JP2959880B2 - 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 apparatus for a moving object, and more particularly to a navigation apparatus capable of storing and displaying information as a nearest mark of a current position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a so-called self-contained navigation device as a positioning device for various moving objects such as an automobile, an aircraft, and a ship. This self-contained navigation device obtains a two-dimensional displacement (vector amount) of a moving object from direction data from a direction sensor and speed data from a speed sensor, and integrates the two-dimensional displacement with a reference point to obtain a current position. Is what you want. That is, in the case of an automobile, for example, the number of pulses generated during one rotation of the drive shaft is preset, and the distance calculated from the total number of pulses generated from the reference point to the current position is multiplied by a distance correction coefficient. The mileage was required.

Further, a GPS (Global Positioning System) type navigation device has been developed as a positioning device using an artificial satellite. This GPS navigation device usually receives radio waves from three or more GPS satellites,
The position of the receiving point is measured from pseudorange data including the time offset of the receiver between each GPS satellite and the receiving point, and the position data of each GPS satellite.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of a conventional navigation device. In FIG. 10, this navigation device 2
00 includes a current position calculation device 201, a map data storage device 202, an information processing device 203, and a display device 204.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 200. As shown in FIG. 11, first, the current position calculation device 201 calculates a current position (step S21). Next, the information processing device 203 reads the map data including the calculated current position from the map data storage device 202 (step S22), and fetches the data (step S23). Next, screen data is created from the acquired map data and information on the current position (step S24), sent to the display device 204 and displayed as an image (step S25). This image allows the user, such as an automobile driver, to grasp his / her current position in association with the map.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional navigation device, the size of the display screen is limited, and the information size (the size of characters and map symbols, etc.) that can be displayed on the screen is not visible to the naked eye. There is a limit to the area that can be covered by one screen because it cannot be reduced below the visible level. Therefore, especially when the image is enlarged, there is a case where the current position cannot be well grasped only by the range displayed on the screen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that allows a user to easily grasp the current position even when the display range of the navigation device is restricted or on an enlarged screen.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a positioning means 101 for measuring a current position of a moving body and outputting the current position information as shown in FIG. Map information storage means 10 for storing map information
2, landmark information storage means 103 for storing information on a specific facility in the map information as landmark information, display means 105 for externally displaying information, and the map including the current position information based on the current position information. The information is read from the map information storage means 102 as current map information, the current position information is superimposed on the current map information and displayed on the display means 105, and the current map information is located near the current position. Control means 104 for controlling to display mark information of the specific facility which is not included therein at a position on the display means 105 associated with the current map information.
And is provided.

[0009]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the landmark information of a specific facility located near the current position but not included in the current map information is displayed at a position on the display means related to the current map information. With such a configuration, even if the display range of the navigation device is limited or the screen is enlarged, the user can more easily grasp his / her current position by using the mark information.

[0010]

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a navigation device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 100A includes a satellite antenna 2 and a GPS
Receiving unit 11, microcomputer 1, input unit 5
, CRT device 6, CD-ROM drive 3, IC
A card reader / writer 4.

Next, the operation of the navigation device 100A will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 100A.

First, the user selects or inputs landmark data using the input unit 5 (step S1). The landmark data includes transportation facilities such as JR and private railway stations, traffic centers, bus terminals, and highway interchanges, famous buildings (high-rise buildings, etc.), and famous facilities (parks, shrines,
Buddhist temple, etc.) and other landmarks that serve as landmarks. Therefore, in step S1, for example, "railroad station" can be selected as the landmark information, or conversely, the type of facility cannot be specified.

Next, the GPS receiver 11 receives the position data via the satellite antenna 2 according to a command from the microcomputer 1, and calculates the current position data of the moving body based on the data (step S2). The calculated current position data is output to the microcomputer 1. Then, CD-ROM drive 3 reads the map data from the CD-ROM disc C ₁ based on the command of the microcomputer 1 (step S3). The map data includes topography (mountains, rivers, lakes and marshes), as well as road networks and railway networks. In this case, the read map data is
This is data of an area (hereinafter, referred to as “current map area”) that includes the above-described current position data. The read map data is taken into the microcomputer 1 from the CD-ROM drive 3 (step S4).

