JP3862825B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation device that displays a recommended route for performing route guidance at a guidance point on a recommended route that has been searched, and displays a map in which the periphery is enlarged at the guidance point.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle navigation device that searches for a recommended route from a departure point to a destination and sets a guidance point at a main intersection or the like is known. In this conventional in-vehicle navigation device, when approaching the guidance point, the area around the guidance point is enlarged and displayed, and the direction in which the vehicle travels at the guidance point is indicated on the screen or notified by voice. . On this enlarged map, the guidance point is set at the center of the enlarged map.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional apparatus described above, the scale of the enlarged map is the same, for example, in the case of enlarging the periphery of a rotary that is a loop road and in the case of an intersection such as a general crossroad. Therefore, when the rotary that is the loop road is a large rotary, a part of the rotary protrudes from the enlarged map. Such a problem also occurs in junctions and interchanges on automobile roads. If some of these looped roads are missing, the driver may feel uncomfortable and make a mistake in determining the direction of travel.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a navigation apparatus in which the scale of an enlarged map of a special intersection is made smaller than that of a general intersection so that all roads where the special intersection exists are displayed in the enlarged map. .
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The navigation device according to the present invention includes a route search means for searching for a recommended route from a departure place to a destination, a route guide means for guiding a route at a guide point on the searched route, and a recommended route displayed on a road map. And a display device for displaying the enlarged map at the guidance point, and a screen control means for displaying the enlarged map with a larger scale when the guidance point is a general intersection than when the guidance point is a special intersection. The image control means, when displaying the enlarged map, directs the vehicle traveling direction to the guidance point upward, and if there are two special intersections in the enlarged map, the second guidance The change of the direction of the enlarged map is prohibited until the point is passed . A special intersection is an intersection existing in a loop-shaped road such as a rotary, an automobile-only road junction, or an interchange.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a navigation apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a current position detection device that detects the current position of a vehicle. For example, an azimuth sensor 1a that detects a traveling direction of a vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 1b that detects a vehicle speed, and a GPS signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. It consists of a GPS sensor 1c to be detected. Reference numeral 2 denotes a map storage memory for storing data relating to a road map, and includes, for example, a CD-ROM and a reading device thereof.
[0007]
The road map data stored in the map storage memory 2 mainly includes road data on the map, route search data, name data, background data, and the like. Road data is based on link data obtained by dividing the road into multiple lengths, coordinate value data of the start and end nodes of each link, required time between the start and end nodes, road type data such as national roads and prefectural roads, etc. Become. Further, as road data, data for identifying a rotary having a loop road, a junction, an interchange, and the like is also provided. Or you may memorize | store as intersection information which made the intersection in these loop-shaped roads a special intersection and the other intersections a general intersection. The route search data includes branch point information and intersection information.
[0008]
A control circuit 3 controls the entire apparatus and includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits. Reference numeral 4 denotes an input device having various switches for inputting the destination of the vehicle. The detail / wide area switches 4a and 4b are switches for displaying the display map in detail and displaying the wide area, and the scroll switch 4c is a switch for scrolling the display screen up, down, left and right. The map switch 4d is a switch for setting the display screen to the current position of the vehicle.
[0009]
Reference numeral 5 denotes a map data memory for storing road map drawing data for displaying a road map, which is created based on the road map data read from the map storage memory 2. An image memory 7 stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 8 described later. The image data stored in the image memory 7 is appropriately read and displayed on the display monitor 8. The display monitor 8 is provided with touch panel switches at appropriate locations, and the operator presses an arbitrary point on the map displayed on the monitor 8 with a finger at the start point, waypoint, and end point (destination). You can also instruct. You can also enter the start point, waypoint, and destination by other operations. Various programs, which will be described later, are stored in the ROM 9, and data of calculation processes such as route search are temporarily stored in the ROM.
[0010]
2 is a flowchart showing the main process of the control circuit 3, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the recommended route search process of the control circuit 3, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the route guidance process. The operation of this embodiment will be described. The control circuit 3 starts the process of FIG. 2 when, for example, the vehicle key is operated to the ignition on position.
