JP3565959B2 - Map display device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle map display device capable of displaying a road map from a current position of a vehicle to a destination.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a vehicular map display device that displays a road map around a current position of a vehicle on a display device and automatically updates a map display as the vehicle moves so that the current position is always displayed. Such a conventional vehicle map display device generally displays the traveling direction and destination direction of the vehicle on the upper side of a display screen.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the traveling route of the vehicle, and shows an example in which the vehicle travels along a route passing through the illustrated points A → B →... G → H. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how the road map displayed on the display screen of the display device changes when the vehicle travels along the route shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, the traveling direction of the vehicle is always displayed on the upper side of the display screen. Shows an example of display.
[0004]
FIG. 8A shows a map display when the vehicle reaches the curve point A, and FIG. 8B shows a map display when the vehicle reaches the curve point B. Since the vehicle makes a right turn at curve point B, the display direction of the road map is rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 8C. Similarly, when the vehicle arrives at the curve points E and G, a road map rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise as shown in FIGS. 8F and 8H, respectively, is displayed. On the other hand, when the vehicle reaches the curve points C, D, and F, a road map rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise as shown in FIGS. 8D, 8E, and 8G, respectively, is displayed.
[0005]
As described above, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is always displayed on the upper side of the display screen, the display direction of the road map changes each time the traveling direction of the vehicle changes. Etc. are difficult to grasp. In particular, when there are many intersections and corners on the traveling route of the vehicle, the display direction of the road map is frequently switched, and the sense of direction may be lost. On the other hand, when the destination direction of the vehicle is displayed on the upper side of the display device, it is difficult to grasp the road condition in the traveling direction of the vehicle. In particular, when there is a U-turn route on the way to the destination, there is a possibility that only a part of the traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed on the display screen.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle map display device capable of preventing a display direction of a road map from frequently changing and displaying a road map around a vehicle position in an easily understandable manner.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 showing one embodiment of the present invention. The present invention comprises a road map storage means 3 for storing road map data including position information of a guided intersection on a traveling route; purpose and vehicle position detecting means 2 for detecting a current location, is applied to a vehicle map display apparatus and a display control means for displaying a road map around the detected current position on the display device 6, from a preset departure A recommended route calculating means for calculating a recommended route to the ground, and a guidance intersection at the nearest position in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle is detected, and when the vehicle reaches the guidance intersection on the recommended route, the vehicle proceeds on the recommended route. If the nearest guidance intersection detected by the nearest guidance intersection detecting means for detecting the next guidance intersection in front of the direction and the guidance intersection detected by the nearest guidance intersection detection means are not within the screen area of the display device 6, the vehicle is viewed from the current position. Switching the display direction of the road map in accordance with the direction of the induction crossing, if the derived intersection detected by the closest induction crossing detecting means is within the screen area of the display device 6, display without change the display direction of the road map The above object is achieved by providing a direction selecting means.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention , in the vehicle map display device, when the guidance intersection detected by the nearest guidance intersection detection means is within the screen area, the display direction selection means selects the display direction of the road map. The direction of the index indicating the current position of the vehicle is switched according to the traveling direction of the vehicle without changing the position of the vehicle.
[0009]
The vehicle map display device according to the third aspect of the present invention provides a map scale setting device for setting a map scale of a road map to be displayed on the display device 6, and a map scale setting device in a display screen of the display device 6. a shall and a screen area setting means for setting the size of the screen area corresponding to the map scale that is. For example, the larger the map scale, the larger the screen area.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle map display device comprising: a rotation determination setting range selection unit that selects any one of a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges having different sizes; The screen area setting means is configured to set the size of the screen area based on the range and the map scale set by the map scale selection means. As shown in FIG. 5 , any one of a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges having different sizes can be selected, so that the size of the screen area can be changed by the user himself.
[0011]
Note that, in the section of the means for solving the above-described problems, which explains the configuration of the present invention, a diagram of one embodiment of the present invention is used for easy understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle map display device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle speed sensor that detects a traveling speed of a vehicle, and 2 denotes a current position detection device that detects a current position of the vehicle. The current position detection device 2 detects the current position of the vehicle using the vehicle speed sensor 1, a direction sensor (not shown), a GPS sensor, or the like. Reference numeral 3 denotes a map storage memory for storing road map data, which is constituted by a large-capacity recording medium such as a CD-ROM.
[0013]
Reference numeral 4 denotes a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus including the processing shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 described later, and includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits. Reference numeral 5 denotes an input device for inputting a destination or the like of the vehicle. The input device 5 also selects various information to be displayed on the display device 6, selects a map scale of a road map, and the like. Reference numeral 7 denotes an image memory for storing image data to be displayed on the display device 6, and the image data stored in the image memory 7 is appropriately read and displayed on the display device 6. Reference numeral 8 denotes a range expansion switch for expanding a rotation determination setting range described later, and reference numeral 9 denotes a range reduction switch for narrowing the rotation determination setting range.
