JPH06266998A - Vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a vehicle navigation device equipped with a highway retrieving function, capable of retrieving a highway that a vehicle can travel from the present location to its target destination in shortest time while considering the past passage situation or predicted traffic jam situation of the highway. CONSTITUTION:In the vehicle navigation device equipped with the function which retrieves the highway from the present location of the vehicle to its target destination, a neuro control part 13 sets a weight factor on each connecting part between the highways on a map, updates the weight factor of the connecting part when the vehicle passes the connecting part, and corrects the weight factor according to a season or a time zone when the vehicle travels judging based on a date and time information inputted from a clock part 12. A CPU 1 retrieves the highway while considering the weight factor.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation device, and more particularly to a vehicle navigation device for searching and displaying a road from a present location to a destination on a map displayed on a display device. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device of this type, for example, a vehicle running guide device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-93611 is known. As shown in FIG. 4, this conventional apparatus includes a CPU (arithmetic processing unit) 1, a ROM 2 storing a control program for the CPU 1, and an RA storing data.
M3, a display control unit 4, a VRAM 5 for storing display screen image data, a display device 6 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal, a mileage sensor 7 for detecting a mileage of a vehicle,
A traveling direction sensor 8 for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, an input device 9 for inputting various information by a driver's operation, a CD-ROM 10 storing map data, and a CD-R
CD driver 11 that reads map data from OM10
It has a configuration that includes and.

In this conventional vehicle navigation system, the CPU 1 uses the CD driver 11 to drive the CD-R.
The map data read from the OM 10 is converted into displayable data and written in the VRAM 5, and the current position of the own vehicle is recognized based on the outputs of the traveling distance sensor 7 and the traveling direction sensor 8, and the current position data is stored in the VRAM 7. Overwrite the map data. On the other hand, the display control unit 4 displays V
The contents of the RAM 5 are read out, a map is displayed on the display device 6 in accordance with a predetermined display timing, and the present location of the vehicle is displayed with a predetermined mark on the map.

This type of vehicle navigation device also has a road search function for searching the shortest distance road from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on map data. That is, when the destination is specified on the map displayed on the display device 6 by the cursor key input on the input device 9 and the search function is executed, the CPU 1
Only one road having the shortest distance is searched from a plurality of roads existing from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and the display control unit 4 is controlled to display the road on the map with a specific color, for example.

[0005]

However, in the conventional vehicle navigation device having the above-described structure, the road which is the shortest in terms of distance is simply searched and displayed in the road search, so that the searched road is used at all. If it is a road you have never done or a road where traffic congestion is expected, you can reach your destination in a short time.
There was a problem that the search would be meaningless because of the purpose of the road search. Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle navigation device having a road search function capable of searching for a road that is expected to be the shortest in time from the present location to a destination while taking into consideration past passage conditions and expected congestion conditions of roads. With the goal.

[0006]

A vehicle navigation device according to the present invention has a storage means for storing map data, a display means for displaying a map based on the map data, and a map on the map displayed on the display means. A vehicle having a designating means for designating a destination and a searching means for searching a road from the vehicle's current location to the destination based on map data, and displaying the searched road on the map displayed on the display means. A navigation device, wherein a weighting factor is set for each of the means for inputting at least the date and time when the vehicle travels and the connection between roads on the map, and the weighting coefficient is updated for the connection where the vehicle has passed. And a means for correcting the weighting coefficient in accordance with at least the month and day and the time zone, and the road searching is performed by the search means taking the weighting coefficient into consideration. Going on.

[0007]

In the vehicle navigation device having the road search function, a weighting factor is set for each connecting portion between roads on the map, and when the vehicle passes through the connecting portion, the weighting coefficient for the connecting portion is updated. By doing so, it is possible to grasp the past usage status of the connection part from the updated weighting coefficient. Further, by correcting the weighting coefficient according to at least the month and day and the time when the vehicle travels, it is possible to grasp the expected traffic congestion situation according to the season and time zone in which the vehicle travels from the corrected weighting coefficient. Therefore, by performing the road search in consideration of the updated and corrected weighting factor, it is possible to search and display the road that is expected to be the shortest in time from the current position to the destination.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the navigation device has a C
A PU (arithmetic processing unit) 1, a ROM 2 storing a control program for the CPU 1, and a RAM 3 storing data.
A display control unit 4, a VRAM 5 for storing display screen image data, and a display device 6 such as a CRT or liquid crystal.
A traveling distance sensor 7 for detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle, a traveling direction sensor 8 for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, an input device 9 including a keyboard and switches for inputting various information by a driver's operation, CD containing map data
-ROM 10 and a CD driver 11 for reading map data from the CD-ROM 10 are provided.

As the traveling distance sensor 7, one having a structure for generating a pulse signal according to the rotation of the wheel by an electromagnetic or optical means is used. As the traveling direction sensor 8, one having a configuration for detecting the traveling direction by detecting the geomagnetism or the difference in rotation between the left and right wheels is used. The navigation device further includes a clock unit 12 for inputting at least the date and time when the vehicle travels,
Set a weighting factor for each connection between roads on the map,
A neuro control unit 13 including, for example, a neuro computer is provided which controls the weight coefficient of the connecting portion through which the vehicle has passed and which corrects the weight coefficient according to at least the season and the time zone in which the vehicle travels.

Next, the operation of the navigation device having the above structure will be described. First, the CD-ROM 10 is a CD
When set in the driver 11, the CD driver 11 reads a necessary portion of the map data from the CD-ROM 10. Here, the map data is generally stored in vector format for the purpose of reducing the storage capacity of the storage medium. Therefore, the CPU 1
The map data read from the D-ROM 10 is converted into displayable data and written in the VRAM 5 via the display control unit 4.