[0011]
In step S10 of FIG. 2, a recommended route search process is executed. In step S20, the current location of the vehicle is detected based on the signal from the current location detection device 1. In step S30, a map display process is performed to display a map on the monitor. At this time, the recommended route searched as described later is also displayed.
[0012]
In step S40, the present location is detected in the same manner as in step S20. In step S50, route guidance processing is performed. When the vehicle position approaches the guidance point, a map in which the periphery of the guidance point is enlarged is displayed on the screen, and the traveling direction is notified by voice. Details of the route guidance process will be described later.
[0013]
In step S55, it is determined whether to update the road map on the screen, that is, whether to rewrite the road map. Here, based on the detected current position, it is determined that the road map displayed on the screen is to be updated when the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance from the previous map update time. The enlarged map showing the guidance point is also updated when the vehicle travels a predetermined distance or more.
[0014]
If the determination in step S55 is affirmed, the process returns to step S30, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S60. In step S60, it is determined whether or not to continue the main process of FIG. For example, when a power switch (not shown) is turned off or when a switch for stopping the process is operated, the determination in step S60 is denied and the main process in FIG. 2 is terminated.
[0015]
If the determination in step S60 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S70, the display of the vehicle position mark is updated, and then the process returns to step S40. The vehicle position mark is displayed over the current location on the map, but the vehicle position mark is moved on the map according to the travel distance until the map is scrolled by a predetermined distance in step S50. The display of the position mark is updated. Other ancillary information is also updated in this step.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the recommended route search process in step S10 of FIG. In step S11, input of a route search destination is awaited. When a destination is input, in step S12, input of search conditions for recommended route search is awaited. For example, a condition such as whether to use a toll road or not. When the search condition is input, the process proceeds to step S13, and a plurality of recommended routes from the current location to the destination are searched. This route search is based on the well-known die crust method or the like, and will not be described in detail.
[0017]
In step S14, one optimum recommended route is selected from a plurality of searched recommended routes according to a predetermined algorithm. In step S15, the selected recommended route is displayed on the monitor 8. FIG. 6 shows an example of this, and a road map is displayed with north facing upward on the screen. The recommended path 31 is indicated by a thick line, and the guidance points 32 and 33 are indicated by pole-shaped symbol marks. The vehicle position is displayed as a triangular arrow 34 in the center of the screen. A rotary 30 exists on the recommended route 31.
[0018]
4 and 5 are flowcharts showing details of the route guidance process in step S50 of FIG. The process proceeds to each step according to the state of the flag determined in step S501. If it is determined in step S501 that there is no flag, the process proceeds to step S502, and if it is determined that the vehicle position has reached 300m before the preset guidance point, the process proceeds to step S503. In step S503, the direction of travel at the guidance point is notified by voice, and the flag 300 is set in step S503A. In step S504, it is determined whether the guidance point is a special guidance point. The special guidance point is, for example, a guidance point located in a rotary having a loop-shaped road, or a guidance point located in a junction or an interchange having a loop-shaped road dedicated to automobiles. As described above, information as to whether it is such a special guidance point is stored in advance as attribute information in the road map data.
[0019]
If it is determined in step S504 that the guidance point is a special guidance point, in step S505, the guidance point is centered on the map data called level 1 having the largest scale among the road maps stored in the map storage memory 2. The map data of the rectangular area having a predetermined size is extracted, road map image data having a scale of 1/10000 is created and developed on the memory 5. Based on this image data, an enlarged map around the guidance point is displayed on the right half of the display monitor 8. FIG. 7 shows an example of the monitor screen in that case. As shown in FIG. 7, the enlarged map is displayed so that the direction from the vehicle position toward the guidance point faces upward on the monitor screen. Note that a circle 35 in FIG. 7 is a vehicle position mark, and hatching on the recommended route 31 indicates a road that has already traveled.
[0020]
If it is determined in step S504 that the guidance point is not a special guidance point, the process proceeds to step S506, where map data of a rectangular area having a predetermined size centered on the guidance point is extracted based on the map data of the largest scale of level 1. , 1/6000 scale road map image data is created. Based on this image data, an enlarged map around the guidance point is similarly displayed on the right half of the display monitor 8.
