JP3732350B2 - Traffic information display method for in-vehicle navigation system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device having a function of receiving traffic information sent from the outside of a vehicle and displaying the traffic information on a display device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The vehicle-mounted navigation device includes a map data storage device such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM in which map data is recorded, a display device such as a liquid crystal display, a gyro, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and a travel distance sensor. A vehicle movement detection device that detects the current position and current direction of the vehicle, and the like, reads out map data including the current position of the vehicle from the map data storage device, and based on the map data, a map image around the current position of the vehicle Is drawn on the display screen, and the vehicle position mark (location mark) is displayed superimposed on the map image, and the map image is scrolled and displayed as the vehicle moves. Or move it so that you can see at a glance where the vehicle is currently driving.
[0003]
In general, the in-vehicle navigation device is equipped with a route guidance function that allows the user to easily travel to a desired destination without making a mistake on the road. According to this route guidance function, the lowest cost route from the starting point to the destination is automatically searched using the map data by performing a simulation calculation such as a horizontal search method or Dijkstra method, and the searched route is the guidance route. When driving, the guide route is drawn on the map image with a different color from other roads and drawn thickly, or the vehicle is within a certain distance at the intersection where the route on the guide route should be changed. When approaching, the user is guided to the destination by displaying an arrow indicating the course at the intersection where the course on the map image should be changed.
[0004]
Note that the cost is a value obtained by multiplying a constant according to the road width, road type (general road or highway, etc.) based on the distance, the estimated travel time of the vehicle, etc. The degree is quantified. Even if there are two routes with the same distance, the cost differs depending on whether the user uses a toll road, whether to prioritize travel distance or travel time, etc. Become.
[0005]
Maps stored in a map data storage device such as a CD-ROM have the appropriate longitude and latitude width according to the scale level such as 1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000, and 1/100000. The roads and the like are stored as coordinate sets of vertices (nodes) expressed by longitude and latitude. A road is formed by connecting two or more nodes, and a portion connecting two nodes is called a road link. The map data includes (1) a road layer including a road list, a node table, and an intersection configuration node list, and (2) a background layer for displaying roads, buildings, facilities, parks, rivers, and the like on the map screen. (3) It is composed of a character / symbol layer or the like for displaying characters such as administrative names such as municipalities, road names, intersection names, building names, and map symbols.
[0006]
In recent years, a system for providing traffic information from outside the vehicle such as VICS (VEHICLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM) has been put into practical use. In VICS, optical traffic beacons, radio wave beacons, and FM multiplex broadcasting provide various types of traffic information such as accident information, traffic jam information indicating the traffic congestion status of each road, and parking lot information indicating parking lot availability. In the in-vehicle navigation device, the traffic information is received via the beacon receiver or the FM multiplex broadcast receiver and displayed on the display device. For example, when the navigation device receives the traffic jam information, the navigation device displays an arrow indicating the traffic jam along the corresponding road on the map displayed on the display device. In this case, the length of the arrow indicates the degree of traffic jam.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In conventional navigation devices, generally, when traffic information is received from outside the vehicle, (1) a mode in which all received traffic information (highway and traffic information on general roads) is displayed, and (2) a highway. The display mode is selected from the following three modes: (3) a mode for displaying only traffic jam information, and (3) a mode for displaying only traffic jam information for general roads.
[0008]
However, in the mode in which all received traffic jam information is displayed, when there are many traffic jam locations, a lot of arrows indicating traffic jams are displayed, and it is difficult to grasp which road can be used to avoid traffic jams. In particular, when there is a general road parallel to the expressway, it is difficult to grasp at a glance whether the expressway is congested or the general road is congested. Also, even if the traffic information on only one of the highways and ordinary roads is displayed, the traffic on the other road is not known, so it is possible to determine which road can be used to avoid the traffic. Difficult to do.
