JP4319219B2 - Vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation device using a hard disk as a storage medium for storing map data and the like.

  A vehicle navigation device generally includes position information detection means such as GPS, and a map data storage device. Then, based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the position information detecting means, the map data around the vehicle is read from the storage device, and the surrounding map is displayed on the display together with the own vehicle mark indicating the current position of the vehicle. As a storage medium of the map data storage device, a hard disk has been increasingly used. However, in a vehicle navigation apparatus, when a hard disk is used as a storage medium, it is necessary to pay attention to damage to the hard disk.

  As described in Patent Document 1, the hard disk has a structure in which the magnetic head is floated from the disk by the wind pressure generated by the flow of air generated by the rotation of the disk. For this reason, when the atmospheric pressure decreases, the wind pressure decreases, and the distance between the magnetic head and the disk cannot be maintained. In this case, a read / write error may occur, or in the worst case, the disc may be damaged.

  For this reason, in the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, the altitude used or the atmospheric pressure of the hard disk is determined based on the altitude calculated from the GPS signal, the altitude obtained from the current position and map data, the detected atmospheric pressure from the atmospheric pressure sensor, and the like. The map data includes data relating to the altitude, and the altitude can be obtained by referring to the map data based on the current position of the vehicle.

When the vehicle travels on a road exceeding a predetermined altitude (3000 m), the hard disk is prevented from being accessed by storing the map data of the hard disk in a data memory so that it can be referred to.
JP 2004-317385 A

  In the prior art, when the barometric pressure sensor is not provided, it is determined whether or not access to the hard disk is prohibited based only on the GPS signal and altitude data obtained by referring to the map data.

  Certainly, the atmospheric pressure and altitude are correlated, but the atmospheric pressure fluctuation due to the weather may be different in each region, or the atmospheric pressure fluctuation may occur due to regional problems such as when the land is easy to blow strong winds. .

  If it is determined whether or not access to the hard disk is simply prohibited from altitude data as in the prior art, it is difficult to consider the influence of such atmospheric pressure fluctuations specific to the region. For this reason, there is a possibility that the protection of the hard disk becomes insufficient, or conversely, access to the hard disk is unnecessarily prohibited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a vehicle navigation device capable of appropriately protecting a hard disk when a hard disk is used as a storage medium for storing map data and the like. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle navigation device according to claim 1 is provided.
A display for displaying a map of the current position of the vehicle and its surroundings;
Current position measuring means for measuring the current position of the vehicle;
A storage device for storing map data for displaying a map on a display unit using a hard disk as a storage medium, and prohibited area information indicating a prohibited area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited;
Memory for temporarily reading the prohibited area information from the storage device and storing it;
Determining means for determining whether the current position of the vehicle belongs to the prohibited area based on the prohibited area information stored in the memory and the current position of the vehicle measured by the current position measuring means;
Prohibiting / permitting means for permitting access to the hard disk when the determining means determines that the current position of the vehicle is outside the prohibited area, and prohibiting access to the hard disk when determined to belong to the prohibited area; ,
Display control means for reading map data from the hard disk of the storage device and displaying a vehicle mark indicating the current position of the vehicle and a map around it when the access to the hard disk is permitted by the prohibition / permission means And comprising
When the access to the hard disk is prohibited, the display control means displays an operation screen of a device other than the vehicle navigation on the display unit ,
Prohibited area information, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, is read from the storage device, stored in the memory, characterized in Rukoto.

  As described above, according to the vehicle navigation device of the first aspect, the prohibited area for prohibiting access to the hard disk is set in advance, and the prohibited area information indicating the prohibited area is set as the storage medium. It is stored in the storage device. The prohibited area information is read from the hard disk and stored in the memory, and is compared with the current position of the vehicle to determine whether to prohibit access to the hard disk.

  As described above, in the vehicle navigation device according to the first aspect, it is determined not to use the altitude data but to permit / prohibit access to the hard disk using the prohibited area information. The prohibited area in the prohibited area information can be set in consideration of the atmospheric pressure fluctuation due to the weather in each area, the atmospheric pressure fluctuation unique to the area, and the like. For this reason, the hard disk can be appropriately protected by using the prohibited area information.

