JPH06265366A - Route guidance apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To judge an advance direction quickly and precisely, to restrain the inessential turn of a map and to enhance the visibility of the apparatus by a method wherein an entry direction to a crossing is selected according to a distance up to a next crossing and the map is turned and displayed. CONSTITUTION:On the basis of information on a present position and of data in a map, a road which is being traveled at present is judged, and a distance up to a next crossing is then computed. Then, the display direction of the map is decided in such a way that, when the distance is a prescribed threshold value or higher, the direction facing the crossing from a present place is directed to the upper part on a display screen and that, when the distance is less than the prescribed threshold value, an entry direction to the crossing is directed to the upper part of the display screen. For example, when a road in Fig. (a) is passed in the order of Figs. (c)-(b)-(d), the direction facing the next crossing from the present place is displayed so as to be directed to the upper direction in Figs. (c) and (b) and an entry direction to the next crossing is displayed so as to be directed to the upper direction in Fig. (d) in which the present place is immediately in front of the crossing. Thereby, since the map is not turned frequently in a bent road without a crossing, the visibility of the apparatus is enhanced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route guidance device for a vehicle, which is mounted on a vehicle and displays a current position of the vehicle, a map and a direction in which the vehicle should travel. The present invention relates to a technique of appropriately setting according to a positional relationship.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional vehicle route guidance device, the map is generally displayed with north facing up, but with a map with north facing up, when the vehicle is heading south. Can sometimes make it difficult to determine where to go at an intersection. Therefore, a technique has been developed in which the map is rotated and displayed so that the traveling direction of the vehicle always faces the upper side of the display screen. Regarding the above method of rotating the map, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the traveling direction of the vehicle exceeds 45 ° to the left and right with respect to the upper portion of the display screen, the map is rotated in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. What is rotated (for example, described in the instruction manual for the multi-AV system installed in "Nissan Cedric Y32" manufactured by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., issued on June 37, page 1991), and the driver manually rotates the display direction. Things (eg,
The instruction manual for the electro-multivision installed in the "Crown" manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation, issued October 11, 1991, described on page 78), and the vehicle is at a certain distance (or time) after the direction of travel has changed. Those that rotate the map after going straight (for example,
JP-A-62-284212, JP-A-62-284
213) and the like are known.

[0003]

However, in the method described above, for example, when traveling on a curved road as shown in FIG. 7A, the traveling direction is close to the boundary of the rotation angle. Frequently changes from (b) to (c),
The map rotates frequently like (d), (e), and (f). Further, the above-mentioned manually changing the direction has a problem that the operation is troublesome and there is a fear that it may hinder driving. In addition, in the above example, FIG.
As shown in, when the vehicle progresses in the direction of the arrow and branches immediately after finishing the turn or when the distance between intersections is short, it is difficult to determine the direction to go because the map does not rotate. And there is also FIG. 8 (b)
On a winding mountain road, etc., there is a problem that the map is frequently rotated and visibility is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, suppresses unnecessary rotation of the map to improve the visibility, and has good displayability in the direction to proceed. An object is to provide a route guidance device for a vehicle.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is constructed as described in the claims. That is, in the invention according to claim 1, as shown in the claim correspondence diagram of FIG. 1, the position detecting means 1 for detecting the current traveling position and the traveling direction of the vehicle and the map database are stored. The storage means 7, the next intersection information calculation means 4 for calculating information of the next intersection based on the detection result of the position detection means 1 and the data of the map database stored in the storage means 7, and the position detection means 1 A map for controlling the display of the map around the current position of the vehicle and the control of the display direction and the display of the current position mark based on the detection result of the above, the calculation result of the next intersection information calculation means 4 and the data of the map database. And the position / direction display control means 5 and the map around the current position and the current position mark in a direction determined by the control of the map / position / direction display control means 5. And Shimesuru display unit 6, and a. The map and position / direction display control means 5, for example, according to claim 2, based on the distance from the current position to the next intersection calculated by the next intersection information calculation means, the distance is equal to or more than a predetermined value. In the range of, the map is displayed so that the direction facing the next intersection from the current location is the direction facing the upper part of the display screen, and when the distance is less than the predetermined value, the approach direction to the next intersection is displayed on the display screen. The map is displayed so as to face upward.

