JP4014201B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation device that guides a vehicle to a destination, and more particularly to an intersection that is guided on a divided screen when guiding the information on the divided screen so that the vehicle can turn safely and reliably at a right or left turn intersection. The present invention relates to a navigation device that can easily identify which intersection on the map screen corresponds to.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the navigation device, a map / information storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM on which map data for drawing a map and facility information data for searching for a facility are recorded, and the map / information storage medium A playback device that reads data, a display device that displays a map, etc., a self-contained navigation device such as a distance sensor and a gyro, and a vehicle position detection device that detects the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the traveling direction using a GPS receiver, etc. The map data including the current position of the vehicle is read from the map / information storage medium, the map image around the vehicle position is drawn on the screen of the display device based on the map data, and the vehicle position mark is superimposed on the display screen. The map image is scrolled and displayed as the vehicle moves, or the map image is fixed on the screen and the vehicle position Moving the over click, the vehicle is to be seen at a glance whether the running where current.
[0003]
Map data stored in a map / information storage device such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is divided into longitude and latitude widths of appropriate sizes according to various scale levels. And a coordinate set of nodes expressed in latitude. A road is composed of a combination of two or more nodes, and map data displays a road layer consisting of a road list, a node table, an intersection configuration node list, etc., and roads, buildings, facilities, parks, rivers, etc. on the map screen. Map data such as a background layer, and information data for displaying characters, map symbols, etc., such as administrative division names such as municipalities, road names, intersection names, and facility names.
[0004]
In addition, this navigation device has 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, destinations and waypoints are set by various means using addresses, telephone numbers, map scrolling, nearby landmarks, etc., and routes connecting these points from the departure point to the destination Appropriate routes are calculated and presented in consideration of various conditions. Also, the route selected by the user is stored as a guide route, and while driving, the guide route is drawn on the map image with a different color from other routes and displayed on the screen. When approaching an intersection where the course of course should be changed within a certain distance, the intersection is enlarged and displayed on the screen by drawing an arrow indicating the direction in which the course should be changed, or a right or left turn is guided by voice. In this way, the user can be guided to the destination.
[0005]
When calculating the guidance route as described above, there are various routes such as a route that can arrive from the current location to the destination in the shortest time, a route that has the shortest travel distance, a route that uses or does not use a highway or other toll roads, etc. Among the route calculation methods of the aspect, when there is a method designated in advance by the user on the menu screen, the optimum route calculated by the method is presented. In addition, when there is no instruction at first, the route calculated by each method is displayed in a different color on the screen, and the user selects and determines a route that suits his / her preference from among them.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the navigation device as described above, at a right-left turn intersection that requires special attention while traveling along the guidance route, the vehicle approaches the intersection within a certain distance so that the vehicle can safely and reliably travel on the guidance route. Sometimes, an enlarged screen of the intersection is displayed on a separate screen from the map screen, but the name of the intersection is displayed on the screen of the intersection displayed at that time, but there are many on the map screen. When the intersection is displayed, it is difficult to identify at a glance which part of the intersection on the map screen the intersection displayed on the separate screen corresponds to.
[0007]
In particular, when there are many lanes such as 8 lanes on one side, such as a road in a big city, especially when making a right turn at that intersection, the vehicle is currently in the left lane portion of the entire lane group. If you are traveling in the right lane, if you do not gradually move in the right lane direction in advance, it is dangerous to make a sudden change of course near the intersection where you want to make a right turn, and you may not be able to make a right turn.
[0008]
On the other hand, some conventional navigation devices perform voice guidance that prompts the user to change lanes in the right / left turn direction in order to turn right / left. However, in such a navigation device, it is only urged to change lanes in the direction of turning left and right. For example, it is appropriate to change what lane at which point while driving on an 8-lane road as described above. I can't know.
