JP2870866B2 - Vehicle guidance system - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a travel guidance device for a vehicle.

(Prior Art) Considering a situation where a driver is driving to a certain destination while driving a car, a driver maps a strange land on a map and a road in a lonely space isolated from the outside of a car. It can be said that he is simply stepping on the accelerator to his intended destination, relying on signs and landscape.

In other words, even today, when computers and data communications have been developed and information is said to be excessive, the essence of driving a car is almost the same as at the time when the car was invented.

In view of such circumstances, the development of a driving system as a vehicle travel guidance device called a navigation system has been increasingly active recently.

The navigation system detects, for example, a horizontal component of a geomagnetic vector and uses it as a direction parameter (hereinafter, referred to as a geomagnetic method) or a gas rate gyro using inertia of helium gas as a direction sensor. (Hereinafter referred to as inertial navigation) and at least three circular orbiting satellites (GPS)
Various systems have been proposed, such as a GPS system (global positioning system), which can detect an accurate position at any place on the earth by using GPS. Each of these methods is a division based on a difference in how to detect and recognize the position of the own vehicle during traveling, and basically has many common parts except for that point.

That is, first, a CD-ROM storing a large number of map data as travel guide information of the vehicle is provided,
Destination setting means, destination recognition means for recognizing the destination set by the destination setting means, own vehicle position recognizing means by any of the above methods, etc., and the own vehicle position and destination Therefore, the optimal travel route to the destination is set and displayed on the CRT display (see, for example, JP-A-61-209216).

With the use of the vehicle guidance device having such a configuration,
The driver can safely arrive at the destination simply by following the route while watching the optimal route in the map state displayed moment by moment on the display screen. Then, the own vehicle mark that moves as the vehicle travels is displayed on the route.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the configuration of the conventional device, the map information generally displayed on the CRT screen is based on a wide-area map assuming normal driving, and regardless of the degree of reaching the destination. And the scale is the same. Therefore, it is inconvenient when approaching the destination, and in such a case, there is a demand that the scale is originally large and a detailed display content is desired.

In addition, even if the fact that the user is approaching the destination can be determined by the change in the display content of the map, there is a problem that the conventional configuration does not at all know how many kilometers later the vehicle will reach the destination. .

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above problems and responding to the demand, and has an own vehicle position recognizing means for recognizing an own vehicle position on a road. Destination setting means for setting a destination to be reached in advance; map information display means for displaying map information from a departure point to the destination set by the destination setting means; Scale enlargement means for enlarging the scale of the map of the displayed map information in accordance with the reduction of the distance between the own vehicle position and the destination position recognized by the recognition means; and A remaining distance display means for displaying the remaining distance of the vehicle, the map information and the remaining distance from the departure point to the destination, and the remaining distance is to be sequentially displayed according to the running state of the vehicle, Above remaining distance The distance display means displays the remaining distance in a first distance unit according to the remaining distance to the destination when the remaining distance is equal to or more than a predetermined value, and displays the remaining distance in the first distance unit when the remaining distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value. The remaining distance is displayed in a small second distance unit.

The remaining distance display update span of the remaining distance display means is the first distance when the remaining distance to the destination is equal to or more than a predetermined value.
And the remaining distance is updated in a second distance unit smaller than the first distance unit when the remaining distance is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

Also, the remaining distance display means is configured to display the remaining distance on a scale unit.

(Operation) In the configuration of the traveling guidance device for a vehicle according to the invention of the present application, when the reaching distance to the destination becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the scale information enlargement means is activated and the map information displayed by the map information display means is enlarged. Is done. Therefore, when approaching the destination, the route to the destination can be concretely and accurately recognized by the detailed map data of the display contents.

At the same time, the remaining distance from the current position to the destination is displayed on the display surface of the map data displayed as described above in accordance with the distance value. When the remaining distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, a second distance unit smaller than the first distance unit,
Each is displayed. Therefore, the driver can know exactly how many kilometers to keep before reaching the destination, for example, and make a proper outlook on rest management, adjustment of running speed, refueling, etc. when running long distances become able to.

Also, when the vehicle is closer to the destination than the predetermined distance, for example, the display unit of the displayed remaining distance may be from several kilometers to hundreds, tens, or several meters.
For example, a predetermined level can be changed and displayed smaller than the display unit up to that time, and the destination can be easily searched.

Also, in this case, when the remaining distance update span of the remaining distance display means is also equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the remaining distance updating span is made smaller so that arrival at the destination can be more finely recognized.