[0014]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the main processing of the control circuit 4. The operation of the present embodiment will be described below based on this flowchart. The control circuit 4 starts the processing in FIG. 2 when the ignition key is operated to the ignition on position.
[0015]
In step S1 of FIG. 2, a recommended route and a destination are set. The destination is set by the user via the input device 5, and the recommended route is automatically set by calculation using, for example, the well-known Dijkstra method. Alternatively, recommended route candidates may be stored in advance in a ROM or the like, and the user may select one of them.
[0016]
In step S2, a display screen mode is set. The display screen modes set here include, for example, a mode for displaying only a road map in one type of display format and a mode for simultaneously displaying a road map in a different display format (for example, a plane map and a bird's-eye view). The user sets these modes through the input device 5.
[0017]
In step S3, a display environment is set. The display environment set here includes, for example, a display color of a screen, a map scale of a displayed road map, a rotation determination setting range, and the like. The rotation determination setting range indicates a reference range for determining whether to change the display direction of the road map, and a plurality of ranges having different widths are provided in advance as shown in FIG. The selection of the rotation determination setting range is performed by the range expansion switch 8 and the range reduction switch 9. In step S4, the current position of the vehicle is detected using the current position detection device 2. In step S5, a map display process shown in detail in FIG. 3 is performed. The details of this map display processing will be described later.
[0018]
In step S6, the current position of the vehicle is detected as in step S4. In step S7, a rotation determination setting range change process that is described in detail in FIG. 4 is performed. The details of the rotation determination setting range change processing will be described later.
[0019]
In step S8, (1) determination whether the vehicle has moved, (2) determination whether the rotation determination setting range has been changed, and (3) determination whether the map scale has been changed. Do. Here, (1) is determined by comparing the processing results of steps S4 and S6. In step (2), it is determined whether or not the rotation determination setting range has been changed in the rotation determination setting range change process (the process of FIG. 4 described later) in step S7. Further, (3) is determined based on whether or not the user has changed the map scale using the input device 5.
[0020]
If any of the above (1) to (3) is affirmed, the process returns to step S5, and if any of the determinations is negative, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, it is determined whether or not a main switch (not shown) has been turned off. If the main switch has been turned off, the process is terminated. If it has been turned on, the process returns to step S6.
[0021]
FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of the map display processing in step S5 in FIG. In step S21 of FIG. 3, the current position information of the vehicle detected in step S4 or S6 of FIG. 2 is fetched. In step S22, it is determined whether the vehicle has reached a curve point on the traveling route. Here, the “curve point on the traveling route” indicates a point where the traveling direction changes, for example, by a predetermined angle or more, and a point stored in the map storage memory 3 in advance. Specifically, it is an intersection, a corner, or a U-turn. If the vehicle has not reached the curve point, the process proceeds to step S23, and it is determined whether the rotation determination setting range has been changed. If the rotation determination setting range has been changed in step S7 of FIG. 2 (the processing of FIG. 4 described later), the process proceeds to step S25. If the rotation determination setting range has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the map scale has been changed. As described above, since the rotation determination setting range changes according to the map scale, when the map scale changes, the process proceeds to step S25 as in the case where the rotation determination setting range is directly changed.
[0022]
In step S25, the map rotation determination range is calculated based on the rotation determination setting range and the map scale. Here, the map rotation determination range is a range set in the display screen of the display device 6, and is a range in which the size changes according to the map scale. Specifically, the map rotation determination range becomes wider as the large-scale road map is displayed. As will be described later, it is determined whether or not to switch the display direction of the road map based on whether or not the next curve point ahead of the vehicle traveling direction exists within the map rotation determination range.
[0023]
In step S26, the vehicle traveling direction is calculated from the position of the next curve point ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle and the current position of the vehicle. In step S27, the current traveling direction of the vehicle is compared with the traveling direction of the vehicle calculated in step S26 to determine whether there is a change in the traveling direction. If there is a change in the traveling direction, the process proceeds to step S28, and it is determined whether the next curve point ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction is within the map rotation determination range calculated in step S25. If it is within the map rotation determination range, the process proceeds to step S29, where image data in which only the direction of the vehicle position mark is changed without changing the display direction of the road map is generated and stored in the image memory 7. On the other hand, if the next curve point is outside the map rotation determination range, the process proceeds to step S30, where the display direction of the road map is switched so that the next curve point is displayed on the upper side of the display screen. Is generated and stored in the image memory 7.
[0024]
If it is determined in step S24 that the map scale has not been changed, or if it has been determined in step S27 that there has been no change in the vehicle traveling direction, or if the processing in step S29 or S30 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S31. The image data stored in the image memory 7 is read and a map is displayed.
