JP5276970B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a driver of its own vehicle to find out at a glace the number of intersections existing between the location of the vehicle and a guidance spot. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation apparatus detects the location 22 of the vehicle, and sets the guidance spot 23 on a road. The navigation apparatus creates a summary map 20 wherein each shape of roads including at least an access road and crossing roads 26 existing within a predetermined range from the guidance spot 23 is simplified, and displays this map as a guidance map which indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle at the guidance spot 23. After that, the form of display of a crossing road 26 in the summary map 20 is changed, when the vehicle moves and passes the intersection 27 between the crossing road 26 and the access road. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device for a vehicle.

  Conventionally, a navigation device that divides the display monitor screen into left and right, displays a normal map in one screen area, and displays a map near the guidance point where the vehicle should turn is used in the other screen area. ing. In such a navigation apparatus, a technique is known in which a map near the guidance point is enlarged and displayed as the vehicle approaches the guidance point (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-54936 A

  In the conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the map around the guidance point is simply displayed in an enlarged manner, the driver can know at a glance how many intersections exist between the vehicle position and the guidance point. It is difficult to do so.

The navigation device according to the present invention includes a host vehicle position detection unit that detects a host vehicle position that is a position of the host vehicle, a guide point setting unit that sets a guide point on a road, and the vehicle position from the host vehicle to the guide point. Map display control for displaying on a display monitor a guidance map indicating an approach road, an intersection road that intersects the approach road between the vehicle position and the guide point, and a traveling direction of the host vehicle at the guide point Means for changing the display form of the intersection road in the guidance map when the own vehicle passes the intersection of the intersection road and the approach road, and within a predetermined range from the guidance point Summary map creating means for creating a summary map by simplifying the shape of each road including at least the approach road and the intersection road, and the map display control means includes the summary display The map is displayed as the guidance map, and the map display control means scales the summary map according to the movement of the host vehicle when the distance from the host vehicle position to the guide point is a predetermined value or more. When the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than the predetermined value, the vehicle position is indicated according to the movement of the vehicle while the scale of the summary map is fixed. The vehicle position mark is moved on the summary map, and the display changing means prohibits a change in the display form of the intersection road when the distance from the vehicle position to the guide point is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, When the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than the predetermined value, the navigation system changes the display form of the intersection road in the guidance map when the vehicle passes the intersection. The display changing means deletes the intersection road or changes at least one of the color and brightness of the intersection road according to a road type of the intersection road in the guidance map. By doing so, the display form of the intersection road is changed .

  According to the present invention, the driver can know at a glance how many intersections there are between the vehicle position and the guidance point.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a vibration gyro 11, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a hard disk (HDD) 13, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 14, and a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) information reception. Unit 15, display monitor 16, speaker 17, and input device 18.

  The control unit 10 includes a microprocessor, various peripheral circuits, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes various processes described later based on a control program and map data recorded in the HDD 13.

  The vibration gyro 11 is a sensor for detecting the angular velocity of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 12 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. By detecting the motion state of the host vehicle at predetermined time intervals by these sensors, the control unit 10 obtains the amount of position movement of the host vehicle, thereby detecting the current position of the host vehicle.

  The HDD 13 is a non-volatile recording medium in which various data including map data are recorded. Data recorded in the HDD 13 is read out under the control of the control unit 10 as necessary, and is used for various processes and controls executed by the control unit 10.

  The map data recorded in the HDD 13 includes route calculation data, route guidance data, road data, and background data. The route calculation data is used for route search to the destination. The route guidance data is used to guide the host vehicle to a destination according to a set route, and represents an intersection name, a road name, and the like. The road data represents the shape and type of the road. The background data represents map shapes other than roads such as rivers and railways, positions of various facilities, and the like. Note that the minimum unit representing each road in the map data is called a link. That is, each road in the map data is composed of a plurality of links.

  The GPS receiver 14 receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and outputs it to the controller 10. The GPS signal includes the position and transmission time of the GPS satellite that transmitted the GPS signal as information for obtaining the position of the host vehicle and the current time. Therefore, by receiving GPS signals from a predetermined number or more of GPS satellites, the current position and current time of the host vehicle can be calculated based on these pieces of information.

  The VICS information receiving unit 15 receives VICS information transmitted from the VICS center (not shown) to the navigation device 1. With this VICS information, various road traffic information such as traffic jam information, traffic regulation information, and parking lot information is transmitted to the navigation device 1. The VICS information received by the VICS information receiving unit 15 is output to the control unit 10 and used when the control unit 10 searches for a recommended route. Further, the contents are displayed on the display monitor 16.

