JP2599638Y2 - Vehicle travel guidance device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a moving body, and more particularly to a vehicle traveling guide device for guiding an optimal route from a starting point to a destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a route guidance apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-6713. In this conventional example, a map is drawn on a display mounted on a vehicle,
The current position, recommended route, and junction are displayed on the map.

[0003]

However, in the conventional example, when the course is changed at the branch point, based on the road shape displayed on the display and the course change direction,
The driver must judge. Therefore, it is necessary to compare the actual road and the indicator while changing the line of sight a plurality of times to determine the course change point, which increases the burden on the driver and makes it difficult to find an accurate branch point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that enables a driver to easily recognize a branch point and further recognize a branch direction when guiding an optimum route.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle traveling guide device mounted on a vehicle for guiding a route to a selected destination, comprising: a route end point input means for inputting a starting point and a destination point; Map data storage means for storing data related to the starting point and the destination point,
A guidance route setting means for setting a guidance route between a starting point and a destination point using data on the road stored in the map data storage means; a vehicle position detection means for detecting a vehicle position; Own vehicle position determining means for determining the own vehicle position on the road by using the own vehicle position and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means; and setting the own vehicle position on the determined road and the guide route. And a route direction output means for outputting a guide route direction at a branch point present on the guide route from the guide route obtained by the means, wherein the route direction output means is provided near the branch point, and One Table Wa, labeled with a plurality of different landmarks multiple <br/> the path direction at the point
To identify one landmark corresponding to the guidance route direction.
To output information for driving the vehicle.

The above object also provides a vehicle travel guide system for guiding a vehicle to a selected destination, comprising a vehicle travel guide device mounted on the vehicle, and a support device, wherein the support device includes The vehicle travel guide device is provided at a branch point on the moving route, and has a sign portion that indicates each traveling direction at the branch point with a different mark, and the vehicle travel guide device includes a route end point input unit that inputs a start point and a destination point. Using the map data storage means for storing data relating to the road, the input start point and destination point, and the data relating to the road stored in the map data storage means, to provide a guidance route between the start point and the destination point. Using the guidance route setting means to be set, the own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own vehicle position, the detected own vehicle position, and road data stored in the map data storage means, A vehicle position determining means for determining the vehicle position on the road, and a guidance route obtained from the determined vehicle position on the road and the guidance route obtained by the guidance route setting means at a branch point existing on the guidance route. direction, dielectric of the plurality of landmarks displayed on the label portion of the support device
Information to identify one landmark corresponding to the heading direction
And a route direction output means for outputting the vehicle direction.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in a vehicle traveling guide device mounted on a vehicle and guiding a route to a selected destination,
The starting point and the destination point are input by the route end point input means. Then, the guidance route between the departure point and the destination point is set by the guidance route setting means using the input start point and destination point and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means.

On the other hand, the vehicle position detecting means detects the current position of the vehicle. Using the detected own vehicle position and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means, the own vehicle position determining means determines the own vehicle position on the road here.

[0009] Next, the course direction output means, based on the vehicle position on the road determined by the vehicle position determination means, and the guidance route obtained by the guidance route setting means, a branch point existing on the guidance route The guidance route direction is output. Here, the course direction output means is provided near the branch point, and a plurality of course directions at the branch point are indicated by a plurality of different marks.
For the indicated sign, the one corresponding to the guidance
Output information to identify one landmark .

[0010] The present invention also provides a method for selecting a destination.
2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle travel guidance system for guiding a vehicle includes a vehicle travel guidance device mounted on a vehicle and a support device.

[0011] The support device of the present invention has a sign portion and is installed at a branch point on a moving route of a vehicle, and each traveling direction at the branch point is represented by a different mark.

Further, in the vehicle traveling guide device of the present invention,
A starting point and a destination point are inputted by the route end point input means. Then, the guidance route setting means sets the guidance route between the departure point and the destination point using the input departure point and destination point and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means.

On the other hand, the own vehicle position detecting means detects the current position of the own vehicle. Using the detected own vehicle position and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means, the own vehicle position determining means determines the own vehicle position on the road here.

[0014] Next, the course direction output means outputs a branch point existing on the guidance route from the vehicle position on the road determined by the vehicle position determination means and the guidance route obtained by the guidance route setting means. The guidance route direction is output. Here, the output in the course direction is used for the sign section of the support device.
The information for specifying one of the plurality of landmarks is output.

According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the burden of driving a vehicle while comparing an onboard display with an actual road so that a driver can recognize a branch point and recognize a branch direction when guiding an optimum route. As a result, safety and convenience during route guidance are significantly improved.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle traveling guide device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment has functional means as shown in FIG. This embodiment is based on the starting point and the destination point, or
It has a route end point input unit 1000 for inputting intersection positions near those points, and a map data storage unit 1100 for storing, for each intersection, its position coordinates, section distances to intersections, intersections, and attribute information on roads. .

