JP3271560B2 - Vehicle route guidance device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route guidance device for a vehicle that performs route guidance using voice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of vehicle route guidance device, when a vehicle reaches a predetermined distance (for example, 300 m) before a next guidance intersection on a set destination route,
Voice guidance such as "You are about to turn right" or "Please turn right at the intersection 300m ahead" is provided.

[0003]

However, due to the fact that the user always speaks from a predetermined distance before, after voice guidance, there are many intersections that are not targeted for route guidance up to the guidance intersection, and which intersection should be turned. Becomes ambiguous. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an audio guidance that clearly indicates an intersection to be turned.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a guidance voice for instructing the next guidance intersection at which intersection to turn is generated. It is characterized by: Therefore,
Even if there is an intersection that is not a target of route guidance up to the guidance intersection, it is possible to clearly give voice guidance of the intersection to be turned. Also, cross before the next guidance intersection
Predetermined distance where the distance between points is set according to the traveling speed of the vehicle
Set the route guidance start point between the larger intersections and
Has determined that the route guidance start point has been reached.
In this case, the above-mentioned guidance sound is generated. This
Between the intersections where the distance between the intersections is larger than the predetermined distance
Because the route guidance start point has been set, the next intersection
By the end of the guidance voice
And give more precise instructions on what number of intersection to turn
I can. A place to set the route guidance start point
The predetermined distance to compare the distance between intersections is the traveling speed of the vehicle.
Depending on the running speed at that time.
The route guidance start point can be set appropriately.

[0005] Further, in the invention described in claim 2 ,
About the distance between each intersection before the next guidance intersection
From the distance between the next guidance intersection and the intersection just before it
In order, determine whether the distance between intersections is greater than a predetermined distance
It is determined that the distance between the intersections is greater than the predetermined distance.
The start point of route guidance between the intersections
It is determined that the distance between intersections is smaller than the predetermined distance.
The next intersection distance is greater than the predetermined distance
It is determined whether or not the distance is greater than the predetermined distance.
Route guidance start point between intersections first determined to be large
Means for setting the route guidance start point
Generates the above guidance sound when it is determined that the vehicle has arrived
I try to make it. In this case, if the predetermined distance for comparing the distance between the intersections when setting the route guidance start point is set according to the traveling speed of the vehicle as in the invention according to claim 3, the traveling at that time is set. The route guidance start point can be appropriately set according to the speed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
When there is no intersection where the distance between intersections is greater than the predetermined distance,
It is characterized in that voice guidance to turn at an intersection at a set distance ahead at a predetermined point before the next guidance intersection is generated. Therefore, even when the distance between intersections is short and it is not possible to give an instruction on what number of intersection to turn, it is possible to instruct an intersection to be turned based on the distance.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows a vehicle navigation system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the system comprises a GPS receiver 1, a gyro 2, a wheel speed sensor 3, a reading device 4, an input device 5, a control device 6, a display device 7, a voice generating device 8, and the like.

The GPS receiver 1 receives a radio wave from an artificial satellite and outputs a signal indicating the current location of the vehicle. The gyro 2 outputs a signal according to the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the wheel speed sensor 3 outputs a signal according to the traveling speed of the vehicle. When the reading device 4 receives a reading command from the control device 6, the reading device 4
The data is read from a, and the read data is output to the control means 6. The storage medium 4a stores map data for displaying a map and voice data for generating a voice. The storage medium 4a is a CDROM
And a CD player can be used as the reading device 4. In addition, as the storage medium 4a,
In addition to the CDROM, a DVD or the like may be used.

The input device 5 is operated by a user,
It outputs various operation signals necessary for navigation in accordance with the operation, and includes a touch switch capable of performing an input operation on a screen of the display device 7 and a key operation unit provided around the screen of the display device 7. It is composed of The control device 6 is configured to include computer means such as a microcomputer, and executes arithmetic processing for displaying the current position of the vehicle and a road map on the display device 7 and arithmetic processing for providing route guidance to a destination.

The display device 7 is provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle, and displays a road map including the current position of the vehicle. As the display device 7, a liquid crystal display device, a CRT
A display device or the like can be used. Sound generator 8
Is composed of a voice synthesizing device, a speaker, and the like. When voice data is received from the control device 6, the voice synthesizing is performed, and a voice is generated from the speaker in the vehicle interior.

FIG. 2 shows the main arithmetic processing of the control device 6. The control device 6 detects the current position of the vehicle based on the signal from the GPS receiver 1 and the signals from the gyro 2 and the wheel speed sensor 3 (step 101), controls the reading device 4, and reads the map data from the storage medium 4a. Is read, and the current location of the vehicle and a road map are displayed on the display device 7 (step 102).

