JP4576916B2 - Route guidance device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular route guidance apparatus that provides route guidance at a preset guidance timing for a guidance event on a route from a departure point to a destination.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle route guidance device, a route from a departure point to a destination is set by the Dijkstra method or the like, and a voice is sent to a guidance event immediately before the vehicle position (current vehicle position) on the set route. A voice guidance function is provided to guide the route and guide the user to the destination. In addition, guidance events include guidance points such as branch points such as turning left and right, toll gates, railroad crossings, junction points where roads intersect, curve sections, and tunnels.

By the way, the toll gates of the guidance events have guidance timings such as “700 m before”, “300 m before”, and “100 m before”, and branch points are “2 km before”, “1 km before”, The time point “500 m before” is set as the guidance timing.
If the guidance event ahead is a toll booth, there are often more branch points on the destination side. In such a case, a vehicular route guidance device that guides a branch point before entering a predetermined distance section before the toll booth and guides the toll booth when entering the predetermined distance section. (For example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-2557577 A

  However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, the branch point is first guided, and then the toll gate is guided in a predetermined distance section before the toll gate, and then the car is stopped at the toll gate (or slowed down), Since it is a situation where it recurs (or accelerates), passes through the toll booth, and reaches a branch point, the driving situation of the car and the guidance situation are not a series, and when it passes through the toll booth It may be necessary to reconfirm the branch point.

However, when the toll booth and the branch point are close to each other, the preset guidance timing may be slow.
In this case, it is possible to guide the next branch point using a manual key or the like, but there are cases where the driver cannot perform manual operation when passing the toll gate.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is that even when a guidance event exists closer to the destination side than a guidance event ahead of the vehicle position, both guidance events are close. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular route guidance device that can provide guidance when a guidance event in front of the vehicle position passes without any user operation.

According to the first aspect of the present invention , in the guidance event, a plurality of guidance timings are set for each type of guidance event, the first guidance event exists in front of the vehicle position, and the first guidance is provided. there the destination side of the first guide events and different second guide events event, and said second guide events that destination side, the first guide events pass in front when the distance between the first guide event and the second guide events of the destination side a phenomenon to be guided by time and is in the front is less than a predetermined distance, the first in the front Since the guidance for the second guidance event on the destination side is performed when the guidance event is passed, even if the guidance event on the front side and the guidance event on the destination side are close, the front side is automatically At the time of passing the guidance event of the destination side To be able to perform the guidance for elephants, it becomes possible good route guidance.
In the vehicular route guidance apparatus according to the second aspect, the guidance timing interval differs depending on the type of the guidance event, the first guidance event having a shorter guidance timing interval exists ahead of the vehicle position, and the first There is a different type of the second guide event having a longer guide timing interval on the destination side than the guide event, and the second guide event on the destination side is the first guide event in front of the first event. When the distance between the first guidance event at the front side and the second guidance event at the destination side is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, which is an event to be guided when the guidance event passes, It is characterized in that guidance for the second guidance event on the destination side is performed when the first guidance event is passed .
The vehicle navigation system according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined distance corresponds to the guide timing closer to the second guide events most of the destination side of the guide timing of the second guide events of the destination side It is characterized by being a distance.

According to the invention of claim 4 , when there is a branch point at a short distance from the toll booth, the branch point is automatically guided at the time of passing the toll booth. When the guidance event is switched to the branch point, the guidance of the branch point can be acquired, and reliable route guidance can be performed.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a vehicle route guidance apparatus according to the present invention. This route guidance device is configured as a navigation device.
The navigation device has a position detector 1 for detecting the current position of the vehicle. The position detector 1 includes a geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5. The navigation device also includes a map data input device 6 for reading map data from a map data storage medium (map data storage means) 6a such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, and operation switches for performing various operations necessary for navigation. Group 7, a control circuit (control means) 8 that executes various processes necessary for navigation, a display device 9 that displays a map, a sound generator 10 that generates sound, and a signal from a remote controller 12 are received. A remote control sensor 11 is provided.

The map data storage medium 6a stores map data used for map display, map data used for map matching, map data used for route guidance, and the like.
In the configuration described above, when the user uses the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 12 to set a destination and instruct a route search, the control circuit 8 uses the map data used for route guidance to go to the destination. The process of searching for the route is performed. That is, the control circuit 8 calculates the route cost from the departure point (for example, the current position of the vehicle) to the set destination by the Dijkstra method, and when the calculation of all the route costs to the destination is completed, Connect the link with the lowest cost and set the route to the destination.

The control circuit 8 highlights the destination route on the road map of the display device 9 with respect to the destination route set in this way, or guides the guidance event on the destination route from the voice generator 10. Control to generate sound.
Next, an example of voice route guidance in the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2A, it is assumed that there is a toll gate A in front of the own vehicle position and a branch point B on the destination side of the toll gate A. Processing in the control circuit 8 that performs voice route guidance will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined timing.