Next, the IC card reader / writer 4
IC card C based on the instruction of microcomputer 1
_TwoThe mark data is read from (step S5). in this case
Mark data read out at step S1
Category mark data and CD-ROM
Out of the range of map data read by drive 3
And, furthermore, the nearest one. Therefore, step
Select "Railway station" as the landmark data category in step S1
If this is selected, the location data of the nearest railway station will be used. here
, "Nearest" means the current map area where the image is displayed
Is, for example, Z shown in FIG.₀In the case of
Z which is an area where no image is displayed₁~ Z₈Included in the range
May be defined as landmark data or area Z₁
~ Z₈Area Z adjacent to and not displayed₁₁~ Z₂₆Until
Z including₁~ Z₂₆Range. Or figure
5 (B), the current map area displayed as an image
Is Z ₀, The area Z indicated by the hatch in the figure₁,
Z_Four, Z_a, Z_bIf there is a railway station in Z_Four, Z_bTo
"Nearest" and Z₁, Z_aFor Z₀Looking from
Both are in the same direction, but Z₁Is Z₀Closer to
For Z₁Adopts an algorithm that makes the “closest”
May be. 5A and FIG. 5B.
May be used together. Reading IC card reader / writer 4
The landmark data issued, that is, the location of the specific facility that will be the landmark
The data is taken into the microcomputer 1 (step
Step S6).

Next, the microcomputer 1 calculates a current position and an azimuth and a distance from each landmark facility based on the read data (step S7). Next, the microcomputer 1 creates screen data for synthesizing the current position data, the current map area, and the direction and distance of the landmark facility on the same screen (step S8). The created screen data is output to the CRT device 6 and displayed as an image (step S9).

FIGS. 6 to 9 show examples of screens displayed as images. Figure 6 is in the mobile body that moves around Tokorozawa, Saitama - Kawagoe, shows an example GD ₁ of the screen in the case where a category of the landmark facility as a "train station". In this case, the railway line name, the name of the nearest station, the direction of the station from the current position (indicated by an arrow), and the distance from the current position to the station in kilometers are shown (rounded to the nearest kilometer). Have been.

[0017] FIG. 7, in the same map area, shows an example GD ₂ of the screen in the case where a category of the landmark facility as "interchange". Figure 8 is the same map area, shows an example GD ₃ of the screen was the Karigori of landmark facilities and "traffic related facilities". In this case, screen G
Landmark data on D ₃ has a a composite of the screen GD ₁ and GD _2.

In this embodiment, a screen display as shown in FIG. 9 is also possible. That is, although not generally landmark data that becomes a landmark, the drive-in (I ₁ ), which is important to the driver and has a high degree of interest,
Cases in which a car-related facility such as a gas station (I ₂ ) is displayed, or even in a building or the like which is generally difficult to be a landmark, the user can make the landmark data by manually inputting position data (I ₃ ) shows.
If the display I _3, will be input from the outside through the input unit 5 in step S1 in FIG. 4.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a more detailed configuration of the GPS receiver 11 in FIG. FIG. 2 shows the GPS receiving unit 11
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a crystal oscillator 35 in which a GPS antenna 2 is connected to a GPS receiver 40 via a preamplifier 31 and a bandpass filter 32 and outputs a reference frequency signal which is an overall timing control signal; A clock oscillation circuit 36 that forms a clock signal for controlling the operation timing of the signal processing unit 37 based on the signal is provided, and the arithmetic unit 12 is connected to the signal processing unit 37.

