JPH07146154A - Navigation apparatus for car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To visually confirm information on a road map or the like easily in such a way that a driver does not turn his eyes away from the forward view by a method wherein map information which includes a present position is displayed inside the visual field of the driver during a driving operation. CONSTITUTION:A head-up display part 34 and an at-hand switch 32 for the steering wheel, which is for operating the are installed additionally to an ordinary navigation apparatus. The switch 32 turns on and off the display part 34 via a head-up-display-part drive circuit, and, in addition, it selects the explanation of an information content by speech and the display of a turning corner for the destination. A head-up-display-part body 36 projects a laser beam for a hologram on the basis of information on, e.g. a road map or the like, the laser beam is refracted by a hologram sheet 38, and a display content (a real image) 42 is generated at the front of the front glass 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile navigation device, and more particularly to an automobile navigation device that displays a map and other necessary information using a head-up display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, signals from satellites have been received and the current position of a vehicle, a destination position or a driving route to a destination position,
Other car navigation devices that display necessary information (that is, car navigation devices using GPS, Global positioning system) are becoming popular. Such car navigation devices are roughly classified into CD-Rs.
Some use an OM device and some use an IC card reader. This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a car navigation device using a conventional CD-ROM device. As shown in FIG. 11, one conventional car navigation device has satellite signal antenna 10, controller 12, display device 14, and CD-RO as main components.
It consists of M disk 16 and CD-ROM drive 18,
Further, the remote controller 20 is used as an auxiliary to the controller. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a car navigation device using an IC reader of the conventional example. As shown in FIG. 12, another conventional car navigation system uses an IC card 22 and an IC card reader 24 instead of the CD-ROM disk 16 and the CD-ROM drive 18 as main components. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG.

The satellite signal antenna 10 is attached to the outside of the automobile and receives a signal for detecting the current position of the automobile from the satellite and transmits it to the controller 12. The CD-ROM disc 16 and the IC card. 22
Is a storage medium for storing a map and other necessary information, and the CD-ROM drive 18 and the IC card reader 24 are reading devices for the CD-ROM disc 16 and the IC card 22 arranged in the trunk. , CD-ROM disc 1 according to the instruction of the controller 12
6 and the information stored in the IC card 22 are read and transmitted to the controller 12. Further, the display device 14 is
It is for displaying the information read from the CD-ROM disc 16 and the IC card 22. The controller 12 controls the entire system, and is for turning on / off the device and switching various information. Further, the remote controller 20 is the controller 1
It is used instead of 2 for controlling the device. The controller 12 and the display device 14 described above are usually mounted at appropriate positions on the dashboard which are easy for the driver to operate and easy to see.

[0005]

Such a car navigation system should be used in a state where the automobile is stationary, but in reality, the driver must stop the automobile one by one. Since it is extremely troublesome and complicated to operate the car navigation device to read information from the display device, the car navigation device is often operated and the display device is viewed while driving. Since the display device is mounted on the dashboard as described above, when trying to look at the display device while driving, the driver who is looking ahead through the windshield looks away from the windshield. You will see the device. This is very dangerous and, in the worst case, can lead to fatal traffic accidents.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device which allows a driver to look at information such as a road map without looking away while driving.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a map from a receiving means for receiving a satellite signal for calculating a self-position and a medium in which map information of various contents is recorded. A read-out means for reading out information, a controller having a function of calculating at least the current position of the vehicle as one of the map information from the satellite signal received by the receiving means, the current position calculated by the controller and the recording in the medium. And a display unit for displaying map information including the current position selected by the selection unit in the field of view of the driver who is driving. The car navigation device is adopted.

[0008]

Next, an embodiment of the car navigation system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a main component configuration of the car navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing an arrangement of main parts of the car navigation device when looking forward from the inside of the vehicle, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the car navigation device of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed by the car navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the car navigation device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the initial setting operation of the operation of the car navigation device, and FIG. 8 is an operation of the car navigation device. 9 is a flowchart showing a map reading operation of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of displaying the current position, calculating the route, and displaying the route among the operations of the car navigation device, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart for displaying the head-up display.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the CD-
The ROM drive 18 is arranged in the trunk, the satellite antenna 10 is mounted outside the vehicle, and the controller 14 and the display device 14 are mounted on the dashboard 15. Note that these configurations are the same as conventional ones. Further, an IC card reader may be used instead of the CD-ROM drive 18 to read the IC card. In the present invention, in addition to these configurations, the handle hand switch 32 is attached to the support portion of the handle, and the head-up display portion 34 is provided. The hand switch 32, which will be described in detail later, is used to select the display content displayed on the head-up display unit 34. In addition, the head-up display unit 34 includes the head-up display unit body 36 arranged on the upper part of the dashboard 15 and the hologram sheet 3 attached to the windshield 40.
It consists of eight. The head-up display unit body 36 emits hologram laser light based on information such as a road map selected by the hand switch 32. The hologram sheet 38 emits laser light emitted from the head-up display unit body 36. Is a sheet that diffracts light to generate a real image in front of the windshield 40, for example, as indicated by 42.