[0021]
If it is determined in step S507 that the distance is 50m before the guidance point, the process proceeds to step S508, and the traveling direction at the guidance point is notified by voice. In step S509, the flag 50 is set and the flag 300 is reset. If it is determined in step S510 that the guidance point has been passed, in step S511, the flag A is set, the flag 50 is reset, and the process proceeds to step S512. If it is determined in step S512 that there is another guidance point, flag B is set and flag A is reset in step S513. When the next guidance point of the guidance point closest to the vehicle position is within a predetermined range, this is called another guidance point.
[0022]
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S514, where map data of a rectangular area having a predetermined size centered on another guidance point is extracted based on the map data of the largest scale of level 1, and for a special guidance point, Road map image data is created at a scale of 1/6000 with respect to a guidance point that is a 1/10000 scale and not a special guidance point. Based on this image data, an enlarged map around other guidance points is displayed on the right half of the display monitor 8. FIG. 8 shows an example of the monitor screen in that case.
[0023]
FIG. 8 is a state immediately after the vehicle passes the first guidance point 32, and the direction from the vehicle position 35 toward the other guidance point 33 is directed to the left and is not directed to the upper part of the screen. This is because a special guide point is located in the rotary 30 in FIG. If the guidance point is not a special guidance point, after passing through the first guidance point, the enlarged map is rotated so that the direction from the vehicle position toward the other guidance point is directed upward.
[0024]
That is, in the situation shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the two guidance points 32 and 33 in the rotary 30 are directed from the own vehicle position 35 to another guidance point 33 after passing through the first guidance point 32. If the enlarged map is rotated so that the direction is directed to the upper side of the monitor screen, the enlarged map is rotated while traveling in the rotary 30, and the driver may feel a sense of incongruity and erroneously determine the traveling direction. . Therefore, when the vicinity of a special guidance point is enlarged and displayed, if there are two or more guidance points in the display area, the orientation of the enlarged map displayed first is not changed. That is, the other guidance point 33 is enlarged and displayed in the direction in which the first guidance point 32 is enlarged and displayed. At this time, the other guidance points 33 are displayed so as to be located at substantially the center of the enlarged map. As a result, the enlarged map of FIG. 7 is displayed as if it were translated downward in the figure.
[0025]
Next, in step S515, the direction of travel at another guidance point is notified by voice. If it is determined in step S516 that it is 50m before another guidance point, the process proceeds to step S517, and the traveling direction at the guidance point is notified by voice. In step S518, flag C is set and flag B is reset. If it is determined in step S519 that another guidance point has been passed, the flag C is reset in step S520, and the process returns to step S55 of the main program shown in FIG. Also when steps S502, S507, S510, S511, S516, and S519 are denied, the process returns and returns to step S55 of the main program shown in FIG.
[0026]
If it is determined in step S501 that there is no flag, the process proceeds to step S531. If it is determined in step S503 that the flag 300 is set, the process proceeds to step S507, and if not, the process proceeds to step S532. In step S532, it is determined whether the flag 50 is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step S510. If it is not set, the process proceeds to step S533. In step S533, it is determined whether the flag A is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step S512, and if it is not set, the process proceeds to step S534. In step S534, it is determined whether the flag B is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step S516, and if it is not set, the process proceeds to step S519.
[0027]
In the navigation device of the first embodiment as described above, one optimum recommended route is selected from a plurality of routes connecting the current location and the destination according to a previously input algorithm. On the recommended route, guidance points are set in advance at main intersections and branch roads, and an enlarged map is displayed on the display monitor 8 when approaching the guidance point up to 300 m. If the guidance point is a special guidance point, the scale of the enlarged map is 1/10000, and if not, the scale of the enlarged map is 1/6000. This is because the effect of displaying an enlarged map is diminished if the roads including special guidance points, for example, all the junctions of rotary and automobile roads, do not fit within the enlarged screen frame. This is to ensure that everything is displayed in the enlarged map.
[0028]
In addition, as described above, if the guidance point is not a special guidance point, after passing through the first guidance point, an enlarged map is displayed so that the direction from the vehicle position toward the other guidance point is directed upward. Rotate, but if the guidance point is a special guidance point, the map is enlarged once even after the first guidance point has passed and the direction from the vehicle position toward the other guidance point does not match the upper part of the monitor screen The direction of is not to change all the special guidance points until the vehicle passes.