Furthermore, if the display of the remaining distance by the remaining distance display means in each of these cases is displayed as a level on, for example, a scale unit for displaying the scale of the map, the change in the remaining distance can be more easily recognized.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the vehicle travel guidance device of the present invention, the convenience as the travel guidance device is improved, and at the same time, the reliability is improved, and the commercial value is also improved.

(Embodiment) Figs. 2 to 5 show the configuration and operation of a vehicle travel guidance device according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, FIG. 2 shows a system structure of a vehicle travel guidance device according to the embodiment. Reference numeral 10 denotes a navigation control unit which is a center of a control unit, and the navigation control unit 10 is a central information processing unit. Equipment (CPU) 1
1, a read-only memory (hereinafter simply referred to as ROM) 12 with a built-in control program12, a random access memory (hereinafter simply referred to as
A RAM 13), an interface circuit 14 for inputting and outputting data between various types of external devices described below and the CPU 11, and the like.

And the above navigation control unit 10
As an external device to be combined with a vehicle, first, a car-mounted device for reading out the map information from a CD-ROM (compact disk type read-only memory) 1 storing a large number of the above-described map-type travel guidance information at a plurality of different scales. CD player 2, an operation switch unit 3 for performing operations such as setting, changing, resetting, and changing the optimum route of a destination, and at least 3 being launched into a circular orbit around the earth E as shown in FIG.
Waves transmitted from GPS-A, GPS-B, and GPS-C (SH
F) A vehicle position recognizing device 4 for current position recognition constituted by a GPS receiver for receiving the image signal output from the CPU 11 and a display control circuit for displaying on the screen of the CRT display 6 of the instrument panel unit. 5, a video memory 7 and the like attached to the display control circuit 5 are provided.

The CD player 2 drives the CD-ROM 1 and drives the CD-RO
An address (specified by east / west / north / north / north) where the required predetermined information from the map information of all over Japan stored in M1 is specified
, The decoder 8 and the interface circuit 14
Is input to the CPU 11 via. These read information are temporarily stored in the RAM 13. The output of the CD player 2 decoded via the decoder 8 is also output to the side of an ordinary in-vehicle audio device (AMP, equalizer, speaker, etc.) 9.

The CD-ROM 1 stores about 30,000 pieces of map information of color still images. For example, in the case of this embodiment, at least three kinds of scales are prepared. It is configured so that information can be expanded or reduced in eight steps.

Next, the operation switch 3 is, for example, a screen touch type, and is provided with various operation switches such as menu, information, resetting, enlargement, reduction, and correction. The ON output of the operation switch 3 is coded by the encoder 16 and then input to the CPU 11 via the interface circuit 14. The CPU 11 performs a predetermined operation (program processing) in response to the operation input, activates the display control circuit 5 for driving the CRT, and displays an image corresponding to the instruction content.

Further, the vehicle position recognizing device (current position recognizing device) 4 for recognizing the current vehicle position of the vehicle is provided with three navigational satellite GPS-A on a circular orbit around the earth E as shown in FIG. ~GPS
-C adapted to recognize the two-dimensional position of the point P of the current vehicle by the respective distances L ₁ ~L ₃ to radio measurements from the recognized data RAM13 temporarily via the CPU11 (Every predetermined cycle).

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the navigation control unit 10 displays map information, changes the scale of the display map according to the degree of arrival at the destination, and controls the display of the remaining distance to the destination. And will be described in detail.

First at step S ₁ prior to the start of operation of the above
The CD-ROM 1 is loaded into the CD player 2 and the CD player 2 is driven. As a result, the map information (usually reduced scale) of the optimal traveling route set corresponding to the destination to be made is ready to be read.

Next, in step S _2, specifically setting a destination to go from now by operating the operation switch 3.

Further, the process proceeds to step S _3, reads the accurate vehicle position Pstart by function the vehicle position recognition apparatus 4 described above in the state (input to RAM).

Then, set the optimum route to the destination Pend set from the current vehicle position Pstart in step S _4, the initial page (No1 map) from the start point based on the optimal path of the meter cluster side It is displayed on the screen of the CRT display 6, and the vehicle position mark is displayed on the map road of the screen.
Mp is plotted in a superimposed state (see FIG. 5 (a)).

