JPH0676003A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the navigation system which is used for an automobile or the like and guides the driver to his destination with vision and voice along a route suitable for the level of his skill in driving. CONSTITUTION:This navigation system consists of a present position detecting part 4 which detects the present position and the going direction of the driver himself, a map information read part 5 which obtains map information, a driver discriminating part 9 which discriminates the level of his skill in driving, a road condition forecasting and discriminating part 12 which discriminates the snarl conditions of routes, and an optimum route determining part 6 which reads out a desired route, past traffic information, and information of equipments or the like on the route and guides the driver along the optimum route, which is suitable for the level of his skill in driving and is free from snarl, in accordance with these information and information of a user information recording and reading part 15 which records the actual running condition.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system for visually and audibly guiding a vehicle to a destination used in an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there is a navigation system which shows a present position on a map and guides a route to a destination. GP using satellites in particular
S (NAVSTER / GPS: NAVigation System with
Time And Ranging / Global

Positioning System
) Car navigation system is becoming popular. This navigation system knows the current position of the user from the distances between the satellites and the user, displays the current position on the map, and guides the route to the destination.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned navigation system is mounted on an automobile and a CD-ROM is used.
The driver selects the route to the destination by inputting the map recorded on the map and superimposing the position on the map with the current position by GPS.

Therefore, the information obtained by the driver is the CD-
Only ready-made information of limited traffic information obtained from maps, radios, etc. input from the storage medium of ROM can be obtained. That is, it is impossible for a driver to guide a preset drive course or a detour during driving, or to notify information other than traffic on the drive course based on the capacity and structure of the storage medium. Further, depending on the driver's driving skill level, there are roads that are difficult to drive, and some drivers may not be able to drive while ensuring sufficient safety with simple route guidance.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation system that guides a route suitable for a driver's driving skill level to a destination used in an automobile or the like by visual and audio.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a current position detecting means, a driver determining means for identifying a driver and a driving level, and externally created user information. Map information for mounting the recording medium for recording the user information, reading the user information, changing and recording the user information, and mounting the recording medium for recording the map information in advance, and reading the map information Read-out means, traffic information receiving means for obtaining traffic information by ground wave,
Road condition predicting / judging device for predicting / judging road condition from the traffic information by the traffic information receiving device and the running condition of the vehicle, each information read from the user information recording medium and the map information storage medium, the road condition prediction An optimum route determining means for determining a route suitable for the level of driving skill determined by the driver determining means based on the road condition from the determining means and the current position by the current position detecting means, and the optimum route determining means. (EN) Provided is a navigation system configured by a guide means for visually / audioally guiding the determined route.

[0008]

In the navigation system having the above-mentioned configuration, the optimum selectable route is provided in consideration of the road situation that varies depending on the driver's driving skill level, time, time zone, and the like.

In addition to the display, the above-mentioned guidance is given by voice, and the guidance is provided without removing the line of sight from the front during driving. Then, when the driver does not want to travel on the planned route that has been guided as the optimum route, or when the planned route is congested, another route that will not be congested is guided. Furthermore, the route actually traveled and its road condition are recorded and used as data for determining the next optimum route.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows and describes a configuration of a navigation system as an embodiment according to the present invention.

In this navigation system, each detection is performed by a GPS unit 1 using an artificial satellite (satellite), an azimuth meter 2 using a magnet, etc., and a steering sensing unit 3 for detecting a steering amount based on a turning angle of a steering wheel or the like. The signal is input to the current position detection unit 4, and the current position and traveling direction of the user are detected.

Then, map information recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (not shown) is read by the map information reading unit 5 and compared with the current position from the current position detecting unit 4 to determine an optimum route determining unit described later. 6 identifies the current position on the map.

The steering sensing unit 3, the driver identifying unit 7 for identifying the driver, and the speed detecting unit 8 are connected to the driver determining unit 9 to determine the driver and the level of driving skill of the driver. . That is, the driver identification unit 7 has a camera and a voice input device for identification, and registers the level of driving skill together with the face and voice of the driver in advance to identify the driver who intends to drive. , To retrieve the driver's data. However, for a driver who is not registered, the level of driving skill is judged from the handling by the steering sensing unit 3, the shift change of the transmission gear by the speed detection unit 8, and the operation state of the accelerator, clutch and brake. In particular, it is determined whether or not the driver is a beginner and whether or not safe driving is being performed. The driver may be identified by using a fingerprint, a personal identification number, or an ID card.

The speed detecting unit 8, the odometer 10 and the clock 11 are connected to the road condition predicting / judging unit 12 for judging the traffic jam condition of the road from the detected current traveling condition and the traffic information receiver 13. Congestion prediction in the forward direction is performed from the traffic information by radio waves such as radio broadcasts received at.

