JP4791064B2 - Navigation device with environmental sound reproduction - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to navigation methods such as car navigation and walking navigation, and more particularly to a navigation device with environmental sound reproduction.

Car navigation that detects the current position of a car and displays map information centered on that position has been put into practical use. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-263688 proposed by the present inventor, fine data and coarse data are stored in a ROM, a hard disk and other recording media, and a current self-position detector using a space satellite, a gyroscope, etc. According to the current self-position / azimuth information obtained from the direction detector, the area around the front of the current self-position is finely enlarged and displayed on the display according to one of various perspective projection methods, and the distant portion is compressed and displayed.
A similar method is also described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-86027, and includes a data storage unit that stores one or more types of virtual image information related to geographical points, and a storage unit for virtual information received by communication means. Prepared by detecting the distance and azimuth from the current self-position of the vehicle equipped with the car navigation system or the walking navigation to the target object by a distance meter and a direction meter, and from the data storage unit and the storage unit, one or more types of the target object The virtual information is read and displayed, and at the same time, the object, for example, images inside and outside the facility and merchandise information of the store are displayed on the display. At that time, a real image of the object can be picked up by the image pickup means, and the real image can be simultaneously displayed and compared with the virtual image. Furthermore, it is described that the object or information inside the object can be explained by voice.

JP-A-1-263688 JP-A-11-86027

In these conventional navigation methods, when a map image is displayed on a display by a perspective method, information on a specific object can be reproduced by voice. No method has been proposed for reproducing environmental sounds according to the characteristics of the sound source, such as water currents, city sounds, airfield arrivals and departures, and automatically or as desired as the automobile progresses. Sound from the surroundings is confused with the noise of the city, or is blocked by the windshield of the car and is usually hardly audible. Also, you can't usually hear sound from a slightly distant source.
It is preferable for a user of a car navigation system or walking navigation system to be able to grasp the surrounding situation and atmosphere together with map information, and it is preferable that the sound from a famous temple, etc., can be heard with a certain sound source in a range that cannot be heard normally. If you can enjoy environmental sounds in stereo or multi-channels in a closed room, you can realize a kind of environmental space theater, and enjoyment will increase.
The present invention aims to solve such problems.

The present invention relates to a conventional navigation device that displays a map in a perspective view such as a bird's eye view on a display of a navigation device, and a sound from a sound source in the surrounding environment along a route traveled by a car or a person carrying the navigation device. Alternatively, an apparatus for reproducing a simulated sound in a state in which both the distance from the current self position to the sound source and the azimuth can be grasped is provided.
(1) That is, according to the present invention, each environmental sound includes a map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with map coordinates, and a timbre, sound intensity, and sound source direction associated with a number of the map coordinates. and environmental sound data storage unit that stores data, the map from the data storage unit a map image data read該地view image progression direction of the current device as bird's eye view from the self-position vicinity on a display screen in the front A map image reproduction unit to be reproduced, and an environmental sound reproduction in which one or more environmental sound data corresponding to or near the current self-position is read from the environmental sound data storage unit and reproduced with the tone as an environmental sound by a plurality of speakers and a section, the environmental sound reproducing unit, depending on the orientation of the forward direction and sound source among sound intensity of the environmental sound data read out from said environment sound data storage unit Generating a plurality of signals obtained by introducing a衰特resistance and phase difference has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, a navigation device.

(2) More specifically, the present invention relates to a map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with map coordinates, a timbre, sound intensity, and sound source direction associated with a number of map coordinates. each environmental sound and environmental sound data storage unit in which data is stored and the said map data reading該地view image map image data from the storage unit the progression direction of the current device as the bird's eye view of the self-position near to the front display comprising A map image playback unit that plays back on the screen; and an environmental sound playback unit that reads out the environmental sound data corresponding to the current position from the environmental sound data storage unit and plays back the sound as the environmental sound using a plurality of speakers. the environmental sound reproduction unit includes a damping characteristics which depends on the angle of deviation between the orientation of the forward direction and sound source among sound intensity of the environmental sound data read out from said environment sound data storage unit Generating a plurality of signals obtained by introducing a phase difference has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, to provide a navigation device.