[0025]
As described above, in the map display processing of FIG. 3, when the vehicle reaches a curve point on the traveling route, when the user changes the rotation determination setting range, or when the user switches the map scale. , The map rotation determination range for determining whether to switch the display direction of the road map is calculated, and if the next curve point on the traveling route is within this map rotation determination range, If only the direction of the vehicle position mark is changed without switching the display direction of the road map, and the next curve point is outside the map rotation determination range, the next curve point is displayed on the upper side of the display screen. Switch the display direction of the road map.
[0026]
FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the rotation determination setting range changing process in step S7 of FIG. In step S51 of the figure, it is determined whether or not the user has operated the range expansion switch 8. If the user operates the range expansion switch 8, the process proceeds to step S52, and it is determined whether or not there is a rotation determination setting range wider than the currently selected rotation determination setting range. Since the control circuit 4 is provided with a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges having different widths in advance, in step S51, the plurality of rotation determination setting ranges are wider than the currently set rotation determination setting range. It is determined whether a rotation determination setting range exists. If such a rotation determination setting range exists, the process proceeds to step S53, and a rotation determination setting range that is one step wider than the current range is selected.
[0027]
If the user has not operated the range expansion switch 8, the process proceeds to step S54, and it is determined whether the user has operated the range reduction switch 9. If the user operates the range reduction switch 9, the process proceeds to step S55, and it is determined whether or not there is a rotation determination setting range smaller in size than the currently selected rotation determination setting range. If such a rotation determination setting range exists, the process proceeds to step S56, and a rotation determination setting range that is one step smaller than the current range is selected.
[0028]
When the determination in step S52, S54, or S55 is negative, or when the process in step S53 or S56 is completed, the process proceeds to step S57, and it is determined whether the setting of the rotation determination setting range is completed. If the setting is not completed, the process returns to step S51, and if the setting is completed, the process returns.
[0029]
As described above, in the rotation determination setting range changing process of FIG. 4, a rotation determination setting range of a size desired by the user is set according to the operation status of the range expansion switch 8 or the range reduction switch 9.
[0030]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how the road map displayed on the display device 6 changes when the vehicle travels along the route shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a case where the range of the display screen of the display device 6 matches the map rotation determination range for simplification. FIG. 6A shows a map display when the vehicle reaches the curve point A, and FIG. 6B shows a map display when the vehicle reaches the curve point B. The vehicle turns right at curve point B, but the next curve point C is within the map rotation determination range, so that the display direction of the road map remains the same as shown in FIG. Changes according to the traveling direction of the vehicle.
[0031]
Next, the vehicle makes a left turn at curve point C, but since the next curve point D is within the map rotation determination range, the display direction of the road map remains as shown in FIG. The direction of the mark changes according to the traveling direction of the vehicle. Similarly, when the vehicle arrives at the curve point D, the vehicle turns left at the curve point D. However, as shown in FIG. 6E, the display direction of the road map is the same, and the direction of the mark indicating the vehicle position is the direction of the vehicle. It changes according to the direction of travel.
[0032]
Next, the vehicle makes a right turn at curve point E. Although the next curve point F is not within the map rotation determination range, the direction of curve point F matches the current display direction . Thus, the direction of the mark indicating the vehicle position changes in accordance with the traveling direction of the vehicle while the display direction of the road map remains unchanged. Then, as the vehicle is to turn left at the curve point F, because the next curve point G is not within the map rotation judgment, the next curve point G as shown in shown in FIG. 6 (g) is displayed on the upper side Then, the road map is rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise. Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (h), the vehicle makes a right turn at the curve point G. However, since the next curve point H is not within the map rotation determination range, the road map is turned counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 6 (i) . display rotated substantially 90 degrees around the direction, eventually the vehicle reaches the curve point H as shown in FIG. 6 (j).
[0033]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the map rotation determination range for determining whether or not to switch the display direction of the road map is set in the display screen of the display device 6, and the next map ahead of the traveling route of the vehicle is set. Only when a curve point (curve point, turn corner, etc.) is out of the map rotation judgment range, the display direction of the road map is switched according to the direction of the next curve point. There is no risk of frequent switching, and a clear road map can be displayed. That is, when the distance to the next curve point ahead of the traveling path of the vehicle is short, the display direction of the road map is not switched, so that it is easy to grasp the road conditions around the current location of the vehicle.
[0034]
In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges having different widths are provided, but it is not always necessary to provide a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges. That is, the width of the map rotation determination range is changed only depending on the map scale, and the range expansion switch 8 and the range reduction switch 9 need not be provided. Further, the map rotation determination range may be fixed at all times. For example, the map rotation determination range may be the same range as the display screen of the display device 6, and the display direction of the road map may be switched only when the next curve point is not in the display screen.