[0009]
As described above, an object of the present invention is to facilitate a user on a road that can travel comfortably while avoiding traffic jams in an in-vehicle navigation device having a function of receiving traffic information sent from the outside of the vehicle and displaying it on a display device. It is to provide a traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device that can be grasped easily.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the traffic information display method of the navigation device that receives the traffic jam information sent from the outside and displays the traffic jam information superimposed on the map image displayed on the display device, the problem described above is When a road is identified and the vehicle is traveling on a highway, traffic congestion information of the highway in the first range based on the current position of the vehicle and a general road in the second range narrower than the first range When the vehicle is traveling on a general road, the traffic information of the general road within the third range based on the current position of the vehicle and the fourth range narrower than the third range are displayed. This is solved by the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device characterized by displaying the traffic information of the highway.
[0011]
The operation of the present invention will be described below.
In the present invention, the display screen is changed depending on whether the vehicle is traveling on a highway or a general road. That is, when the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, when the traffic jam information is received, the traffic jam information on the expressway in the first range (for example, the range displayed on the map on the display device) is displayed on the display device. At the same time , the traffic information of the general road in the second range narrower than the first range is displayed on the display device. In addition, when the vehicle is traveling on a general road, the traffic information of the general road in the third range (for example, the range displayed on the display device) is displayed, and more than the third range. The congestion information of the highway within the narrow fourth range is displayed. As described above, in the present invention, the traffic information is displayed with emphasis on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the traffic information is displayed in an area that is far from the current position of the vehicle and has a low possibility of passing the vehicle. Omit it and display only useful information on the screen. As a result, the visibility of the traffic jam information is improved, and the optimum road to the destination can be easily grasped.
[0012]
When highways and ordinary roads are parallel, the signs indicating the congestion information of ordinary roads and the signs indicating the congestion condition of expressways may be different so that the congestion condition of each road can be distinguished. preferable. For example, the color and shape of the mark indicating the congestion state of the highway and the mark indicating the congestion state of the general road may be different.
[0013]
Further, when the vehicle is traveling on the expressway, the congestion state of the expressway is indicated by a first arrow arranged along the expressway, and the congestion condition of the general road is indicated by a second arrow arranged outside the first arrow. When the vehicle is traveling on a general road, the congestion state of the general road is indicated by a third arrow arranged along the general road, and the congestion state of the highway is indicated outside the third arrow. It is easy to grasp the traffic congestion state of each road individually, as shown by the fourth arrow arranged in FIG.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device that implements the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (hereinafter simply referred to as “CD-ROM”) on which map data is recorded. Reference numeral 2 denotes an operation unit provided with various operation buttons for operating the navigation apparatus body 10 to be described later. 3 is a traffic information receiver that receives traffic information sent from outside the vehicle, and receives FM multiplexed broadcast receivers that receive FM multiplexed traffic information and traffic information sent by optical or radio beacons. Beacon receiver.
[0016]
A GPS receiver 4 receives a GPS signal sent from a GPS satellite and detects the longitude and latitude of the current position of the vehicle. Reference numeral 5 denotes a self-contained navigation sensor, and the self-contained navigation sensor 5 includes an angle sensor 5a such as a gyro that detects a vehicle rotation angle, and a travel distance sensor 5b that generates a pulse every certain travel distance. Reference numeral 7 denotes a liquid crystal display device, and the navigation device body 10 displays a map around the current position of the vehicle on the display device 7, guide routes from the departure point to the destination, vehicle position marks, and other guidance information. Is displayed.
[0017]
The navigation device body 10 is composed of the following. A buffer memory 11 temporarily stores map data read from the CD-ROM 1. 12 is an interface connected to the operation unit 2, 13 is an interface connected to the traffic information receiver 3, 14 is an interface connected to the GPS receiver 4, and 15 is an interface connected to the autonomous navigation sensor 5. Reference numeral 16 denotes a control unit constituted by a microcomputer. The control unit 16 detects the current position of the vehicle based on signals input via the interfaces 14 and 15 and detects a predetermined area from the CD-ROM 1. The map data is read out to the buffer memory 11 or the route with the lowest cost from the starting point to the destination is searched for using the map data read out to the buffer memory 11 as a guide route.
