JP4900599B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that displays a photographed image taken at an intersection, and in particular, stores a photographed image ahead in the direction of travel after turning an intersection and displays the photographed image before turning an intersection. The present invention relates to a navigation device.

  Conventionally, navigation devices that are standard on vehicles, portable navigation devices that are portable and can be used on any vehicle, motorcycle, or walking are commercially available. Mobile phone devices equipped with a navigation function are also commercially available.

  These navigation devices guide the traveling direction at intersections in various ways. The general method is to set a route from the current position to the destination in advance, and when approaching a certain distance from the intersection to bend, for example, display an enlarged intersection and “turn right at the intersection about 50 m ahead.” Voice notification.

As another method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-14976 discloses an image of a front intersection based on a key operation and stores it along with the coordinates of the intersection, and then displays the image when the intersection approaches. It is disclosed. As another method, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-221362), a front intersection is imaged based on a direction indicator instead of a key operation, and then the image is captured when the intersection approaches. Displaying is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-14976 JP 2006-221362 A

  However, when the line of sight near the intersection is poor, it is not possible to confirm the sight after the turn before turning. For example, you cannot set the destination without knowing the address and telephone number of the store you want to go to. There is a store on either side of the next intersection, but when I forgot either, I had to turn right or left to see it. I've been there a long time ago, but I don't remember either this intersection. If you turn and look at the sight, you will remember it, but in that case you had to turn right or left to know. For this reason, there was a request to know the sight after the turn before turning.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that displays a sight of a bent point before turning.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is imaged by first storage means for storing a map, display means, control means for displaying the map on the display means, and imaging means. A real image ahead of the direction of travel ahead of the intersection and second storage means for storing the real image and the positional relationship information of the intersection in association with each other, and the control means reaches the intersection In the navigation device that displays the photographed image previously stored in the second storage unit in a display region corresponding to the positional relationship information in the display region of the display unit, the navigation device is further provided on the moving body. Detection means for detecting ON / OFF of the indicated direction indicator, and imaging means for imaging the rear of the moving body in the traveling direction, and the control means detects the detection means. Based on the result, the image pickup means is caused to pick up a real image in the rearward direction of travel before reaching the intersection, the real image taken by the image pickup means is stored in the second storage means, and the intersection is not bent. When the vehicle travels straight, the photographed image captured by the imaging unit and stored in the second storage unit is erased from the real photographed image behind the traveling direction before reaching the intersection.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, the control means performs ON / OFF mode switching for enabling or disabling the imaging by the second imaging means, and causes the rear to be imaged in the ON mode. It is characterized by.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, when the control unit is bent at the intersection, the display of the photographed image stored in the second storage unit is continued to the predetermined point after bending the intersection. It is characterized by that.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4 of the present application, the navigation device includes a reproduction key, and the control means displays a live-action image of the intersection stored in the second storage means when the reproduction key is operated. It is characterized by that.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, when the control unit is bent at the intersection, a traveling direction when the intersection is bent in association with the photographed image and a traveling direction when the intersection is bent. Stores the opposite direction in the second storage means and causes the display means to display the traveling direction when turning the intersection or the direction opposite to the traveling direction when displaying the photographed image. To do.

  In the present invention, when the control unit goes straight without turning at the intersection, the control unit erases the photographed image captured by the imaging unit and stored in the second storage unit at the rear in the traveling direction before reaching the intersection.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary real images from being stored at intersections that go straight without turning.

  Further, the control means performs switching of the ON / OFF mode for enabling or disabling the imaging by the second imaging means, and causes the rear to be imaged in the ON mode.

  As a result, the user can specify an intersection for imaging the rear, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary real images from being captured.

  Further, when the control unit bends the intersection, the control unit continues to display the photographed image stored in the second storage unit up to a predetermined point after bending the intersection.

  As a result, the stored actual image and the current scene can be compared.

  In addition, a playback key is provided, and the control means displays a live-action image of the intersection stored in the second storage means when the playback key is operated.

  Thus, the user can know that the photographed image of the intersection stored in the second storage means is a sight seen when the intersection is bent before. In particular, when the user wants to turn in the same direction as before, when only one live-action image is displayed, it is only necessary to bend in the direction in which the displayed real-action image is actually visible.

  In addition, when the intersection is bent, the control unit associates the second storage with a traveling direction when the intersection is bent in association with the photographed image and a direction opposite to the traveling direction when the intersection is bent. And the display means displays a traveling direction when the intersection is bent or a direction opposite to the traveling direction when the photographed image is displayed.

  As a result, before turning the intersection, the user confirms the direction indicating the direction in which the intersection should be bent in order for the photographed image to be actually seen together with the photographed image ahead of the direction of travel after turning the intersection. be able to.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a navigation device as an example. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a navigation device for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to identify the present invention as this navigation device, and claims Other embodiments within the scope are equally applicable.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment.

  GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning means 11 receives radio waves of position information from a plurality of GPS satellites, calculates the current position, and outputs the calculated subtraction position data to a control circuit 10 described later. The direction sensor 12 detects the direction by geomagnetism and outputs it to the control circuit 10. The vehicle speed sensor detects the moving speed based on rotation and acceleration and outputs it to the control circuit 10. The HDD recording / reproducing means 14 has an HDD (hard disk drive), and records / reproduces the map information 141 and the captured image (actual image) 142. The map information includes map data such as roads and intersections, as well as data such as gas stations and historic sites.

  The camera (front) 15 images the front of the vehicle and outputs it to the control circuit 10. The camera (rear) 16 images the rear of the vehicle and outputs it to the control circuit 10. Each of the camera (front) 15 and the camera (rear) 16 captures a scene as a still image (actual image), but also has a function of capturing a moving image. The voice synthesizing circuit 17 generates voices of characters designated by the control circuit 10 and outputs them to the control circuit 10. The display unit 18 displays a map or an image with the current position superimposed.

  The speaker 19 outputs the voice generated by the voice synthesis circuit 17 under the control of the control circuit 10. The operation unit 20 includes various keys (not shown) for performing navigation operations in addition to the imaging key 201 for operating ON / OFF of the imaging mode. The control circuit 10 controls each unit from a program stored in the ROM 21. The RAM 22 stores information necessary for the operation of the control circuit 10.

  Next, the current position detection of the control circuit 10 will be described. When the navigation device is activated by turning on an ignition switch (not shown) of the vehicle, the control circuit 10 calls a map stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 13 and displays it on the display unit 18. Then, the current position data is received from the GPS positioning means 11. The time from receiving the current position data to displaying the current position initially takes several seconds, but thereafter, the current position is updated every second.

  The control circuit 10 displays the received current position superimposed on the map. When the current position is superimposed on the map, the current position is displayed on the road so that the current position received from the GPS positioning means 11 is on the road closest to the map read from the HDD recording / reproducing means 14. This is called map matching.

  Since the current position is intermittently received every second, the current position is interpolated by the direction sensor 12 and the vehicle speed sensor 13 while the current position is not received. In particular, the position movement when the vehicle bends (turns an intersection or the like to the right or left) is largely based on the direction sensor.

Next, route guidance will be described.
In order to provide route guidance, a destination must first be set. The most common destination setting method is to enlarge, reduce, or scroll the map via the operation unit 20, move the cursor to a destination point, and register this as a destination. As another method, when the name of the destination (for example, Mt. Fuji) is known, or when the type of the destination (for example, restaurant) is known, the destination can be set by searching for keywords or types. If the address or telephone number is known, the destination can be set.

  When the destination is set, the control circuit 10 obtains an optimum route from the current position to the destination based on a predetermined condition. The conditions are set by the user, and there are various conditions such as the shortest distance, the shortest time, and a toll road.

  When the route is set, the control circuit 10 starts route guidance. For example, the control circuit 10 displays the route in a color that can distinguish the route, displays the distance and the predicted arrival time to the destination, and approaches the predetermined distance to the intersection to be turned, and generates the voice (for example, “ Turn right at the intersection about 50 m ahead. ”) Is output from the speaker 19.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the imaging / display processing of the control circuit 10 according to the first embodiment.
The control circuit 10 stores the variable A in a register inside the control circuit 10. When A = 0, the imaging mode is regarded as OFF, and when A = 1, the imaging mode is regarded as ON. Initially, the variable A is set to 0 (imaging mode OFF) (step S1). Each time the imaging key 201 is pressed (Y in step S2), the control circuit 10 switches the imaging mode ON / OFF by switching the variable A to “1” and “0” (steps S3 to S5).

  When the route is route guidance (Yes in step S6), the control circuit 10 is 10m before the intersection that turns the route (Yes in step S7), and the camera (rear) 16 converts the rear scene into a still image (actual image). The captured image is stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 in association with the position information of the intersection (step S8). The captured rear scene is displayed when traveling in the direction opposite to the current traveling direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image is stored in association with the position information of the intersection, the image information of the scene, the imaging date and time, the approach direction, and the exit direction. Since the approach direction and the exit direction are directions for display, the approach direction and the exit direction are reversed in the case of rearward imaging. For example, if it is a rear view imaged when making a right turn from south to east, the approach direction is east and the exit direction is south turn left. Further, when storing the image pickup, if the position information of the intersection and the approach direction and the exit direction are the same, the old image with the image pickup date and time is rewritten to a new image.