[0009]
On the other hand, in the conventional navigation device, information on the traveling lane is often included in the intersection information. In particular, on roads with a large number of lanes as described above, the same information as the road signs of the traveling lane guides suspended and posted on the roads is often provided in the data of the navigation device. Therefore, the navigation device uses this data, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, in the vicinity of the intersection on the map screen, along with the name of the intersection and the distance to the intersection. It has also been proposed to display.
[0010]
In the example of FIG. 8, when driving around Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo on National Route 317, the guidance route is to turn right at the Nakameguro intersection, 450 meters from the current location. It is shown that there are two intersections, the first is the Ebisu Minami intersection, 50 meters from the current location, and the second is the Saki intersection, which is 300 meters from the current location. In particular, in this example, there are 8 lanes on one side of the road that is currently running. To make a right turn at Nakameguro intersection, the mirror located 150m before the intersection will change lanes from the point past the Saki intersection to the right 2 lanes. There is a need.
[0011]
Therefore, an example is shown in which the mirror displays in the road sign image that it is necessary to travel in the third lane from the right and at least the fourth lane immediately before the Saki intersection. In order for the mirror to travel in such a lane immediately before the Saki intersection, it is not appropriate to travel at least the left two lanes at the Ebisu Minami intersection, which is 250 meters ahead, and travel on other straight roads. It shows that it is preferable. By performing such an intersection guidance display, even on a road with many lanes as described above, it is possible to make a right turn with a margin by referring to the display of the navigation device.
[0012]
The previously proposed intersection guidance screen is displayed at each intersection in the map image, so the correspondence with the intersection is clear but displayed on the map screen. Therefore, the display of the screen becomes extremely complicated, and it is difficult to accurately understand the display content of the screen during operation.
[0013]
As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to display the intersection lane guidance displayed on the map screen as described above on a separate screen divided as in the conventional intersection guidance. However, when lane guidance for multiple intersections is displayed on such a divided screen, even if the intersection name is displayed during the lane guidance, it is difficult to read it at a glance, so it is displayed on a separate screen. It is difficult to identify which intersection in the map screen that is displayed adjacent to these guides.
[0014]
Therefore, the present invention makes it easy to distinguish which intersection on the map screen corresponds to the intersection that is guided on the divided screen when the intersection traveling guidance information is guided on a divided screen different from the map screen. The main object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can make a right and left turn safely and reliably at a right and left turn intersection.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the navigation device according to the present invention displays a signal on the guidance route that displays a plurality of intersection signals on the guidance route on the map screen in an identifiable manner, and is displayed adjacent to the map screen. And an intersection guidance screen forming means for displaying the intersection signal in the intersection guidance screen in the same manner as the corresponding intersection signal in the map screen, and the intersection signal on the guidance route of the map screen It is characterized by being displayed in a manner different from the intersection signal .
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the interrelationships of the main functional units in the navigation apparatus 1 of the present invention. The image forming unit 11 having an intersection guidance divided screen forming unit 14 according to the present invention as described later has system control. The unit 2 performs a predetermined operation based on software in association with the operation of other functional units. A vehicle position detection unit 4 is connected to the system control unit 2, and the position data of the GPS receiver 3 is input. Further, if necessary, vehicle movement data by a vehicle speed sensor or an angle sensor is input. The current position of is detected.
[0022]
In addition, the guidance route calculation unit 5 receives a destination selection instruction signal by the user input from the instruction signal input unit 6 and passes through a guidance route from the current location to the destination, or via a transit point selected by the user as necessary. The guidance route to the destination is fetched from the map data capture unit 8 from the data recorded in the map data recording medium 9, and the recommended route by the navigation device, the priority route or non-priority route of the expressway, the shortest distance route, the minimum Calculate the required route.
[0023]
In the instruction signal input unit 6, in addition to the destination selection instruction signal as described above, an instruction signal by a user necessary for this navigation device is input, and processing for recognizing the user's voice as necessary The user's instruction signal is input by. The voice output unit 7 can output various voices for the user obtained by various processing units of the navigation device, such as guidance route guidance, from a speaker. The map data fetching unit 8 fetches necessary map data, facility information, etc. from a map data recording medium 9 such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, etc., and draws a map, displays information, etc. by this data etc. Do.