[0029]
In the above, when there are two guidance points located in a loop road such as a rotary, junction, interchange, etc., even if the vehicle position advances in the enlarged map, it approaches the first guidance point. The orientation of the displayed enlarged map was not changed. However, such an enlarged map rotation prohibition process is also effective when two or more guidance points exist in a predetermined area, for example, 300 m square.
[0030]
In the above, when a loop road such as a rotary, junction, interchange, etc. is enlarged and displayed, it is always scaled at 1/10000 without determining whether the loop road fits on the enlarged map. When a road other than a loop road is displayed in an enlarged manner, it is displayed at a scale of 1/6000. However, if the loop road is 1/6000 scale, it is determined whether or not it protrudes from the enlarged map, and only when it protrudes, it is displayed at a scale of 1/10000, and the loop road does not protrude from the enlarged map. May be displayed at a scale of 1/6000. Furthermore, although the case where there are two special guidance points has been described above, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where there are three or more guidance points. Furthermore, the enlarged map is displayed when the vehicle position approaches the closest guidance point. However, the enlarged map can always be displayed as a divided screen.
[0031]
FIG. 9 shows another example of the route guidance processing of FIGS. 4 and 5, and is a flowchart of a procedure for displaying an enlarged map and a procedure for switching the approach direction to the intersection at a special intersection and a general intersection. The processing of FIG. 9 is executed by an interruption according to an enlarged map display request, and the enlarged map display request is issued when the vehicle position approaches the closest guidance point.
[0032]
In step S551, the intersection type is acquired from the map data, and in step S552, the intersection type is determined. If determined to be a general intersection (normal guidance point), the scale is set to 1/6000 in step S553, and if determined to be a special intersection (special guidance point), the scale is set to 1/10000 in step S554. In step S555, the intersection type is determined again. If it is determined that the intersection is a general intersection, the intersection approach angle is always set to coincide with the upper part of the screen in step S556. In step S560, the enlarged map is displayed. If it is determined that the intersection is a special intersection, it is determined in step S557 whether or not the intersection to be entered is the first (first) intersection. If it is the first intersection, the approach angle of the first intersection (the angle at which the intersection approach angle coincides with the upper part of the screen) is set in step S558, and even if it is determined as the second intersection, in step S559, in step S558. The approach angle of the set first intersection is set.
[0033]
Even in such a processing procedure, processing similar to the route guidance processing described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 can be performed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when the guidance point is a special intersection such as a loop road when the vicinity of the guidance point on the recommended route that has been searched is enlarged and displayed on the display monitor, Compared to general intersections like this, the scale of the enlarged map is reduced, and when displaying the enlarged map, the vehicle traveling direction to the guidance point is directed upwards, and the guidance intersection that is a special intersection in the enlarged map In the case of two, since the change of the direction of the enlarged map is prohibited until it passes through the second guidance point , all the roads where the special intersection exists can be displayed in the enlarged map and there is no possibility of missing part There is no possibility that the driver makes a mistake in the direction of travel.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an in-vehicle navigation device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of main processing performed by a control circuit. FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of recommended route search processing in FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the route guidance processing of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of the route guidance processing following FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the display monitor. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example in which an enlarged map is displayed on the display monitor. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of route guidance processing.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Present location detection apparatus 2 Map memory 3 Control circuit 4 Input device 5 Map data memory 7 Image memory 8 Display monitor 30 Rotary 31 Recommended route 32, 33 Guidance points 34, 35 Own vehicle position mark

Claims (2)

A route search means for searching for a recommended route from the starting point to the destination,
Route guidance means for performing route guidance at a guidance point on the searched route;
A display device for displaying the recommended route on a road map and displaying the enlarged map at the guidance point;
Screen control means for displaying the enlarged map by enlarging the scale when it is a general intersection than the scale of the enlarged map when the guidance point is a special intersection ,
The image control means, when displaying the enlarged map, directs the vehicle traveling direction to the guidance point upward of the map, and if there are two guidance intersections that are special intersections in the enlarged map, the second guidance A navigation device characterized by prohibiting a change in direction of the enlarged map until the point is passed . The navigation device according to claim 1.
A navigation device wherein the special intersection is an intersection in a looped road.

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