warning even when the vehicle is parked (engine stopped) and started (engine restart). The processing after the restart will be described next. To do.

  The navigation device 1 of the present invention configured as described above indicates that when the user stops the vehicle on a downhill of 3 degrees or more, there is a possibility that the vehicle may move forward unintentionally to the user. Can be notified.

Next, in the navigation device 1 of the present invention, the detailed operation of the forward warning process from the parking state (engine stop) will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the forward warning processing from the parking state in the navigation device 1 of the present invention. The navigation device 1 of the present invention can notify the user of a forward warning if it is a downhill even when the user starts the vehicle from a parked state. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when the navigation apparatus 1 is powered on (S41), the notification determination unit 103 acquires the vehicle inclination angle at the time of stopping immediately before the power is turned off from the RAM 7 (S42). ). The notification determination unit 103 determines whether the inclination angle at the current position of the vehicle acquired in S42 is a downhill of 3 degrees or more (S43), and in S43, the inclination angle of the current position is 3 degrees or more. (S43, YES), the notification unit 104 is instructed to notify the advance warning (S44), and the flow ends. Here, when the notification unit 104 receives an instruction from the notification determination unit 103 to notify the advance warning, the notification unit 104 displays a forward warning sentence on the display unit 8 and instructs the audio output control unit 9 to output a warning sound. Can do. Note that if the notification determination unit 103 determines in S43 that the inclination angle of the current position is not a downhill of 3 degrees or more (S43, NO), the flow ends.

  The navigation device 1 of the present invention according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above automatically detects the tilt angle even when the user starts the vehicle from stopping on a downhill of 3 degrees or more during driving. The user can be notified that the vehicle may move forward.

  In the above embodiment of the present invention, since the vehicle inclination is held in the RAM 7 when the vehicle is stopped, when the navigation device 1 is turned on after the vehicle is parked (engine stopped), the RAM 7 Although it has been described that the inclination of the vehicle before power-off is acquired, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle inclination is associated with the vehicle position information and additionally held in a nonvolatile storage device or the like, and the vehicle associated with the current position of the vehicle when the navigation device 1 is powered on. May be obtained from the nonvolatile storage device.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the criterion for providing the climbing lane on the highway is the vertical gradient of 5%, so that the criterion for determining whether or not to notify the hill warning is described as 3 degrees. For example, the user may be allowed to set an arbitrary angle in advance.

  The navigation device of the present invention can determine whether or not the vehicle is on a slope when stopping and starting, and can notify that the vehicle may move forward or backward, improving safety in driving the vehicle. It is useful as a device that can contribute to

1 Navigation device 2 CPU
3 Input unit 4 Interface 4a GPS receiving unit 4b Autonomous navigation unit 5 Storage unit 6 ROM
7 RAM
8 Display Unit 9 Audio Output Control Unit 10 Audio Output Unit 11 Bus Line 101 Inclination Determination Unit 102 Stop Determination Unit 103 Notification Determination Unit 104 Notification Unit

Claims (2)

Inclination determination means for detecting the inclination of the vehicle;
Stop determination means for determining stop of the vehicle;
Storage means for storing the inclination of the vehicle;
Notification determining means for determining whether to notify the user of the inclination of the vehicle;
Notification means for informing according to the determination result of the notification determination means;
A navigation device characterized by comprising:   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification determination unit makes a determination by using an inclination angle stored in the storage unit before powering off the navigation apparatus when the navigation apparatus is turned on.

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