JPH06229767A - Navigation system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact and inexpensive navigation system for vehicle in which the position of vehicle is detected and travel guide information relevant thereto is produced and delivered to a crew. CONSTITUTION:In the navigation system 10, a GPS receiver 18 for detecting the position of vehicle, a unit 22 for providing a crew with travel guide information, a controller 16 therefor, etc., are mounted on a vehicle, whereas a home side computor 26 for producing travel guide information relevant to the vehicle position, a road information memory 30, etc., are installed on the outside of the vehicle. This constitution reduces the space required for mounting the navigation system on the vehicle and reduces the cost of the on-board part of navigation system. Furthermore, the home side computor 26 can be constituted of an existing means, e.g. a personal computor in the home, and the entire navigation system can be constituted at low cost.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular navigation device for providing vehicle occupant guidance information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicular navigation device is a device for providing vehicle occupancy guidance information to an occupant, and it is convenient to use this device, for example, when traveling on a strange land.

Generally, a vehicle navigation device detects the position of the vehicle (ie, the current position of the vehicle) using a geomagnetic sensor, GPS, etc., as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-93611. However, driving guidance information related to the detected vehicle position (for example, information such as image guidance displaying the vehicle position on the map data or voice guidance such as "Turn right at OX intersection 2 km ahead") Is created, and the created travel guidance information is provided to the occupant by displaying it on a screen or outputting sound from a speaker.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional navigation device, all the means for detecting the position of the own vehicle, creating the traveling guidance information and providing the traveling guidance information are mounted on the vehicle. There was a problem. That is, in the navigation device disclosed in the above publication, a CD player in which the map data necessary for creating the driving guidance information is stored and the required map data is read out, and the position of the own vehicle is displayed on the map data. Since a controller etc. for performing arithmetic operation for performing the operation will also be mounted on the vehicle, a large space is required on the instrument panel for the navigation device, and the navigation device becomes expensive. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a compact and inexpensive vehicle navigation device.

[0006]

A vehicle navigation system according to the present invention is configured such that only the components of the navigation system that need to be mounted in the vehicle are mounted in the vehicle, and the other components are provided outside the vehicle. The above-mentioned purpose is achieved.

That is, as described in claim 1, the own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own vehicle position, and the traveling guide information creating means for producing the traveling guide information related to the detected own vehicle position, In a vehicular navigation device comprising: travel guidance information providing means for providing the created travel guidance information to an occupant, the own vehicle position detecting means and the travel guidance information providing means are mounted on the vehicle. The traveling guidance information creating means is provided outside the vehicle, and a communication means is provided for communicating with the own vehicle position detecting means, the traveling guidance information providing means, and the traveling guidance information creating means. , Is characterized.

[The above-mentioned "guidance information relating to the vehicle position"]
Is not limited to specific information as long as it is useful information for guiding the vehicle from the current position,
For example, the direction of the own vehicle at the present time, the position coordinates or point name of the own vehicle, the direction of the destination when the destination is set, the optimum traveling route to the destination, and the like can be adopted.

The above-mentioned "driving guide information creating means" is not limited to a specific configuration as long as it can create running guide information relating to the position of the vehicle, and for example, a personal computer at home. A mini computer of a traffic information service center or the like can be adopted.

[0010]

As described above, since the traveling guide information creating means is provided outside the vehicle, it is sufficient to mount the vehicle position detecting means and the traveling guide information providing means on the vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to allocate a large space on the instrument panel for the navigation device, and moreover, if only the part of the navigation device to be mounted on the vehicle is considered, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. . Further, since the driving guidance information creating means provided outside the vehicle can be configured by using a personal computer at home or other existing means, even if the navigation apparatus is considered as a whole, it can be inexpensive. Can be configured.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the vehicular navigation device can be made compact and inexpensive.