  The transmission of VICS information from the VICS center to the navigation device 1 is performed mainly by radio wave beacons installed on highways, optical beacons installed mainly on general roads, or FM multiplex broadcasting. . The radio wave beacon and the optical beacon transmit VICS information locally to the vehicle passing near the installation point by radio waves or light (infrared rays). In contrast, FM multiplex broadcasting can transmit VICS information to a relatively wide area.

  The display monitor 16 is a device for displaying various images and videos, and a liquid crystal display or the like is used. The display monitor 16 displays a map around the vehicle position, a summary map up to the next guidance intersection, and the like. The display monitor 16 is installed at a position that is easy to see from the driver's seat, for example, on the dashboard of the host vehicle or in the instrument panel. The speaker 17 outputs a route guidance voice or the like under the control of the control unit 10.

  The input device 18 is a device for a user to perform various input operations for operating the navigation device 1 and includes various input switches. The user operates the input device 18 to input, for example, the name of a facility or point desired to be set as the destination, select a destination from registered locations registered in advance, or select any map on the map. Or scroll in the direction. The input device 18 can be realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. Alternatively, the input device 18 may be a touch panel integrated with the display monitor 16.

  When the user operates the input device 18 to set a destination, the navigation device 1 performs a route search process by calculating a predetermined algorithm based on the above-described route calculation data, with the current position of the host vehicle as the departure point. The route from the starting point to the destination searched by this route searching process is set as a recommended route. When the recommended route is set in this way, the recommended route is displayed on the map separately from other roads by a method such as using a color different from that of the other roads. Thereby, the user can easily recognize the recommended route on the map screen displayed on the display monitor 16. In addition, the navigation device 1 guides the host vehicle by instructing the traveling direction by an image or voice to the user so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. In this way, route guidance to the destination is performed.

  During the above route guidance, the navigation device 1 displays a guidance map indicating the traveling direction of the host vehicle at the guidance point on the display monitor 16 together with a normal map. At this time, a summary map in which the road shape from the vehicle position to the guidance point is simplified is created, and the created summary map is displayed as the guidance map. The guidance point is a target point where the navigation device 1 provides direction indication guidance by voice or screen display to the driver so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. Specifically, a point closest to the vehicle position is set as a guide point among points where the traveling direction of the vehicle changes on the recommended route, for example, right / left turn intersections, branch points, and merge points. . When the vehicle passes through the guidance point, the next right / left turn intersection or the like is set as a new guidance point.

  When the guidance map is displayed together with the normal map as described above, the navigation device 1 displays an overlay on the guidance map with an arrow indicating the direction in which the host vehicle should bend at the guidance point. In route guidance, the vehicle is guided to the destination by displaying the guidance map in this way. A specific method for creating a summary map displayed as a guidance map will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a map screen displayed on the display monitor 16 in the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment during route guidance. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 1 divides the screen of the display monitor 16 into two left and right screen areas, displays a summary map 20 as a guide map in the left screen area, and displays the summary screen 20 in the right screen area. A normal map 21 is displayed.

  In the summary map 20 displayed on the left screen area, the shape of each road including the approach road and the intersection road is simplified. The approach road is a road from the own vehicle position 22 to the guidance point 23, and the intersection road is a road that intersects the approach road from the own vehicle position 22 to the guidance point 23. A guidance arrow 24 indicating the traveling direction of the host vehicle is displayed at the guidance point 23. This indicates that the vehicle should turn right at the guidance point 23.

  On the other hand, in the map 21 displayed in the screen area on the right side, a mark is displayed at the position of the guidance point 23 to indicate that it is the guidance point. In the map 21, the recommended route is displayed separately from other roads as described above.

  As described above, the navigation device 1 displays the summary map 20 in the left screen area and the normal map 21 in the right screen area. Further, when the distance from the vehicle position 22 to the guidance point 23 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the navigation device 1 is as large as possible within a range where the vehicle position 22 and the guidance point 23 fall within a predetermined display area set in the screen. Set the scale. As a result, the scale of the summary map 20 displayed in the left screen area is continuously changed according to the movement of the host vehicle. That is, the scale of the summary map 20 is gradually expanded as the vehicle position 22 approaches the guidance point 23. Such map scale change processing is called free zoom.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a map screen displayed on the display monitor 16 in place of the map screen of FIG. 2 when the vehicle position 22 approaches the guidance point 23 during the free zoom. In the map screen of FIG. 3, the scale of the summary map 20 is enlarged because the vehicle position 22 is closer to the guidance point 23 than the map screen of FIG. 2.

