JP3952936B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus that provides route guidance for a plurality of destinations.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional navigation apparatus can set a plurality of destinations substantially by setting a passing point between the current position and the destination. However, in this case, you must pass through the passing point, and the estimated time of arrival at each displayed passing point or final destination is a time display based on the assumption that you will pass the passing point. is there.
[0003]
Therefore, I don't know what time it will arrive if I go to a point other than my current destination. Therefore, in such a case, if the driver sets the first point as the destination and wants to know the estimated arrival time at another second point at the same time, the route guidance for the first point as the destination It is necessary to take a procedure of temporarily canceling, setting route guidance for the second point, displaying the estimated arrival time, and resetting to route guidance with the first point as the destination.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, this procedure is complicated, and it is not necessary to perform it once. Since it is meaningless if it is not performed regularly, there is a possibility that it may interfere with driving work.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. In other words, by displaying the estimated arrival time at the second location during route guidance at the first location, the driver who is traveling toward the first location is expected to arrive at the second location. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device capable of confirming at any time and easily setting and changing a destination for route guidance to a point of arrival at a desired time.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1 calculates a route to the first point and guides the calculated route, and is not on the route to the first point calculated by the route guide unit. An estimated arrival time display means for displaying an estimated arrival time at the second point is provided.
[0007]
With the in-vehicle navigation device according to the first aspect, when traveling toward the second point is started from now even while traveling toward the first point, it is possible to know when the second point is reached.
[0008]
The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2, further comprising route guidance changing means for changing a guidance point from route guidance to the first point guided by the route guidance unit to route guidance to the second point. And
[0009]
With the in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2, the setting of the route guidance point can be easily changed from the currently set first point to the second point, and the old route guidance (route guidance to the first point) is canceled. The process of resetting route guidance to the new route guidance point (second point) can be omitted.
[0010]
The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the estimated arrival time display means is expected to arrive at the second point based on an addition time obtained by adding the current time and the time required to arrive at the second point. The arrival time registration means for registering the arrival time to arrive at the second point, the comparison means for comparing the expected arrival time and the arrival time, and the comparison means for the arrival time. When it is determined that the expected time is equal to the required arrival time, a notification means for notifying the driver of the fact is provided.
[0011]
The vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 3 informs the driver that if it starts traveling toward the second point from now on, it will be in time for the registered required arrival time (for example, curfew time, promised time). Construction of a driving schedule can be simplified.
[0012]
The vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the estimated arrival time display means is configured such that each time the vehicle travels a predetermined unit distance or every time a unit time elapses, the second point from the current vehicle position. And a second point route calculating means for calculating the route up to, and calculating and displaying the predicted arrival time from the latest route calculated by the second point route calculating means.
[0013]
When the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 4 travels a predetermined distance (for example, xm) or passes a predetermined time (for example, x minutes), the route from the current vehicle position to the second point is determined. Since the estimated arrival time is calculated from this route, the estimated arrival time at the second point can be displayed almost in real time.
[0014]
The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the route guidance display unit displays the route calculated by the second point route calculation unit on the display screen of the route to the first point. .
[0015]
The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 5 displays a route to reach the second point even if the vehicle is traveling to the first point. When the vehicle is changed to the second point, it is possible to immediately know what route the vehicle should travel toward the second point.
[0016]
The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 6 is characterized in that the route guidance display means emphasizes and displays the display of the route to the first point from the route to the second point.
[0017]
With the in-vehicle navigation device according to the sixth aspect, it is possible to immediately know which of the two displayed route displays is the currently traveling route.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the configuration of the in-vehicle navigation device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Needless to say, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following examples, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the in-vehicle navigation device 100. The in-vehicle navigation device 100 of the present embodiment includes a road map data unit 1, an operation switch group 2 for performing various inputs to the navigation device 100, and a remote control terminal capable of various inputs similar to the operation switch group 2. (Not shown; hereinafter referred to as a remote controller), a remote control sensor 3, an external memory 4, a display device 5 for performing various displays such as a map display screen and a TV screen, a speaker 6, an external device The information input / output device 7, the position detection unit 10 that detects the current position of the vehicle, and various processes according to the input from the road map data unit 1, the operation switch group 2, the remote control sensor 3, and the position detection unit 10 described above. And a navigation control circuit 20 that executes the external memory 4, the display device 5, the speaker 6, and the external information input / output device 7.