Further, in the present invention, since the travel guidance information creating means is provided outside the vehicle, the traffic information is obtained from the outside of the vehicle navigation device as described in claim 2. It can be easily configured to generate the driving guidance information according to the traffic information. With this configuration, the following operational effects can be obtained. That is, when the driving guide information creating means is also mounted on the vehicle as in the conventional case, C
Since the travel guidance information can only be created by relying only on the map data stored in D etc., it is not possible to create the travel guidance information in consideration of the current traffic information (for example, traffic jam information etc.), but in the present invention. Since the driving guidance information creating means is provided outside the vehicle, more appropriate driving guidance information can be created by obtaining traffic information using personal computer communication, multiplex TV broadcasting, or the like.

Further, the above "communication by communication means" means
This may be done by general wireless communication, but as described in claim 3, if it is done by using a telephone line,
Existing communication systems can be used.

The "communication by the communication means" may be carried out at all times, but if it is carried out intermittently at predetermined intervals as described in claim 4, wasteful communication is carried out. Can be eliminated. This is especially effective when using a car telephone, which has a high telephone line usage fee. Here, "every predetermined period" may be every predetermined time or every predetermined traveling distance.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle navigation device according to the present invention.

This vehicle navigation device 10 is necessary information (travel route guidance information) so that the vehicle can reach the traveling destination from the vehicle position (that is, the current position of the vehicle) on the optimum traveling route. Which is provided to the occupant, and includes a vehicle-mounted device 12 mounted on the vehicle and a home device 14 provided outside the vehicle such as at home or at an office.

The in-vehicle device 12 includes an in-vehicle controller 16, a GPS receiver 18, an in-vehicle wireless device 20, and an information providing device 22.
And an input device 24, while the home device 14
Includes a home computer 26, a home communication device 28, a road information storage device 30, and a traffic information acquisition communication device 32.

In the in-vehicle device 12, the GPS receiver 18
Is configured to detect signals from a plurality of satellites to detect the position of the own vehicle, and the detected positions of the own vehicle are input to the vehicle controller 16. Also,
The input device 24 inputs the traveling destination of the vehicle to the in-vehicle controller 16 by an input operation of an occupant. In this input operation, for example, the address of the destination, the telephone number of the destination, etc. are input, but other items can be input as long as the destination can be specified.
The in-vehicle wireless device 20 communicates with the home communication device 28 of the home device 14 via a telephone line, and transmits the vehicle position and the destination input to the in-vehicle controller 16 to the home device 14. , Home device 14
To receive driving route guidance information (which will be described later). The information providing device 20 is configured to provide the traveling route guidance information to the occupant.
This information is provided by displaying characters on a display device provided on the instrument panel and outputting sound from a speaker.

On the other hand, in the home device 14, the home computer 26 has a computer body (personal computer body) 26A and route guidance software (floppy disk) 26.
The home communication device 28 receives the vehicle position and the destination transmitted from the vehicle-mounted wireless device 18 of the vehicle-mounted device 12 and inputs them to the home-side computer 26. The road information storage device 30 stores in advance the road network and traffic regulation (for example, one-way traffic) information data required when providing travel route guidance information. As shown in FIG. 2, the traffic information acquisition communication device 32 acquires the latest traffic information from the traffic information service centers in a plurality of areas via the communication network 28, and the acquired traffic information is sent to the home computer 26. It is designed to be entered. The home-side computer 26 searches for the optimum traveling route from the vehicle position to the traveling destination based on the own vehicle position and the destination, the road network, the traffic regulation information data, and the latest traffic information, and the optimal traveling route. Information (driving route guidance information) is created. The travel route guidance information is transmitted from the home communication device 28 to the vehicle-mounted device 12. The travel route guidance information is created in the data format shown in Table 1.

[0021]

[Table 1]

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The case where the vehicle navigation device 10 guides the vehicle from the starting point shown in FIG. 3 to the traveling destination (not shown) along the traveling route shown by the broken line in the figure will be described as an example.

The procedure of travel route guidance by the vehicle navigation device 10 is performed according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, when a destination is set by the input device 24 of the vehicle-mounted device 12 by an occupant's input operation, the vehicle-mounted controller 16 communicates with the vehicle-mounted radio 20 and the home communication device 28. The line is opened and the GPS receiver 18 is made to detect the own vehicle position by calculation (step S
1, S2, S3). Then, the in-vehicle controller 16
Vehicle position data (x, y) and destination data (telephone number, etc.) via the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28
Is transmitted to the home computer 26 (step S
4).