(3) The present invention is also the environmental sound data including the map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with the map coordinates and the orientation of the sound and sound intensity and sound associated with a number of the map coordinates and environmental sound data storage unit for storing, reproducing the map data read該地view image map image data from the storage unit the progression direction of the current device as bird's eye view from the self-position near to the front display screen And an environmental sound reproducing unit that reads environmental sound data corresponding to a plurality of map coordinates in the vicinity of the current self position from the environmental sound data storage unit and reproduces the sound as the environmental sound with a plurality of speakers. with the door, the environmental sound reproducing unit, and the direction of the forward direction and the sound source to each of the sound intensity of the plurality of environmental sound data read from said environment sound data storage unit Introducing a phase difference depending on the polarization angle between has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, to provide a navigation device.

  Further preferably, in the navigation device described above, the present invention provides a video data storage unit that stores a pop-up video relating to a selected map coordinate, and the selected pop-up video is automatically or manually displayed when the map is selected. It is preferable that the environmental sound reproduction device reproduces the environmental sound related to the pop-up video when the user touches the pop-up video.

  Preferably, the environmental sound reproduction unit includes means for correcting reading and reproduction of environmental sound data corresponding to the current self position from the environmental sound data storage unit.

According to the present invention, the environmental sound storage unit stores the intensity at the coordinate position of the distribution of the environmental sound and the direction of the sound source viewed from the coordinate position as the environmental sound data. Can be played in a state where the direction of the can be grasped.
When a map image is displayed on the display of a navigation device using perspective projection, the situation of the surroundings as a car or a person moves forward, the surroundings of the bells, water currents, sea storms, city sounds, parade or festival sounds, airfield The sound is reproduced from the environmental sound reproducing device according to the characteristics of the sound source such as arrival and departure and automatically or as desired as the automobile advances. In this way, sound from a certain sound source such as a famous temple or church can be heard along with its direction in a range that is not normally audible, so that the user of a car navigation system or walking navigation system can grasp the surrounding situation and atmosphere together with map information. can get. In a closed room such as a passenger car, if you can enjoy environmental sounds in stereo or multi-channel, you can create a kind of environmental space theater and double your enjoyment.

  The environmental sound source can be selected arbitrarily and is stored in the environmental sound data storage unit in association with map coordinates only for famous places and facilities with sound sources, intersections, event venues, rivers, railways, airplanes, etc. Just do it. The environmental sound here is only an artificial sound that compresses the space, and it can be heard from the same direction as the actual sound even if the distance between the current location of the car equipped with the navigation device and the actual facility is long. The intensity distribution can be determined as follows. For example, an intensity distribution is determined as if a sound source at a distance of 1 km is a distance of 100 m.

  The environmental sound data can simulate an arbitrary sound source by using an audio mixer, for example. For example, sound sources are classified and coded, and stored as a part of the environmental sound data. Select a timbre according to the code and play it with the ambient sound intensity stored in association with the map coordinates, or add two speakers to this intensity with a difference in left and right intensity corresponding to the gradient of the intensity distribution. Play with multi-channel speakers.

  The environmental sound data is associated with the map coordinates, and the intensity distribution according to the distance from the sound source to the map coordinates (usually inversely proportional to the square of the distance, but in places where there is linear attenuation and obstacles Data representing the intensity to be attenuated by an asymmetric distribution of the above and the like, and data representing the timbre described above. Therefore, environmental sound data is a vector (coordinate on the map, sound intensity at that coordinate point, tone color code) or vector (coordinate on the map, sound intensity from the sound source at that coordinate point, at that coordinate point) Sound source direction, timbre code), and the like. The coordinates serve as an address for accessing the environmental sound data storage unit from the navigation device's own position. Note that the sound source coordinates may be used instead of the direction as one of the sound source data. In this case, the direction can be determined from the specific map coordinates of the current position or its surroundings and the map coordinates of the sound source position. A phase difference or intensity difference can be added to the reproduced sound. The direction can take into account the circumvention of the sound, so that the environmental sound can be reproduced more truly than when using the coordinates of the sound source.