[0020]
The road map data unit 1 is a device for inputting various data including so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection and road data representing road connections from a storage medium. As a storage medium, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is generally used because of the amount of data, but another medium such as a hard disk may be used. The road data is a map formed by connecting a plurality of nodes such as intersections with links, and for each link, a unique number (link ID) for identifying the link and a link indicating the length of the link Stored is link information including data on the length, x and y coordinates of the start and end of the link, the road width of the link, and the road type (indicating road information such as a toll road).
[0021]
The operation switch group 2 is configured integrally with a display device 5 to be described later, and touch switches set on a display screen, mechanical key switches provided around the display device 5, and the like are used. The touch switch is composed of an infrared sensor arranged indefinitely on the screen of the display device 5. For example, when the infrared ray is cut off with a finger or a touch pen, the cut-off position is a two-dimensional coordinate value (x, y). Detected as As a result, a predetermined instruction can be input by directly touching the display screen as will be described later.
[0022]
The remote control sensor 3 is a photo sensor that receives a signal from the remote control and inputs the signal to a navigation control circuit 20 described later. It is arranged in the vicinity of the driver's seat and is electrically connected to the navigation control circuit 20.
[0023]
The external memory 4 is an external storage medium such as a flash memory or a memory card, and stores various programs and data, and transmits the stored programs and data in response to a load request from the navigation control circuit 20.
[0024]
The display device 5 is a color display device in the present embodiment, and the screen shows a mark indicating the current location of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 10, road data input by the road map data unit 1, and a map. Additional data such as a guide route, a name, and a mark displayed above can be displayed in an overlapping manner. It also performs display output for guidance or alerting notifications.
[0025]
The speaker 6 outputs voice information for guidance or attention processing processed by the navigation control circuit 20.
[0026]
The external information input / output device 7 receives an FM broadcast signal via a radio antenna (not shown) or from a fixed station for a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) service arranged near the road. The radio beacon signal and the optical beacon signal are received. The received information is sent to the navigation control circuit 20 for processing.
[0027]
A position detection unit 10 receives a transmission radio wave from a GPS (Global Positioning System) artificial satellite via a GPS antenna, and is added to the vehicle and a GPS receiver 11 that detects the position, direction, speed, and the like of the vehicle. A gyroscope 12 for detecting the magnitude of the rotational motion, a distance sensor, a wheel sensor, and the like, a vehicle speed sensor 13 for detecting the travel distance of the vehicle, and a geomagnetic sensor 14 for detecting an absolute direction based on geomagnetism. And. Since each of these sensors 11 to 14 has an error having a different property, they are configured to be used while complementing each other. Depending on the accuracy, only a part of the above-described sensors 11 to 14 may be used, or a sensor for obtaining the direction by accumulating the steering angle of the vehicle obtained from the difference in rotation between the left and right steering wheels. Etc. may be used.
[0028]
The navigation control circuit 20 is configured around a known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and the current position of the vehicle based on each detection signal from the position detection unit 10 and the road map data unit 1 are used. Select the destination facility according to the operation of the operation switch group 2 or the remote control based on the processing of displaying the map near the current position read in on the display screen and the facility index data stored in the road map data section 1 So-called navigation processing such as route selection processing for calculating the optimum route from the current position to the destination and performing guidance according to the calculated route is performed. A technique such as the Dijkstra method is known as a technique for automatically calculating the optimum route. Then, the guidance route is displayed over the road map on the display device 5 to guide the driver of the appropriate route.