[0018]
Reference numeral 17 denotes a map drawing unit that generates a map image using the map data read to the buffer memory 11. Reference numeral 20 denotes a guidance route storage unit that stores the guidance route searched by the control unit 16, and reference numeral 19 denotes a guidance route drawing unit that draws the guidance route. In the guide route storage unit 20, all nodes of the guide route searched by the control unit 16 are recorded from the departure point to the destination. When displaying the map, the guide route drawing unit 19 reads the guide route information (node sequence) from the guide route storage unit 20 and draws the guide route with a color and line width different from those of other roads.
[0019]
Reference numeral 18 denotes an operation screen / mark generation unit that generates various menu screens (operation screens) and various marks such as a vehicle position mark and a cursor in accordance with a signal from the control unit 16. A traffic information storage unit 21 stores the traffic information received by the traffic information receiver 3. An image composition unit 22 superimposes various marks and operation screens generated by the operation screen / mark generation unit 18 on the map image drawn by the map drawing unit 17 and the guidance route drawn by the guidance route drawing unit 19. In addition, it is displayed on the display device 7.
[0020]
In the navigation device configured as described above, the control unit 16 detects the current position of the vehicle from the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 4 and the signal input from the self-contained navigation sensor 5. Then, map data around the vehicle is read from the CD-ROM 1 and stored in the buffer memory 11. The map drawing unit 17 generates a map image based on the map data read to the buffer memory 11 and displays a map image around the vehicle on the display device 7.
[0021]
Moreover, the control part 16 detects the own vehicle position with the signal input from the GPS receiver 4 and the self-contained navigation sensor 5 with the movement of the vehicle, and displays the map image displayed on the display device 7 according to the result. The vehicle position mark is superimposed and displayed, and the vehicle position mark is moved as the vehicle moves, or the map image is scrolled.
[0022]
Further, when the user operates the operation unit 2 to set the destination, the control unit 16 sets the map data in the CD-ROM 1 as the route with the lowest cost from the current location of the vehicle to the destination. Use to explore. Then, the searched route is set as a guidance route, information on the guidance route (node sequence) is stored in the guidance route storage unit 21, and the map image and the guidance route are superimposed and displayed on the display device 7. Then, guidance information is appropriately output as the vehicle travels to guide the vehicle to travel along the guidance route to the destination.
[0023]
Furthermore, when the control unit 16 receives traffic information (accident information, traffic jam information, parking lot information, etc.) sent from the outside of the vehicle via the traffic information receiver 3, the received traffic information is displayed on the display device 7. indicate.
[0024]
Hereinafter, the traffic information display method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the screen display examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 13, reference numeral 25 denotes a vehicle position mark indicating the current position and direction of the vehicle.
[0025]
First, in step S11, the display format of traffic jam information is set by the user. In the present embodiment, as in the past, (1) a mode for displaying traffic jam information for all roads, (2) a mode for displaying only traffic jam information for general roads, and (3) only traffic jam information for expressways. In addition to the mode for displaying (4), there is a mode for preferentially displaying the traffic information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling.
[0026]
Next, in step S12, the control unit 16 of the navigation device detects the current position of the vehicle based on signals from the GPS receiver 4 and the self-contained navigation sensor 5. Then, the process proceeds to step S13, and the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified. Usually, the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus corrects the vehicle position detected by signals from the GPS receiver 4 and the self-contained navigation sensor 5 using a technique called map matching. The map matching is to correct the vehicle detection position so as to be positioned on the road by using the map data recorded on the CD-ROM 1, and using this technique, the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified. be able to.
[0027]
Next, in step S <b> 14, when the traffic information receiver 3 receives the traffic information, the control unit 16 stores the traffic information in the traffic information storage unit 21. Then, the process proceeds to step S15, and it is determined which of the steps S16 to S19 is to be performed in accordance with the display mode designated in step 11.