Next, the circuit of the car navigation system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram corresponding to the configuration of the car navigation device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 described above. The car navigation device includes a satellite signal receiving antenna 10, a controller 12, and a display device 1.
4, a CD-ROM drive 18, a hand switch 32, and a head-up display section 34, of which the controller 12 includes a satellite signal tuner section 52, a signal processing section 54, and an operation switch section 56, as shown in FIG. , Display drive circuit section 58, centralized control section 60, drive control section 6
2, a signal processing unit 64, a head-up display drive circuit unit 66, and a remote control receiving unit 68.

The satellite signal antenna 10 is an antenna for receiving satellite signals transmitted from satellites above the ground, and the satellite signal tuner section 52 among the received signals.
Selects the required signal. The signal processing unit 54
The position of oneself is calculated from the selected signal using the principle of triangulation. The calculated result is sent to the centralized control unit 60, and is recorded as its own position information. The operation switch unit 56 has a switch for a driver to operate the device, and is used for selecting display contents and inputting a destination.

On the other hand, a CD disc (not shown) in which map information is stored is stored in the CD-ROM drive 18. When the remote controller is operated via the operation switch unit 56 or the remote control receiving unit 68, the drive control unit 62 displays the C
Select and read the map information recorded on the D-ROM disc. The signal processing unit 64 converts the signal data of the CD-ROM disc recorded on the CD-ROM disc into computer data that can be handled by the central control unit 60 through error correction.

The read map information is displayed as the current position and its traveling direction on the map displayed through the display drive circuit section 58. Also, hand switch 3
Reference numeral 2 is for operating the head-up display unit 34 via the head-up display unit drive circuit unit 66. In addition to having a main function of turning on / off the head-up display unit 34, distance display and progress are performed. It is used to select the display of directions, explanation of information contents by voice, display of a corner to reach a destination, and the like. Head-up display 34
Displays the distance according to the operation of the hand switch 32,
It has a function of displaying the direction of travel, the display of a corner for going to the destination, and the like in front of the driver's line of sight.

4 and 5 are views showing examples of head-up display. Of these, FIG. 4A shows the place names in the traveling direction of the arrow and the place names in the left and right directions.
(B) shows the main intersection and the distance to it, and FIG.
(C) shows the contents of (a) and (b) at the same time, FIG. 4 (d) shows a building as a main mark, and FIG. 4 (e) shows the destination. Fig. 5 shows the intersections that should be turned to reach them, their directions, and the distance to them.
(A) shows a one-way exit and a one-way road, and FIG.
5 (b) shows a caution for school children near the school, FIG. 5 (c) shows an overpass, etc., and FIG. 5 (d) shows the name of an interchange on a highway and the distance to the next interchange. , The current location and the direction of travel are shown in FIG. 5 (e).
Indicates that the traffic information can be received.

Next, the operation of the car navigation system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 6
3 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the car navigation device of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, first, a main switch (not shown) of the car navigation system is turned on (step S1). It is determined whether or not there is a CD-ROM disc (hereinafter simply referred to as a disc) (step S2), and if the disc is not inserted in the CD-ROM drive, a disc insertion indication is displayed and the driver inserts the disc. (Step S3). With the disc inserted, the initial setting is performed by inputting the current position and the destination from the initial setting menu (step S4) (this initial setting will be further described with reference to FIG. 7). Next, the map information is read out from the disk (step S5).
(The reading of this map information will be further described in FIG. 8). Next, the satellite signal is received (step S6), the own position is detected from the received signal, and the current position is displayed (step S7). In addition to the current position, the traveling direction, the moving distance, the distance to the destination, the time required for the traveling direction, the moving distance, and the like are calculated from the position information from the satellite signal and displayed as navigation information. Further, since the road name, address, target marker, intersection place name, speed limit, one-way information, etc. are recorded in the map information on the disc (see FIG. 4,
Some of them have been described above with reference to FIG. 5), and the information thereof is displayed as necessary or by operating the controller, the remote controller, or the hand switch.