Further, as shown in the claim correspondence diagram of FIG. 2, the invention according to claim 3 stores the position detecting means 1 for detecting the current traveling position and the traveling direction of the vehicle and the map database. The present position detected by the position detection means 1 based on the stored storage means 7, the destination setting means 2 for inputting and setting the destination or waypoint of the vehicle, and the data of the map database stored in the storage means 7. The route calculation means 3 calculates a recommended route between the destination and the destination set by the destination setting means 2, the detection result of the position detection means 1, the data of the map database, and the route calculation means 3. Based on the recommended route, the next intersection information calculation means 4 for calculating the information of the next intersection, the detection result of the position detection means 1, the calculation result of the next intersection information calculation means 4 and the above. A map and position / direction display control means 5 for controlling the display of a map around the current position of the vehicle and the control of its display direction and the display of the current position mark on the basis of the data in the figure database, and the map and position / direction display control Display means 6 for displaying a map around the current location and a current position mark in a direction determined by the control of the means 5;
Is equipped with. The map and position / direction display control means 5, for example, as described in claim 4, based on the distance from the current position calculated by the next intersection information calculation means to the intersection to turn right or left next, the distance In the range of a predetermined value or more, the map is displayed so that the direction facing the intersection that makes a right turn or a left turn next from the current position is the direction facing upward of the display screen, and when the distance is less than the predetermined value, The map is displayed so that the approaching direction to the intersection that makes a right turn or a left turn is the direction facing upward of the display screen.

[0007]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when an intersection is turned, the map is set so that the direction from the present location to the next intersection is directed to the upper part of the display screen. It is rotated and displayed, and immediately before the intersection, it is rotated and displayed so that the approach direction to the intersection faces upward. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the swirling of the map and improve the visibility, and moreover, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine the direction to go at an intersection or the like. Further, in the inventions according to claims 3 and 4, when the route from the present location to the destination is calculated in advance and the intersection is turned, the direction facing the intersection where the vehicle makes a right turn or a left turn from the present location is displayed on the display screen. The map is rotated and displayed so as to face upward, and immediately before the intersection where the vehicle turns right or left, the map is rotated and displayed so that the approach direction to the intersection faces upward. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the rotation of the map and improve the visibility.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 24 is a distance sensor, which generates a signal each time the vehicle travels a unit distance (L). Two
Reference numeral 5 denotes an azimuth sensor, which detects, for example, geomagnetism to detect the traveling azimuth of the vehicle. An external memory 23 stores map data in a certain range, and sends map data of a specific area to the microcomputer 26 in response to a request signal from the microcomputer 26.
The microcomputer 26 performs arithmetic processing according to a procedure programmed in advance, and includes a CPU 27, R
OM28, RAM29, V-RAM30, I / F circuit 3
It consists of 1. This is a distance sensor 24, an orientation sensor 25.
And the current position on the map is calculated by the signal from the external memory 23, and the image signal for displaying the information is generated. Reference numeral 22 denotes an operation board, which is operated by an occupant such as a driver to select the map displayed on the CRT display device 21, the scale of the displayed map, the rotation of the map, and the current state of the vehicle on the map display. You can correct the position and enter the destination. CRT
The display device 21 displays a map of the specific area, the current position of the vehicle, the position of the destination, and the like according to the image signal from the microcomputer 26.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 4
And FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the arithmetic processing in the CPU 27. First, a description will be given based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 5 (c). It should be noted that this process corresponds to the function shown in FIG. First, in FIG. 4A, when the system starts up, C
The PU 27 performs a series of initialization processing such as setting the input / output conditions of the microcomputer 26 (step 110). Then, an initial position of the vehicle is set on the basis of an operation performed by the occupant through the operation board 22 and a signal from the direction sensor 25 (step 120). For example, the driver selects the map displayed on the CRT display device 21 so as to be a map showing the vicinity of the current position, and further specifies the current position on the map with a cursor or the like to display the coordinates (Xc) of the current position. , Yc), and further the traveling azimuth (θ) based on the signal from the azimuth sensor.
Subsequently, the current position mark is displayed on the map screen on the CRT display device 21 (step 130). And C
The PU 27 permits acceptance of interrupt processing (step 140), and enters a standby state waiting for generation of current position calculation interrupt processing while performing a background job such as monitoring of runaway of the CPU 27 by a watchdog timer (step 150).

Next, FIG. 4B is a flow showing the current position calculation interrupt processing. This current position calculation interrupt process is an interrupt process that is generated each time the vehicle travels a unit distance (L) based on the signal from the distance sensor 24. In this interrupt processing, first, during the processing, acceptance of interrupt processing is prohibited so that no new interrupt processing comes in (step 210). Then, a new current position and a new heading direction are calculated (step 220).
This process is based on the signal from the azimuth sensor 25.
Is read and the coordinates (Xc, Yc) of the current position are calculated by the following (Formula 1). Xc ← Xc + L × cos θ Yc ← Yc + L × sin θ (Equation 1) Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the current position or the traveling direction has been moved by the above process (step 230). Acceptance is permitted (step 260), and the current position interrupt processing is ended (step 270). Then, the process returns to the background job (step 150) in FIG. 4A, and enters the standby state for the next interrupt processing. On the other hand, if it has moved in step 230, the routine moves to the rotation subroutine shown in FIG. 5 (c) (step 240).