  When the route guidance (Yes in step S6) is completed, the control circuit 10 completes the turning of the intersection that becomes the turning of the route (Yes in step S9). The recorded image is stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 in association with the position information of the intersection (step S10). At this time, the navigation device 1 determines that the intersection has been bent by the detection of the direction sensor 12 and has reached the imaging point. The imaged front scene is displayed again when traveling at the intersection. As shown in FIG. 3, the image is stored in association with the position information of the intersection, the image information of the scene, the imaging date and time, the approach direction, and the exit direction.

  Further, when storing the image pickup, if the position information of the intersection and the approach direction and the exit direction are the same, the old image with the image pickup date and time is rewritten to a new image. Note that the end of the turn is determined based on the current position detected by the GPS positioning means 11 using the direction sensor 12 and the vehicle speed sensor 13, but the direction sensor 12 detects the direction of the traveling direction after entering the intersection. By doing so, the end of the turn may be determined. Thereby, it is possible to detect the bending with higher accuracy than the intermittent reception GPS.

  Even if the control circuit 10 is not route guidance (No in Step S6), if the variable A is 1 (Yes in Step S11), when the next intersection 10m before traveling (Yes in Step S12), the rear And the captured image is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 in association with the position information of the intersection (step S13). Then, if the vehicle travels straight ahead without turning at the intersection imaged behind (Yes in step S14), the temporarily stored rear image is erased without being stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 in earnest (step 15). Thereby, unnecessary memory can be prevented.

  When the bend of the intersection imaged at the rear in step S13 is completed (Yes in step S16), the rear image is fully associated with the position information of the intersection and stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 (step 17). The camera (front) 15 captures a front scene as a still image, and stores the captured image in association with the position information of the intersection (step S18). Then, the variable A is returned to 0 (step S19), the imaging mode is turned off, and preparations are made so that the user can specify the intersection that the user wants to image again.

  The control circuit 10 displays the scene stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 until it reaches the intersection from 30m before the intersection for imaging the scene (steps S20 to S23).

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of a scene. The current position is 30 meters before the intersection where the scene image is stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14, and the scene is displayed.

  There are two left and right scenes. An image when turning left is displayed with the character “left turn” superimposed on the upper left, and an image when turning right is displayed with the character “right turn” superimposed on the upper right. For example, when only a left turn image is recorded, it can be known that the left turn direction is the direction in which the vehicle has traveled before. In order to obtain this function and effect, it is only necessary to indicate the direction of bending. For example, a right turn may be displayed on the right side of the screen and a left turn may be displayed on the left side of the screen without displaying left and right characters. Furthermore, you may alert | report either left or right with an audio | voice.

  Even if the bending direction is not shown at all, if the user can see a part of the scene after the bending before the bending, the user can determine which direction the bending will be displayed. Judgment can be made.

  As described above, the present invention stores the rear scene before turning the intersection (step S8 + step S21, step S17 + step S21), and stores the front scene after bending the intersection (step S10 + step S21, step S21). S18 + step S21). The stored scene (actual image near the intersection) is displayed before the intersection is bent.

  Thereby, the user can confirm the sight after bending before bending, and can avoid bending in the wrong direction. Also, when waiting for a signal, the scene can be confirmed at that time. The photographed image outside the user using a DVD-RAM or the like can be used as the photographed image near the intersection. However, the camera (front) 15 and the camera (rear) 16 are provided as in the first embodiment. Thus, since the scene database is created by the own apparatus, a scene (actual image) suitable for the user can be stored.

  Further, the present invention stores a scene behind the vehicle before turning the intersection (step S8 + step S21, step S17 + step S21), and displays the stored scene before bending the intersection. In this way, by capturing an image of a rear view instead of a front view, the image can be displayed on the return path.

  When imaging not the front but the rear, it is not possible to specify the intersection at which it bends, so all the intersections must be imaged. However, according to the present invention, an imaging ON / OFF mode using the imaging key 201 is provided, and the rear side is imaged in the ON mode (Yes in step S11). As a result, the user can designate an intersection for imaging the rear, and unnecessary imaging can be prohibited.

  Further, according to the present invention, as shown by Yes in step S6, the rear imaging is performed at the turning intersection in the route guidance. As a result, it is possible to present the user with a scene after turning as additional information in route guidance.

  FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the second embodiment. Components similar to those in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 5 of the second embodiment is obtained by adding a direction indicator detecting means 30 to FIG. 1 of the first embodiment and adding a reproduction key 311 to the operation unit 31. The direction indicator detection means 30 detects the left / right operation of the winker and outputs it to the control circuit 10. A reproduction key 311 is a key for performing an operation of displaying a scene after bending at the next intersection when the user desires.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the imaging / display processing of the control circuit 10 according to the second embodiment. Steps S1 to S4 in FIG. 6 are the same processes as those in FIG.