First, it is determined whether a toll gate exists as a guidance event in front of the vehicle position (step P1). In this case, the control circuit 8 searches for guidance events within the range of, for example, 10 km from the vehicle position to the destination side for guidance events on the set route, and forwards the vehicle position based on the search. Determine whether a toll booth exists.
If the determination in step P1 is YES, it is next determined whether or not there is a guidance event on the destination side from the toll gate (step P2). Whether or not a guidance event exists on the destination side is also determined based on the above-described search.

  If the determination in step P2 is YES, it is next determined whether or not the conditions for guidance of the destination side guidance event are met (step P3). This condition is that the guidance event on the destination side is a branch point, and the distance from the toll gate is a predetermined distance or less, for example, “500 m” or less of the guide timing set in advance at the branch point. It is defined as.

  Therefore, in step P3, if the condition that “the guidance event on the destination side is a branch point and the distance to the toll gate is 500 m or less” is met (if YES), in step P4, before passing the toll gate After the normal route guidance process is executed, in step P5, the route guidance process for guiding the next guidance event (the branch point that is the guidance event on the destination side) is performed when the toll gate passes.

In other words, according to the destination direction, as shown in FIG.
If NO in steps P2 and P3, normal route guidance processing is performed (step P6).
In this normal route guidance, normal route guidance processing is performed as shown in FIG. That is, the guidance timing is set according to the distance until the guidance event is reached, for example, 700 m, 300 m, and 100 m are set for the toll gate, and 2 km, 1 km, and 500 m are set for the branch point, for example. Is set to In addition, voice guidance is performed at various guidance timings, such as voice guidance for the next guidance event after passing through a certain guidance event. Therefore, in the processes of Step P4 and Step P6, as shown in FIG. 2C, guidance is performed only for the guidance event ahead of the vehicle position.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the toll gate A and the branch point B are close to each other, the guidance to the branch point B can be automatically performed when the toll gate A is passed. Route guidance can be performed.
In the above-described embodiment, when the condition that “the guidance event on the destination side is a branch point and the distance to the toll gate is 500 m or less” is met in Step P3, the process until passing through the toll gate in Step P4. In the route guidance process, a normal route guidance process is performed. In this step P4, as can be seen from FIG. 4 shown as the second embodiment of the present invention, a charge is charged in the predetermined section C before the toll booth A. Guidance only for toll booth A, before entering this section C (section K), route guidance related to toll gate A at branch point B (for example, "There is a branch after about 2km ahead, toll booth") ) May be performed.

  In addition, the route from the departure point to the destination does not need to be set in the vehicle route guidance device. Information on the departure point and the destination is transmitted to the outside (for example, the information center), and the route calculated outside The route from the departure point to the destination may be set upon reception. The toll booth may be of a fee payment type using money or a card, or may be an ETC (automatic fee collection system).

1 is a block diagram of an electrical configuration showing a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a diagram showing a schematic positional relationship between a toll booth and a branch point, and (b) and (c) are diagrams showing different voice route guidance. The figure which shows the control contents of the control circuit FIG. 2B equivalent view showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a position detector, 8 is a control circuit, 9 is a display device, 10 is a sound generator, A is a toll gate (guidance event), and B is a branch point (guidance event).

Claims (4)

In a vehicular route guidance device that provides route guidance at a preset guidance timing for a guidance event in a route from a departure place to a destination,
In the guidance event, a plurality of guidance timings are set for each type of guidance event,
There is a first guidance event ahead of the host vehicle position, a second guidance event of a different type from the first guidance event is present on the destination side of the first guidance event, and the destination The second guide event on the side is an event to be guided when the first guide event on the front side passes, and the first guide event on the front side and the second guide event on the destination side When the distance from the guidance event is equal to or less than a predetermined distance , guidance for the second guidance event on the destination side is performed when the first guidance event ahead is passed. A route guidance device for vehicles. The guidance timing interval differs depending on the type of the guidance event,
The first guide event having a shorter guide timing interval exists ahead of the host vehicle position, and the different type of the second guide event having a longer guide timing interval on the destination side than the first guide event. And the second guidance event on the destination side is an event that should be guided when the first guidance event passing in front of the first guidance event, and the first guidance event in front of the first guidance event When the distance between the second guidance event on the destination side and the second guidance event on the destination side is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the guidance for the second guidance event on the destination side when the first guidance event on the front side is passed the vehicle navigation system according to claim 1, characterized in that to carry out the. 3. The predetermined distance is a distance corresponding to a guidance timing closest to a second guidance event on the destination side among guidance timings of the second guidance event on the destination side . The vehicle route guidance apparatus according to claim 1. There is a toll gate with a short guidance timing interval as the first guidance event ahead, and there is a branch point to be guided when passing through the toll gate as a second guidance event on the destination side with a long guidance timing. And when the distance between the toll booth in front and the branch point on the destination side is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, guidance is given to the branch point on the destination side when passing the toll gate in front. 4. The vehicle route guidance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle route guidance apparatus is configured as described above.

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