[0029]
Subsequently, of the processes executed by the navigation control circuit 20, the operation when the display setting is changed from the route guidance to the first destination to the route guidance to the second destination is according to the flowcharts of FIGS. explain.
[0030]
The first destination is registered in step S1 of FIG. This first destination is an actual destination and corresponds to the first point indicated in the claims. In step S2, the second destination is registered. This second destination is another destination for displaying the estimated arrival time if it is about to arrive from now on, and corresponds to the second point indicated in the claims.
[0031]
In step S3, the time at which the user always wants to arrive at the second destination, that is, the arrival time is registered. The processing content shown in step S3 corresponds to the required arrival time registration means shown in the claims.
[0032]
In step S4, a route to the first destination registered in step S1 is calculated, and route guidance is started. This processing content corresponds to the route guidance means shown in the claims. In step S5, the estimated arrival time at the second destination registered in step S2 is displayed. This process corresponds to the expected arrival time display means described in the claims. FIG. 3 shows a detailed flowchart of the processing contents of step S5 (that is, expected arrival time display means).
[0033]
In step S51, it is determined whether the vehicle 10 has traveled every predetermined distance (for example, xm). If the vehicle 10 has traveled, a route to the second destination is calculated in step S52. This process corresponds to the second point route calculation means shown in the claims. Next, a distance value L from the current point to the second destination is calculated from the route calculated in step S53, and the current vehicle speed V of the vehicle is acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 13 in step S54. In step S55, the required time T1 to the second destination is calculated using the distance value L and the current vehicle speed V. In step S56, the estimated arrival time T2 obtained by adding the required time T1 to the current time is calculated. It is displayed together with the display device 5 on which the route to one destination is displayed. An example of display contents at this time is shown in B1 of FIG.
[0034]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a screen displaying the estimated arrival time to the second destination while the vehicle 10 travels toward the first destination. The vehicle 10 is located at a point xm before the intersection A. If the vehicle 10 continues on the solid line toward the first destination, the vehicle 10 arrives at about 17:47 minutes. Further, if the vehicle 10 travels on the broken line route from the current vehicle position to the second destination shown in FIG. 4, it arrives at about 17:25 minutes.
[0035]
When the estimated arrival time at the second destination is displayed at step S56, it is determined at step S6 whether or not the arrival at the first destination has been reached. If it has arrived, this flow ends. If it has not arrived, it is determined in step S7 whether or not a required arrival time is registered in step S3. If registered, the process proceeds to step S8, and if not registered, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S8, is the addition time obtained by adding the current time to the required time T1 to the second destination obtained in step S55 (the actual arrival time at the second destination) equal to the arrival time registered in advance by the driver? Compare whether or not. This processing content corresponds to the comparing means shown in the claims.
[0036]
Here, if it is determined that the addition time and the required arrival time are equal, the process proceeds to step S9, and the display device 5, speaker 6 and the like indicate that “if you go to the second destination from now on, you will arrive by the required arrival time”. To inform. The display content at this time is shown in B2 of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a screen showing where the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 4 has reached a point where it has traveled toward the intersection A for a predetermined distance (in this case, ym). Assuming that the driver has headed for the second destination from the current vehicle position of the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 5 and can arrive at the registered arrival time (18:00 in the case of FIG. 5), B1a indicates that it is possible to arrive by the required arrival time. At this time, the same content may be simultaneously output by voice from the speaker 6.
[0037]
If it is determined in step S8 that the addition time is not equal to the required arrival time, the process proceeds to step S4. That is, in the loop formed from step S4 to step S8, a process for detecting that the addition time becomes a required arrival time (step S8: YES) or that the vehicle 10 arrives at the first destination (step S6: YES). repeat.
[0038]
If it is determined in step S7 that there is no registration of the required arrival time, or if it is notified in step S9 that the addition time is equal to the required arrival time, route guidance is set at the second destination in step S10. It is determined whether or not it has been changed. Here, if it is determined that the route guidance setting has been changed to the second destination, the process proceeds to step S11 to start route guidance to the second destination, and then to the second destination in step S12. Determine if it has arrived. If it is determined in step S12 that the vehicle has arrived at the second destination, this flow ends. However, if it is determined in step S10 that the route guidance setting to the second destination has not been changed, the process returns to step S4 and continues to guide the route to the first destination.