  If the turn signal is switched from OFF to ON (Step S33), the control circuit 10 determines that the route guidance is in place (Yes in Step S31) or the variable A is 1 (imaging mode ON) (Yes in Step S32). Yes), the rear scene is captured by the camera (rear) 16 as a still image (actual image), and the captured image is stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 in association with the position information of the intersection (step S34). At this time, it can be determined based on the winker instead of the GPS positioning means 11 and the azimuth sensor 12 as to which of the left and right bends.

  If the turn signal is switched from ON to OFF (step S35), the control circuit 10 performs route guidance (Yes in step S31) or variable A is 1 (imaging mode ON) (Yes in step S32). Yes), the front scene is captured as a still image by the camera (front) 16, and the captured image is stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 in association with the position information of the intersection (step S36). At this time, it can be determined based on the winker instead of the GPS positioning means 11 and the azimuth sensor 12 as to which of the left and right bends. If the variable A is 1 (Yes in step S37), the variable A is returned to 0 (step S38), the imaging mode is turned off, and the user can prepare for the intersection that the user wants to image again. To do.

  The control circuit 10 displays from 30 m before the intersection of the scene imaging stored in the HDD recording / reproducing means 14 to 20 m after bending at the intersection (steps S39 to S42). At this time, whether the scene is a right turn or a left turn is displayed. If the playback key 311 is operated (Yes in step S43), the display is displayed up to 20 m after the turn of the intersection where the turn is made (steps S39 to S42). At this time, whether the scene is a right turn or a left turn is displayed.

  As described above, the present invention includes the direction indicator detection means 30 for detecting ON / OFF of the direction indicator, and detects the rear imaging timing before the turn at the intersection based on the direction indicator detection means 30 (step S33). .

  When imaging not the front but the rear, it is not possible to specify the intersection at which it bends, so all the intersections must be imaged. However, according to the present invention, unnecessary imaging can be prohibited by this configuration.

  In addition, the present invention continues the display of the stored scene to a predetermined point after turning at the intersection.

  This makes it possible to compare the stored scene with the current scene.

  The present invention also includes a reproduction key 311. When the reproduction key 311 is operated, the scene of the intersection where the scene is stored is displayed.

  Thereby, the scene after the bending can be displayed at the timing before the bending desired by the user.

  In addition, although the imaging of the above-mentioned Example was a still image, this invention is applicable also to a moving image. In order to reproduce the rearward imaging at this time, reverse feeding may be performed.

  Further, mobile phone devices having a camera and a navigation are commercially available, and the present invention can be applied to this mobile phone.

  The present invention can be applied to a vehicle-mounted or portable navigation device having a camera, and a mobile phone device having a navigation function and a camera function.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the navigation apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a control circuit of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the memory map of the image memorize | stored. It is a figure which shows the display of a scene. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the navigation apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a control circuit of the navigation device according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation apparatus 10 ... Control circuit 11 ... GPS positioning means 12 ... Direction sensor 13 ... Vehicle speed sensor 14 ... HDD recording / reproducing means 15 ... Camera (front)
16 ... Camera (rear)
17 ... synthesizer 18 ... display unit 19 ... speaker 201 ... imaging key 311 ... play key

Claims (5)

First storage means for storing a map, display means, control means for displaying the map on the display means, a live-action image ahead of the direction of travel ahead of the intersection imaged by the imaging means , and the real-image image a second storage means for storing in association with the positional relationship information of the intersection and the control means, before the moving body reaches the intersection, the photographed image stored in the second storage means, said In a navigation device for displaying in a display area corresponding to the positional relationship information in the display area of the display means ,
The navigation device further includes detection means for detecting ON / OFF of a direction indicator provided on the moving body, and imaging means for capturing an image behind the moving direction of the moving body,
The control means causes the image pickup means to pick up a real image behind the traveling direction before reaching the intersection based on the detection result of the detection means, and the real image captured by the image pickup means is stored in the second storage means. And when the vehicle travels straight without turning at the intersection, the photographed image captured by the imaging unit and stored in the second storage unit is erased from the actual photographed image behind the traveling direction before reaching the intersection. A navigation device. The control means is an ON / OFF for enabling or disabling imaging by the imaging means.
The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein switching of the OFF mode is performed, and the rear side is imaged in the ON mode. Wherein when bent the intersection, the display of the second memory means the stored real image according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to continue from bent the intersection to a predetermined point The navigation device according to any one of the above. The navigation device includes a reproduction key,
The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the control means displays a live-action image of an intersection stored in the second storage means when the reproduction key is operated. When the intersection is bent at the intersection, the controller stores the second storage unit in a direction opposite to the advancing direction when the intersection is bent in association with the photographed image and the advancing direction when the intersection is bent. 5. The display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the display means displays the direction of travel or the direction opposite to the direction of travel when the intersection is bent when the photographed image is displayed. Navigation device.

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