The GPS receiver 40 generates a signal having the same pattern as that of data relating to the signal carrier of the GPS satellite, the position of the GPS satellite, and the state of the clock in the GPS satellite based on the reference frequency signal oscillated by the crystal oscillator 35. A circuit 41, a clock signal output from the clock oscillation circuit 36, a code generation circuit 42 for forming a code signal having the same pattern as the distance measurement signal, and an output signal from the frequency synthesis circuit 41 and the code generation circuit 42, A data and carrier wave detector 43 for correlating the data and the carrier wave with respect to the clock in the GPS satellite and the orbit of the GPS satellite, and a code signal output from the code generation circuit 42 for correlating and detecting the distance measurement signal. And a code lock detector 44.

The calculation unit 12 has a self-contained positioning unit (not shown). A known geomagnetic sensor, a gyro compass, or the like is used as the direction sensor constituting the self-contained positioning unit, and detects the moving direction of the receiving point. A known speed sensor or the like is used as a speed sensor for detecting the speed of the receiving point, and the moving distance of the receiving point is calculated from the pulse signal output from the speed sensor and the distance correction coefficient. Then, by accumulating the moving distance in accordance with the change in the moving direction of the receiving point detected by the direction sensor, the moving history of the receiving point can be obtained. As a result, the movement path from the reference point is calculated, and the current position is measured.

In the above embodiment, the satellite antenna 2 and the GPS receiving unit 11 constitute positioning means, and the CD-ROM
The drive 3 and the CD-ROM disk C ₁ constitute map information storage means, and include an IC card reader / writer 4 and an IC
The card C ₂ constitutes landmark information storage means, and the CRT device 6
Corresponds to the display means, and the microcomputer 1 corresponds to the control means.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the current position data is measured using a GPS satellite, but this may be performed using a normal self-contained positioning device.

The means for storing map information is not limited to CD-ROM disks and CD-ROM drives, but may be other types of ROMs, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, or magnetic storage devices. It doesn't matter. Further, the means is not limited to read-only and may be a recordable / reproducible means capable of manually inputting or modifying map data from outside.

The mark information storage means may be a read-only type or a recordable / reproducible type. In addition, the method of storage does not matter. Further, the landmark information storage means may be the same storage means as the map information storage means. Further, in this embodiment, an example of the CRT device has been described as the display means. The display means is not limited to the means, and may be a display means capable of voice display. In this case, for example, in FIG. 2, when the microcomputer 1 calculates the azimuth and the distance of the landmark facility, the voice synthesizer 7 outputs voice information such as "there is a station XX approximately in the right front of the traveling direction". To generate
It is possible to output the sound as sound by the speaker 8.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
This has the advantage that the user can easily grasp the current position even if the display range of the navigation device is limited or the screen is enlarged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a GPS receiving unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a display screen example (1) showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a display screen example (2) showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a display screen example (3) showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a display screen example (4) showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional navigation device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of a conventional navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Microcomputer 2 ... Satellite antenna 3 ... CD-ROM drive 4 ... IC card reader / writer 5 ... Input part 6 ... CRT device 7 ... Voice synthesizer 8 ... Speaker 11 ... GPS receiving part 12 ... Calculation part 31 ... Preamplifier 32 band filter 35 crystal oscillator 36 clock oscillator 37 signal processor 40 GPS receiver 41 frequency synthesizer 42 code generator 43 carrier detector 44 code lock detector 100, 100A navigation device 101 positioning means 102 map information storage means 103 landmark information storage means 104 control means 105 display means C ₁ CD-ROM disk C ₂ IC card

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/00-29/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A positioning means for measuring a current position of a moving body and outputting the current position information, a map information storage means for storing map information, and a mark for storing information on a specific facility in the map information as landmark information. Information storage means; display means for externally displaying information; reading the map information including the current position information from the map information storage means as current map information based on the current position information; The current position information is superimposed and displayed on the display means, and the landmark information of the specific facility located near the current position and not included in the current map information is compared with the current map information on the display means. A navigation device, comprising: control means for controlling display at a relevant position.