JP5775699B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a navigation device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image storage device that is equipped with an in-vehicle camera that captures the outside of a vehicle while the vehicle is running, and that sequentially captures captured images of the in-vehicle camera and stores them in a memory as captured images.
In recent years, in order to save the memory capacity of the memory and to make it possible to easily specify the captured image necessary for the user from the stored captured images, the captured image of the in-vehicle camera is used only when instructed by the user. Has been proposed that captures a captured image and stores it in a memory in association with the vehicle position at the time of capture (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technique, since the captured image is stored only when the user instructs, the storage capacity of the memory is saved, and the position information at the time of capturing is associated with the captured image. Can be easily identified, and the user can easily identify a captured image at a desired location.

  Such a technique is suitably applied to a navigation device as disclosed in Patent Document 1. That is, in general, a navigation device having a location registration function for registering a specific location is known. In this navigation device, when a user instructs location registration, a captured image corresponding to the location to be registered is positioned. A search is performed based on the information, the registered spot and the photographed image are associated with each other and the spot is registered, and the registered spot is displayed together with the photographed image on the map. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain what was registered as a registration point from both the position on the map of a registration point, and a picked-up image.

JP 2010-181280 A

However, since the conventional image storage device does not store the captured image unless the user instructs to shoot, there is a problem that a desired captured image cannot be obtained if the user forgets the shooting instruction.
In addition, when this image storage device is applied to the location registration of the navigation device, in order to obtain a captured image of the registered location, it is necessary for the user to give a shooting instruction while traveling at the registered location. At this time, if a shooting instruction is not given before passing the registration point, a subject (such as a restaurant or a convenience store) existing at the registration point may be missed, and a significant captured image showing the subject may not be obtained. In this case, a meaningless photographed image that does not show the desired subject is associated with the registration point, and even if the user confirms the photographed image at the registration point later, the user cannot remember what was registered. There is.
Therefore, when registering a registered location, if the name of the registered location is manually input and associated with the registered location, the name and location information of the registered location can be relied upon even if a significant captured image has not been captured. You can remember what you registered. However, there is a problem that inputting a name every time a registration point is set is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image storage device capable of storing a significant captured image while saving storage capacity, and a navigation device including the image storage device. And

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device that displays a map and guides a route to a destination and registers an instructed point as a registered point is a photographic image input from a photographic device provided on a moving body. Character recognition means for recognizing characters reflected in the character, position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile object, and input means for receiving an input of a name of a location to be registered. During the character recognition for the captured image of the imaging device by the character recognition means, when a character indicating the name is detected, the captured image showing the name is taken as a captured image, the captured image, positional information of the movable body at the time of capture, and stored in the storage device in association with the name, the captured image corresponding to the name accepted by the input unit, and the position information said storage instrumentation The location indicated by the location information is registered as a location to be registered, registered in the registration location in association with the name and the captured image, and an icon indicating the registration location is displayed on the map based on the location information of the registration location. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, in the navigation device, the input unit includes a voice input unit that receives a voice input and a voice recognition unit that recognizes the voice, and the voice that recognizes the name of the location to be registered is recognized by the voice recognition unit. When the image is taken, the photographed image corresponding to the recognized name and the position information are taken out from the storage device, and the position indicated by the position information is registered as a location to be registered in association with the name and the photographed image. It is characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, in the navigation device, when a captured image corresponding to the name recognized by the voice recognition unit is not stored in the storage device, the storage device stores the name and stores the captured image corresponding to the name. When this is done, the photographed image, the position information, and the name are associated with each other and registered at a registration point.