The control device 6 performs route guidance for the destination (step 103). In this case, when the user gives an instruction to set a destination using the input device 5 and provide route guidance, the control device 6 sets an optimal route from the departure point such as the current position to the set destination (step S1). 103
A), the destination route is highlighted on the road map (displayed with a thick line), and a guidance voice for the next guidance intersection is generated from the voice generation device 8 (step 103B).

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the above-mentioned map data. The map data includes display road data and route road data. The display road data includes shape point information for displaying a road map, display link ID information, and attribute information. Shape point information is 2
The shape of a road is defined by a set of a plurality of links specified by dimensional coordinate points. Coordinate data forming a link is stored for each link forming a stroke in units of road (stroke). For example, on a road as shown in FIG.
When the stroke S2 is constituted by the links L4 and L5 by L3, the link L1 has the coordinates p11 to p13.
The link L2 is constituted by coordinates p13 to p16, the link L3 is constituted by coordinates p16 and p17, and the link L
4 is constituted by coordinates p21, p22 and p13, and link L5 is constituted by coordinates p13, p24 and p25.

Here, a link ID is assigned to each of the plurality of links, and the links L1 to L5 constitute the link ID. This link ID is assigned as a unique ID number to each link on roads nationwide, and is assigned as a continuous number within a stroke. The display link ID information includes the link IDs of the start and end of the link row in each stroke of the display road. The attribute information includes information on link length, road type (expressway, national road, etc.), number of road lanes, regulation on one-way traffic, and the like.

When displaying the road map in step 102, the control device 6 determines a continuous link ID between the start and end link IDs in each stroke.
A column is specified, and shape point information is accessed from the link ID column to extract coordinate points constituting a link in each stroke. The extracted coordinate points are connected according to the attribute information, and the display device 7 displays the road map. in this case,
The control device 6 writes display data for displaying the road in a video RAM (not shown), and causes the display device 7 to display a road map according to the written display data.

On the other hand, the route road data used for setting a destination route is composed of route link ID information and network information. The route link ID information is
It consists of a link ID, a link cost, and a pointer to network information. The network information is information indicating how a road link is connected to another link. For example, link A is information indicating that the link A is connected to links B, C, and D.

When setting the destination route in step 103A, the control device 6 calculates the optimal destination route from the current location (departure location) to the destination by the Dijkstra method using the link cost and the network information.
The destination route is specified as a link ID string. In this case, the intersection is a connection point (node) where the link is connected to another link and a node where a branch exists, and an intersection that turns right and left on the destination route and an intersection that goes straight at a narrow-angle branch among the intersections That is, an intersection where a wrong route is required unless guidance is provided is set as a guidance intersection. Except for the guidance intersection, the intersection is not an object of route guidance.
Then, in step 103B, the control device 6 accesses the shape point information from the link ID string constituting the destination route, connects the coordinate points specified by the shape point information, and emphasizes the destination route on the display device 7. Display,
Voice guidance is provided for the set guidance intersection.

FIG. 5 shows a specific process of the voice guidance. When the voice guidance process for the first and previous guidance intersections of the voice guidance is completed, the control device 6 executes the process shown in FIG.
The voice guidance process for the next guidance intersection is started from step 201 of. First, n is initially set to 0 (step 201), intersections existing up to the guidance intersection (intersections not targeted for route guidance) are checked, and the number is set as n _max (step 202).

Next, the distance L is set as L ₁ + L _P + L ₂ (step 203). This distance L is used to determine whether or not the distance between the intersections described below is a distance necessary for performing sound generation. Here, L ₁ is a margin distance and an error distance at an intersection closer to the guidance intersection at the two intersections, L _P is a speech time × a running speed of the vehicle, and L ₂ is a margin distance at an intersection far from the guidance intersection. And the error distance.

The margin distance is a distance required for the user to recognize the road, and the error distance is a distance indicating an error in current position detection. Actually, L ₁ and L ₂ are set as fixed values (for example, 20 m). Also, L _P
Is the speech time × the distance determined by the running speed of the vehicle. The speech time may be a fixed value other than the speech time obtained from the voice data as the actual speech time. In the case of a fixed value, a first fixed value is set when driving on a general road, and a second fixed value is set when driving on an expressway. Is also good. Therefore, the distance L can be set to a value set according to the traveling speed of the vehicle and the traveling road. It should be noted that the traveling speed of the vehicle may be calculated based on a signal from the wheel speed sensor 3.

After setting the distance L, the distance D between the nth intersection before the guidance intersection and the (n + 1) th intersection is determined (step 204). At the first time, n is 0
, The distance between the guidance intersection and the immediately preceding intersection is set as the distance D. Note that this distance D
Can be obtained from the link length described above. Next, it is determined whether or not the distance D is greater than the distance L (step 2).
05). When the distance D is larger than the distance L, it is determined that the distance between the intersections is a distance necessary for performing voice generation, and the utterance start point (route guidance start point) is set at (L ₁ + L _P ) before the nth guidance intersection. (Step 20)
6). Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has reached the utterance start point based on the current location of the vehicle (step 207). When it is determined that the vehicle has reached the utterance start point, "(n
(+1) -th intersection "(step 208). In this case, if n = 0, FIG.
As shown in (a), just before the guidance intersection (L ₁ + L _P )
Then, the voice generating device 8 generates a guidance voice “Please turn right at the next intersection”.