[0024]
Various image data formed by the image forming unit 11 are appropriately combined and displayed on the monitor screen 13 by an image combining unit 12 that operates according to an instruction from the system control unit 2. In the illustrated example, a map 18, a building / landmark 19, text data 20 such as character information, a guidance route 17 obtained by computation by the guidance route computation unit 5, a gas station, a restaurant, as in the conventional example. Alternatively, various marks 16 such as signals are output to the image composition unit 12 for map display.
[0025]
The present invention further includes a guidance route signal display unit 15 for detecting intersection signals on the guidance route in the currently displayed map screen based on the guidance route 17 data and the map 18 data. When the signal on the guidance route on the map screen 26 detects the signal at the intersection, the signal display unit 15 on the guidance route takes in the mark of the signal among the various marks 16 and changes the color of the frame of the signal to be displayed. Processing is performed such that the signals at each intersection are identifiable, such as displaying differently.
[0026]
Also, as with the conventional device, it is equipped with an intersection guidance split screen forming unit 14, and when it is within a predetermined distance from the right or left turn intersection, it starts operation in response to a signal from the system control unit 2 and divides one screen into left and right And the enlarged image of the intersection of the right and left turn from the intersection enlarged display part 22 can be displayed. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, a travel lane guidance display unit 21 is provided so that a travel lane guidance display can be performed in addition to the screen by the intersection enlarged display unit 22 when displaying a split screen for intersection guidance. .
[0027]
The travel lane guidance display unit 21 includes a plurality of lanes on at least one side of the travel direction by the lane number detection unit 25 that detects the number of lanes of the road to the right-left turn intersection that is close based on the data of the map 18. When traveling lane guidance display can be performed. At this time, for example, when it is detected that the road has three or more lanes on one side, the travel lane guidance display unit can be set to operate.
[0028]
Further, the intersection guidance divided screen forming unit 14 includes a signal number detection unit 24 from the current point to the right / left turn intersection for detecting the number of signals from the current point to the right / left turn intersection based on the data of the map 18. It outputs to the travel lane guidance display part 21, and the travel lane guidance display according to the number of signals to the right-left turn intersection is enabled. Further, the intersection guidance divided screen forming unit 14 further includes a map image signal display mode detection unit 23 for detecting a display state of signals on the guidance route in the map screen displayed on the guidance route signal display unit 15. Is displayed in the same display mode, such as the same color as the signal displayed on the map screen, and is displayed on the intersection guidance split screen. It is possible to easily identify the intersection on the map screen corresponding to the travel lane guidance by color or the like.
[0029]
The signal of the map image signal display mode detection unit 23 is also output to the intersection enlarged display unit 22, and is displayed on the map screen in the divided screen even when the intersection guidance is performed by the enlarged display of the intersection. It is possible to display such that the correspondence between both can be easily identified, such as displaying the same signal as the signal color.
[0030]
In the navigation apparatus according to the present invention constituted by the functional blocks as described above, in particular, when displaying the intersection guidance screen, it is possible to perform processing in accordance with the operation flow shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this operation will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 1 and various screen display examples of FIGS.
[0031]
In the intersection guidance screen display process, it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of signals on the guidance route in the initially displayed map screen (step S1). This determination is performed based on the map data and the guidance route data by the on-guidance route signal detection unit 26 in the map screen of FIG. As a result, when it is determined that there are a plurality of signals, the signals on the guidance route are displayed in different modes so that they can be easily distinguished from each other, for example, by displaying them in different colors (step S2). This operation is based on the data of the intersection signal detected by the on-guidance path signal detection section 26 in the map screen in the on-guidance path signal display section 15 of FIG. This is done by changing the state.
