JP2894483B2 - Navigation 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 for providing guidance to a destination by voice and / or screen display during traveling, and more particularly to a navigation device capable of promptly responding to output timing of guidance information. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-202307, for example, a conventional vehicle navigation system detects a vehicle entering a specific range of an intersection and detects the vehicle at the intersection. It informs the driver of the traveling direction of the vehicle by voice or voice and display, or, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-21199, provides voice notification when traveling a predetermined distance after passing through an intersection. Was to do.

[0003]

However, in the conventional navigation apparatus, since the guide information is stored in sentences, if the type of the guide is increased, the storage capacity is increased, so that various guides cannot be performed. Was. Also,
In order to output the guide information at a predetermined point, it is necessary to search for the guide information from the storage means having a large storage capacity at each output timing of the guide information, and there is a problem that the search for the guide information takes a very long time. Was. In particular, when the interval between the output timings of the guide information is short, there is a problem that the vehicle travels while searching for data, and the guide information is output with a delay from an appropriate timing.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can access necessary guidance information in a short time and can respond to a guidance information output request on a route in real time.

[0004]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation apparatus for tracking the movement of a vehicle and providing guidance along a route to a destination. Information storage means for storing guidance information separated into voice phrases, route information storage means for storing route information, and the following based on the route information stored in the route information storage means and the current position of the vehicle. Control means for determining necessary guidance information with respect to a point required for guidance, reading out a necessary voice phrase from the information storage means according to the determined information, and providing the guidance information read by the control means. Guidance information storage means capable of storing for each voice phrase, and output means for outputting the guidance information processed by the control means as voice, the control means comprising a plurality of frames; Each stores for each phrase guidance information storing means is read from the information storage unit for each phrase with respect to create the guidance information from the phrase,
It is configured to output to the output means. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the control means determines whether or not the next guidance information is stored in the guidance information storage means with each phrase, and determines that the next guidance information is not stored in the guidance information storage means. Only the phrase that has been read is read from the information storage means and stored in the guidance information storage means. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the control means includes a comparing means for comparing the use frequency of each voice phrase of the guide information stored in the guide information storage means, and based on the use frequency. It is configured to update to new guidance information.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the storage means can store information in phrase units,
It is possible to delete a phrase that is duplicated in the guide information, and it is possible to greatly reduce the storage capacity as compared with storing the guide information as sentences. Further, by combining phrases, it is possible to provide various types of guidance information without increasing the storage capacity of the storage unit. Also, since the information is read out in units of phrases and stored in the guidance information storage means in units of phrases,
The search can be performed in phrase units, and the time required for reading the guidance information can be reduced. Therefore,
Even if the interval between the output timings of the guide information is short, the next guide information can be provided to the driver with a margin. According to the invention of claim 2, the control means searches for necessary information from the guidance information storage means stored for each phrase, and controls to read information from the storage means having a large information amount only when there is no guidance information. The access time for information search can be shortened, and guide information can be quickly created and notified in response to a driver's request. According to the invention of claim 3, since the guidance information storage means is updated in accordance with the frequency of use, frequently used phrases can always be accessed from the guidance information storage means, and phrases of low use frequency can be used. Since the updating process can be efficiently performed with other information, the time required for searching for the guide information can be reduced, and the storage capacity of the guide information storage unit can be reduced.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a navigation device according to the present invention. The present invention is a navigation device that can advance a drive to a destination while interacting with a driver. During navigation to a preset destination, guidance information is voiced in real time in response to a driver's request. Provided by: In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the voice phrase output during traveling is composed of three combinations of the distance to the target, the target, and the traveling direction from the target. For example,
In the case of "about 400m""managu", etc. In other cases, "Fujiimachi""signal""intersection without signal" etc.
In other cases, "go straight on", "turn right", etc.

In FIG. 1, a navigation device includes a CPU 1 for controlling the entire system, a CDROM 2 on which navigation data and voice data of a map, a target, etc. are recorded, and a CDROM in accordance with a command from the CPU 1.
CDROM driver 3 for reading necessary data from 2
And a voice data RAM (hereinafter referred to as "voice buffer") 41 in which the CDROM driver 3 writes the voice data read from the CDROM 2 and converts the voice data called from the voice buffer 41 into a voice signal, that is, converts a digital signal into an analog signal. ADP to convert to
A voice synthesizing device 4 including a CM decoder 42, a speaker 5 for voice guiding an output from the voice synthesizing device,
The CPU 1 processes the navigation data for display read from the DROM 2 in response to the driver's request, and displays the screen on a display or the like, and the guide information when the driver needs it (timely). A request sensor 7 as a requesting means for issuing a signal (trigger) for instructing the CPU to perform its operation processing according to the driver's intention in order to obtain at least a voice signal, and a data flow of a voice buffer, a decoder, or the like. And a ROM 8 in which a program for controlling is stored.