[0035]
The user may arbitrarily set whether to display as in the present embodiment or to display the traveling direction or the destination of the vehicle on the upper side of the display screen as in the related art. In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a planar map in which the map scale does not partially change is displayed. However, the present invention is also applicable to displaying a bird's-eye view in which the map scale changes continuously. That is, the direction of looking down from the viewpoint may be changed only when the next curve point on the traveling route of the vehicle is outside the preset map rotation determination range.
[0036]
In the above embodiment, whether or not each of the curve points on the recommended route is within the map rotation determination range is detected. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where the recommended route is not set. That is, the above process may be performed depending on whether or not the next curve point on the route on which the vehicle is currently traveling is within the map rotation determination range.
[0037]
In the embodiment configured as described above, the map storage memory 3 is used as the road map storage means, the current position detection device 2 is used as the vehicle position detection means, step S5 in FIG. 2 is used as the display control means, and FIG. Steps S26 and S27 are the closest guidance intersection detecting means, steps S28 to S30 in FIG. 4 are the display direction selecting means, step S25 in FIG. 3 is the screen area setting means, and step S7 in FIG. Each corresponds to a means.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to select whether or not to switch the display direction of the road map based on whether or not the guidance intersection at the nearest position of the vehicle is within the screen area. In addition, an easy-to-understand map display can be performed without frequently switching the display direction of the road map as in the related art. That is, when the guidance intersection exists in the screen area, the display direction of the road map is not switched, so that it becomes easy to grasp the road condition around the current location of the vehicle. On the other hand, when there is no induction crossing the screen area is to display the direction of the road map that matches the direction of the induction crossing, it is always operated while confirming the direction of the induction crossing.
Further, when it reaches the induction intersection on the recommended route, based whether crab following induction intersection located ahead in the traveling direction on the recommended route is present within the screen area of the display device, the display direction of the road map Is selected, the display direction of the recommended route does not change frequently, and it is easy to grasp the direction of the destination and the sense of distance to the destination.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the guidance intersection is present in the screen area, the direction of the index indicating the current location of the vehicle is switched according to the traveling direction of the vehicle without switching the display direction of the road map. Therefore, it becomes easy to grasp the road conditions around the current location of the vehicle and the direction of the vehicle.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the screen area is set around the current location of the vehicle, the determination can be made on the same basis regardless of the direction in which the vehicle travels. Further, since the size of the screen area is changed according to the map scale, the reference for switching the display direction of the road map does not change depending on the map scale.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the user can arbitrarily change the size of the screen area serving as a criterion for determining whether to switch the display direction of the road map. The size of the screen area can be set according to the preference of the user, and the usability is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle map display device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating main processing of a control circuit.
FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of a map display process in step S5 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of a rotation determination setting range changing process in step S7 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a rotation determination setting range.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a transition of a road map displayed on the display device when the vehicle travels along the route shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a traveling route of a vehicle.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a transition of a road map displayed on the display device when the vehicle travels along the route in FIG. 7;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle speed sensor 2 Current position detection device 3 Map storage memory 4 Control circuit 5 Input device 6 Display device 7 Image memory 8 Range expansion switch 9 Range reduction switch

Claims (4)

Road map storage means for storing road map data including position information of a guided intersection on the traveling route;
Vehicle position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
Display control means for displaying a road map around the detected current location on a display device, the vehicle map display device,
Recommended route calculating means for calculating a recommended route from a preset departure point to a destination,
A guidance intersection at a position closest to the front of the traveling direction of the vehicle is detected. When the vehicle reaches the guidance intersection on the recommended route, a next guidance intersection ahead of the traveling direction on the recommended route is detected. Closest guidance intersection detection means,
If the guidance intersection detected by the nearest guidance intersection detecting means is not within the screen area of the display device, the display direction of the road map is switched according to the direction of the guidance intersection viewed from the current position, and A vehicle map display device comprising: a display direction selection unit that does not switch a display direction of a road map when a guidance intersection detected by a guidance intersection detection unit is within a screen area of the display device. When the guidance intersection detected by the nearest guidance intersection detection means is within the screen area, the display direction selection means sets the direction of the index indicating the current position of the vehicle to the vehicle without changing the display direction of the road map. The vehicle map display device according to claim 1, wherein the switching is performed in accordance with the traveling direction of the vehicle. Map scale setting means for setting a map scale of a road map to be displayed on the display device,
The display screen of the display device, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the Ru and a screen area setting means for setting the size the screen area corresponding to the map scale set by the map scale setting means The map display device for vehicles described in. A rotation determination setting range selection unit that selects any one of a plurality of rotation determination setting ranges having different sizes,
4. The screen area setting unit according to claim 1, wherein the screen area setting unit sets the size of the screen area based on the selected rotation determination setting range and a map scale set by the map scale selection unit. A vehicle map display device according to any one of the preceding claims.

Images