[0032]
This display only needs to be displayed in such a manner that it can be easily distinguished from each other as described above. For example, the frame display of each signal can be identified by different frame shapes such as a circle, an ellipse, a rectangle, and a hexagon. You may display. In addition, it is possible to perform an identifiable display by attaching an easy-to-see number to each signal. By performing such display during normal map screen display, the display mode of the signal displayed in the map can be used as it is in the divided screen when displaying signals in the divided screen in subsequent operations. As a result, it is possible to immediately respond to a predetermined signal display.
[0033]
In step S1, when there is no plurality of signals on the guidance route in the map screen and there is only one signal, the signal is displayed in a specific manner such as a predetermined color. Further, there may be no signal at all, but it is natural that no special processing is performed at that time.
[0034]
Next, it is determined whether or not the current position of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the right / left turn intersection (step S3). Here, when it is determined that the vehicle is not yet within the predetermined distance from the right / left turn intersection, the process returns to step S1 again, and a display in a different manner when there are a plurality of signals on the guidance route on the map screen. Continue processing. In this determination, when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance with respect to the right / left turn intersection, it is determined whether or not driving guidance regarding the lane is necessary for the road to the right / left turn intersection (step) S4).
[0035]
In this determination, if the lane number detection unit 25 in FIG. 1 detects that the road to the intersection that is currently approaching the right or left turn is, for example, only one lane on one side, the driving lane guidance is naturally unnecessary. When it seems that guidance display for changing lanes is not necessary, especially in the case of about two lanes on one side, it is necessary to set up in advance so that multiple lane driving guidance is necessary in these cases. It will be determined that there is no.
[0036]
As a result of the determination in step S4, when it is determined that the multi-lane travel guidance is unnecessary, the intersection guidance division screen in step S9 is displayed. Here, a signal screen is displayed in the guidance screen of the right-left turn intersection on the divided screen, and the screen display of the signal is displayed in accordance with the display of the corresponding signal on the map screen displayed adjacently. Do.
[0037]
This state is shown in FIG. 3, in which a map is displayed on the left split screen F1 in the figure, and a guide route G extends on the road ahead of the vehicle current location mark P on the map, It is shown that there are two signals C1 and C2 on the guiding path. Therefore, as described above, both signals are displayed in a frame in different manners. When this is displayed by an actual navigation device, for example, the signal C1 is displayed in orange and the signal C2 is displayed in green. As shown in the figure, these signals C1 and C2 on the guidance path are displayed in a frame shape different from that of the signal C3 not on the guidance path. Are displayed in an identifiable manner.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 3, an enlarged screen of the intersection is displayed on the right split screen F2 in the figure because the current position of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the right-left turn intersection. Along with the enlarged view of the left turn intersection, it is displayed that the intersection name is “Fujimidai Koen Minami”, a signal screen is displayed at the intersection, and the display mode of this signal is the signal C1 in the left split screen F1. Displayed in the same manner. Thereby, when the driver of this vehicle looks at this intersection enlarged screen, it can identify at a glance which part on the map screen the intersection exists.
[0039]
After displaying the signal on the intersection guidance split screen as shown in FIG. 3 in step S9 of FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the right / left turn intersection (step S8). When the vehicle does not pass, the process returns to step S4 again in the illustrated embodiment, and it is determined whether or not lane driving guidance is necessary. After that, it is checked whether or not the lane on this road has increased, and the lane has increased. If not, the enlarged display of the intersection is performed in the same manner as described above, and this operation is repeated.
[0040]
In the example shown in FIG. 3, after making a right turn at the signal C1, a left turn is made at the signal C2, so that the map screen is displayed on a full screen until it is closer than a predetermined distance to an intersection with the signal C2, and then the signal C2 When a certain intersection is approached by a predetermined distance or more, for example, a divided screen for performing an enlarged display of the intersection as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. In this divided screen, similarly to the above, the name of the enlarged intersection is “Itabashi Minami”, and the signal display in the same display mode as the signal C2 in FIG. 3 is performed on the intersection display portion.