The CPU 1 is configured to control whether or not to operate the display device 6 based on a driver's request or a traveling speed, and to basically provide guidance during traveling only by voice. For example, a switch 9 for selecting an operation of the display device is provided, and a screen display is performed by inputting the selection signal, or a traveling speed signal from a vehicle speed sensor 10 is input. The device 6 may be configured not to operate. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the screen from being displayed at a certain traveling speed or higher or by the user's selection. This is effective for focusing on driving.

The CDROM 2 is a database as information storage means in which all data such as map data and voice data necessary for navigation are recorded. Of these data, the voice data is a voice compression method such as (ADPCM system). And compressed. Recording time is XA
Standard C mono level, for example, normal recording time (72 minutes)
It is 1152 minutes which is 16 times as large as FIG. 2 shows an example of the recorded contents of the audio data. The recorded contents of the voice data include data types such as a voice segment, an intersection name, a landmark name, a road name, and a destination name, and contents set in advance for each data type.
For example, "about 300 m", and destination names such as "Okazaki IC (Interchange)" and "A Country Club".

[0010] The speech synthesizer 4 synthesizes and outputs speech, phrases, a single sentence, sound, and the like compressed under the control of the CPU. The voice synthesizing apparatus is provided with a voice buffer 41 constituting a guide information storage means for temporarily storing voice data, and voice data necessary for guide information closest to the current traveling point is written into the voice buffer 41 one by one. On the other hand, unnecessary voice data for future guide information is deleted, and writing of new voice data is enabled. The audio buffer 41 is prepared according to the number of phrases, and for example, the number of buffers is 20. here,
The CPU control is a buffer management function for managing the frequency of use of the phrases in the buffer, adding a flag to the selected phrases, and executing audio output processing for the selected phrases in order.

FIG. 2 shows a basic phrase to be synthesized.
As shown in, audio segments, intersection names, destination names,
There are road names. Since the CPU knows the current position of the vehicle based on the set route, travel distance, and direction to the destination, the CPU uses the map database at that point to determine the current position of the vehicle.
Determine the best phrase combination. The determined phrase is converted into an analog signal by the ADPCM decoder, and synthesized guidance information such as "turn right at" Ishikawa-cho "at approximately 400 m" is emitted from the speaker by voice.

Next, an embodiment of speech synthesis will be described. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of speech synthesis and the contents of a speech buffer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. here,
This will be described using the phrase “at about 400 m”, “turn right at Fujiimachi”. While the vehicle is traveling to the destination, the CPU selects phrases necessary for the guidance information one by one from the current position of the vehicle (S1). When the driver requests guidance information at a certain point, the CPU receives a request signal from a request sensor (S
2) Instruct the CDROM driver to write the selected phrase into the audio buffer. CDROM
The driver accesses the CDROM and writes the selected phrase to the audio buffer. First, the CDROM driver uses the phrase “about 400m” as remaining distance information.
Is accessed (S3), then the phrase "Fujiimachi" is accessed as the target information (S4), and the phrase "turn right" is sequentially accessed as the traveling direction information (S5) and written into the audio buffer. When all the phrases constituting the guidance information for the request are buffered in this way, an audio output process for converting into an audio signal is executed by the ADPCM decoder (S6).

Next, another embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the CDROM is accessed and the audio data is buffered in all three phrases after the request, but in the present embodiment, the access to the CDROM after the request is eliminated, and the audio is output simultaneously with the request. It has been improved as follows. 4 to 6 are flowcharts of speech synthesis of the navigation device according to the present embodiment. Figures 7 and 8
Indicates the contents of the audio buffer corresponding to the audio synthesis processing. The voice buffer has a storage capacity of 20 phrases, and a phrase as voice data, a presence flag f indicating that the phrase is selected, and a use frequency n for each phrase are written. Here, the presence flag f is set to f = 1 if it is a selected phrase, and f = 0 if it is not a selected phrase. In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the usage frequency n = 1 is assigned to the phrase buffered first.
Is recorded, and since there is no selected phrase yet, the existence flag f = 0 is recorded.

When the CPU starts executing, first, since it is known that some of the phrases are used repeatedly, the frequently used phrases, for example, "approximately 100 m", "approximately 400 m", "turn right", and "turn left" The remaining distance such as "do" and the direction of travel are buffered in advance in a plurality of audio buffers (S10), and the use frequency of the phrase is set to "1" (S11). Next, a guide information phrase corresponding to the set course and the current location is selected from the remaining distance, the target, and the traveling direction (S12). Here, for example, it is assumed that “turn right at“ about 400 m ”,“ Fujiimachi ”,” is selected as the guidance information phrase.