  It is said that the direction of the sound source is perceived by distinguishing the difference in intensity and phase difference between the left and right ears (the time difference that the sound reaches). The intensity of the sound is attenuated as the sound bypasses the head. The intensity of the sound coming from a distant sound source is not substantially different between the positions of the left and right ears, but greatly attenuates when reaching the head, so that the human brain can determine the direction. Since the phase of the sound corresponds to a time difference that is delayed by the sound bypassing the head, it is a material for the human brain to determine the direction. As described above, other factors (for example, the judgment of sound in the front-rear direction is related to vision) are also related to the recognition of the sound direction, but the difference in the intensity of the sound that mainly reaches the left and right ears. And the phase difference. (Edited by the Acoustical Society of Japan, Kodansha, December 20, 1996, pages 227-230).

The present invention utilizes this principle.
First, when the sound source is relatively far away, the sound that reaches the current position of the navigation device has no difference between the positions of the left and right ears. The intensity and phase of a plurality of sounds to be added to a plurality of speakers are determined from the environmental sound data. This is the navigation device (2) described above.
Next, when the sound source is relatively close, the sound reaching the current position of the navigation device has a difference between the positions of the left and right ears. The intensity and phase of a plurality of sounds to be added to a plurality of speakers corresponding thereto are determined from a plurality of environmental sound data in the vicinity of the position. This is the navigation device (3) described above.
The principle of the navigation device (3) is effective even when the sound source is relatively far away. However, in this case, the sound reaching the current position of the navigation device has no difference between the positions of the left and right ears, but a plurality of map coordinates (for example, the self position) that are considerably separated from the self position (for example, 10 m). A plurality of ambient sound data corresponding to the coordinates of the four corners of the rectangle centering on the direction of travel) and the intensity of the plurality of sounds to be applied to the plurality of speakers in consideration of the transfer characteristics in the human head. Each phase is determined. The coordinate point (3) can be selected in accordance with the sound intensity.
In addition, although the transmission characteristic by a human head is complicated, it can be simplified suitably. For example, if the angle from the traveling direction of the navigation device to the sound source direction is θ, a left and right sound having a simplified intensity difference such as I ₀ -Asin θ may be generated. However, I ₀ is a basic intensity, and A is an appropriately selected attenuation coefficient. The same fine adjustment is possible for the phase.

  The environmental sound data is represented by a vector (coordinates on the map, sound intensity at the coordinate point, direction of the sound source at the coordinate point, and tone color code). As described in (2) above, when the user is far from the sound source, the self progresses to the strength and the direction of the sound source in the environmental sound data at the coordinate point of the self position without using the strength of the left and right or left and right coordinate points. The left and right intensity and phase can be easily generated by associating directions. In addition, as described in (3) above, a plurality of appropriately selected coordinate points are used even when the sound source is close or far from the sound source, and the left / right or left / right to be applied to the left / right or left / right front / rear speakers in the direction of the sound source. The intensity and phase before and after can be easily generated.

  On the other hand, map image data is associated with map coordinates. Since the technique for displaying a map image on the display based on the map image data is described in Patent Document 1 described above, details are omitted. A method of displaying a desired route from the self-position to the target point together with the displayed map image, for example, a shortest route or a desired route, a method of displaying a building along the desired route on the display together with the map image, and map image data on the Internet Since it is also known to store in a map image data storage unit (such as a hard disk) via a wireless connection or a wireless connection, the details are omitted. For these, see the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 and the like.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye view displayed on a display together with a map image and related buildings, facilities, places, and the like (represented by 5). These are collectively referred to as a map image 1. The route 3 from the current own position (the position of a navigation device such as a car navigation system or a walking navigation system) to the target point is set according to the principle of the conventional navigation device. If desired, noticeable buildings and sights that exist on both sides of the set route, such as hot springs 7, building interiors 9, station terminals 11, events 12 etc., are displayed as pop-up images outside the map screen along with instruction lines from the map screen. Is displayed.