When the distance D is smaller than the distance L, it is determined that the distance between the intersections is not the distance required for generating a voice, and then it is determined whether n is 3 or n _max. Then, when n is not one of the values, 1 is added to n to 1 (step 210), and the process returns to step 204.

When n becomes 1, the distance D between the first and second intersections before the guidance intersection is set (step 204), and this distance D is compared with the distance L. (Step 205). At this time, FIG.
As shown in, the first guidance intersection before the distance D is larger than the distance L between the second intersection, before the first intersection (L ₁ + L _P), bent "the second intersection to the right A guidance voice "Please" is generated from the voice generation device 8 (step 208).

Even when n = 1, if the distance D is smaller than the distance L and n is not n _max ,
1 is further added to n to 2 and the above-described processing is performed on it. If the distance D between the second and third intersections before the guidance intersection is greater than the distance L, "Please turn right at the third intersection" at (L ₁ + L _P ) before the second intersection. Voice guidance (step 20)
8).

If the distance D is not larger than the distance L and n becomes 3 or n _max even if the above-mentioned processing is repeatedly executed, Xm before the guidance intersection (for example, 300 m) is obtained.
m) is set as the utterance start point (step 211). Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has reached the utterance start point based on the current location of the vehicle (step 212). If it is determined that the vehicle has reached the utterance start point, the voice having the utterance content "Xm ahead" is determined. Guidance is provided (step 213). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6C, X before the guidance intersection is set.
At point m, "Please turn right at the intersection at Xm"
Is generated from the voice generating device 8.

It is to be noted that the n-th (n +
1) The first intersection is an intersection that can be turned in a direction corresponding to the guidance of turning right or left at the guidance intersection. For example, when performing a right turn guidance at a guidance intersection, only intersections that can make a right turn are targeted. In the above-described embodiment, the voice guidance for turning right and left at the guidance intersection is shown. However, the traffic circle shown in FIG.
Similar voice guidance can be provided. However, in this case, in step 208, voice guidance of "what exit should you take?" If all the distances D between the exits are smaller than the distance L, no voice guidance is performed, or a voice simply saying "Please exit the exit" is generated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main calculation process of a control device 6 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of map data stored in a storage medium 4a in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for describing a configuration of shape point information shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a voice guidance process of the control device 6 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation when voice guidance for turning right and left is performed;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation when voice guidance is performed in a traffic circle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. GPS receiver, 2. Gyro, 3. Wheel speed sensor,
4 ... Reading device, 4a storage medium, 5 ... Input device, 6 ... Control device, 7 ... Display device, 8 ... Sound generating device.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/10

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, means for setting a guidance intersection in the route to the destination to the destination from the departure point, a sound generating means for generating a sound, before the next guidance intersection The distance between intersections is
Between intersections larger than a predetermined distance set according to the line speed
When the means for setting a route guidance starting point, the vehicle on the basis of the detected current location is determined that it has reached the route guidance start point for the next guide intersection, what number to the next guidance intersection Means for generating a guidance voice for instructing whether to make a turn at an intersection from the voice generation means. 2. A means for detecting a current position of a vehicle, and a guidance intersection on a destination route from a departure point to a destination.
Setting means, voice generating means for generating voice, and the distance between each intersection before the next guidance intersection
From the distance between the next guidance intersection and the intersection just before it
In order, determine whether the distance between intersections is greater than a predetermined distance
It is determined that the distance between the intersections is greater than the predetermined distance.
The start point of route guidance between the intersections
It is determined that the distance between intersections is smaller than the predetermined distance.
The next intersection distance is greater than the predetermined distance
It is determined whether or not the distance is greater than the predetermined distance.
Route guidance start point between intersections first determined to be large
Means for setting the next guidance exchange based on the detected current location.
Judge that the route guidance start point for the difference has been reached
At the intersection of the next guidance intersection
Guidance voice instructing whether to roll is generated from the voice generation means
Vehicle path guide apparatus characterized in that a means for. 3. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 2, further comprising means for setting the predetermined distance in accordance with a traveling speed of the vehicle. 4. When there is no intersection where the distance between the intersections is greater than the predetermined distance, it is determined that the vehicle has reached a predetermined point before the next guidance intersection, and the vehicle turns at the intersection ahead of the set distance. claim 1乃 to the voice guidance, characterized in that it comprises means for generating from said sound generating means
4. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to any one of to -3 .