As described in claim 2, the prohibited area information indicating an area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited may comprise a plurality of prohibited area information that is switched according to the season. This is because even in the same region, the weather changes depending on the season, and the atmospheric pressure fluctuation may also be different.
Further, as described in claim 3, view data earth, and dividing the entire display range to be displayed on a map in a mesh pattern, stored in the storage device for each individual division range, an ignition switch is on the vehicle When this is done, map data of the divided range corresponding to the prohibited area or data indicating the position and size of the divided range is stored in the memory as the prohibited area information.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the vehicle navigation apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes a position detector 1, a storage device 6 storing map data, an operation unit 7, an external memory 8, a display device 9, and an external information input / output device. 10, an audio output device 11, and a control device 12.

  The control device 12 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line for connecting these configurations. In the ROM, a program to be executed by the control device 12 is written, and a CPU or the like executes predetermined arithmetic processing according to this program.

  The position detector 1 includes a known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for GPS (Global Positioning System) that measures the position of a vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. Have. Since these have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy of each sensor, the position detector 1 may be configured as a part of the above-described ones, and a steering rotation sensor (not shown), a vehicle speed sensor for each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

  The storage device 6 includes a hard disk that stores information such as map data as a storage medium, and reads stored information such as map data and outputs it to the control device 12 in response to a request from the control device 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage device 6 stores, in addition to map data, prohibited area information indicating a prohibited area where access to the hard disk is prohibited, voice data for generating guidance voice, and the like. .

Here, the map data and prohibited area information stored in the hard disk will be described. First, the map data includes map drawing data for drawing a road map, and index data for searching positions of various facilities,
Map drawing data is mainly based on background data used as a background when displaying road maps such as natural terrain and railroad tracks, character data for displaying place names and various facility names on the map, and actual roads. And road data for displaying the road.

  The road data is composed of link information and node information. The link is defined by dividing each road on the map into a plurality of nodes by nodes indicating intersections, branch points, junctions, and the like, and defining a link between the two nodes. The link information includes a unique number (link ID) that identifies the link, a link length indicating the link length, link start and end node coordinates (latitude / longitude), road name, road type, road width, number of lanes, right turn・ Consists of data such as the presence of the left turn lane, the number of lanes, the speed limit, etc. When a node is included in the middle of a link, node coordinate data describing node coordinates as link data is also included.

  Further, the node information is composed of data such as a node ID with a unique number for each node, node coordinates, a node name, a connection link ID describing a link ID of a link connected to the node, and an intersection type.

  In addition to displaying a map, this road data can be used when searching for a guide route to a destination, or can be used to give the shape of a road when performing map matching processing. . However, regarding the search for the guide route, road network data indicating the connection relation of each road to be used for the guide route search may be separately prepared and searched using the network data.

  The index data is for searching for a position when a destination or the like is input by an address, a facility name, a telephone number, or the like. For this reason, the index data consists of data in which addresses, facility names, telephone numbers and the like are associated with the corresponding coordinates on the map.

  The map drawing data described above is stored in the hard disk for each divided range by dividing the entire display range in which the map is to be displayed into a mesh shape. For the prohibited area information, determine the area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited in consideration of the atmospheric pressure fluctuation due to the weather in each area, the atmospheric pressure fluctuation specific to the area, etc., and the hard disk in the divided range corresponding to the determined area By giving data (flag) indicating that it is a prohibited area, it is stored in the hard disk.

  The operation unit 7 is a wireless remote controller, a touch panel that detects a touch position on the display screen when various switches are displayed on the display screen of the display device 9 described later, or a mechanical device disposed around the display device 9. It consists of a simple switch. The operation unit 7 is used, for example, for performing various settings relating to map display, and for determining a starting point, a destination, a passing point, and the like in route guidance. Note that the departure point in the route guidance is normally set to the current position of the vehicle, but any point can be set as the departure point by operating the operation unit 7.