  By the way, peculiar environmental sounds exist in places 7 to 12 above, for example, hot spring sounds, wild bird voices in hot springs, kitchen sounds in restaurants in buildings, crowded noises and announcements at station terminals, You can hear music at the event venue. These ambient sounds can be heard through Route 3 with the intensity adjusted by the wall of the building and attenuated (normally attenuated in proportion to the square) according to the distance from the sound source. Is appropriately set artificially, and it is made to correspond to the map coordinates and stored in the environmental sound data storage unit together with the tone color code of the sound source.

  This is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the sound source is represented by sound sources 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, etc. around the route 3, and its intensity distribution is represented by a conical contour line centering on the sound source. Therefore, when a car or the like equipped with the navigation device 15 passes through the route 3 now, the car passes through the sound potential according to the traveling direction, and depends on the transfer characteristics around the human head. The left and right ears can be heard as sounds with different intensities and phases.

  In the present invention, the same as this is stored in the storage unit as environmental sound data of a sound intensity distribution associated with the coordinates, and when an automobile or the like passes through a point corresponding to the route 3 on the screen as described in (2) above. In addition, the left and right front and rear speakers in the car generate the left and right artificial sounds by introducing the phase difference and intensity difference depending on the direction of travel of the car at the coordinate point of the current position, the direction of the sound source, and the transfer characteristics of the head. Reproduce.

  In the navigation device of (3), the environmental sound data of the storage unit corresponding to the point is stored from the storage unit to the map coordinate point FL (coordinate point at a certain distance on the front left) and FR (constant distance to the front right). Read out from the coordinate point), RF (coordinate point at a certain distance to the left rear), and RR (coordinate point at a certain distance to the back right), and calculate the phase difference between the coordinate points from the direction and direction of travel of the sound source at those coordinates Since the sound intensity from these coordinate points and the calculated phase difference can be used, the sound is reproduced by the left and right speakers in the vehicle. Preferably, a phase difference and attenuation of intensity at each coordinate point can be further introduced corresponding to the traveling direction of the car, the direction of the sound source, and the transmission characteristics of the head, so that a reproduced sound that is more realistic can be created. .

In this way, if the direction of the car changes as the car progresses, the intensity balance and phase difference on the left and right will differ even with the same sound source, so that the direction of the sound source changes relatively and you get a feeling as if you were displaced Can do.
If you put at least several sound sources in each map coordinate, you can feel the environmental sound enough.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which a car navigation 15 mounted on a car, a plurality of speakers 17-1, 17-2, and the like are arranged.
FIG. 4 shows a case where the two speakers of the walking navigation are two headphones 19-1 and 19-2. When the pedestrian changes the direction, the walking navigation also changes the direction, but the movement is detected and corrected by a gyroscope or the like. By doing so, the direction of the sound source rotates in the reverse direction so that the displacement of the sound source can be recognized together with the sense of vision.