The home computer 26 receiving this
Searches for the optimum travel route from the vehicle position to the travel destination based on the road network and traffic regulation information data and the latest traffic information, and the information on the optimum travel route (the travel route guidance information shown in Table 1 ) Is created (steps S5 and S6).
Then, the home-side computer 26 uses the in-vehicle wireless device 20.
And the first guidance point (see FIG. 3) via the home communication device 28.
The guide point information (distance to the guide point, traveling direction, traveling road name, scheduled report timing, etc.) of the point indicated by "No. 1" is transmitted to the vehicle controller 16 (step S).
7).

In response to this, the in-vehicle controller 16 provides the occupant with travel route guidance information (character display and voice output of "Turn right at Taisho intersection 2 km ahead") by the information providing device 22. After that, since it is not necessary to provide information for a while, the communication line between the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 is disconnected in order to eliminate useless communication (step S).
8, S9).

However, the home computer 26
As shown in FIG. 5, after that, the traffic information acquisition communication device 32 continues to obtain the latest traffic information until the scheduled report time, and if there is no significant change in the traffic situation,
At the time when the report is scheduled (5 minutes after departure), the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 are ready for the next report.
Open the communication line with (steps S10, S11, S1
2) In the meantime, when the traffic situation changes greatly due to the occurrence of a major accident, it is necessary to recreate the travel route guidance information. Therefore, the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 are required.
Open the communication line with and return to step S3 (step S
10, S13).

When the communication line between the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 is opened in step S12, the in-vehicle controller 16 causes the GPS receiver 18 to detect the own vehicle position,
This vehicle position data (x, y) is transmitted to the home-side computer 26 (steps S14 and S15).

The home computer 26 receiving this
Calculates whether or not the host vehicle is traveling on the guide route (optimum travel route), and if it is traveling on the guide route,
The distance L between the vehicle position (x, y) and the guide point (Xp, Yp) is calculated by the equation L = {(Xp-x) ² + (Yp-y) ² }.
Calculate by ^1/2 (steps S16, S17, S1
8). On the other hand, when the vehicle is not traveling on the guide route, the home-side computer 26 transmits the route deviation information to the vehicle-mounted controller 16 (step S19). In response to this, the vehicle-mounted controller 16 provides the occupant with the route deviation information (the character display “out of the guide route” and the voice output) by the information providing device 22 and prompts the driver to correct the trajectory (step S20). . If the trajectory is corrected to the guide route before the predetermined time has elapsed, the process returns to step S14 to calculate the distance L, while the trajectory is not corrected to the guide route even after the predetermined time has elapsed. In the case that the passenger has pressed the re-search switch (not shown) in the meantime, the process returns to step S3 to recreate the travel route guidance information (steps S21 and S2).
2).

Next, the home-side computer 26 operates as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the distance L calculated in step S18 is
It is determined whether or not L <L1 (that is, whether or not the vehicle approaches the first guide point within a predetermined distance L1 (for example, L1 = 1 km)) (step S23). If L <L1 is not satisfied, after resetting the scheduled report timing, the communication line between the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 is disconnected, and the process returns to step S10 (steps S24 and S).
25). On the other hand, if L <L1, then L3 <L
It is determined whether or not <L2 (that is, whether or not the vehicle has reached the vicinity of the first guidance point (for example, L2 = 550 m, L3 = 450 m)) (step S26).

If L3 <L <L2, the route instruction information (distance to the first guidance point, traveling direction, traveling road name, etc.) is transmitted to the vehicle controller 16 (step S2).
7). In response to this, the in-vehicle controller 16 provides the occupant with route instruction information (character display and voice output of "Turn right at a Taisho intersection 500m ahead") with the information providing device 22 (step S28). On the other hand, if L3 <L <L2 is not satisfied, the above-mentioned route instruction information is not necessary, so the home-side computer 26 determines whether L <L4 (for example, L4 = 50 m) is satisfied (that is, the vehicle is First
It is determined whether or not the vehicle arrives at the guidance point (step S2).
6, S29). The same applies after L3 <L <L2 and the above information is provided (steps S28 and S29).