The CPU 1 also recognizes the current position of the vehicle based on the outputs of the traveling distance sensor 7 and the traveling direction sensor 8 and writes the current position data on the map data of the VRAM 7 in an overlapping manner. On the other hand, the display control unit 4 reads the contents of the VRAM 5, displays the map on the display device 6 according to a predetermined display timing, and displays the present location of the own vehicle on the map with, for example, a predetermined mark. In the input device 9, the driver corrects the current location of the vehicle on the map displayed on the display device 6 and enlarges / reduces the map using a keyboard or the like. When this input information is supplied to the CPU 1, the CPU 1 reads it and performs a predetermined process.

On the other hand, the neuro control unit 13 has a CD-R
Weighting factors are prepared for connection portions between roads at all intersections of the map based on the map data stored in the OM 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, road A, road B,
At an intersection 21 of a four-way intersection consisting of road C and road D, road A-road B, road A-road C, road B-road D
As shown in FIG. 3 (A), it is assumed that an initial value of the weighting factor (for example, 0.5) and its total value are prepared for each of the connections. Then, when the vehicle passes through the intersection 21 from the road A to the road C while the vehicle is traveling, the neuro control unit 13 increases the weight coefficient between the road A and the road C, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B. Direction, that is, "0.
The value is updated from 5 "to" 0.6 "and the total value is updated.

Here, in FIG. 2, the present location 22 of the own vehicle
On the other hand, the processing procedure of the road search when the destination 23 is designated will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. It is assumed that the destination 23 is specified by moving the cursor by inputting a cursor key on the input device 9 and then issuing an instruction to execute the road search function.

When the road search execution command is issued, the neuro control unit 13 causes the current position 22 of the vehicle to the destination 23.
All the weighting factors of the intersections that may pass through are fetched (step S1), and the date and time information is fetched from the clock unit 12 (step S2). Next, the weighting factor is corrected based on the captured date and time information (step S3). As an example, an intersection on the beach is corrected so that the weighting coefficient of the intersection becomes low when traveling during the summer day, because the intersection is expected to cause congestion.

On the other hand, the CPU 1 searches several routes (roads) existing between the current location 22 and the designated destination 23 for a short distance from the current location 22 to the destination 23. (Step S4), one route is selected from these several routes in consideration of the corrected weighting factors for the intersections existing in each route (step S5). As an example, the reciprocal of the total of the corrected weighting factors for the intersections existing in the route and the distance to the destination 23 are summed up, and the route having the smallest value is selected. Then, by the display control of the display control unit 4, the selected route is displayed on the map displayed on the display device 6 in, for example, a specific color (step S).
6).

As described above, a weighting factor is set for each connecting portion between roads on the map, and when the vehicle passes through the connecting portion, the weighting coefficient for the connecting portion is updated and the vehicle travels. The weighting factor is corrected according to the season and time of day, and roads are searched by adding the corrected weighting factor. Therefore, the updated weighting factor can be used to grasp the past usage status of the connection part. By using the corrected weighting factors, it is possible to grasp the traffic congestion situation according to the season, time of day, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to search for a road that is expected to be the shortest in time from the current position to the destination, that is, a road that has a short distance and is unlikely to be caught in a traffic jam and has been used in the past.

In the above embodiment, a weighting factor is set for each connection between roads on the map, the weighting factor is updated for the connection through which the vehicle passes, and the weighting coefficient is updated according to the season and time. Control to correct the weighting factor,
The neuro control unit 13 using a neuro computer has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any means capable of executing the function may be used. However, by using the neuro control unit 13, there is an advantage that the function can be executed in a short time.

In the above embodiment, only the date and time information is input from the clock unit 12, but information such as the day of the week is also input, and the weight of the intersection is determined according to the day of the week on which the vehicle is traveling. The coefficient may be corrected. As an example, at an intersection of a main road in a resort, it is assumed that traffic will be congested on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, and the weighting coefficient may be corrected to be low.

[0019]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a weighting factor is set for each of the connecting portions between roads on a map, and when a vehicle passes through the connecting portions, the connecting portions are In addition to updating the weighting factor of, the weighting factor is corrected according to the season, time of day, etc. of the vehicle, and the road is searched by adding this weighting factor to the updated weighting factor. It is possible to grasp the past usage situation of the connection part from the above and also to grasp the congestion situation according to the season and time zone etc. from the corrected weighting factor, so the distance is short and the possibility of getting caught in the congestion is small. You will be able to search for familiar roads you have traveled to.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an intersection.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an initial value (A) and a correction value (B) of a weighting coefficient of each connecting portion at a certain intersection.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional example of a vehicle navigation device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for road search according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 4 Display Control Unit 6 Display Device 9 Input Device 10 CD-ROM 11 CD Driver 12 Clock Unit 13 Neuro Control Unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing map data, a display means for displaying a map based on the map data, a designation means for designating a destination on the map displayed on the display means, and a current location of the vehicle. A vehicle navigation device comprising: a search means for searching a road from a destination to a destination based on the map data, and displaying the searched road on a map displayed on the display means. At least a means for inputting the date and time, and a weighting factor is set for each of the connection parts between roads on the map,
And a means for correcting the weighting coefficient of the connecting portion through which the vehicle has passed and correcting the weighting coefficient in accordance with at least the month and day and the time zone, and the searching means considers the weighting coefficient to search the road. A vehicle navigation device characterized by performing.