  On the other hand, when the distance from the vehicle position 22 to the guidance point 23 becomes less than a predetermined value due to the vehicle further approaching the guidance point 23, the navigation device 1 keeps the scale of the summary map 20 fixed. The vehicle position mark is moved on the summary map 20 in accordance with the movement of. At this time, if the vehicle passes through an intersection between any of the intersection roads and the approach road, the navigation apparatus 1 deletes the intersection roads from the summary map 20. FIG. 4 shows an example of the map screen in which the intersection road is deleted in this way. The scale of the summary map 20 on the map screen of FIG. 4 is the same as the scale of the summary map 20 on the map screen of FIG. An intersection road 26 indicated by a broken line in the summary map 20 represents an intersection road that has been deleted from the summary map 20 when the host vehicle passes through the intersection 27.

  When the vehicle position 22 further approaches the guidance point 23, a map screen as shown in FIG. The scale of this map screen is also fixed similarly to the map screen of FIG. 4, and the position of the own vehicle position mark indicating the own vehicle position 22 is moved on the summary map 20. When the vehicle passes through the intersection 29 between the intersection road 28 and the approach road on the map screen, the intersection road 28 is deleted.

  As described above, the navigation device 1 deletes the intersection road 26 or 28 on the summary map 20 and changes its display form when the host vehicle moves and passes the intersection 27 or 29. As a result, the driver can know at a glance how many intersections there are between the vehicle position 22 and the guidance point 23.

  A flowchart of the above process is shown in FIG. This flowchart is executed by the control unit 10. In step S10, the control unit 10 sets a recommended route. Here, by setting the destination according to the user's operation, a recommended route for the host vehicle to travel to the destination is set.

  In step S <b> 20, the control unit 10 displays a normal map on the display monitor 16 based on the map data recorded in the HDD 13. At this time, the recommended route set in step S10 is shown on the map. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a map 21 around the vehicle position 22 is displayed on the right screen area on the display monitor 16. The contents of the map displayed here are updated at every predetermined timing. Therefore, when the host vehicle travels and the host vehicle position changes, the map range is changed accordingly.

  In step S30, the control unit 10 sets a guidance point. Here, a point closest to the vehicle position is set as a guidance point among points where the traveling direction of the vehicle changes, such as a right-left turn intersection in the recommended route set in step S10. Thereby, the guidance point 23 of FIGS. 2-5 is set.

  In step S40, the control unit 10 detects the vehicle position. Here, the vehicle position is detected based on detection results output from various sensors such as the vibration gyro 11, the vehicle speed sensor 12, and the GPS receiver 14. Thereby, the own vehicle position 22 of FIGS. 2-5 is detected.

  In step S50, the control unit 10 calculates the distance from the vehicle position detected in step S40 to the guidance point set in step S30. At this time, a linear distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point may be obtained, or a route when the recommended route is traveled from the vehicle position to the guidance point may be obtained.

  In step S60, the control unit 10 sets the scale of the summary map. Here, as described above, the scale of the summary map is set so that the map position is as large as possible within the range where the vehicle position and the guidance point enter the display area set in the screen. As a result, the scale of the summary map is set so that the scale becomes larger as the vehicle position approaches the guidance point. Alternatively, based on the distance calculated in step S50, the scale of the summary map may be set so that the scale becomes larger as the distance becomes shorter.

  In step S70, the control unit 10 sets a summary target road. Here, a road that is within a predetermined range from the guidance point set in step S30 is set as the summarization target road among the aforementioned approach road and intersection road.

  Specifically, the summarization target road is set by selecting a link satisfying a predetermined condition in the map data as the summarization target road. For example, for the approach road, a link corresponding to the vehicle position, a link immediately behind the link, and a link existing between these links and the guidance intersection are selected as summary target roads. As for the intersection road, a link directly connected to each link of the approach road set as the summarization target road is selected as the summarization target road. In this way, the summarization target road can be set.

  In step S80, the control unit 10 creates a summary map by simplifying the shape of the summary target road set in step S70 based on the map data recorded in the HDD 13. Specifically, each link selected as the summarization target road in step S70 is linearized according to its length, and further, the intersection angle of each link is quantized in a predetermined angle unit, for example, 45 ° unit. Create a map. Note that the summary map creation method described here is merely an example, and other methods may be used. That is, any summary map creation method may be used as long as the shape of the summary target road can be simplified.