[0039]
As a method of changing the route guidance setting to the second destination in step S10, for example, a button corresponding to the destination is displayed as shown in B3 of FIGS. 4 and 5, and the route guidance is performed by selecting this button. It is preferable to be able to easily switch destinations. The vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 4 shows a position toward the first destination, but the route guidance screen can be changed as shown in FIG. 6 by selecting the button for the second destination shown in B3. . This process corresponds to the route guidance changing means shown in the claims.
[0040]
With the configuration and operation described above, the driver who is traveling toward the first point can check the expected arrival time at the second point at any time, and the destination for route guidance to the point arriving at the desired time You can easily change the settings.
(Modification)
In the above-described embodiment, there are only two destinations such as the first and second destinations. However, it is not necessary to limit the number to two, and two or more destinations may be displayed as routes. . This is effective, for example, when it is desired to efficiently visit visited sites scattered in a certain area, and when some of the visited sites have scheduled visit times in advance.
[0041]
Also, the required arrival time is only one registration in FIG. 5 at 18:00, but if there is a plurality of registrations and the current time is sequentially one of a plurality of required arrival times registered in advance. You may make it alert | report each time. At this time, the notification output may be increased in the order of normal display → highlight display → highlight display with sound. For example, if the second destination is registered at home or dormitory, and the first to third arrival times are registered, the first arrival time is one hour before the curfew, the second arrival time is It is effective when it is necessary to raise the level of attention in advance, such as 15 minutes before the curfew, the third must-arrival time is the curfew time, and so on.
[0042]
Further, as shown in claim 4, the estimated arrival time display means is configured so that the second destination is displayed from the current host vehicle position every time a predetermined time x has elapsed, in addition to every time the vehicle 10 travels the predetermined distance xm. The route up to may be calculated. This is to ensure real-time display content, and the parameter that triggers the process of calculating the route to the second point may be distance or time. It is preferable to be able to set.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow relating to a change in route guidance display of the in-vehicle navigation device 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control flow relating to display of an estimated arrival time at the second destination of the in-vehicle navigation device 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display of an estimated arrival time at the second destination while traveling to the first destination.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram when a notification of a required arrival time is made.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when the route guidance of the second destination is changed.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Road map data part 1
2 Operation switch group 3 Remote control sensor 4 External memory 5 Display device 6 Speaker 7 External information input / output device 10 Position detector 11 GPS receiver 12 Gyroscope 13 Vehicle speed sensor 14 Geomagnetic sensor

Claims (6)

A route guidance means for calculating a route to the first point and guiding the calculated route ;
An in-vehicle navigation device comprising: an expected arrival time display means for displaying an estimated arrival time at a second point not on the route to the first point calculated by the route guidance means . The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising route guidance changing means for changing a guidance point from route guidance to the first point guided by the route guidance unit to route guidance to the second point. . The expected arrival time display means displays an addition time obtained by adding the current time and the time required to arrive at the second point as a time at which arrival at the second point is expected,
A required arrival time registration means for registering a required arrival time to arrive at the second point;
A comparison means for comparing the estimated arrival time and the required arrival time;
The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a driver of the fact that the comparison unit determines that the estimated arrival time is equal to the arrival time. The estimated arrival time display means calculates a route from the current vehicle position to the second point every time the vehicle travels a predetermined unit distance or passes a unit time. With means,
The in-vehicle navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the estimated arrival time is calculated from the latest route calculated by the second point route calculating means and displayed. 5. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the route guidance display unit displays the route calculated by the second point route calculation unit on the display screen of the route to the first point. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the route guidance display means emphasizes and displays the display of the route to the first point from the route to the second point.

Images