[0028]
When the process proceeds to step S16, that is, in the mode in which all the received traffic jam information is displayed, ordinary roads and highways in the range displayed on the display device 7 from the traffic jam information stored in the traffic information storage unit 21 The traffic jam information is extracted and displayed on the display device 7 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a congested road is displayed with a red arrow (solid arrow in the figure), and a route that can travel comfortably with a small amount of traffic is displayed with a green arrow (broken arrow in the figure). When there is a general road parallel to the expressway, an arrow indicating traffic congestion information on the general road is displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding general road, and an arrow indicating the state of the expressway is arranged outside and displayed. Further, the shape of the arrow indicating the congestion state of the general road is different from the shape of the arrow indicating the congestion state of the expressway.
[0029]
Furthermore, there is a conventional navigation device having a function of displaying a map in a bird's eye view. When such a function is used, a map and traffic jam information are displayed on the display device 7 as shown in FIG.
[0030]
When the process proceeds from step S15 to step S17, that is, in the mode in which only the traffic information of the general road is displayed, the traffic information of the general road in the range displayed on the display device 7 from the traffic information stored in the traffic information storage unit 21 is displayed. The traffic jam information is extracted and displayed on the display device 7 as shown in FIG.
[0031]
When the process proceeds from step S15 to step S18, that is, in the mode in which only the highway traffic congestion information is displayed, the highway traffic congestion in the range displayed on the display device 7 from the traffic congestion information stored in the traffic information storage unit 21. Information is extracted and displayed on the display device 7 as shown in FIG.
[0032]
When the process proceeds from step S15 to step S19, that is, when the traffic information on the road on which the vehicle is traveling is displayed with priority, the processing flow shown in FIG. 3 is executed. That is, in step S21, it is determined whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road or a highway. If the road is a general road, the process proceeds to step S22. If the road is a highway, the process proceeds to step S23.
[0033]
In step S22, the traffic information of the general road in the range displayed on the map on the display device 7 is extracted from the traffic information stored in the traffic information storage unit 21, and within a certain range from the current position of the vehicle (for example, the vehicle position) The congestion information of the expressway with a radius of 20 km or less centered on a point 10 km ahead is extracted, and the congestion information is displayed on the display device 7 so as to be superimposed on the map image as shown in FIG. In this case, an arrow indicating the congestion state of the general road on which the vehicle is traveling is displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding general road, and an arrow indicating the congestion state of the expressway parallel to the general road is arranged outside and displayed. . In addition, the shape of the arrow indicating the congestion state of the general road is different from the shape of the arrow indicating the congestion state of the expressway. Looking at the screen of FIG. 7 or FIG. 12, the user can determine that it is better to travel on a general road as it is because, for example, a highway is congested.
[0034]
On the other hand, in step S23, the traffic information of the highway in the range displayed on the map on the display device 7 is extracted from the traffic information stored in the traffic information storage unit 21, and the general roads within a certain range from the current position of the vehicle are extracted. The traffic jam information is extracted, and the traffic jam information is displayed on the display device 7 so as to be superimposed on the map image as shown in FIG. In this case, an arrow indicating the congestion state of the highway on which the vehicle is traveling is displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding road, and an arrow indicating the congestion state of a general road parallel to the highway is arranged and displayed on the outside thereof. Looking at the screen of FIG. 8 or FIG. 13, the user can determine that it is better to get off the highway at the next exit, for example, because a general road is busy.
[0035]
As described above, in the present embodiment, there is a display mode in which the traffic information is displayed with emphasis on the traffic information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and when the user selects this display mode, the navigation device The road on which the vehicle is traveling is automatically determined, and the position of the arrow indicating the congestion state is determined according to the road on which the vehicle is traveling. In the present embodiment, the shape and color of the arrow indicating the congestion state of the general road and the arrow indicating the congestion information of the expressway are different. Further, in the present embodiment, the position is displayed so that the arrow indicating the traffic condition on the general road and the arrow indicating the traffic condition on the expressway do not overlap.