[0041]
In the above embodiment, the signal display on the intersection enlarged divided screen is displayed directly on the enlarged intersection. However, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, a normal signal mark is given to the intersection. In addition, display can be performed in various manners such as displaying a signal corresponding to the signal in the map screen at the top of the screen. When it is determined in step S8 that the vehicle has passed the right / left turn intersection, the process returns to step S1 and the same operation as described above is repeated.
[0042]
On the other hand, in the step S4, for example, when turning right on a road with many lanes on one side as shown in FIG. 8, the number of lanes shown in FIG. This is detected by the detection unit 25, and it is determined that lane travel guidance is necessary. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of signals before the right / left turn intersection (step S5). When there are a plurality of signals, the driving lane guidance is displayed in the order of the signals in the divided screen (step S6). After that, including the time when it is determined in step S5 that there are not a plurality of signals before the right / left turn intersection, the signal display during the driving lane guidance display is made to coincide with the display of the corresponding signal on the map screen ( Step S7).
[0043]
For this display, for example, the display as shown in FIG. 6 is performed. That is, this figure shows an example of a map screen similar to the map screen shown in FIG. 8, and the driving lane guidance display of each signal portion shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the right split screen F2. . In this right split screen F2, there are two signaled intersections, “Ebisu Minami” intersection and “Kamagasaki” intersection, from the current vehicle position to the “Nakameguro” intersection, which is a right turn intersection. Is a road with 8 lanes on one side, and this road is to turn left, go straight, and turn right in the manner shown in the figure at each intersection. Accordingly, in this example, it is determined in step S4 in FIG. 2 that lane travel guidance is necessary, and in step S5, it is determined that there are a plurality of signals before the right / left turn intersection.
[0044]
In the example shown in FIG. 6, in the map display screen of the left split screen in the figure, the signal frame display is displayed in different manners at the intersection with the right and left turns and the intersection with signal to the intersection, On the screen of the actual navigation device, the signal at the “Ebisu Minami” intersection, which is the first signal in the figure, is orange, the signal at the “Kagamizaki” intersection, which is the second signal, is green, and the third signal is “ The “Nakameguro” intersection is displayed in a manner such as purple.
[0045]
In the right divided screen F2 in the figure, signals are displayed in correspondence with each other in the same manner as the corresponding signals on the left divided screen F1 as described above, and by viewing the driving lane guidance screen on the right divided screen F2 The traveling lane guidance can identify which portion of the signal is on the left split screen at a glance.
[0046]
In this state, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the right / left turn intersection (step S8). When it is determined that the vehicle has not yet passed the right / left turn intersection, in this embodiment, the process again returns to step S4. Returning, it is determined whether or not lane travel guidance is necessary. For example, even if there are a large number of lanes in the first signal in FIG. This determination is made again in consideration of the state, and thereafter the same operation is repeated.
[0047]
Therefore, when it becomes a state where lane driving guidance is not necessary thereafter as described above, the display is changed to the enlarged screen display of the intersection as described above in step S9. This operation can be performed by detecting the above-described state with the travel lane guide display unit 21 in FIG. 1 and outputting an operation start signal to the intersection enlarged display unit 22. If it is determined in step S8 that the vehicle has passed the right / left turn intersection, the process returns to step S1 and the same operation is repeated.
[0048]
As shown in FIG. 6, in the travel lane guidance screen of the right split screen F2 in the figure, the travel lane guidance of each intersection with signal is sequentially placed above the own vehicle position mark P corresponding to the signal display of the left split screen F1. In particular, the first signal closest to the vehicle position is displayed larger than the other travel lane guides, so that the display is easier to see.
[0049]
In each travel lane guidance display portion, the lane that is preferably traveled has a display that can be distinguished from other lane marks, such as displaying in a specific color, as shown in FIG. Do. In this divided screen portion, the vehicle position mark P is displayed so as to be movable to the left and right, and the state of the lane that is preferably traveled and the state of the current traveling lane are indicated by aligning the front end with the currently traveling lane. It can also be displayed at a glance.