  In step S90, the control unit 10 displays the summary map created in step S80 on the display monitor 16 as a guidance map indicating the traveling direction of the host vehicle at the guidance point. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the summary map 20 is displayed on the left screen area on the display monitor 16.

  In step S100, the control unit 10 indicates the own vehicle position mark indicating the own vehicle position detected in step S40 and the traveling direction of the own vehicle at the guidance point set in step S30 on the summary map displayed in step S90. And a guiding arrow for displaying. Thereby, the own vehicle position 22 and the guidance arrow 24 are displayed on the summary map 20 of FIGS.

  In step S110, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the distance from the vehicle position detected in step S40 to the guidance point set in step S30 is less than a predetermined value. When it is less than the predetermined value, for example, within 1 km, the control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S120. On the other hand, if the value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the control unit 10 returns to step S40 and repeatedly executes the processes of steps S40 to S100. Accordingly, the scale of the summary map is continuously changed according to the movement of the host vehicle.

  In step S120, the control unit 10 detects the vehicle position as in step S40. In the next step S130, the control unit 10 moves the vehicle position mark on the summary map displayed in step S90 based on the vehicle position detected in step S130. At this time, the scale of the summary map does not change. Thereby, the own vehicle position mark is moved on the summary map according to the movement of the own vehicle while the scale of the summary map is fixed.

  In step S140, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the host vehicle has passed the intersection based on the host vehicle position detected in step S120. When the host vehicle passes through one of the intersections of each intersection road and the approach road displayed on the summary map, the control unit 10 proceeds to step S150. In step S150, the control unit 10 deletes the intersection road corresponding to the intersection that has passed from the summary map. Thereby, when the own vehicle passes the intersection of the intersection road and the approach road, the display form of the intersection road is changed. If step S150 is performed, the control part 10 will progress to step S160. On the other hand, when it determines with the own vehicle not passing the intersection in step S140, the control part 10 progresses to step S160, without performing step S150.

  In step S160, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the host vehicle has passed the guidance point set in step S30. If the vehicle has not yet passed the guidance point, the process returns to step S120, and the processes of steps S120 to S150 are repeatedly executed. On the other hand, if the host vehicle passes the guidance point, the process returns to step S30, and the next right / left turn intersection or the like is newly set as the guidance point in step S30. Thereafter, the above-described processing is executed for the set new guidance point. Thereby, every time the own vehicle passes the guidance point, a new guidance point is set and a summary map is displayed.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects are obtained.
(1) The navigation device 1 detects the position of the vehicle by the processing of the control unit 10 (step S40) and sets a guidance point on the road (step S30). Then, a guidance map indicating the approach road passing through the vehicle position and the guidance point, the crossing road intersecting the approach road between the vehicle position and the guidance point, and the traveling direction at the guidance point is displayed on the display monitor 16. (Step S90). Further, when the own vehicle passes through the intersection of the intersection road and the approach road (step S140), the display form of the intersection road is changed in the guidance map displayed in step S90 (step S150). Since it did in this way, a driver | operator can make it understand at a glance how many intersections exist from a own vehicle position to a guidance point.

(2) The navigation device 1 sets, by the processing of the control unit 10, each road including at least an approach road and an intersection road within a predetermined range from the guidance point as a summary target road (step S70). A summary map is created by simplifying the shape (step S80). In step S90, the summary map created in this way is displayed as a guidance map. Since it did in this way, the guidance map which showed the advancing direction of the own vehicle in a guidance point clearly can be displayed.

(3) The control unit 10 determines whether the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than a predetermined value (step S110). Based on the result of this determination, when the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 10 repeatedly executes the setting of the summary map scale in step S60 to respond to the movement of the vehicle. The scale of the summary map is continuously changed. On the other hand, when the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than the predetermined value, the movement of the vehicle position mark in step S130 is repeatedly executed, so that the scale of the summary map is fixed and the vehicle is moved accordingly. Move the vehicle position mark on the summary map. In addition, when the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 10 prohibits the change in the display form of the intersection road so as not to execute the process of step S150. On the other hand, when the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than the predetermined value, the processing of step S150 is executed to change the display form of the corresponding intersection road when the vehicle passes the intersection. Since it did in this way, according to the distance from the own vehicle position to a guidance point, a display can be changed easily.