[0036]
Therefore, even when a highway and a general road are parallel, according to the traffic state display method of the present embodiment, it is possible to determine at a glance which road is congested. it can. Accordingly, the user can easily and accurately determine which road to travel to the destination and avoid traffic congestion, and comfortable driving is possible.
[0037]
In the above embodiment, whether the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road or an expressway is detected using map matching technology, but the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a general road. The method for determining whether there is a highway is not limited to this.
[0038]
Further, in the above embodiment, for example, when the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, all the congestion information of the expressway in the range displayed on the map is displayed. As shown in FIG. 4, only the traffic information on the expressway and the traffic information on the general road within a certain range from the current position of the vehicle may be displayed.
[0039]
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrams showing examples of screen display in the present embodiment.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16, a diagram showing the traffic information on the highway (see FIG. 17) is displayed for T1 seconds, and then the diagram showing the traffic information on the general road (see FIG. 18). The operations from step S31 to step S34 for displaying for T2 seconds are repeated. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, a message indicating whether highway traffic congestion information is being displayed or general road traffic congestion information is being displayed is displayed at the corner of the screen.
[0041]
Also in the present embodiment, it is possible to individually grasp the traffic information on the expressway and the traffic information on the general road, and the same effects as those in the first embodiment can be obtained. It should be noted that a display screen that focuses on traffic information on general roads as shown in FIGS. 7 and 12 and a display screen that focuses on traffic information on expressways as shown in FIGS. You may make it switch every time.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, traffic congestion information is displayed with an emphasis on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the traffic congestion information of an area that is far from the position of the vehicle and is less likely to pass by the vehicle. Since the display is omitted and only useful information is displayed on the screen, the visibility of the traffic jam information is improved, and the optimum road to the destination can be easily grasped. In addition, the same effect as described above can be obtained by switching and displaying a screen that displays traffic information with an emphasis on expressways and a screen that displays traffic information with an emphasis on general roads at regular intervals. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle-mounted navigation device that realizes a traffic information display method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart (part 1) illustrating a traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart (part 2) illustrating the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 7 is a diagram (No. 4) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 8 is a diagram (No. 5) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 9 is a diagram (No. 6) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 10 is a diagram (No. 7) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of the present invention (part 8);
FIG. 12 is a diagram (No. 9) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 13 is a diagram (No. 10) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 14 is a diagram (No. 11) illustrating a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 15 is a view (No. 12) showing a screen display example in the traffic information display method according to the first embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating a screen display example according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 18 is a second diagram illustrating a screen display example according to the second embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 CD-ROM,
2 Operation part,
3 Traffic information receiver,
4 GPS receiver,
5 Self-contained navigation sensors,
7 Display device,
11 Buffer memory,
12-15 interface,
16 control unit,
17 Map drawing part,
18 Operation screen / mark generator,
19 Guide route drawing unit,
20 Guide route storage unit,
21 Traffic information storage unit,
22 Screen composition unit.

Claims (3)

In the traffic information display method of the navigation device that receives traffic congestion information sent from the outside and displays the traffic congestion information superimposed on the map image displayed on the display device,
Identify the road on which the vehicle is running,
When traveling on an expressway, traffic jam information on the expressway in the first range based on the current position of the vehicle and traffic information on a general road in the second range narrower than the first range are obtained. Display
When traveling on a general road, traffic congestion information on a general road within a third range based on the current position of the vehicle and traffic congestion information on a highway within a fourth range narrower than the third range are obtained. A traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device, characterized by:   The traffic information display method of the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a mark indicating the congestion state of the expressway is different from a mark indicating the congestion state of the general road.   The traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a bird's eye view is displayed as the map image.

Images