The above is the basic principle of the present invention, and specific means and methods for realizing it will be described.
FIG. 5 is an embodiment showing the configuration of the navigation device (hereinafter abbreviated as “navigation device”) of the present invention.
Map image data (information) is stored in advance in the map data storage unit 21 in the navigation device, and environmental sound data is stored in the environmental sound data storage unit 22 in advance. Can be updated or replenished as appropriate.
The map data storage unit 21 is connected to the map image reproduction unit 25, and the environmental sound data storage unit 22 is connected to the environmental sound reproduction unit 26. The reproduction unit 25 is controlled to reproduce by a self-position detector 23 that detects a self-position from a signal that receives a communication satellite or other induced radio wave from the antenna 24 and a self-direction detector 27 such as a gyroscope. That is, the map image reproduction unit 25 reproduces a map image in the vicinity of the own position as a bird's eye view viewed from the own position in the traveling direction on the display 28 of the navigation device. The reproduction unit 26 is similarly controlled by the detectors 23 and 27 for reproduction. That is, the environmental sound reproducing unit 26 reproduces a plurality of speakers or headphones (two in this example) in the correct direction when viewed in the traveling direction. Since the reproduction of the map image has been put into practical use for a long time, the details are omitted, so refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 and the like.
Here, the self position refers to the position of the navigation device, and the self direction (direction) refers to the traveling direction of the navigation device, that is, the forward direction.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the environmental sound reproducing device 26. As described above, environmental sound data is composed of vectors (position coordinates, sound intensity at those coordinates, direction of sound source from the coordinates, tone code), and the navigation device uses its own communication satellite or gyroscope to determine its position and orientation. Therefore, the environmental sound reader 40 is perpendicular to the traveling direction in the vicinity of the self position and in the vicinity of the self position from the environmental sound data storage unit 22 (FIG. 5). The environmental sound intensity signals and timbre codes at two positions (preferably four on the left and right sides) close to the direction are read. The timbre synthesizer 41 generates a predetermined timbre signal corresponding to the timbre code by synthesizing the oscillation signals from the oscillators 42 of a plurality of frequencies based on the timbre code, and sends it to the left and right phase / intensity adjustment and power amplifiers 44 and 45. Therefore, the tone color signal is adjusted in level and phase based on the left and right environmental sound intensity signals and the phase difference signal, and sent to the left and right speakers 29 and 30.
This process is corrected every moment so that it can correspond to the driving | running | working of a motor vehicle or a pedestrian's movement and direction change.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation of the navigation device of the present invention. This is the left half map image display method. Start the navigation device at start 1 (switch-on), determine the self position using satellites (S1), and also use the gyro etc. The direction is determined (S2), the map image data around the self-position is read from the map image data section, and the map image is displayed on the display in a bird's eye view (S3). The operations from S1 to S3 are repeated continuously to correct the image. The user can perform operations such as route search, selection, setting, and the like while viewing the map image. As described with reference to FIG. 1, a representative facility or the like can be pop-up displayed by the user's selection or automatically as indicated by the dotted line in some cases (S4). If it is desired to obtain the environmental sound, the user can touch the pop-up image with a hand (touch) in step S5 to start the reproduction of the environmental sound.

Referring to the right half of the figure, reading from the environmental sound data storage unit is started by touching the pop-up video or at start 2 (switch-on). That is, the self position is first determined (S6) and the direction of the self is determined (S7). Since this part is the same operation as the corresponding part of the left half (S6 = S1, S7 = S2), there is no need to perform it separately.
When the self-position and direction are determined, the timbre code, the environmental sound intensity, and the direction are read out as signals from the environmental sound data storage unit 22 using them as addresses of the storage device (S8). The environmental sound intensity signal is an environmental sound signal from two environmental sound data in the left-right direction at the self-position perpendicular to the traveling direction based on the self-position and direction. Next, a plurality of oscillation frequencies from the oscillator are synthesized based on the environmental sound code to synthesize a specific tone color signal (S9). This tone signal is, for example, the sound of a temple bell. The synthesized tone color signal is adjusted in level and phase by the left and right environmental sound signals (S10) and sent to the speaker. The operations from S6 to S10 are continuously repeated, and the displayed contents are continuously updated. In step S9, the strength and phase may be further adjusted in consideration of the transfer characteristics around the head.
As described above, the environmental sound reproduction loop may be started by touching the screen of the pop-up video.

The present invention can be widely applied to car navigation and pedestrian navigation.
For example, the following usage forms are possible.
An example of application to the usage form car navigation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows the detailed flow sheet.
A (Before driving)
If you are heading for a destination (destination) destination or city, you can recognize the sound and image of the city from the bird's-eye view on the display screen. You can also listen to the explanation of the destination. And the route to the destination can also be confirmed by route simulation.
B (running)
You can hear sounds from selected places such as sights, events, and equipment that are relatively close to the route you are passing. It is possible to listen together with the explanation about the destination or along the traveling route (walking or traveling navigation described in JP-A-2004-212131) using the traveling time.
C (Destination arrival)
When you arrive near the destination, you can scroll to the entire area or any nearby area and reproduce the environmental sound along with the bird's-eye view on the display. Can be recognized.
D (walking navigation)
Next, the walking navigation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-212131) can be used in combination with the environmental sound reproduction of the present application to go on a walk at the destination. Since the knowledge of the destination is obtained to some extent at the stage B, the navigation space can be enjoyed mainly at a sensitive level.

