JP4198492B2 - Map display method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a map display method for an in-vehicle navigation device, and more particularly, to a map display method when traveling on a general road under an expressway and approaching a branch point.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The in-vehicle navigation device displays a map around the vehicle position on the monitor screen, searches for a route to the destination and displays it on the map, displays a vehicle position mark, and searches the route. Guide to drive along.
In the map display, when a general road exists directly under the expressway, the expressway is displayed at the top, and the general road is displayed therebelow. For this reason, when driving on a general road directly under the expressway, as shown in FIG. 5, the expressways HWY1 to HWY3 are displayed at the top, and the general road RD is displayed therebelow. Note that CMK is a vehicle position mark, MD is a movement direction mark indicating the direction of the guidance route, and IC1 to IC2 are interchanges.
[0003]
However, in such a map display, when the vehicle approaches the branch point BRP of the general road, the driver cannot recognize whether the general road exists under the highway HWY2 to HWY3, and is approaching the branch point BRP. This cannot be recognized, and there is a problem in driving.
Conventionally, when driving under an elevated road, the color of the elevated road in a predetermined range before and after the vehicle is changed to allow the driver to recognize that the vehicle is traveling on a general road under the elevated road. (For example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-235633).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-235633 (paragraphs 0028 and 0029, FIG. 3)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique of the above-mentioned patent document, there is a problem in that it is unclear whether a general road is branched ahead of the vehicle position or whether a general road exists under the expressway, which causes problems in driving.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to enable the driver to easily recognize the branching situation of the general road and whether the general road exists under the highway even when traveling on the general road under the highway. It is to be.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the map display method of the in-vehicle navigation system that searches and displays the route to the destination, when driving on a general road under a highway, it is monitored whether the branch point of the general road is approaching, The display mode of the expressway is changed so that the branching situation of the road can be identified. For example, an expressway is displayed so as not to be conspicuous compared with a general road, or the road display of the expressway is turned off and only an interchange is displayed.
In this way, even when driving on a general road under a highway, the driver can easily recognize the branching situation of the general road or whether a general road exists under the highway. .
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(A) Schematic diagrams 1 and 2 of the present invention are schematic explanatory diagrams of the present invention. When driving on the general road RD below the highway HWY1, the highways HWY1 to HWY3 are displayed at the top as shown in FIG. 1A, and the general road RD is displayed below them. In this state, the navigation control unit (not shown) monitors whether the vehicle has approached the branch road BRP of the general road, and if it approaches, the highway can be identified as shown in FIG. 1 (B). The display mode of is changed. For example, the highways HWY1 to HWY1 ahead of the vehicle position are displayed inconspicuously compared with the general roads RD and RD ′. Specifically, as shown in the drawing, the highways HWY1 to HWY1 to 3 are displayed under the general roads RD and RD ′ with thin thick dotted lines. By displaying in this way, it is possible to easily grasp the branching situation of ordinary roads and also identify the situation of expressways.
[0007]
As another example of changing the display mode of the highway, as shown in FIG. 2, the road display of the highway is turned off and only the interchanges IC1 and IC2 are displayed. By displaying in this way, it is possible to easily grasp the branching situation of a general road, and it is possible to identify the presence of an expressway along the road RD ′ by IC display.
[0008]
(B) Navigation Device FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the navigation device of the present invention.
The map information storage unit 10 is a map recording medium such as a DVD that stores map data. The map reading unit 11 reads map information around the vehicle position from the map recording medium 10 and inputs the map information to the navigation control unit 15. The monitor device 12 draws a map image, a vehicle position mark, a guidance route, and the like corresponding to the current vehicle position under the control of the navigation control unit 15. Although not shown, the vehicle position detection unit 13 uses a direction sensor that detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, a distance sensor that generates one pulse for each predetermined travel distance, and a GPS receiver to detect the current position of the vehicle (latitude, (Longitude) is estimated and input to the navigation control unit 15. The input unit 14 such as a remote controller or a touch panel is used when selecting a menu from various menu lists displayed on the screen or scrolling the map.
[0009]
In the navigation control unit 15, the navigation control CPU 21 performs (1) control according to the flow shown in FIG. 4, (2) map image generation processing around the vehicle using map data, and (3) map matching. Processing, (4) route search / route guidance processing, (5) route re-search processing during off-route, and (6) vehicle position mark and guidance route image generation processing. The program memory 22 stores various programs executed by the navigation control CPU, the data memory 23 stores data such as guidance route information, and the work memory 24 is used for work.
[0010]
(C) Map display control FIG. 4 is a map display control flow of the present invention.
First, the navigation device performs normal map display (step 101). In the normal map display, the highway is displayed on the general road (see FIG. 1 (A)).
Next, it is checked whether the vehicle is passing through a general road under the expressway (step 102). If not, return to step 101.
[0011]
In step 102, when the vehicle is passing through a general road under the expressway, the guidance route information is referred to determine the distance to the branch point, and whether the distance is equal to or smaller than the set distance, in other words, whether the branch point is approached. Check (step 103). If not, the process returns to step 101.
When approaching the branch point, the display mode of the expressway is changed so that the branching situation of the general road can be identified (step 104). For example, an expressway is displayed so as not to be conspicuous compared with a general road (see FIG. 1B), or the highway road display is turned off and only an interchange is displayed (see FIG. 2).
Thereafter, it is monitored whether the branch point has been passed (step 105), and if not, the display in step 104 is continued. If the vehicle passes the branch point, the normal display, that is, the highway is displayed on the general road (step 106), and the process returns to step 101.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when driving on a general road under the expressway, it is monitored whether the branch point of the general road is approaching, and if it is approached, the expressway is displayed so that the branching situation of the general road can be identified. Since the mode has been changed (for example, the expressway is displayed inconspicuously compared to general roads, or the highway road display is turned off and only the interchange is displayed), the area under the expressway Even when traveling on ordinary roads, it is possible to easily recognize the branching situation of the ordinary roads and whether there are ordinary roads under the expressway.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a first schematic explanatory view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a second schematic explanatory view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a map display control flow of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional map display example.
[Explanation of symbols]
HWY 1-3 Expressway
RD, RD ′ General road
BRP general road junction
CMK vehicle position mark

Claims (3)

In the map display method of the in-vehicle navigation device that searches and displays the route to the destination,
When driving on a general road under the expressway, monitor whether the branch point of the general road is approaching,
When approaching, change the way the expressway is displayed so that ordinary roads can be identified.
A map display method characterized by that. When the branch point of the general road approaches, the highway is displayed so as not to stand out compared to the general road.
The map display method according to claim 1, wherein: When the branch point of the general road approaches, the highway road display is turned off and only the interchange is displayed.
The map display method according to claim 1, wherein:

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