JP3230633B2 - Vehicle navigation method and 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 vehicle navigation method and apparatus for displaying a vehicle position on a map screen and performing route guidance to help a driver determine a course.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A navigation device calculates a position of a vehicle based on a direction detected by a geomagnetic sensor and a traveling distance detected by a wheel speed sensor, and stores map information near the position of the vehicle in a compact disk. By sequentially reading from the used so-called CD-ROM disk to create a map screen, displaying the own vehicle position on the map screen, and inputting a destination, a recommended route from the current position to the destination is determined. The displayed information is used to determine the course of the driver.

Conventionally, in such a navigation device, the map screen faithfully reproduces the shape and connection relationship of an actual road, and even if a destination is set and a route is determined, information on the route is determined. Since unnecessary information other than the above is also displayed, the display is complicated.

[0004]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned prior art, there is a problem that necessary information on a route cannot be easily grasped, which is not preferable in terms of safe driving.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular navigation method and apparatus capable of easily grasping necessary information on a route.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a vehicle navigation method for determining the current position of a vehicle, reading out map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set. Character information relating to the route is extracted from the information and displayed in a plurality in the order of the route, and an arrow indicating a direction in which the vehicle should travel in accordance with the plurality of character information is displayed. is there. The present invention also provides a vehicle navigation method for determining the current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set, and character information relating to the route is determined from the map information. A vehicle navigation method characterized by extracting and displaying a plurality of lines in the order of routes, and displaying an arrow indicating only a direction in which the vehicle should travel in correspondence with the plurality of pieces of character information. The present invention also provides a vehicle navigation method for determining the current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set, and character information relating to the route is determined from the map information. A plurality of arrows indicating directions in which the vehicle should travel at points corresponding to the plurality of pieces of character information are displayed side by side with the plurality of pieces of character information. It is.

The present invention is characterized in that the character information in the order of the routes and an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel are displayed in accordance with the type of road. The present invention also provides
The arrow display is performed only when the traveling direction changes in the route. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the current position of the vehicle is fixedly displayed on a display screen, and the character information and the arrow display are scroll-displayed. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a road map is displayed side by side with the display of the plurality of character information and arrows.

The present invention also provides a vehicular navigation device for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, a route setting means for setting a route to a destination, and the route setting means. Extracting means for extracting character information relating to the route from the map information in response to the output of the means; displaying a plurality of character information extracted by the extracting means arranged in the order of the routes; And a drawing means for displaying an arrow indicating a direction in which the vehicle should travel. The present invention also provides a vehicular navigation device that obtains a current position of a vehicle, reads map information and displays the current position on a map, a route setting unit that sets a route to a destination, and an output of the route setting unit. And extracting means for extracting character information relating to the route from the map information, displaying a plurality of the character information extracted by the extracting means arranged in the order of the routes, and moving the vehicle in accordance with the plurality of character information. A drawing device for displaying an arrow indicating only a power direction is provided. The present invention also provides a vehicular navigation device that obtains a current position of a vehicle, reads map information and displays the current position on a map, a route setting unit that sets a route to a destination, and an output of the route setting unit. And extracting means for extracting character information relating to the route from the map information, displaying a plurality of the character information extracted by the extracting means arranged in the order of the routes, and moving the vehicle at a point corresponding to the plurality of character information. A drawing device for displaying a plurality of arrows indicating directions to be arranged side by side with the plurality of pieces of character information. Further, according to the present invention, the drawing means displays the character information in the order of the route and an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel in accordance with the type of road, only when the traveling direction changes in the route, and The present position is fixedly displayed on the display screen, the character information and the arrow display are scroll-displayed, and the character information is one of an intersection name and a road name. Further, the invention is characterized in that the drawing means displays a road map side by side with the display of the plurality of character information and the arrows.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in the vehicle navigation method and apparatus according to the first to third and ninth to eleventh aspects, for example, the output of a geomagnetic sensor or a wheel speed sensor is calculated by a microcomputer or the like to determine the current position of the vehicle. The map information is read out from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM disk corresponding to the current position, and a plurality of character information, for example, a plurality of intersection names and road names are displayed side by side. Or, at a point corresponding to a plurality of pieces of character information, an arrow indicating at least the direction in which the vehicle should travel is displayed.
Therefore, by displaying an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel in response to the character information at a plurality of points on the route, it is possible to determine at which point the vehicle should change the traveling direction on a wide-range route. You can get a rough image. That is, by collectively displaying a plurality of arrows indicating the traveling directions at a plurality of points at once, it is possible to grasp a rough image of the progress of the vehicle over a wide range of routes. In this way, since the character information relating to the route is extracted and displayed, the shape of the road and the connection relationship therebetween are simplified and easy to see, so that necessary information relating to the route can be easily grasped. In addition, since the arrow is displayed in association with the character information as described above, the direction in which the vehicle should travel can be easily known, and safe driving can be ensured. In particular, according to the first and ninth aspects of the present invention, a plurality of arrows are displayed in correspondence with a plurality of pieces of character information in the order of the routes, so that the route can be easily imaged, and a wide range of directions in which the vehicle should travel can be grasped. It's easy to do. Claims 2 and 10
According to the present invention, an arrow indicating only the direction in which the vehicle should travel is displayed in accordance with the plurality of character information, thereby indicating only the direction in which the vehicle should travel, as shown in FIG. One arrow is displayed, the display is simplified,
It is easy to see and the direction of travel is easy to understand. This is particularly important from the standpoint of safe driving. According to the third and eleventh aspects of the present invention, a plurality of pieces of character information and arrows are displayed side by side so that a correspondence between character information such as an intersection name and a course can be grasped at a glance.