In this embodiment, when a starting point and a destination point are further provided, a guidance route setting means for setting an optimal guidance route between the starting point and the destination point using information of the map data storage means 1100. 1300, a vehicle position detecting means 1200 for detecting the vehicle position, a vehicle position obtained by the vehicle position detecting means 1200, and a vehicle position on the road by using information of the map data storage means 1100. Own vehicle position determining means 1400 to be determined, and a course direction output means for outputting a course direction in which the vehicle should travel based on the own vehicle position obtained by the own vehicle position determining means 1400 and the guidance route obtained by the guidance route setting means 1300 1500.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned functional means, the present embodiment has a hardware configuration shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, a CPU 1 for controlling the entire apparatus of this embodiment, and I / O controllers 3, 4, a SCSI controller 5, a graphic controller 6, a V-RAM 7, a ROM 8, a D- RAM 9,
It has a system bus 2 to which a kanji ROM 10 and a backup RAM 11 are connected.

This embodiment further includes a direction sensor 12 for detecting the traveling direction of the moving body, and an AMP for amplifying the output of the direction sensor.
14, an A / D converter 15 for digitally converting the amplified signal, and detecting the traveling distance of the moving body, and converting the signal into an A / D signal.
A distance sensor 13 that outputs to the / D converter 15, an I / O controller 3 that sends the converted digital signal to the system bus 2, a key 16 for various input operations, and a speaker 17
And the sound generator 1 connected to the speaker 17
8, an I / O controller 4 for sending the output of the key 16 and the sound generator 18 to the system bus 2, and a backup RAM 11.

This embodiment further includes a SCSI connected to the system bus 2 as an interface controller.
A controller 5, a CD-ROM 19 connected to the SCSI controller 5 for storing map information and the like, and a graphic controller 6 connected to the system bus 2
And a display 20 connected thereto and displaying various information.

In the present embodiment, a V-RAM 7 for image processing, a D-RAM 9 used for numerical calculations and the like, and a ROM 8 for storing a control program executed by the CPU 1 are connected to the system bus 2. , A Chinese character ROM 10 for Japanese language processing, a timer 23, a signal output from the direction sensor 12 and a distance sensor 13, and a GPSR for receiving a signal from a GPS satellite for detecting the current position of the vehicle
x22 and the received GPS signal to the system bus 2
And an I / O controller 21 for sending to the I / O controller. Here, VDT (Visual Display Term)
The display 20 functioning as an "inal) mainly provides guidance to a vehicle occupant or the like on a traveling route to a destination. The map information to be displayed on the display 20 is stored in the CD-ROM 19. ROM
Reference numeral 8 stores an apparatus program used for controlling the entire apparatus of the present embodiment, and the CPU 1 executes the program to control the entire embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart (FIG. 3) showing the configuration of a control program stored in the ROM 8. The individual hardware elements used in the following description will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 3, in step 100, the GPSRx 22 and the direction sensor 1
The current position of the vehicle is calculated from the output from the distance sensor 2 and the distance sensor 13. Next, the process proceeds to step 110, where the departure place is input by an input operation using the key 16. In this operation, if the current position obtained in step 100 can be used as the departure point, the input operation using the key 16 can be omitted. Next, in step 120, the destination is input by the input operation using the key 16 as well. The operations in steps 110 and 120 may be any of a method of inputting by moving a cursor on a map displayed on a display, a method of inputting a place name or a coordinate point.

In step 130, the intersection information necessary for the route selection including the departure point and the destination is read out from the CD-ROM 19, and based on the information, an optimum route is selected using a normal route search algorithm. Then, the selected route and the guidance point including the branch point are stored.

Here, the guidance point refers to a point at which guidance relating to a direction is performed, such as an intersection on a vehicle route.

At step 140, a guide point closest to the current position and not yet passed is selected, and the routine proceeds to step 150. In step 150, step 10
Similarly to 0, the current position is calculated from the input of GPSRx22 or the like.

Next, proceed to step 160,
The distance between the guidance point selected in 40 and the current position obtained in step 150 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step 170. In step 170, the distance calculated in step 160 is
It is determined whether the value is within the first set value. In this step, it is determined whether or not the approach point has been approached.
The first set value is, for example, about 30 m. If the value exceeds the first set value, the process returns to step 150 to calculate the current position. If it is within the first set value, the process proceeds to step 180. Here, whether or not the vehicle has passed the guidance point is determined based on whether or not the distance calculated in step 160 is equal to or greater than the second set value. If the value is equal to or greater than the second set value, the vehicle position is determined to be heading for the guidance point,
Proceed to step 190. In step 190, the direction in which the vehicle should travel at the guidance point is displayed using the CRT 20. Here, the second set value is, for example, 5 m.