[0050]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an example in which the color of the signal frame is changed when identifying each signal on the guidance route is shown. For example, as shown in FIG. The above signal display may be displayed in correspondence with the signal display of the divided driving lane guidance screen, and other signals such as displaying the signal frame shape as a circle, ellipse, square, etc. as described above. If the display can be clearly identified, it can be implemented in various ways.
[0051]
【The invention's effect】
In the navigation device according to the present invention, a signal on the guidance route that displays a plurality of intersection signals on the guidance route on the map screen in a mutually distinguishable manner, and an intersection guidance screen that is displayed adjacent to the map screen. In the case of having an intersection guidance screen forming means for displaying an intersection signal in the same manner as the corresponding intersection signal in the map screen, the intersection travel guidance information is guided on a separate screen from the map screen. At this time, it is possible to easily identify which intersection on the map screen corresponds to the intersection guided on the divided screen, and it is possible to make a right and left turn safely and reliably at the right and left turn intersection.
[0052]
In another navigation device according to the present invention, the intersection guidance screen forming means in the navigation device enlarges and displays the intersection portion, and the displayed intersection is the same mode as the corresponding intersection signal in the map screen. Since the intersection enlarged display means for displaying the intersection signal is provided, it is possible to clearly indicate which intersection on the map screen is the enlarged intersection.
[0053]
In another navigation device according to the present invention, the intersection guidance screen forming means in the navigation device guides and displays the traveling lane of the intersection up to the right-left turn intersection, and the displayed intersection is displayed on the map screen. The vehicle is equipped with travel lane guidance display means that displays the intersection signal in the same manner as the corresponding intersection signal, so that it is possible to reliably change lanes to the right or left turn intersection even when traveling on a road with many traveling lanes. In addition, it is possible to easily know where the currently traveling road is located on the map.
[0054]
Further, in another navigation device according to the present invention, the travel lane guidance display means in the navigation device displays the lane to be traveled with respect to the lane travel direction arrow display portion, so there are many travel lanes. When driving on a road, it is possible to change the lane to the right or left turn intersection by simply following the driving lane guidance display, and where the road on which the current driving is located is located. You can easily know.
[0055]
In another navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the plurality of intersection signals in the navigation apparatus can display the signal display frames in different colors or attach numbers or symbols to the signal display. In addition, since the signal display frame is displayed in a different shape, each intersection signal can be clearly identified from each other, and the signal displayed on the intersection guidance display screen clearly indicates which signal is on the map screen. be able to.
[0056]
In addition, the other navigation device according to the present invention displays the intersection signal on the guidance route of the map screen in the navigation device in a different manner from the other intersection signals, so the guidance is displayed on the map screen. Even if there are many signals other than the signals on the route, the signals displayed on the intersection guidance display screen can be displayed so as to easily identify which signal is on the map screen.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of intersection guidance screen display processing in the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display example at the time of intersection enlarged display in the same embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a signal display screen next to the intersection guidance divided screen in the same embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of a signal display screen on the intersection guidance divided screen at the time of enlarged intersection display;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen display example at the time of driving lane guidance display in the same embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of a screen display at the time of traveling lane guidance display.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional lane guidance display screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 2 System control part 5 Guidance route calculating part 8 Map data taking-in part 11 Image formation part 12 Image composition part 13 Monitor screen 14 Intersection guidance split screen formation part 15 Guide route signal display part 21 Traveling lane guidance display part 22 intersection enlarged display unit 23 map image signal display mode detection unit 24 right and left turn signal number detection unit 25 lane number detection unit 26 map screen on-guidance route signal detection unit

Claims (1)

A signal display means on the guide route that displays a plurality of intersection signals on the guide route of the map screen in a manner that can be distinguished from each other;
An intersection guidance screen forming means for displaying the intersection signal in the intersection guidance screen displayed adjacent to the map screen in the same manner as the corresponding intersection signal in the map screen;
A navigation apparatus, characterized in that an intersection signal on a guidance route on a map screen is displayed in a manner different from other intersection signals .

Images