  According to the present invention, when the character recognition unit recognizes characters with respect to the photographed image of the photographing apparatus during the movement of the moving body and a character indicating the name is detected, the photographed image showing the name is taken. As a result, it is possible to save the storage capacity compared to the configuration in which the captured image is always stored, and since the name is always shown in the captured image, only a significant captured image that shows what was captured is stored. Can do. In addition, since the captured image is stored in association with the position information and name of the moving object at the time of capture, the content of the captured image is determined from the position and name at the time of capturing without visually confirming the content of the captured image. Can be easily remembered. In addition, since the names of the captured images are stored in association with each other in advance, the user does not need to perform complicated operations such as assigning names to the captured images, and operability is improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the car navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the point registration process by voice input. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of memory | storage of a picked-up image, and point registration, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing when the point registration instruction | indication of the already passed point is carried out. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of memory | storage of a picked-up image, and point registration, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing when the point registration instruction | indication of the point which has not passed yet.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, as an example of the navigation device according to the present invention, the navigation device is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and guides the route to the destination while displaying a surrounding map including the current position of the vehicle, and is specified by the user. An example of a car navigation device having a point registration function for registering a registered point as a registered point will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a car navigation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
In this figure, the control part 2 controls each part centrally, for example, is provided with CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The position detection unit 3 detects the current position of the vehicle and outputs position information to the control unit 2. The position detector 3 detects the absolute position (longitude, latitude) of the current position using, for example, GPS, and detects the relative orientation of the current position using a gyro sensor or the like. The vehicle speed detection unit 4 captures a vehicle speed pulse output from the vehicle, detects the traveling speed of the vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle speed”), and outputs the detected vehicle speed to the control unit 2.
The map database 5 stores various data such as map data and route data necessary for route guidance. The display unit 6 displays a screen used for route guidance. During the route guidance, the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle are displayed on a map. The operation unit 7 includes a plurality of operators and receives various user operations on the car navigation device 1.

  The photographic data input unit 8 receives photographic data that is data of a photographic image taken by the in-vehicle camera 20 as an imaging unit provided in the vehicle, and outputs the photographic data to the name detection unit 9. The in-vehicle camera 20 is provided in the vehicle so that it can photograph the traveling direction of the vehicle over at least a range wider than the driver's field of view while the vehicle is moving. In other words, the in-vehicle camera 20 captures an image equivalent to that visually recognized by the driver during traveling of the vehicle, and outputs the captured image to the name detection unit 9 via the imaging data input unit 8.

The name detection unit 9 detects characters appearing in a captured image of the in-vehicle camera 20, and when a character indicating a subject name or a character string (hereinafter simply referred to as "character string") is detected, A photographed image showing the name is output as a photographed image in association with the name in the photographed image buffer memory 10 and includes a character recognition unit 11. The character recognition unit 11 performs character recognition processing on the captured images sequentially input from the captured data input unit 8 while the vehicle is running, and detects a character string reflected in the captured image.
The name dictionary data 12 is a database in which names of many subjects are registered in advance. When the character string detected by the character recognizing unit 11 is registered in the name dictionary data 12, the name detecting unit 9 determines that the character string is the name of the subject, and captures the character string in the photograph. An image is captured from the captured image, and the subject name and the vehicle position information acquired through the control unit 2 are associated with each other and output to the captured image buffer memory 10.

The subject whose name is registered in the name dictionary data 12 is a structure that can be a target of location registration, and mainly includes, for example, buildings, bridges, and structures such as pedestrian bridges with place names. The names of the subjects include names of buildings and bridges, names of facilities and shops for commercial facilities, names of companies, and names of places for footbridges. Of course, the user may register a desired name in the name dictionary data 12.
In the name detection unit 9, only a photographed image in which the name registered in the name dictionary data 12 is captured from the photographed image, so that only an image significant for point registration is reliably captured.

The captured image buffer memory 10 is a memory that temporarily stores a captured image, position information, and name pair input from the name detection unit 9. The photographed image buffer memory 10 is constituted by, for example, a ring buffer so that a predetermined number of pairs of photographed images, position information, and names are stored, and when newly stored, the oldest ones are deleted in order. The photographed image buffer memory 10 has a storage capacity that can store a photographed image of a subject that can exist at least during a certain travel distance (for example, several tens to several hundreds of meters). Thereby, even after passing the subject while the vehicle is running, the photographed image of the subject can be used for location registration.
The image data input unit 8, the name detection unit 9 (character recognition unit 11), the position detection unit 3, the captured image buffer memory 10, and the control unit 2 are provided to capture a captured image of the in-vehicle camera 20 and capture a captured image. Is stored in the captured image buffer memory 10 serving as a storage device.

The car navigation device 1 of the present embodiment is configured so that a point registration instruction can be input by voice input at least during traveling. That is, in FIG. 1, the voice input unit 13 includes, for example, a microphone that receives a voice of a user such as a driver, and outputs the voice of the user to the voice recognition unit 14. The voice recognition unit 14 performs voice recognition processing on the user's voice and outputs a voice recognition result to the control unit 2.
In the present embodiment, the location registration instruction is performed by voice input of the name of a subject to be registered for location registration. That is, the speech recognition unit 14 determines whether or not the name recognized in the name dictionary data 12 is included in the recognized speech, and if the name is included, the name is given to the control unit 2. Output as point registration instructions.

