JP2531645B2 - Road guidance system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automobile information communication system, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a communication system that informs a driver of an intersection name, an intersection shape, a destination name, etc. by map information transmitted from a transmitter provided on the road.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when a driver goes to a location that is geographically unfamiliar, the driver sees the road sign on the side of the road and confirms the shape of the previous intersection and the destination name in each branching direction at the intersection.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the displayed contents of the sign may not be visible because a large car is running between the sign and the driver,
There is a problem that in addition to road safety, you must always pay attention to the signs that indicate the destination.

As a solution to this problem, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-85107
The one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-199896 is proposed.

This technology provides a sign post on the road before the intersection (installed for each approach road to the intersection), and the road guide sign data of the intersection seen from the vehicle passing through this sign post,
Information such as the destination name of each road based on the intersection and the absolute direction of the road is transmitted to the vehicle, and the vehicle receives and displays the information.

However, the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-85107 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-85107).
2−199896), the technology proposed in
In order to obtain the intersection information as seen from the vehicle, it is necessary to provide a sign post for each approach road before the intersection, and there is a problem that the road guidance system lacks versatility.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the driver or the like can always easily and surely obtain the intersection information in the traveling direction of the vehicle in the vehicle. The purpose is to provide a versatile road guidance system.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, is an intersection data generating means installed near an intersection and storing and constantly outputting intersection information including a destination name and a destination absolute direction in each branching direction of the intersection, and the intersection. Data transmitting means for constantly transmitting the intersection information output from the data generating means, data receiving means mounted on the vehicle for receiving the intersection information transmitted from the data transmitting means, and mounted on the vehicle for the vehicle. Based on the azimuth detecting means for detecting the absolute azimuth of the traveling direction, the intersection information received by the data receiving means and the absolute azimuth detected by the azimuth detecting means, intersection information viewed from the vehicle is displayed. The gist of the present invention is to include an arithmetic means for outputting and a data display means for displaying output data of the arithmetic means.

[Action]

The intersection data generation means stores the intersection information including the destination name and the absolute destination direction in each branching direction of the intersection and constantly outputs this, and the data transmission means constantly transmits the intersection information output from the intersection data generation means. To do.

On the other hand, the data receiving means mounted on the vehicle receives the intersection information transmitted from the data transmitting means.

Further, the azimuth detecting means mounted on the vehicle detects the absolute azimuth of the traveling direction of the vehicle.

Then, the computing means outputs the intersection information viewed from the vehicle based on the intersection information transmitted from the data transmitting means and the absolute azimuth of the vehicle traveling direction detected by the azimuth detecting means, and displays this information as data. Display by means.

〔Example〕

A first embodiment of the road guidance system according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a system will be described in which information on an intersection is transmitted to a vehicle using radio waves, the information is processed in the vehicle, and a driver is guided to the road.

The system shown in FIG. 2 has the following configuration. That is, a data generator 16 that is installed on a road sign or the like in an intersection and that generates data such as an intersection name, a data transmitter 11 that transmits the data, and a data receiver 12 that is installed in a vehicle and receives the transmission data. , Compass 1 to detect the heading of the vehicle
3. It has a calculation unit 14 that calculates the intersection shape and the like based on the received data and the azimuth data and outputs display data, and a display 15 that displays the intersection information based on the display data. The data generator 16 has programmed predetermined intersection data.
It is composed of a ROM and a counter that sequentially changes the address of the ROM, and outputs predetermined intersection data by RS232C.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the data transmitter 11. Modem 102 is 1
Using a subcarrier MSK modulator / demodulator with a transmission rate of 200 BPS (eg MN6127A: manufactured by Matsushita Electric), the intersection data is MSK
To output to the transmitter 103. A weak radio wave communication device (for example, HX-1000: manufactured by Nippon Denso) is used as the transmitter 103, and the transmission frequency is 7
Intersection data is transmitted by 7.5MHz FM. 104 indicates an FM antenna for data transmission.