  The external memory 8 is composed of, for example, a RAM or a flash memory, and stores prohibited area information read from the storage device 6 when the vehicle navigation device starts operating. Thus, by storing the prohibited area information in the external memory 8, it is possible to refer to the prohibited area information thereafter without accessing the hard disk of the storage device 6.

  The display device 9 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display or a CRT display provided on an instrument panel of a vehicle. The display device 9 displays a host vehicle mark indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle, and a road map around the vehicle generated by map data input from the storage device 6. Furthermore, when a guide route reaching the destination is set, the guide route is displayed superimposed on the road map.

  The external information input / output device 10 receives information such as road traffic information distributed from the traffic information center via beacons laid on the road and FM broadcasting stations in various places, or externally from the vehicle side as necessary. It is a device that sends information to. The received information is processed by the control device 12. For example, traffic jam information, regulation information, and the like are displayed on the road map in the display device 9.

  The audio output device 11 includes a speaker or the like. For example, when a destination is input and the control device 12 searches for an optimum guidance route to the destination, guidance for the vehicle to travel along the guidance route is provided. It outputs sound. That is, when the control device 12 performs route guidance, an enlarged view of the guidance intersection showing the traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed on the display device 9 at a point a predetermined distance before the point where the vehicle should turn left and right (guidance intersection). While displaying, the audio | voice output apparatus 11 generates the guidance audio | voice which shows the direction which a vehicle should advance.

  Next, the hard disk access prohibition control in the storage device 6 relating to the characteristic part of the present embodiment will be described.

  As described above, information such as map data is stored in the hard disk of the storage device 6. Normally, when the current position of the vehicle changes as the vehicle moves, a road map around the current position of the vehicle is displayed. Map drawing data for drawing is read from the storage device 6. The map read in this way is displayed together with the own vehicle mark indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle, so that the user can accurately recognize the position of the vehicle.

  However, as explained in the background art section, the hard disk of the storage device 6 cannot maintain the distance between the magnetic head and the disk when the usage environment is low, and in the worst case, the disk may be damaged. . For this reason, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, by setting in advance a prohibited area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited, and adding data indicating access prohibition to the hard disk to the corresponding map division range The prohibited area information was stored on the hard disk. The prohibited area can be set in consideration of the atmospheric pressure variation due to the weather in each region, the regional atmospheric pressure variation, and the like. For this reason, the hard disk can be appropriately protected by using the prohibited area information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the prohibited area stored as prohibited area information. When setting the prohibited area, the altitude data is used as a reference because the atmospheric pressure and the altitude are correlated. That is, the area surrounded by the contour line corresponding to the altitude corresponding to the atmospheric pressure to be protected from hard disk damage is first extracted. Then, with respect to the area surrounded by the contour lines, a margin according to atmospheric pressure fluctuation due to the weather and topography of each area is provided, and a prohibited area for prohibiting access to the hard disk is determined. Data indicating the prohibited area is assigned to the map division range corresponding to the determined prohibited area and stored as prohibited area information.

  If the maximum altitude value of the area surrounded by the contour line is not significantly different from the altitude at which the hard disk should be protected and the area of the area is small, it is excluded from the prohibited area. As a result, it is possible to prevent frequent repetition of access to the hard disk being permitted or prohibited.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for controlling access prohibition to the hard disk according to the present embodiment. The access prohibition control will be described in detail below based on this flowchart. The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is started when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on.

  First, in step S 110, prohibited area information is read from the hard disk of the storage device 6 and stored in the external memory 8. In this way, by storing prohibited area information in a memory separate from the hard disk, the vehicle's current position and prohibited area are always displayed even when the vehicle travels in an area with a very high altitude. It becomes possible to contrast. In this case, what is read from the hard disk is map drawing data of a divided range to which data indicating a prohibited area is added. However, instead of the map drawing data itself, only data indicating the position and size of the divided range may be extracted and read out.