In addition, a user pulls out a map from the CD-ROM with an external personal computer 14,
By tracing with a pointing device,
For example, the user data is created by setting a scenic drive course to the destination or including traffic information by time in the past in the course. This data includes
In addition to map information, desired information such as play facilities and accommodation facilities can be stored and used. The user data is recorded on an optical disc, a memory card, a magneto-optical disc, etc., read by the user information recording / reading unit 15, and input to the optimum route determining unit 6.

The user information recording / reading unit 15 can additionally record road information such as the actual traveled distance and traffic congestion in the user data. The additionally recorded user data is read by the external personal computer 14 and stocked as the next road information.

The optimum route determination unit 6 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and the current position from the current position detection unit 4 and the level of driving skill from the driver determination unit 9 described above,
Based on the road condition from the road condition predicting / determining unit 12, an optimum route that is safe at the level of the driver's driving skill and that follows the course desired by the driver is determined, and the optimum unit is guided by the speaker. The voice guidance by CRT and the display guidance by CRT or display are given to the driver. In particular, guidance for turning left or right at an intersection during driving can be given by voice, so that safer guidance can be provided without removing the line of sight from the front. Next, a specific operation of the navigation system configured as above will be described.
FIG. 2 shows the main routine of this navigation system. First, the driver's driving skill level and driving state are set (step S1). Then, the current position on the map and the destination are set (step S2).

Next, in the map information read from the CD-ROM, the desired route and past road conditions read by the user information recording / reading unit 15 and the current information from the traffic information receiving unit 13 are read. Predict current road conditions (congestion, construction, etc.) based on traffic information (step S
3) The optimum route determination unit 6 determines the optimum route, and the optimum route is displayed on the map displayed on the guide unit 16 (step S4).

If the driver actually travels along this optimum route (step S5) and there is congestion, etc., and if he wants to change from this traveling state to another route, he instructs the system to
Based on the driver's driving skill level and road conditions, another route corrected is guided (step S6).

Then, it is judged whether or not the actually traveled route is recorded on the optical card mounted on the user information recording / reading section 15 (step S7). If it is recorded (YES), the optical card is actually recorded on the optical card. The traveling route and road conditions such as congestion are recorded (step S8). The information on the optical card is read by the external personal computer 14 and used as the next road condition data. Next, a routine for making a driver determination will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

First, the driver who is driving is identified (step S11). As described above, this identification is performed using voice recognition, face recognition, fingerprint recognition, a personal identification number, an ID card, etc., and it is specified whether or not the driver is a pre-registered driver. In the voice recognition, a microphone is provided in the vicinity of the handle to identify the voiceprint, and in the face recognition, a small camera is embedded in the handle and the image is identified.

This identification system can be used for theft prevention and driver identification, for example, by configuring the engine so that it will not be started unless it is a registered driver. However, this identification of the driver is not necessarily required to implement the present invention.

Then, it is judged whether or not the data of the driving skill level of the identified driver is registered (step S12). In this determination, if the data of the driving skill level is registered (YES), the data is read (step S13), and if not registered (NO),
The driving skill is checked (step S14). This check of the driving technique is to judge the skill level of operation of speed control, steering wheel operation, shift change of transmission gears, accelerator, brake, clutch, etc., and particularly specifies a driver who is a beginner level skill.

Based on this driving skill check, the superiority or inferiority of the level of driving skill is determined (step S15). The superiority or inferiority of the level of the driving skill is indicated by a numerical value, which is a reference for selecting an easy-to-drive road suitable for the driver depending on the width, shape and traffic volume of the road.

The checking of the driving technique is always carried out during traveling to judge whether or not safe driving is being carried out (step S16). When the speed limit is exceeded or the speed at the time of passing an intersection is exceeded (NO), a warning is given. (Step S17) to prompt safe driving. Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A routine for determining the optimum route will be described.

First, after superposing the current position on the map read from the CD-ROM and the current position obtained from the GPS unit 1, a start position (start point) and a destination (end point) are designated ( Step S21). Next is the date, time,
Information such as weather is input (step S22).

Then, the driver's driving skill level determined by the driver determination unit 9 is input (step S23). Here, if the driver's driving skill level is not registered and cannot be specified, or if the driver's driving level is required, it is assumed that the driver's driving skill is a moderate level at this stage.

Next, user information is input (step S2).
4). This user information is road information such as a desired route, traffic congestion and required time when traveling last time, and required time described in magazines and the like, which is created by the user using the external personal computer as described above.