13 is a compass that uses a ring core type flag gate type magnetic sensor to calculate the heading of the vehicle from the direction of the horizontal component force of the geomagnetism and outputs a direction signal to the calculator 14. The data receiver 12 shown in FIG. Shows the configuration of. The data receiving antenna 201 shares the vehicle radio antenna. The receiver 202 is a weak radio wave receiver (for example, HX-1000: manufactured by Nippondenso), and the signal is demodulated from a reception frequency of 77.5 MHz. The modem 203 (for example, MN6172A: manufactured by Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd.) digitally demodulates RS232C standard reception. Output a signal. 204 is an asynchronous adapter AC that converts serial data into parallel data
The IA (for example, HD6850: made by Hitachi) converts the received data into a parallel data signal and outputs it to the arithmetic unit 14.

The arithmetic unit 14 is a circuit that executes digital arithmetic processing by software according to a predetermined program, and includes a microcomputer CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O circuit unit, clock generation unit, etc. Upon receiving the supply of a stable voltage of 5v via (not shown), the arithmetic processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 7 described later is executed.

The display unit 15 responds to the display signal from the calculation unit 14 to display a dot matrix type display device (for example, a predetermined display).
GP1002B02A: manufactured by Futaba Electronics).

The operation of the above structure will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In FIG. 5, after the power is turned on, in step 501, initialization such as clearing a flag is performed, and the process proceeds to step 502. In step 502, it is determined whether or not the transmission data from the data transmitter 11 installed in the intersection has been received. Here, the transmission data is a signal group of the format as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the signal group is “// B,
In case of Kosakai-cho intersection, 04C, Toyokawa, R1 Toyohashi, R1 Okazaki, CR "(the actual signal group consists of ASCII code and Kanji JIS code), the intersection code" B "indicates a T-junction,
"0" is a hexadecimal number indicating that the direction of Toyokawa is 16 and north, "4" is that of Toyohashi is east and that of "C" is west of Okazaki. "R1" means "National Highway No. 1." The destination names (“Toyokawa”, “Toyohashi”, “Okazaki”) transmitted in order are referred to as destination names No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The case where the above signal group is received will be described below. If the determination is YES in step 502, step 503
Proceed to step 1 to store the above signal groups in sequence,
This is repeated until R "is detected. The lift timer is reset in step 505, the reception flag 506 is set to" 1 "in step 506, and the process proceeds to an intersection subroutine (described later) 550 shown in FIG. When the reception determination is NO, the process proceeds to step 507 and it is determined whether or not the reception flag is “1.” Here, when the determination is YES, that is, when the signal group is once received and the intersection display processing is performed, , Step
Start measuring time at 508, and within a predetermined time (2 in the embodiment).
Second), the process returns to step 502 and the above process is repeated. This is because the signal group of the transmission data is the data transmitter 11
The transmission end is confirmed by not transmitting the transmission data for a predetermined time in consideration of the waiting time between the signal groups. Step 508
If the reception is not performed for 2 seconds in step 509, the reception flag is set to "0" in step 509 and the direction subroutine shown in FIG.
Continue to 560 (described below). If the reception flag is not "1" in step 507, the process proceeds to the bearing subroutine 560.