According to the present invention, a road map 36 of a general road in FIG. 4 is displayed on an expressway, for example, as shown in FIG. Instead, character information 43a-
43d and arrows 44, 4 indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel
Only 5 is displayed. In this way, only the character information and the arrow are displayed on the display screen as large as possible, making it easier to grasp the information and further ensuring safe driving. According to the present invention, as in claims 5 and 12, the arrow display is
It is performed only when the traveling direction of the route such as the intersection name displayed by the character information changes, so that useless display is not performed, and therefore, the information can be easily grasped,
Safe driving will be improved. According to the present invention, the current position of the vehicle is fixedly displayed on the display screen as in claims 6 and 12, and the current position is displayed, for example, near the center of the portion 37 where the character information is displayed, for example. The display is fixed and the character information and the arrow display in the vehicle traveling direction are scrolled. This makes it easier to grasp information and improves safe driving.

According to the seventh and thirteenth aspects of the present invention, the display of the character information and the arrow is displayed side by side with the road map, whereby the traveling directions of the character and the arrow are specifically compared on the road map. And it is easier to grasp the course.

According to the eighth and twelfth aspects of the present invention, the character information is an intersection name, furthermore, a road name,
Therefore, it is possible to know the intersection name and the traveling direction before reaching the intersection, and it is possible to know in advance a plurality of combinations of such an intersection name and the arrow indicating the traveling direction, and thus to imagine the route. It is easy to grasp the traveling direction.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a navigation device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and displays a current position and a route guide to a destination, and is useful for determining a course of a driver.

Therefore, in the navigation device 1, the central processing unit 3 which is realized by a microcomputer or the like in response to an input operation to the operation key 2 and which is a computing means and a drawing means is roughly provided with a communication bus. The reading of the map information of the desired area to the CD-ROM device 4 is supported through the reference numeral 10. In response to the support, the processing circuit 5 reads the corresponding area map information from the map information recorded on the CD-ROM disc 7 as the recording medium via the decoder 6. Thus, the processing circuit 5 sends the communication bus 1
0, the central processing unit 3 drives the display device 9 implemented by a liquid crystal display device or the like via the display drive circuit 8 in accordance with the map information input through the
The map screen display of the desired area is realized.

When the current position is set as described later, the central processing unit 3 responds to the detection results of the geomagnetic sensor 12 and the wheel speed sensor 13 input from the processing circuit 11 via the communication bus 10. Then, the heading and distance traveled by the own vehicle are calculated, the map information of the map screen corresponding to the current position of the own vehicle is read from the CD-ROM device 4, and the map screen is scrolled and displayed together with the current position. .

At predetermined intervals, the traveling locus of the vehicle is compared with the road shape obtained from the map information, and the current position is corrected so that the traveling locus coincides with the road shape when turning right or left at an intersection, for example. Is performed.
In this way, the display device 9 includes the reference symbol P in FIG.
As indicated by 11, a marker indicating the current position and the traveling direction of the own vehicle is updated and displayed according to the traveling of the own vehicle together with the map screen.

Further, the input of the current position is performed, and thereafter, the map screen is scrolled, and the operator searches for the destination, sets the position of the destination, and selects the route search. As indicated by 2 (2), reference numeral P1
For example, a recommended route having the shortest distance from the current position indicated by 1 to the destination indicated by reference sign P12 is calculated and displayed.