It is the bird's-eye view displayed on the display with a map image and related buildings, facilities, places, etc. (represented by 5). An example of a plurality of environmental sound sources and their intensity distributions is shown. A state in which a car navigation system and a plurality of speakers are arranged in an automobile is shown. It is a figure which shows the state which attached two headphones to the walking navigation. It is an Example which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the environmental sound reproduction | regeneration part of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the utilization form of this invention as step AC. It is a flow sheet which shows said utilization form.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Map image 3 Route 7, 9, 11, 12 Pop-up image | video 13-1, 13-2, 13-3 Sound source 15 Navigation apparatus 17-1, 17-2 Speaker 19-1, 19-2 Headphone 21 Map data memory | storage part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Environmental sound data memory | storage part 23 Self position detector 25 Map image reproduction part 26 Environmental sound reproduction part 27 Self direction detector 28 Display 29, 30 Speaker 40 Environmental sound reader 41 Tone synthesizer 42 Oscillator 44, 45 Left-right sound intensity phase Regulated power amplifier

Claims (5)

A map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with the map coordinates, the environmental sound data stored each environmental sound data including the orientation of the sound and sound intensity and sound associated with a number of the map coordinates a storage unit, a map image reproduction unit for reproducing on a display screen progression direction of device read該地view image map image data from the map data storage unit as the bird's eye view from the current self-position near to the front, the An environmental sound reproducing unit that reads out one or more types of environmental sound data corresponding to or near the current self-position from the environmental sound data storage unit and reproduces the sound as the environmental sound with a plurality of speakers, and reproduces the environmental sound Department introduced the attenuation characteristic and the phase difference that depends on the orientation of the forward direction and sound source among sound intensity of the environmental sound data read out from said environment sound data storage unit It generates a number of signals has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, the navigation device. A map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with the map coordinates, the environmental sound data stored each environmental sound data including the orientation of the sound and sound intensity and sound associated with a number of the map coordinates a storage unit, a map image reproduction unit for reproducing on a display screen progression direction of device read該地view image map image data from the map data storage unit as the bird's eye view from the current self-position near to the front, the An environmental sound reproducing unit that reads out the environmental sound data corresponding to the current self-position from the environmental sound data storage unit and reproduces the sound as the environmental sound with a plurality of speakers, and the environmental sound reproducing unit includes the environmental sound data a plurality of signals obtained by introducing a damping characteristic and the phase difference depending on the angle of deviation between the forward direction and sound source direction on the inner sound intensity of the environmental sound data read out from the storage unit Form has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, the navigation device. A map data storage unit that stores map image data associated with the map coordinates, the environmental sound data stored each environmental sound data including the orientation of the sound and sound intensity and sound associated with a number of the map coordinates a storage unit, a map image reproduction unit for reproducing on a display screen progression direction of device read該地view image map image data from the map data storage unit as the bird's eye view from the current self-position near to the front, the An environmental sound reproducing unit that reads environmental sound data corresponding to a plurality of map coordinates in the vicinity of the current self position from the environmental sound data storage unit and reproduces the sound as the environmental sound with a plurality of speakers, and reproduces the environmental sound parts are dependent on the deflection angle that depends on the orientation of the forward direction and the sound source to each of the sound intensity of the plurality of environmental sound data read from said environment sound data storage unit Was introduced phase difference has the effect of adding these signals to the plurality of speakers, the navigation device. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the environmental sound reproducing unit includes means for correcting reading and reproduction of environmental sound data corresponding to the current self position from the environmental sound data storage unit. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the speaker includes two pedestrian headphones.

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