Next, the intersection subroutine shown in FIG. 6 will be described.
The intersection code “B” is stored in step 601 and step 602
Proceed to and output the intersection name “Kosakai-cho intersection” to the display unit 15. In step 603, the vehicle traveling direction data from the direction meter 13 is input and stored as HOUI. Then step 604
Go to and compare the heading "0", "4", and "C" with the HOUI data, and search for a match. here,
If there is an error of ± 1 with the HOUI data (16 directions), consider the accuracy of the azimuth meter and process as matching. For example, if a vehicle enters the intersection from the direction of Toyohashi,
Since the vehicle heading is west (that is, "C"), step 604
The destination name No. that matches with is 3. In step 605, since the vehicle advancing direction data and one of the intersection directions agree with each other, the process proceeds to step 606, and the intersection shape viewed from the vehicle advancing direction is obtained and output to the display unit 15. In step 607, the destination name (for example, "R1 Okazaki") corresponding to the destination name No. whose direction is matched in step 604 is displayed according to the intersection shape.
Output to 15. (However, at this time, the output is made so that the coincident destination direction is above the display screen.) The intersection screen thus drawn is shown in FIG. 8A. Step
At 608, FLAG A is set to "0" and the intersection subroutine processing ends. Next, a case where the vehicle enters the intersection from the direction of Toyokawa will be described. At step 603, HOUI is "8" because the vehicle traveling direction is south. H in step 604
Since there is no intersection heading that matches OUI, step 6
After 05, proceed to step 609. In step 609, it is determined whether or not the arithmetic processing is the first time, and if it is the first time, step 610.
Then set FLAG A to "1" and proceed to step 611. Step 611
Then, 8 is added to HOUI and only the lower 4 bits are taken (indicated by "HOUI ← HOUI∩OFH" in step 611 in FIG. 6), that is, 1
80 ° Move the vehicle heading. Then, the process returns to step 604. In step 604, HOUI has become "0", so the matching destination name No. is 1. In step 605, since there is a matching azimuth, the process proceeds to step 606, and the intersection shape is output to the display unit 15 as described above. (However, at this time, output is made so that the destination of the above-mentioned matched direction is at the bottom of the display screen.) In step 607, the destination name N matched in step 604
The destination name (“Toyokawa” in the example) corresponding to o. is output to the display unit 15 according to the shape of the intersection. The intersection screen thus drawn is shown in FIG. 8B. If the determination in step 609 is NO, that is, if the destination direction and the vehicle traveling direction do not match, the output "direction data is incorrect!" Is output in step 61.
Outputs to display 15 at 2. The above arithmetic processing is repeatedly executed while receiving the transmission data. For example, if a vehicle enters from the direction of Toyohashi at an intersection and turns right in the direction of Toyokawa, the traveling direction of the vehicle changes, so that the display 15 changes from the screen of FIG. 8A to the screen of FIG. 8C.

Next, a case where no transmission data is received, that is, the azimuth subroutine process will be described. In step 701, the picture of the vehicle is output to the display device 15, and in step 702, the display of “east”, “west”, “south”, and “north” is output to the display device 15 according to the vehicle traveling direction, and the direction subroutine processing ends . Fig. 8D shows the display screen when the vehicle heading is "east".

Next, FIG. 9 shows a configuration in which an on-vehicle turn signal device 19 is added to the road guidance system having the above configuration. Since the operation of the road guidance system having the configuration including the turn signal device 19 is different only in the intersection subroutine, its operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of the intersection subroutine shown in FIG. In the step of the same number as in FIG. 5, the same processing is performed. After step 608 is completed and the intersection screen is drawn on the display 15, the process proceeds to step 620, and the vehicle traveling direction is stored as HOUI2. At step 621, it is determined whether or not the change of the heading of the vehicle is completed by the heading HOUI at the time of entering the intersection.
It is judged from HOUI2 and if the vehicle has turned the intersection, the process proceeds to step 603, and if it has not been turned, the process proceeds to step 622. In step 622, the turn signal from the vehicle turn signal device 17 is detected, and if the turn signal goes to the right, step 624 is performed. If the turn signal is sent to the left, step 623.
Proceed to. If there is no blinker, step 62
Returning to 0, the above processing is repeated. In step 623, the vehicle turns left, assuming that the vehicle turns left (4 in 16 directions).
The process of reducing the number is performed and the process proceeds to step 625. Step 6
At 24, it is assumed that the vehicle will make a right turn, and processing for increasing the vehicle heading by 90 ° is performed and the routine proceeds to step 625. In step 625, the vehicle heading HOUI2 that has been subjected to the above-mentioned processing and the destination name No. of the closest destination azimuth from the destination azimuth and their difference are searched, and the routine proceeds to step 626. In step 626, if the difference between the closest azimuth and HOUI2 is within 1 (that is, 22.5 °), it is determined that they match, and the process proceeds to step 227, where the obtained destination name N
Blink the destination name corresponding to o., return to step 220,
The above operation is repeated until the course change is completed. If the determination is NO in step 626, it is determined that there is no bending direction, and the process proceeds to step 628, and the display of error 2 is output to the display unit 15. For example, FIG. 8E shows an example of a display screen when a right turn blinker is output at an intersection without a right turn road when entering an intersection from the direction of Okazaki.