Next, the required traveling distance Sn from the start point (current position) Pstart to the destination Pend is calculated based on the optimal route set as described above. The operation value Sn is input to the RAM 13 and stored. The stored value Sn is sequentially decremented every predetermined traveling distance (for example, 1 km) as the vehicle travels, and the remaining distance Sn from the current position Pn to the destination Pend is always calculated and the map display is performed. It is displayed in real time at a level indicator system, for example, the scale gauge 30 portion of the surface (step S _5).

Next, in step S _6, the current travel location (vehicle position P
Determine whether n) is within 2 km of the destination Pend. When the determination result is YES, the further proceeds to step S ₇ to expand the scale of the corresponding path map information in the travel time, the display is performed in map details (specifically, The detailed map in the CD-ROM1 will be read out separately). On the other hand, in the case of a NO determination, step S ₃
And the above judgment is repeated.

On the other hand, once as step S ₇ described above, when the map information is enlarged details and scale are displayed, because so specifically run relatively slowly carefully looking for destination Pend, the scale The mileage update span displayed in a total of 30 parts is more effective in units of 100 m than in 1 km. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), step
The first unit span of the remaining distance display section at S ₈ from 1Km 100
Change to m and display (MAX 2000m) and step S
_{In step 9} , the decrement of (Sn = 2000−100 × n) is performed every 100 m traveling, and the reaching distance to the destination (remaining traveling distance) is displayed.

Then, when the display distance Sn becomes Sn = 0 m, the destination
You have reached Pend.

As described above, in the configuration of the traveling guidance device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the arrival distance to the destination becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the map displayed by the map information display means is activated by the scale enlargement means operating. Information is expanded. Therefore, when approaching the destination, the route to the destination can be concretely and accurately recognized by the detailed map data of the display contents.

At the same time, the remaining distance from the current position to the destination is displayed on the display surface of the map data displayed as described above in accordance with the distance value. When the remaining distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, a second distance unit smaller than the first distance unit,
Each is displayed. Therefore, the driver can know exactly how many kilometers to keep before reaching the destination, for example, and make a proper outlook on rest management, adjustment of running speed, refueling, etc. when running long distances Will be able to

Also, when the vehicle is closer to the destination than the predetermined distance, for example, the display unit of the displayed remaining distance may be from several kilometers to hundreds, tens, or several meters.
For example, since the display unit is changed to a predetermined level smaller than the display unit and displayed, the search for the destination can be facilitated.

Also, in this case, the remaining distance update span of the remaining distance display means is similarly reduced when the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, so that the arrival at the destination can be more finely recognized.

Furthermore, since the display of the remaining distance by the remaining distance display means in each of these cases is displayed as a level on, for example, a scale unit for displaying the scale of the map, the change in the remaining distance can be more easily recognized.

Therefore, according to the traveling guidance device of the vehicle, the convenience as the traveling guidance device is improved, and at the same time, the reliability is improved, and the commercial value is also improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram corresponding to a claim of a traveling guidance device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a system block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit unit of the device, FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the operation principle of the vehicle position recognizing device in the system shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the system shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS.
(B) is an explanatory view showing a method of changing the display mode of the map information in the present embodiment. 1 ... CD-ROM 2 ... CD player 3 ... operation switch 4 ... own vehicle position recognition device 6 ... CRT display 10 ... navigation control unit 11 ... CPU GPS-A, GPS-B, GPS-C …… Navigation satellite

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G08G 1/0969 G01C 21/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle position recognizing means for recognizing a position of a car on a road, a destination setting means for setting a destination to be reached in advance, and a destination setting means for setting a destination from a starting point. Map information display means for displaying map information to the destination, and a map of the map information displayed according to a reduction in the distance between the vehicle position and the destination position recognized by the vehicle position recognition means. A scale enlarging means for enlarging the scale, and a remaining distance display means for displaying the remaining distance to the destination on the displayed map, wherein the map information and the remaining distance from the departure point to the destination are displayed on the vehicle. In the traveling guidance device for a vehicle configured to sequentially display according to the traveling state of the vehicle, the remaining distance display means includes a first distance unit when the remaining distance is equal to or more than a predetermined value according to the remaining distance to the destination. Show remaining distance To together, traveling guide apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that is adapted to display the remaining distance a small second distance units than the first distance unit when the remaining distance is less than a predetermined value. 2. The remaining distance display update span of the remaining distance display means is the first span when the remaining distance to the destination is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
And updating the remaining distance in a second distance unit smaller than the first distance unit when the remaining distance is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Item 1. A traveling guidance device for a vehicle according to Item 1. 3. The travel guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the remaining distance display means displays the remaining distance on a scale unit.