  When a name indicating a location registration instruction is input from the voice recognition unit 14, the control unit 2 searches the captured image buffer memory 10 using this name as a search key, and the corresponding name and a shooting associated with the name. The image and position information are output to the registration point memory 15 as registration point data 16. The registration point memory 15 stores a large number of registration point data 16. Of course, the registration point memory 15 may be provided in the storage area of the map database 5 described above.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the point registration process by voice input.
As shown in this figure, the in-vehicle camera 20 starts imaging as the ACC power source (accessory power source) of the vehicle is turned on (step S1), whereby the captured image data of the in-vehicle camera 20 is sequentially acquired. Are input to the car navigation apparatus 1 through the photographing data input unit 8. The name detection unit 9 of the car navigation device 1 performs character recognition processing on the photographed image (step S2), and determines whether or not a character string including a name registered in the name dictionary data 12 is recognized ( Step S3). When the character string including the name is recognized (step S3: YES), the name detection unit 9 captures the image of the captured image including the character string as the captured image (step S4), and acquires the position information of the vehicle at the time of capturing. Obtained from the control unit 2 (step S5), the captured image, the position information, and the name included in the character string are associated with each other and stored in the captured image buffer memory 10 (step S6).
Thus, during traveling of the vehicle, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, at each timing T1, T2,... The captured image buffer memory 10 is stored in association with each other. Accordingly, it is possible to perform processing such as searching for a corresponding captured image from the captured image buffer memory 10 based on the input of the name.

That is, as shown in step S7 of FIG. 2, when the “name” of the point to be registered is input from the voice recognition unit 14 as a point registration instruction by voice (step S7: YES), the control unit 2 is designated. The captured image buffer memory 10 is searched using the point as a search key, and it is determined whether or not the corresponding captured image is stored (step S8). When the captured image is stored (step S8: YES), the control unit 2 reads out the positional information associated with the captured image from the captured image buffer memory 10 together with the captured image (step S9). It is stored in the registration point memory 15 as registration point data 16 (step S10).
When displaying a map on the display unit 6, the car navigation device 1 displays a name and a captured image together with an icon (image) indicating a registered location at a position corresponding to the location information of the registered location data 16.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when the user tries to register a “square house ramen” that passes in the vicinity of the timing T3, the point registration instruction is delayed and the “square house ramen” is passed. However, since the captured image having the name “Square Ramen” is automatically captured and stored in the captured image buffer memory 10 at the timing T3, the captured image of this “Square Ramen” is extracted by the search, It will be registered as a registration point. In this way, even when the user gives a point registration instruction with a delay from the timing of passing through the registered point, the point at the delayed timing is not registered as a point, but a captured image of the point desired by the user Since the position information is extracted by the name and registered, the registration point desired by the user can be accurately registered.

In addition, when the vehicle is traveling, a point registration instruction for specifying this point is accepted even from a position in front of the point where the point to be registered is not in view, and automatically when a photographed image of this point is stored. It is convenient if you can register with.
Therefore, the control unit 2 according to the present embodiment does not end the process when the photographed image at the spot designated by the spot registration instruction is not stored in the determination in step S8 of FIG. 2 (step S8: NO). The point registration instruction (name) is stored and managed in the RAM or the like as an incomplete registration point (step S11). When the incomplete registration point is stored (step S12: YES), the control unit 2 searches the captured image buffer memory 10 using the “name” specified as the registration point as a search key, When the corresponding photographed image is stored (step S13: YES), the photographed image and position information are read (step S14), and stored as the registered spot data 16 in the registered spot memory 15 in association with the name (step S15). The incomplete registration point is deleted from the RAM or the like (step S16).
On the other hand, when the corresponding photographed image is not yet stored in step S13 (step S13: NO), it is considered that the vehicle has not yet passed through the designated registration point. It will return to step S2.

Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the user tries to register a “square house ramen” that passes in the vicinity of the timing T3, and issues a point registration instruction at a timing Tb before the “square house ramen” enters the field of view. Even if it is given, “Square Family Ramen” is managed as an incomplete registration point, and when a captured image having the name “Square Family Ramen” is automatically captured at timing T3, “Square Family Ramen” Are extracted by searching and registered as registration points.
Thus, not only when the point registration instruction is given after the timing of passing through the registration point, but also when the point registration instruction is given at a timing earlier than the timing of passing through the registration point, the registration desired by the user The point will be registered correctly.
Thus, the user can give a point registration instruction without worrying about the timing of passing through the registration point, and the user-friendly car navigation device 1 is realized.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, while the vehicle is traveling, the character recognition unit 11 performs character recognition on the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 20, and a character string (including one character) indicating the name of the subject is detected. In this case, since the captured image showing the name is taken in as a captured image, the storage capacity can be saved as compared with the configuration in which the captured image is always stored.
In addition, since the name is always shown in the photographed image, only a significant photographed image that shows what was photographed is stored, and the photographed image is stored in association with the position information and the name. By doing so, the contents of the photographed image can be easily remembered from the position and name at the time of photographing without visually confirming the contents of the photographed image.
Furthermore, since the names of the captured images are stored in association with each other in advance, the user does not need to perform complicated operations such as assigning names to the captured images, and operability is improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the name of the location to be registered is received as a location registration instruction, and the captured image, position information, and name corresponding to this name are registered in the registered location.
With this configuration, even after passing through a registered point, the position of the instructed point and the captured image can be surely registered. In addition, since the registered point is associated with the name of the subject shown in the captured image, the user does not need to assign a name separately, and the usability of the car navigation device 1 is improved.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the name of the location to be registered can be input by voice, a user such as a driver simply speaks the name of the subject that has entered the field of view even while the vehicle is running. It is not necessary to input the name of the location to be registered by operating the operation key or the like each time.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, when a photographed image corresponding to the instructed name is not stored in the photographed image buffer memory 10, the name is held and managed as an incomplete registration point and corresponds to the name. When the photographed image is stored, the photographed image, position information, and name are associated with each other and registered at the registration point.
With this configuration, even when the subject is not yet passed, the location can be quickly registered when the subject passes. Thereby, a user such as a driver does not need to be aware of the passage of the subject to be registered while the vehicle is traveling.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above shows the one aspect | mode of this invention to the last, and a deformation | transformation and application are arbitrarily possible within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the point registration of the car navigation device 1 has been described as an application example of the image storage device 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a captured image outside the vehicle is automatically captured and stored, and the user browses later. You can also use it for fun. Further, not only when the name is recognized by character recognition, but also when the user gives an instruction to shoot, a captured image may be captured from the captured image and stored.

  Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the car navigation device 1 mounted on the vehicle is illustrated as an example of the navigation device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the portable device is used by the user for route guidance when traveling. It can also be applied to navigation devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 2 Control part 3 Position detection part (position information acquisition part)
4 Vehicle speed detection unit 6 Display unit 8 Shooting data input unit 9 Name detection unit 10 Captured image buffer memory (storage device)
11 Character recognition part (character recognition means)
12 Name dictionary data 13 Voice input part (voice input means)
14 Voice recognition unit (voice recognition means)
15 Registration point memory 16 Registration point data 20 On-board camera (photographing device)
30 Image storage device

Claims (3)

In a navigation device that displays a map and guides the route to the destination, and registers the designated point as a registered point,
Character recognition means for recognizing characters in a photographed image input from a photographing device provided on a moving body;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the moving body;
Input means for accepting input of the name of the location to be registered,
During the movement of the moving body, character recognition is performed on the captured image of the imaging apparatus by the character recognition means, and when a character indicating the name is detected, a captured image showing the name is captured as a captured image, The captured image is stored in a storage device in association with the position information of the moving body at the time of capture and the name,
The photographed image corresponding to the name received by the input means and the position information are taken out from the storage device, and the position indicated by the position information is registered as a point to be registered in association with the name and the photographed image,
A navigation device, wherein an icon indicating the registered point is displayed on a map based on position information of the registered point. The input means includes
Voice input means for receiving voice input;
Voice recognition means for recognizing voice,
When the voice indicating the name of the location to be registered is recognized by the voice recognition means, the captured image and the position information corresponding to the recognized name are extracted from the storage device, and the position indicated by the position information is registered. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is registered as a location and associated with a name and a captured image. When a photographed image corresponding to the name recognized by the voice recognition unit is not stored in the storage device, the photographed image, the position is stored when the photographed image corresponding to the name is stored. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein information and a name are associated with each other and registered at a registration point.

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