In the present invention, in the guidance operation in this step 190, an external device installed on the moving route of the vehicle is used. For example,
This is shown in FIGS. Each of the examples shown in FIG. 4 shows a road shape (upper part in the figure) as a sign (lower part in the figure) using symbols. FIG. 5 uses colors (different hatching patterns represent colors).
In either method, the same symbol or the same color is used in the rightward, straightforward, and leftward directions regardless of the number of branches. As shown in FIG. 6, the external installation device having such a sign is installed in the vicinity of the movement route of the vehicle. FIG. 6 shows what the outside installation device according to the present embodiment looks like to a driver inside the vehicle. In particular,
In the present embodiment, a state in which the vehicle is guided to make a right turn at a fork road is shown. Here, guidance is performed using symbols and arrows, but since this is a display in consideration of the case where the external equipment is not installed, at the place where the external equipment is installed, only the sign is used. , Can guide the driver. Further, needless to say, voice guidance using the speaker 17 or simultaneous use of image and voice may be used.

After the guidance display as described above is performed, the process returns to step 150 (see FIG. 3).

Next, if it is determined in step 180 that the vehicle does not reach the second set value, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the guidance point, and the process proceeds to step 200. Step 20
In the case of 0, it is checked whether there is any guide point that has not passed among the guide points selected in step 140. If there is a guide point, the process returns to step 140 to search for the next guide point. If it is determined in step 200 that there is no guide point, it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, and the program ends.

Here, a plurality of guidance routes may be displayed, and the driver may select one of the guidance routes. In addition, a conventional road sign can be used by adding a sign of a display form according to the present invention to a conventionally installed road sign as the above-described outside installation device.

According to this embodiment, at the time of guiding the optimum route,
In order to inform the driver of the branch point or the traveling direction in advance using a symbol or the like, the user can travel at the branch point or the like while looking at the device installed outside the vehicle.

[0035]

According to the present invention, in driving guidance, there is almost no need to drive a vehicle while comparing an onboard display with an actual road in order to recognize a branch point and a branching direction. The burden on the driver can be reduced.

[0036]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing functional units of an embodiment of a vehicle travel guide device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical hardware configuration of an embodiment of the vehicle travel guide device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an example of an external installation device used with the vehicle travel guide device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining another example of the external installation device used with the vehicle travel guide device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a use example when the vehicle travel guide device to which the present invention is applied is mounted on a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CPU, 2 ... System bus, 3 ... 4 I / O controller, 5 ... SCSI controller, 6 ... Graphic controller, 7 ... V-RAM, 8 ... RO
M, 9 ... D-RAM9, 10 ... Kanji ROM, 11
... back-up RAM, 12 ... direction sensor, 13 ...
Distance sensor, 14 AMP, 15 A / D converter,
16 key, 17 speaker, 18 sound generator, 19 CD-ROM, 20 display, 21 I / O controller, 22 GPS receiver, 1000 path end point input means, 1100 map data storage means, 1200: own vehicle position detecting means,
1300: guidance route setting means, 1400: own vehicle position determination means, 1500: route direction output means.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/10

Claims (4)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A vehicle travel guidance device mounted on a vehicle for guiding a route to a selected destination, a route end point input means for inputting a starting point and a destination point, and a map data storage for storing data relating to roads. Means for setting a guidance route between the departure point and the destination point using the input departure point and destination point and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means; Self-vehicle position detection means for detecting a position; self-vehicle position determination means for determining a self-vehicle position on a road using the detected self-vehicle position and data on the road stored in the map data storage means; A route direction output unit that outputs a guide route direction at a branch point existing on the guide route from the determined vehicle position on the road and the guide route obtained by the guide route setting unit; Road direction output circuits are provided in the vicinity of the branch point, the table in a plurality of different landmarks plurality of path direction at the branch point
About the label, one corresponding to the induction path direction
A vehicle travel guide device for outputting information for specifying a mark . Wherein at the vehicle travel guidance device according to claim 1
The traveling direction output means outputs the guidance traveling direction to the mark.
Identify any one of the multiple landmarks
Images further have a display unit for displaying for the an image for identifying one landmark, the corresponding eyes
Symbols, shapes and colors that can uniquely identify the mark
Vehicle travel guidance device characterized that you have contains any one or more of. 3. placed in the vehicle travel guidance device according to claim 1
The traveling direction output means outputs the guidance traveling direction to the mark.
Identify any one of the multiple landmarks
Vehicle travel guidance device characterized by having a sound output unit for output the audio for. 4. A vehicle travel guidance system for guiding a vehicle to a selected destination, comprising: a vehicle travel guidance device mounted on the vehicle; and a support device, wherein the support device is provided on a travel route of the vehicle. The vehicle traveling guide device is provided at a branch point and has a sign portion indicating each traveling direction at the branch point with a different mark. The vehicle travel guide device includes: a route end point input means for inputting a starting point and a destination point; And a guidance route for setting a guidance route between the start point and the destination point using the input start point and destination point and the data on the road stored in the map data storage means. Setting means; own-vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own-vehicle position; and using the detected own-vehicle position and data on the road stored in the map data storage means, the own-vehicle position on the road. A vehicle position determining means for determining a, from the determined vehicle position on the road between the obtained guidance route from the guidance route setting means, at the branch points on the guidance route, guidance route direction, said support Indicated on the sign of the device
Corresponding to the guidance route direction of the plurality of marked
And a route direction output means for outputting information for specifying one landmark.