Then, based on the traffic information from the traffic information receiving section 13 by radio broadcasting, the road condition predicting / determining section 1
The current road condition (congestion, construction, etc.) predicted by 2 is input (step S25).

Based on the above-mentioned information, the optimum route determination unit 6 divides the route into a predetermined section including the route periphery and calculates the required time of the predetermined section (step S2).
6) In consideration of the ease of driving, the optimum route along the desired route is determined (step S27), and the guide part 16 displays the optimum route on the map (step S2).
8). Next, the actual traveling (including the corrected route) routine shown in steps S5 and S6 of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the optimum route determined by the optimum route determination unit 6 and a corrected route described later,
The vehicle travels along another route (hereinafter, both will be referred to as a planned route) (step S31).

Then, it is determined whether or not the intersection to turn right / left is approaching (step S32), and if approaching (YES), the fact to turn right / left is notified by voice or warning sound (step S32). Step S33). If the intersection is not close (NO) or after the notification, it is determined whether or not the intersection has proceeded to the correct planned route (step S34).
If it is judged that the road is wrong and the vehicle has not proceeded to the correct planned route (NO), it is notified that the vehicle has deviated from the planned route (step S35), and the route is corrected from the wrong road to be on the planned route. It is determined whether it is possible to return or to return to the wrong intersection (step S36). In this determination, if the route can be returned to the planned route by the corrected route (YES), the planned route is corrected and the route is returned to the planned route (step S37). However, when the vehicle cannot be returned to the planned route even if the vehicle is corrected in the opposite direction (NO), the vehicle returns to the wrong intersection (step S38) and returns to the planned route.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that the vehicle has proceeded according to the planned route (YES), the traveling is continued as it is, and when the planned route is next congested, it is judged whether or not the congested route is present (step S39). When it is determined that the traffic is congested (YES), a new alternative route is searched (step S4).
0), the presence or absence of traffic congestion on the other route is determined (step S
41). Regarding the congestion on the other route, the presence or absence of the congestion is determined by the past congestion record from the user data and the road condition prediction / determination unit 12 based on the radio broadcast from the traffic information reception unit 13 or the traffic display. If it is determined in this determination that there is no congestion on the other route (NO), the planned route is changed to the other route, and the process returns to step S31. However, if it is determined that traffic congestion is expected (YES), the vehicle continues traveling on the planned route (step S43), and the above-described operation is repeated until the vehicle arrives (step S44).

As described above, the navigation system of the present embodiment guides the road (route) that is suitable for the driver's driving skill level, so that the vehicle can travel safely.
In addition, since the optimum route is guided in consideration of road conditions that differ depending on the time of day, time of day, etc., it is possible to avoid congestion.

In addition to the display, the guidance is given by voice, so that it is possible to provide more safe guidance without removing the line of sight from the front during driving. Also, in the display guidance, the display screen was conventionally installed and displayed on the center console, but the guidance display for turning left and right at the intersection can be displayed without missing the line of sight from the front if it is projected on the front window glass. You can If the driver does not want to travel on the planned route that has been guided as the optimum route, or if the planned route is congested, another route that will not be congested can be guided. Further, the route actually traveled and the road condition thereof can be recorded and used as a material for determining the optimum route next time. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications and applications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0035]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation system which guides a route suitable for a driver's driving skill level to a destination used in an automobile or the like by visual and voice. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a navigation system as an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main routine of the present navigation system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a routine for making a driver determination.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a routine for determining an optimum route.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a routine for actually traveling in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... GPS unit, 2 ... azimuth meter, 3 ... steering sensing unit, 4 ... current position detecting unit, 5 ... map information reading unit, 6 ... optimal route determining unit, 7 ... driver identifying unit, 8 ... speed detecting unit, 9 ... Driver determination unit, 10 ... Odometer, 11 ... Clock, 12 ... Road condition prediction / determination unit, 13 ... Traffic information receiving unit, 14 ... Personal computer, 15 ... User information recording / reading unit, 1
6 ... Guidance department.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A present position detecting means, a driver judging means for discriminating a driver and judging a driving level, and a recording medium for recording user information created externally are mounted, and the user information is read out. User information recording / reading means for changing and recording user information, map information reading means for mounting a recording medium for recording map information in advance and reading the map information, and traffic information receiving means for obtaining traffic information by ground wave A traffic condition by the traffic information receiving unit and a road condition predicting / judging unit predicting / judging a road condition based on a running state of an automobile; each information read from the user information recording medium and the map information storage medium; Based on the road condition from the condition prediction judging means and the current position by the current position detecting means,
An optimum route determination means for determining a route suitable for the level of driving skill determined by the driver determination means, and a guide means for guiding the route determined by the optimum route determination means by visual / sound. Navigation system characterized by.