When the route is determined as described above, a deformed map for extracting and displaying character information on the route, such as a road name and an intersection name, in the order of the route is created and displayed as follows. You.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for explaining the display operation of the deformed map. Operation key 2
When a current position and a destination or a waypoint are input from an input unit 21 such as the communication unit and the processing circuit 11, the route search unit 22
Reads the map information from the CD-ROM device 4 or the like as indicated by reference numeral 23 and stores the read map information in the storage unit 2.
In addition to the storage in step 4, the data processing unit 25 performs a calculation process, calculates a route having the shortest distance, for example, as described above, and outputs the calculated route to the route guidance unit 26. On the other hand, the map information is also provided to a current position detection unit 27, and an image of the map screen including the current position is also provided to the route guidance unit 26.

As described above, when the route from the initial position of the vehicle to the destination or the waypoint is determined by the route search unit 22, the output from the route guide unit 26 is extracted from the deformed map display unit 28. It is given to a deformed map creating unit 29 which is a means. The map creator 29 extracts character information on the route from the map information provided from the route guide 26 in the order of the route, and causes the display device 9 to display the character information on the route through the drawing means 30.

In the navigation device 1 configured as described above, the operation key 2 is a current position setting key 2
a, a destination setting key 2b, a stopover setting key 2c,
It is provided with a deformed display key 2d, a direction key 2e, a display switching key 2f, a cursor key 2g, a setting key 2h, a route search key 2i, and a scroll selection key 2j. The above-described setting operation is performed using these keys 2a to
This will be described in detail below using 2j.

When the operator operates the current position setting key 2a, the destination setting key 2b, or the transit point setting key 2c, a cursor is displayed on the display screen, and the cursor is operated by operating the cursor key 2g. Then, the setting key 2h is operated to set the current position, the destination, or the waypoint. Thereafter, when the route search key 2i is operated, for example, a route having the shortest distance is calculated and obtained. Thereafter, when the deformed display key 2d is operated, a deformed map as shown in FIG.

The example shown in FIG. 4 shows a display screen 35 on a general road, in which a deformed map 38 and a conventional road map 36 are simultaneously displayed. In this example,
The display area of the road map 36 being displayed on the entire display screen 35 is reduced by removing the end of the road map 36 or the like, thereby displaying the deformed map 38 in the margin 37 generated at the end of the display screen 35. are doing. The deformed map 38 in this case includes an intersection name 39 as character information.
When it is necessary to change the traveling direction at each intersection 39, the next direction 40 and the like are displayed in the order of the routes. That is, the direction 40 in which the vehicle should travel is indicated by an arrow corresponding to the intersection name 39. Further, in the case of "Kamizawa-dori 2", which is the intersection name 39, since the vehicle does not need to change the traveling direction as described above and travels straight, no arrow is displayed. As described above, the data of the intersection name 39 is C
For example, when the data is not recorded on the D-ROM disc 7,
The distance between the intersections and the next direction may be displayed.

The reference numeral 34 on the road map 36 is a marker indicating the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the deformed map 38, reference numeral P1 represents the current position of the vehicle.
7 is fixedly displayed in the vicinity of the center, and the deformed map 38 is scrolled upward in FIG. 4 as the vehicle travels.

By displaying the deformed map 38 and the road map 36 at the same time in this way, information on the route can be easily known, and information on the periphery of the route can be known.

In this case, the displayed road map 36
Although the display area is narrowed to form the margin 37 on the display screen 35, the scale of the road map 36 being displayed may be reduced to form the margin 37.

As described above, it is possible to display the deformed map 38 and the road map 36 at the same time, or to display one of them and switch the display arbitrarily or automatically. That is, the road map 36 of the general road is not displayed, and only the deformed map 38 is displayed. In other words, only the character information such as the intersection name 39 and the arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel may be displayed.

The example shown in FIG. 5 shows a display screen 41 on a highway. On the highway, deformed map 4
Only 2 is displayed. In this case, the route does not have to be determined, and it is sufficient that it is determined that the user has got on the highway.
The character information in this case is the interchange (I
C) branch information such as 43a, a ramp (R) 43b, and a parking area (PA) 43c. In addition, in the case of a ramp, whether the entrance is the entrance 44 or the exit 45 is displayed. . This deformed map 41
Then, the current position indicated by the reference mark P2 is fixedly displayed near the center of the screen, and the deformed map 41 is scrolled leftward in FIG. 5 as the vehicle travels.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral P
Although the position of the vehicle indicated by P1 and P2 is substantially at the center of the display screens 35 and 41, the position of the vehicle is displayed at an arbitrary position corresponding to, for example, a front wide function for displaying a region on the downstream side in the traveling direction larger than the vehicle. Can be set. The setting method at this time will be described. The operator operates the display switching key 2f to display a cursor on the display screens 35 and 41, and operates the cursor key 2g to move the cursor to a desired position. After that, operate the setting key 2h,
Set the own vehicle position fixed point.