In the rotation subroutine shown in FIG. 5 (c), first, it is judged which road is currently traveling based on the current position information and the map data (step 3).
05). Next, it is judged whether or not the road has changed from the road on which the vehicle was previously traveling, that is, whether or not the next intersection which has already been set has been passed (step 310). ) Judgment of the next intersection of the road from the map data (step 315), and calculation of the direction to the intersection and the approach direction to the intersection (step 320).
If it has not changed (if it has not passed) Step 3
Steps 15 and 320 are not performed. Subsequently, the distance to the next intersection is calculated (step 325), and the display direction of the map is determined according to the distance. This is, for example, if the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the direction from the current location to the intersection points upwards on the display screen, and if the distance is less than the threshold, the direction to enter the intersection points upwards on the display screen. So that the display direction of the map is determined (step 330). Next, it is determined whether or not the display direction is different from the currently displayed direction (step 335), and if it is different, the map is rotated and displayed in the direction determined in step 330 (step 340). If the same at step 335, the already displayed old current position mark is erased (step 3
45). Then, the rotation subroutine is finished (step 350).

Next, the process proceeds to step 250 of FIG. 4B, and based on the coordinates (Xc, Yc) of the current position, the traveling direction (θ) and the rotation angle (θ ') of the map, which have been obtained previously, A new current position mark 41 is displayed (step 25
0). Then, acceptance of interrupt processing is permitted (step 260), and the current position calculation interrupt processing is ended (step 270). Then, the process returns to the background job in step 150 of FIG.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the approximate traveling direction is displayed so as to face the upper part of the display screen, and the approach direction to the intersection near the intersection is above the display screen. It is displayed so that it faces the direction.
For this reason, on curved roads without intersections, the map is not rotated even if the vehicle direction changes, so there is no fear of reducing visibility due to frequent rotations. Since it will be the upper direction of the map,
It is possible to quickly and accurately determine the direction in which the vehicle should travel. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the above-described map rotation state. In FIG. 6, the road such as (a) is (c) →
When passing in the order of (b) → (d), in (c) and (b), the direction from the current location to the next intersection is displayed as facing upward, and the current location is immediately before the intersection. In (d), the approach direction to the next intersection is displayed so as to face upward.

Next, the operation of another embodiment will be described. This embodiment corresponds to the processing shown in FIG. 2 and is obtained by adding processing for setting a destination, selecting a route and guiding a route to the processing shown in FIG. The flowchart of this process is shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 5 above.
This is obtained by adding the destination input interrupt process of FIG. 5D to the process of FIG. Therefore, the newly added FIG.
Only the destination input interrupt processing of (d) and the changed points (steps 150 and 315) will be described. First,
The destination input interrupt process shown in FIG. 5D is an interrupt process that occurs when an occupant inputs a destination via the operation board 22. In this interrupt processing, first, during the processing, acceptance of the interrupt processing is prohibited so that another new interrupt processing does not come in (step 41).
0). Then, the occupant inputs a destination based on the operation performed via the operation board 22 (step 420).
This is because, for example, the driver selects the map displayed on the CRT display device 21 so as to be a map showing the vicinity of the destination, and further designates the destination on the map with a cursor or the like to coordinate the destination. This is a process of obtaining (Xd, Yd). Then, the destination mark is displayed on the map screen on the CRT display device 21 (step 430). here,
If the destination has already been input, the previous destination mark is deleted and the new destination mark is displayed. Then, the route from the current position to the input destination is calculated (step 440). Thereafter, the acceptance of the interrupt processing generation is permitted (step 450), and the destination input interrupt processing is ended by the return (step 460). Then, the process returns to the background job (step 150) in FIG. 4A, and enters the standby state for the next interrupt processing. The change in step 150 is that the destination input interrupt process is accepted in addition to the current position interrupt process.

In step 315 of FIG. 5C,
Instead of determining the next intersection, the information on the recommended route calculated in step 440 of FIG. 5D is referred to, and the intersection is changed to determine the next right or left turn on the selected route. There is. Therefore, according to this example,
The direction from the current position toward the intersection that makes the next right or left turn is displayed so as to face the upper direction of the display screen, and at the intersection that is not making a right or left turn, the map does not rotate, so the visibility is improved and the next right turn Alternatively, since the approach direction is displayed so as to face the upper direction of the display screen in the vicinity of the intersection that makes a left turn, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine the direction to proceed.