It is determined whether or not the selected phrase is changed (S13). If the phrase is not changed, it is determined whether or not there is a driver request (S18).
If the phrase has been changed, the flags of all buffers are cleared (f = 0) so that the phrase selected last time does not exist (S14). The selected phrase separates a phrase already existing in the buffer from a phrase that is not (S15). Since the phrase already existing in the buffer must not be erased, as shown in FIG. 7 (2), the presence flag f is set to 1 for the guidance information phrase "about 400 m" and "turn left", and the usage frequency is used. n is incremented by 1 and set to "2" (S16). Next, it is determined whether or not all of the selected phrases are present in the buffer (S17). If all of the selected phrases are in the buffer, it is determined whether or not there is a driver request (S18).

If all or part of the selected phrase is not in the buffer, it is determined whether or not there is free space in the buffer (S21). When there is no free space, a process for creating an empty buffer is executed (S23). On the other hand, when there is a free space, for example, No. shown in FIG. 20
If it is assumed that this buffer is empty, it is checked whether or not the selected phrase is stored in this buffer, that is, whether or not the buffer size is sufficient (S22). If there is no free space in the buffer, or if the size of the free buffer is insufficient, refer to the usage frequency n recorded in the buffer and select a buffer for a phrase that is used less frequently from phrases already in the buffer. Clear (S
23). More specifically, by observing the use frequency n, phrases that have been used less (small n) are cleared. Normal,
The buffer for this phrase is cleared first because the intersection name passed is not used again. When one buffer is cleared, the size is checked again (S22). By repeating this routine, a buffer suitable for the size of the selected phrase is prepared.

When the buffer is prepared, the buffer No. shown in FIG. 20 selected phrase "Fujiimachi"
(S24), and sets the presence flag f to “1”.
(S25), and the use frequency n is set to "+1" (S26). Next, it is checked whether there are any remaining phrases to be buffered (S27). If there is no other phrase remaining, the process proceeds to S18 and waits for the guidance output timing. If another phrase remains, S2
Returning to step 1, the buffering process is repeated. When the buffering of all the selected phrases is completed, it is determined whether there is a request from the driver (S18), and if there is no request, the process returns to S12. If there is a request, since the phrases corresponding to the request in the previous process are arranged in the buffer, the phrases are selected in the order of the remaining distance, the target, and the direction of travel shown in FIG. 7 (5) (S1).
9). Then, the data is continuously read from the buffer in the selected order, converted into audio by the ADPCM decoder, and output from the speaker (S20).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of recorded contents of audio data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a speech synthesis process of a navigation device and a data content of a buffer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a speech synthesis process of the navigation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart following FIG. 5 or FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the data content of a buffer at the time of speech synthesis processing of the navigation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU, 2 CDROM (database), 3 C
DROM driver, 4 voice synthesizer, 5 speaker, 6 display device, 7 request sensor, 41 voice buffer, 42 ADPCM decoder

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-209600 (JP, A) JP-A-58-30615 (JP, A) JP-A-60-40909 (JP, A) JP-A-61-61 198016 (JP, A) JP-A-63-259412 (JP, A) JP-A-3-152700 (JP, A) JP-A-5-66131 (JP, A) JP-A-4-1520 (JP, A) JP-A-63-131192 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/10

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A navigation device that tracks the movement of a vehicle and provides guidance along a route to a destination, comprising: information storage means for storing map information and guidance information separated into a plurality of voice phrases; Route information storage means for storing information; and determining, based on the route information stored in the route information storage means and the current position of the vehicle, guidance information necessary for a next point requiring guidance, Control means for reading a necessary voice phrase from the information storage means in accordance with the information, guidance information storage means capable of storing the guidance information read by the control means for each voice phrase, Output means for outputting voice guidance information processed by the control means, wherein the control means stores the information for each phrase with respect to a plurality of phrases. Stores for each phrase in said guidance information storing means is read out from the stage, to create the guidance information from the phrase, navigation apparatus and outputs to the output means. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines whether or not the next guidance information is stored in the guidance information storage means with each phrase, and determines that the next guidance information is not stored in the guidance information storage means. A navigation device which reads out only the phrase from the information storage means and stores the read phrase in the guidance information storage means. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a comparison means for comparing the use frequency of each voice phrase of the guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means, and based on the use frequency. A navigation device characterized by updating to new guidance information.