In step S120, the current position of the vehicle is calculated based on position data measured by each sensor of the position detector 1 and the like. At this time, the position data by the GPS receiver 5 is obtained as coordinate data (latitude and longitude). Further, the geomagnetic sensor 2, the gyroscope 3, and the distance sensor 4 acquire data related to the traveling direction and travel distance of the host vehicle, and calculate the coordinate data of the current position with reference to the vehicle position calculated in the past. Now, the prohibited area information stored in the external memory 8 is compared with the current position of the vehicle calculated in step S120. In step S140, based on the comparison result, it is determined whether or not the current position of the vehicle belongs to a prohibited area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited. If it is determined in step S140 that the current position of the vehicle is outside the prohibited area, the process proceeds to step S150. If it is determined that the current position is within the prohibited area, the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S150, since there is no risk of damage to the hard disk, all navigation functions including map display are executed while accessing the hard disk. For example, if route guidance is being executed, display of an enlarged map and voice guidance are also executed as they are. It is also possible to search various facilities using index data.

  On the other hand, in step S160, accessing the hard disk may be damaged, and access to the hard disk is prohibited. In this case, only functions that can be executed without accessing the hard disk are executed. For example, as navigation, a compass mode indicating only the traveling direction of the vehicle is executed, an operation screen of another device (for example, an air conditioner) is displayed on the display device 9, and an input operation accepting function is executed. The operation screens of other devices are stored in a memory other than the hard disk.

  In step S170, it is determined whether or not the power of the navigation device is turned off or the ignition switch is turned off. If it is determined “Yes” in step S170, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is terminated. If it is determined “No”, the process from step S120 is repeated.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

  For example, as the above-described prohibited area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited, a plurality of types of prohibited areas may be set according to the season. Then, it may be determined whether or not it is an area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited, using a prohibited area corresponding to the season at that time. That is, in this case, the prohibited area information stored in the hard disk includes a plurality of prohibited area information, and the prohibited area information used according to the season is switched. The reason why the prohibited area information is switched depending on the season in this way is that, even in the same region, the weather and the like may change depending on the season, and the atmospheric pressure fluctuation may also be different.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing types of data stored in a hard disk of a storage device 6. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of access prohibition control to a hard disk. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the prohibition area memorize | stored in a hard disk as prohibition area information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detector 6 Memory | storage device 7 Operation part 8 External memory 9 Display apparatus 11 Audio | voice output apparatus 12 Control apparatus

Claims (3)

A display for displaying a map of the current position of the vehicle and its surroundings;
Current position measuring means for measuring the current position of the vehicle;
A storage device that stores hard disk as a storage medium, map data for displaying a map on the display unit, and prohibited area information indicating a prohibited area where access to the hard disk should be prohibited;
A memory that reads the prohibited area information from the storage device and temporarily stores the information;
Determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle belongs to the prohibited area based on the prohibited area information stored in the memory and the current position of the vehicle measured by the current position measuring means;
When the determination means determines that the vehicle is outside the prohibited area, access to the hard disk is permitted, and when it is determined that the vehicle belongs to the prohibited area, access to the hard disk is prohibited. Means,
When access to the hard disk is permitted by the prohibition / permission means, map data is read from the hard disk of the storage device, and a vehicle mark indicating the current position of the vehicle and a map around it are displayed on the display unit. Display control means for displaying,
The display control means, when access to the hard disk is prohibited, displays an operation screen of equipment other than the vehicle navigation on the display unit ,
The prohibited area information, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, read from the storage device, a vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim Rukoto stored in the memory.   The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the prohibited area information indicating an area where access to the hard disk is prohibited is composed of a plurality of prohibited area information that is switched according to a season. The map data is obtained by dividing the entire display range on which a map is to be displayed into a mesh shape, and storing the map in each storage range in the storage device. When the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, the prohibited area information 3. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein map data of a divided range corresponding to the prohibited area or data indicating a position and a size of the divided range is stored in the memory. Navigation device.

Images