Further, the user operates the scroll selection key 2j to fix the position of the vehicle, and the deformed maps 38, 4
2 to scroll or to scroll the position of the vehicle.
By operating e, four types of settings, up, down, left, and right, can be made.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of setting the fixed point of the vehicle position, the object to be scrolled, and the direction. In step n1, the deformed display key 2d is operated, and a request for displaying a deformed map is given to the central processing unit 3. In step n2, it is determined whether or not the deformed map can be displayed in the central processing unit 3, that is, whether or not a route to be traveled has been determined or whether or not the vehicle is traveling on an expressway. If it is not possible, the process proceeds to step n3, where the conventional road map is displayed on the display screen, and the operation ends.

In step n2, when the deformed map can be displayed, the process proceeds to step n4, where it is determined whether or not to scroll the position of the vehicle, and the scroll selection key 2j is operated to scroll the position of the vehicle. Is selected, the process proceeds to Step n6. In step n4, if the scroll selection key 2j is not operated and the vehicle position is not scrolled, that is, scrolling of the map screen is selected, the process proceeds to step n5, where the display switching key 2f, the cursor key 2g, and The setting key 2h is operated to set the own vehicle position fixed point arbitrarily,
Move to step n6. At step n6, the direction key 2e
Is operated and the vehicle position or the deformed map 38, 42
Scroll direction is set. In step n7,
In the deformed map display unit 28, deformed map information is created, and the process proceeds to step n8, where the deformed map 38,
42 is displayed on the display device 9 and the operation ends.

In this way, the fixed point of the vehicle position, the object and the direction of scrolling can be set according to the operator's preference and necessity, so that it is convenient and convenient.

In the above embodiment, the geomagnetic sensor 12 and the wheel speed sensor 1 are used to determine the travel route of the vehicle.
3 was used, but as another embodiment of the present invention,
The so-called GPS (Global Pos), which receives signals from satellites orbiting the earth and measures the current position by triangulation
The current position may be measured using a sitioning system, or another azimuth sensor such as a vibration gyro sensor or an optical fiber gyro sensor may be used instead of the geomagnetic sensor 12.

[0035]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle navigation method and apparatus for displaying a current position of a vehicle obtained by calculation together with map information read from a recording medium in correspondence with the current position. By setting a route up to the route, character information about the route is extracted from the map information, and the extracted character information is displayed in a plural number in the order of the route, and an arrow is displayed in correspondence with the character information, and a character such as an intersection is displayed. The direction in which the vehicle should travel is displayed according to the information. As a result, the shape and connection relationship of the road are displayed in a simplified manner, and necessary information on the route can be easily grasped. Therefore, readability and visibility are improved, and safe driving is ensured. As described above, according to the present invention, an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel in accordance with a plurality of character information is displayed at once over a wide range of routes, so that a rough image of the wide range of routes can be given. And it is easy to grasp the course. In particular, according to the first and ninth aspects of the present invention, a plurality of arrows are displayed in correspondence with a plurality of pieces of character information in the order of the routes, whereby the route can be imaged and grasped easily. According to the second and tenth aspects of the present invention, an arrow indicating only the direction in which the vehicle should travel is displayed in association with the plurality of character information, and thereby, one arrow indicating only the direction in which the vehicle should travel is viewed. As a result, an excellent effect of simplifying the display, making it easy to see, and easily grasping the traveling direction is achieved. According to the third and eleventh aspects of the present invention, a plurality of character information and a plurality of arrows are arranged and displayed, so that the correspondence between character information such as an intersection name and a road name and a course can be grasped at a glance.