In the above-described embodiments, immediately after passing through an intersection, the map is rotated (first rotation) so that the direction facing the next intersection faces the upper side of the screen of the CRT display device 21, and then, When the distance to the intersection is approaching the predetermined threshold value or less, the map is rotated again (second rotation) so that the approach direction to the next intersection faces the upper direction of the screen. The rotation of may be performed gradually. That is, the first
Immediately after the rotation is performed, the map is gradually rotated until the distance to the next intersection approaches the threshold value or less (the time when the second rotation is performed in the above example), and immediately before the next intersection. Then, the approaching direction to the next intersection may be directed upward. In this way, the screen is not rapidly rotated, so that the visibility to the driver can be further improved. Immediately before the next intersection, the map is rotated so that the approach direction to the next intersection is directed upward, but the map may be rotated so that the traveling direction of the vehicle is directed upward.

In the embodiment for calculating the route, the barycentric positions of n (n ≧ 1) intersections on the route from the current position to the destination are calculated, and the direction from the current position to the barycentric position is the upper direction of the screen. A method of rotating the map so as to face is also effective in improving the visibility. The position of the center of gravity is calculated as follows, for example. The x and y coordinates of the center of gravity are (Jx, J
If y), then (Jx, Jy) is calculated by the following equation (2).

[0018]

[Equation 2]

However, in the above equation (2), Rx (k)
And Ry (k) indicate the x coordinate and the y coordinate of the k-th (n ≧ k) intersection among the n (n ≧ 1) intersections on the route from the current position to the destination.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the approach direction to the intersection is appropriately selected according to the distance from the next intersection or the intersection that makes the right turn or the left turn, and the map is rotated and displayed. With this configuration, the direction in which the vehicle should travel can be promptly and accurately determined, and unnecessary frequent rotation of the map can be suppressed, so that the visibility can be improved. Further, by suppressing unnecessary rotation of the map, the calculation load of the CPU can be kept low, and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first claim correspondence diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram corresponding to the second claim of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a part of a processing flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is another part of the processing flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a map rotation situation in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram showing a map rotation state in a conventional device.

FIG. 8 is another example diagram showing a map rotation state in the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position detection means 23 ... External memory 2 ... Destination setting means 24 ... Distance sensor 3 ... Route calculation means 25 ... Direction sensor 4 ... Next intersection information calculation means 26 ... Microcomputer 5 ... Map and position direction display control means 27 ... CPU 6 ... Display means 28 ... ROM 7 ... Storage means 29 ... RAM 21 ... CRT display device 30 ... V-
RAM 22 ... Operation board 31 ... I /
F circuit

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Okihiko Nakayama 2 Takaracho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshinori Yagi In Takara-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a current traveling position and a traveling direction of a vehicle, a storage means for storing a map database, a detection result of the position detecting means and data of the map database. Then, based on the next intersection information calculation means for calculating the information of the next intersection, the detection result of the position detection means, the calculation result of the next intersection information calculation means, and the data of the map database, Map and position / direction display control means for controlling display of map and control of display direction and display of current position mark, and map and current position mark around current position in a direction determined by control of the map and position / direction display control means A route guide device for a vehicle, comprising: a display unit for displaying. 2. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the map and position / direction display control means is based on a distance from the current position calculated by the next intersection information calculation means to the next intersection, In the range where the distance is a predetermined value or more, the map is displayed so that the direction facing the next intersection from the current position is the direction facing the upper part of the display screen, and when the distance becomes less than the predetermined value, the next intersection is displayed. A route guidance device for a vehicle, wherein the map is displayed so that an approach direction to the display screen is an upward direction of a display screen. 3. A position detecting means for detecting a current traveling position and a traveling direction of the vehicle, a storing means for storing a map database, and a destination setting means for inputting and setting a destination or a waypoint of the vehicle. A route calculating means for calculating a recommended route between the current position detected by the position detecting means and the destination set by the destination setting means, based on the data of the map database; Next intersection information calculation means for calculating the information of the next intersection based on the detection result, the data of the map database and the recommended route calculated by the route calculation means, and the detection result of the position detection means, the next intersection information calculation Based on the calculation result of the means and the data of the above map database, display of the map around the current position of the vehicle, control of its display direction, and current position map. A map and a position / direction display control means for controlling the display of the map, and a display means for displaying a map around the current position and a current position mark in a direction determined by the control of the map and the position / direction display control means. Characteristic vehicle route guidance device. 4. The vehicle route guidance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the map and position / direction display control means is a distance from a current position calculated by the next intersection information calculation means to an intersection which makes a right turn or a left turn next. Based on the above, in the range where the distance is a predetermined value or more, the map is displayed so that the direction facing the intersection where the vehicle turns right or left next time from the current position is the direction facing upward of the display screen, and the distance is the predetermined value. When it is less than a value, the map is displayed so that the approaching direction to the intersection where the vehicle makes a right turn or a left turn becomes an upward direction of the display screen.