In the above embodiments, the weak radio waves are used for transmitting and receiving signals, but the same can be done by transmitting and receiving signals by light or sound waves.

Further, although the fluxgate type magnetic sensor has been shown as a means for detecting the vehicle heading, it is obvious that it may be a Hall element or the like as long as it can obtain the absolute heading. Further, the example in which the traveling direction and the destination direction are 16 directions is shown, but the same can be done with 8 directions or more accurate directions (for example, 360 directions).

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the system of the present invention, the driver can easily and surely check the intersection information in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the absolute azimuth of the traveling direction of the vehicle, etc., in the driver's seat.

Further, in order to output and display the intersection information viewed from the vehicle based on the intersection information including the destination name and the absolute destination direction of each branching direction of the intersection received in the own vehicle and the absolute direction of the vehicle traveling direction. It is possible to provide easy-to-understand information to the driver of the vehicle without providing a configuration for transmitting the intersection information for each approach road to one intersection, and transmitting the intersection information for each approach road. It is possible to provide a versatile road guidance system in that it is not necessary to provide a vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a road guidance system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the road guidance system according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data transmitter 11 in the configuration of FIG. 9, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data receiver 12 in the configuration of FIG. 2 and FIG. 9, and FIG. And the arithmetic unit 14 in the configuration of FIG.
6 is a flowchart of an intersection subroutine in the configuration of FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the bearing subroutine in the configurations of FIGS. 2 and 9, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the present invention. Display examples of the display device in the first and second embodiments, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the road guidance system according to the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a calculation unit in the configuration of FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the operation of 14 and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the format of transmission data in the first and second embodiments of the present invention. [Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Data transmitting means, 2 ... Data receiving means, 3 ... Direction detecting means, 4 ... Computing means, 5 ... Data displaying means, 6 ... Intersection data generating means, 11 ... Data transmitter, 12 …… Data receiver, 13 …… Direction meter, 14 …… Calculator, 15 …… Display, 16 …… Data generator, 17 …… Turn signal device, 102 …… Subcarrier MSK modulation / demodulation Device, 103 ... weak radio wave communication device, 104 ... FM antenna for data transmission, 201 ... data receiving antenna, 202 ... receiver, 203 ... modem, 204 ... start-stop synchronization adapter

Front page continued (72) Inventor Hiroaki Tanaka 14 Iwatani, Shimohakaku-cho, Nishio-shi, Aichi Japan Auto Parts Research Institute, Inc. (72) Inventor Akira Numata 14 Iwatani, Shimohakaku-cho, Nishio-shi, Aichi Japan Auto Parts General In the laboratory (56) Reference JP 49-121090 (JP, A) JP 61-95386 (JP, A) JP 61-131100 (JP, A) JP 61-213720 (JP, A) ) JP-A-62-93613 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An intersection data generating means which is installed near the intersection and stores and constantly outputs intersection information including destination names and absolute destination directions in each branching direction of the intersection, and the intersection data generating means which outputs the intersection data. Data transmitting means for constantly transmitting intersection information, data receiving means mounted on a vehicle for receiving the intersection information transmitted from the data transmitting means, and mounted on the vehicle for detecting an absolute azimuth of a traveling direction of the vehicle Azimuth detecting means, arithmetic means for outputting intersection information as seen from the vehicle based on the intersection information received by the data receiving means and the absolute azimuth detected by the azimuth detecting means, Data display means for displaying the output data of the means,
A road guidance system comprising: 2. The intersection information transmitted from the data transmitting means includes the shape of the intersection, the name of the intersection, and the track number of each branch direction road of the intersection. The road guidance system according to item 1. 3. An azimuth detecting means for detecting an absolute azimuth of a traveling direction of the vehicle is at least one of an azimuth meter using a magnetic sensor and an azimuth meter using a hall element. The road guidance system according to the first section.