Further, according to the present invention of claims 4 and 12,
Depending on the type of road, for example, on an expressway, only character information in the order of routes and arrows in the direction of travel of the vehicle are displayed, and a road map is not displayed, so that only necessary information on the route can be easily grasped. And unnecessary information is not displayed. Therefore, it is easier to grasp necessary information, and safe driving is further ensured. According to the present invention, the display is switched according to the type of road, and when it is necessary to know further information such as a highway, the display of character information and an arrow is automatically performed. Operation is simplified. Claims 5 and 12
According to the present invention, the arrow is displayed only when the vehicle traveling direction changes at an intersection where character information is displayed, so that only necessary information on the route can be easily grasped. Safe driving becomes more reliable. According to the present invention, an arrow is displayed only when the traveling direction changes, and thus unnecessary display is not performed, thereby simplifying the display state and making it easy to see, which is important from the viewpoint of safe driving. Claims 6 and 1
According to the second aspect of the invention, while the current position of the vehicle is fixedly displayed, scrolling is performed only with the character information and the arrow display,
As a result, information necessary for the traveling of the vehicle is always displayed, and therefore, such necessary information can be easily grasped, and safe driving is improved. According to the present invention, since the current position is fixedly displayed and the character information and the display of the arrow are scroll-displayed, the forward information of the current position can always be confirmed, and the present position is not lost. Effect is achieved. According to the seventh and thirteenth aspects of the present invention, not only the display with the character and the arrow but also the road map is displayed side by side, whereby the traveling direction can be displayed not only on the combination of the character and the arrow but also on the road map. It can be confirmed specifically. According to the eighth and twelfth aspects of the present invention, the character information is an intersection name, and furthermore, a road name. Therefore, a plurality of the intersection names and traveling directions are known before reaching the intersection. Therefore, the route can be easily grasped by imagining the route, and the course at the intersection can be easily grasped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a navigation device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a map screen.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for explaining a display operation of a deformed map.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a deformed map on a general road.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a deformed map on an expressway.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of setting a fixed point of a vehicle position, a scroll target, and a direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation device 2 Operation key 3 Central processing unit 4 CD-ROM device 5,11 Processing circuit 9 Display device 12 Geomagnetic sensor 13 Wheel speed sensor 22 Route search unit 28 Deformed map display unit 29 Deformed map creation unit 30 Drawing means 38, 42 Deformed map

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-4-190112 (JP, A) JP-A-5-34169 (JP, A)

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle navigation method for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set, and character information relating to the route is determined from the map information. A vehicle navigation method comprising: extracting and displaying a plurality of characters arranged in the order of routes; and displaying an arrow indicating a direction in which the vehicle should travel in correspondence with the plurality of pieces of character information. 2. A vehicle navigation method for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set, and character information on the route is determined from the map information. A navigation method for a vehicle, comprising extracting and displaying a plurality of characters arranged in order of a route, and displaying an arrow indicating only a direction in which the vehicle should travel in correspondence with the plurality of pieces of character information. 3. A vehicle navigation method for obtaining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, wherein a route to a destination can be set, and character information on the route is determined from the map information. A plurality of arrows indicating directions in which the vehicle should travel at points corresponding to the plurality of pieces of character information are displayed side by side with the plurality of pieces of character information. . 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein character information in the order of the routes and an arrow indicating a direction in which the vehicle should travel are displayed according to a road type. Navigation method. 5. The arrow display is performed only when the traveling direction changes on the route.
The navigation method for a vehicle according to one of the four items. 6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a current position of the vehicle is fixedly displayed on a display screen, and the character information and the arrow display are scroll-displayed. Navigation method. 7. The vehicle navigation method according to claim 1, wherein a road map is displayed side by side along with the plurality of character information and an arrow. 8. The vehicle navigation method according to claim 1, wherein the character information is an intersection name. 9. A vehicle navigation device for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, a route setting means for setting a route to a destination, and an output of the route setting means. Extracting means for extracting the character information relating to the route from the map information, displaying a plurality of the character information extracted by the extracting means arranged in the order of the routes, and moving the vehicle in accordance with the plurality of character information. A navigation device for a vehicle, comprising: drawing means for displaying an arrow indicating a power direction. 10. A vehicle navigation device for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, a route setting means for setting a route to a destination, and an output of the route setting means. Extracting means for extracting the character information relating to the route from the map information, displaying a plurality of the character information extracted by the extracting means arranged in the order of the routes, and moving the vehicle in accordance with the plurality of character information. A navigation device for a vehicle, comprising: drawing means for displaying an arrow indicating only a power direction. 11. A vehicle navigation device for determining a current position of a vehicle, reading map information and displaying the current position on a map, a route setting means for setting a route to a destination, and an output of the route setting means. Extracting means for extracting the character information relating to the route from the map information in response to a plurality of character information extracted by the extracting means. A vehicle navigation device comprising: drawing means for displaying a plurality of arrows indicating a direction to be arranged side by side with the plurality of pieces of character information. 12. The drawing means displays the character information in the order of the route and an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle should travel in accordance with the type of road only when the traveling direction changes in the route, and displays the character information of the vehicle. The current position is fixedly displayed on a display screen, the character information and the arrow display are scroll-displayed, and the character information is one of an intersection name and a road name.
The vehicle navigation device according to one of the preceding claims. 13. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 9, wherein the drawing means displays a road map side by side with the plurality of character information and a display using arrows.