  In the embodiment described above, the display form is changed by deleting the corresponding intersection road from the summary map when the host vehicle passes the intersection in step S150. However, the display form is not deleted. It may be changed. For example, when the host vehicle passes through an intersection, the color of the corresponding intersection road in the summary map may be lightened or the luminance may be reduced. In this way, even if at least one of the color and brightness of the intersection road is changed, the same effect as that obtained when this is deleted can be obtained.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, when the own vehicle passes through the intersection, the display form is changed by deleting the corresponding intersection road from the summary map regardless of the type of the road. The display form of the crossing road may be changed by different methods. For example, when the intersection road is a national road or a main road, the color and brightness are changed without being erased even if the host vehicle passes through the intersection. On the other hand, when the intersection road is a narrow street or the like, it is erased when the own vehicle passes the intersection. If it does in this way, according to the importance of the intersection road according to road classification, the display form of an intersection road can be changed appropriately.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a summary map in which the shape of each road including at least the road from the vehicle position to the guidance point is simplified is displayed as the guidance map indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle at the guidance point. . However, it is not always necessary to display such a summary map as a guidance map. For example, a map in which the periphery of the guide point is enlarged may be displayed as a guide map, or a three-dimensional map near the guide point may be displayed as a guide map. Any map may be displayed as the guidance map as long as it indicates the traveling direction of the host vehicle at the guidance point in an easily understandable manner for the driver.

  In the above embodiment, the screen of the display monitor 16 is divided into two left and right screen areas, a guidance map is displayed in the left screen area, and a normal map is displayed in the right screen area. However, other display methods may be used. For example, the display contents of the left and right screen areas can be switched to display a normal map in the left screen area and a guidance map in the right screen area. Alternatively, only the guidance map may be displayed without displaying the normal map. Alternatively, the screen of the display monitor 16 may be divided into three or more screen areas.

  In the embodiment described above, the navigation device mounted on a vehicle and used has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to various devices as long as the vehicle is a map display device mounted on a vehicle and displaying a map.

  The embodiment and various modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the map screen displayed in the case of route guidance. It is a figure which shows the example of the map screen displayed when the own vehicle position approaches the guidance point during free zoom. It is a figure which shows the example of the map screen which erase | eliminated the intersection road. It is a figure which shows the example of the map screen displayed when the own vehicle position approaches the guidance point further. It is a flowchart of the process which displays a map screen in the case of route guidance.

Explanation of symbols

1: navigation device, 10: control unit, 11: vibration gyro, 12: vehicle speed sensor,
13: HDD, 14: GPS receiver, 15: VICS information receiver, 16: Display monitor,
17: Speaker, 18: Input device

Claims (3)

Own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own vehicle position which is the position of the own vehicle;
A guide point setting means for setting a guide point on the road;
Guidance indicating an approach road from the own vehicle position to the guidance point, an intersection road that intersects the approach road between the own vehicle position and the guidance point, and a traveling direction of the own vehicle at the guidance point Map display control means for displaying a map on a display monitor;
Display changing means for changing a display form of the intersection road in the guidance map when the host vehicle passes through the intersection of the intersection road and the approach road ;
A summary map creating means for creating a summary map by simplifying the shape of each road including at least the approach road and the intersection road within a predetermined range from the guidance point;
The map display control means displays the summary map as the guide map, and the map display control means moves the host vehicle when the distance from the host vehicle position to the guide point is a predetermined value or more. The scale of the summary map is continuously changed according to the vehicle, and when the distance from the vehicle position to the guidance point is less than the predetermined value, the scale of the summary map remains fixed and the vehicle moves In response to the vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle position is moved on the summary map,
The display changing means prohibits a change in the display form of the intersection road when the distance from the own vehicle position to the guidance point is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, and the distance from the own vehicle position to the guidance point is When the vehicle is less than a predetermined value, when the host vehicle passes the intersection, the navigation device changes a display form of the intersection road in the guidance map,
The display changing means deletes the intersection road or changes at least one of the color and brightness of the intersection road according to the road type of the intersection road in the guidance map. A navigation apparatus characterized by changing a display form of a road . The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The display changing means changes the display form of the crossing road by changing at least one of the color and brightness of the crossing road when the road type of the crossing road is a national road or a main road. navigation apparatus characterized by causing. The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein when the road type of the intersection road is a narrow street, the display changing means changes the display form of the intersection road by deleting the intersection road .

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