If L <L4 is not satisfied, the distance L is set again.
The process returns to step S14 in order to calculate L <L4, but if L <L4, the home-side computer 26 determines, as shown in FIG. 7, based on the timing of actually passing the first guidance point and the traffic condition. The scheduled passage timing in the travel route guidance information is corrected, and the second guidance point (“N” in FIG. 3 is displayed).
o. 2 ”) (guidance point information) (distance to the second guidance point, traveling direction, traveling road name, scheduled report timing, etc.) is transmitted to the vehicle controller 16 (step S3).
0, S31).

In response to this, the in-vehicle controller 16 provides the occupant with the travel route guidance information (character display and voice output "Meiji intersection is 5 km ahead turn left") by the information providing device 22 (step S32). After that, since it is not necessary to provide information again for a while, the communication line between the in-vehicle wireless device 20 and the home communication device 28 is disconnected in order to eliminate useless communication (step S33).

In the same manner, the occupants are provided with information about all the guide points, and when this is completed, it is assumed that the vehicle can be guided to the destination, and the route guidance by the vehicle navigation device 10 is terminated. (Step S34).

As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, among the components of the navigation device 10, those which are required to be mounted on the vehicle (the GPS receiver 18 for detecting the own vehicle position, the traveling guidance information for the occupant). The information providing device 22 provided to the user and the in-vehicle controller 16 that controls these devices)
Is mounted on the vehicle, and the other components (the home-side computer 26 that creates the driving guidance information related to the vehicle position and the road information storage device 30) are provided outside the vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to allocate a large space on the instrument panel, and moreover, considering only the portion of the navigation device mounted on the vehicle, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. Further, the home device 1 provided outside the vehicle
Since 4 can be configured by using an existing means such as a personal computer, it can be configured at low cost even when considering the entire navigation device.

Further, in this embodiment, the home device 1
Since 4 is equipped with the traffic information acquisition communication device 32, the latest traffic information can be obtained from the traffic information service centers in a plurality of regions, and the driving guidance information can be created according to the acquired traffic information. As a result, it is possible to create more appropriate driving guidance information in which the current traffic information (for example, traffic jam information, etc.) is added.

Further, in the present embodiment, the in-vehicle device 1
Since the communication between the in-vehicle wireless device 20 of No. 2 and the home communication device 28 of the home device 14 is performed using the telephone line, information can be transmitted using the existing communication system.

Further, the on-vehicle radio 20 and the home communication device 2
The communication with 8 is not always performed, but is intermittently performed at each predetermined notification timing.
It is possible to eliminate useless communication and reduce the usage fee of the telephone line.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the vehicular navigation device can be made compact and inexpensive.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a travel route diagram showing the operation of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart (1) showing the operation of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the above embodiment (part 2).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the above embodiment (part 3).

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the above embodiment (part 4).

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Vehicle Navigation Device 12 In-Vehicle Device 14 Home Device 16 In-Vehicle Controller 18 GPS Receiver (Vehicle Position Detection Means) 20 In-Vehicle Radio (Communication Means) 22 Information Providing Device (Running Guidance Information Providing Means) 24 Input Device 26 Home Side Computer (running guide information creating means) 28 Home communication device (communication means) 30 Road information storage device 32 Traffic information acquisition communication device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle position detecting means for detecting a vehicle position, a traveling guide information generating means for generating traveling guide information related to the detected vehicle position, and an occupant for the generated traveling guide information. In the vehicle navigation device, the vehicle position detecting means and the traveling guide information providing means are mounted on the vehicle, and the traveling guide information creating means is provided outside the vehicle. And a communication means for communicating with the own vehicle position detecting means, the travel guidance information providing means, and the travel guidance information creating means.
A vehicle navigation device characterized by the above. 2. The travel guidance information creating means is configured to obtain traffic information from outside the vehicle navigation device and create the travel guidance information according to the obtained traffic information. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication by the communication unit is configured to be performed using a telephone line. 4. The vehicular navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the communication by the communication unit is configured to be intermittently performed every predetermined period.