Referring to FIG. 7, a flow chart of initialization is shown. In FIG. 7, a setting screen is displayed (step S10). It is determined whether or not the destination is input (step S11). If the destination is not input,
In step S14, map information is read out. When inputting the destination, display the input screen (step S1
2) Waiting for completion of input (step S13), and reading out map information (step S14).

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a flowchart of map reading. In FIG. 8, a satellite signal is received (step S20), it is determined whether or not there is a satellite signal (step S21), and if there is no satellite signal, it is displayed that the radio wave is weak (step S22). , Wait until there is a satellite signal. If there is a satellite signal, the current position is calculated based on the satellite signal (step S23). Next, the images of the current position and the map information are combined (step S2
4) The current position is displayed (step S25).

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of displaying the current position, calculating the route, and displaying the route among the operations of the car navigation system. The current position and the route display are switched appropriately. The route is calculated from the input destination and current position (step S30), the route information is sequentially called according to the route (step S31), and the route is displayed (step S32). In addition, depending on the case, the current position is displayed (step S33).

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for displaying a head-up display. The display content is selected by the hand switch from the current position, traveling direction, vehicle speed, destination, etc. (step S40), and the selected content is displayed (step S41). As the hand switch, it is preferable to use a switch in which a dial type selection knob and a push button switch are combined. With this dial type selection knob attached to the steering wheel portion, the driver can turn on / off the display contents and select the display contents at hand.

In the above description relating to FIGS. 4-10,
It is understood that the basic operation of the car navigation device of the present invention can be understood. Below, additional information for making it easier to understand the display and display method of the map information performed by using the car navigation device of the present invention will be described. I will explain.

In the car navigation device of the present invention, information such as place names, road names, addresses, target markers, intersection place names, speed limits, one-way roads, etc. recorded on the disc,
The display of the current position, the place name of the current position, the time, the traveling distance, the remaining distance to the destination, the estimated time, the required time, etc. are shown on the head-up display. From the information on the traveling direction and the information on the current position, the name of the road currently traveling, the place name in the traveling direction, the place name of the intersection and its road name, and the place names on the left and right of the intersection are read out and displayed. In addition, from the route information to the destination, the direction of the intersection at which the traveling direction is to be obtained is calculated and displayed as necessary, and when the intersection to be turned is approached, for example, at a distance of 500 meters, By highlighting or blinking the arrow,
Inform the driver. In this case, a warning sound to call attention may be emitted.

In addition, the target building, place name, intersection, overpass, one-way road, railroad crossing, bridge, iron bridge, highway entrance / exit, station, bus stop, port, airport, store, public facility, etc. Display rivers and mountains as symbols. These displays are performed as necessary, but when the distance is 500 meters ahead, it is displayed with a warning sound,
It may be displayed as desired by the driver operating the hand switch. In addition, when caution is required regarding traveling, for example, when traveling on a dead end road, or when a school is nearby and it is required to pay attention to school children, the warning sound is displayed together with the warning sound. These warning sounds
Different sounds may be generated, and the case where attention is required may be distinguished from the case where the target display is shown. Further, the warning sound may be turned off, or conversely, the display may be turned off and only the warning sound may be turned on.
Further, even when the road traffic information can be received, the fact that the road traffic information can be received may be displayed on the head-up display unit. When the driver wants to hear the information, the radio broadcast is turned on by operating the hand switch.

Normally, the head-up display section displays as needed so as not to hinder the visibility of driving. When there is no request from the driver, the display is made when the vehicle approaches a major intersection, approaches a target marker, or when the direction of travel changes significantly due to a turn on the road Every time you reach the intersection, you should approach it at a certain distance, turn at the intersection, change the place name in the direction of travel, etc.
The initial setting function may enable these selections.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
(EN) A car navigation device that allows a driver to see information such as a road map without looking away while driving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a main component configuration of a car navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an arrangement of main components of the car navigation device when looking forward from the inside of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a car navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed by the car navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed by the car navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the car navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an initial setting operation of the operations of the car navigation device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a map reading operation of the operations of the car navigation device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of displaying a current position, calculating a route, and displaying a route, among the actions of the car navigation device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for head-up display display.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a car navigation device using a conventional CD-ROM device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a car navigation device using a conventional IC reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Satellite signal receiving antenna 12 Controller 14 Display device 18 CD-ROM drive 32 Hand switch 34 Head-up display section 40 Windshield 38 Hologram sheet 36 Head-up display section body

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A receiving means for receiving a satellite signal for calculating a self position, a reading means for reading map information from a medium recording map information of various contents, and a satellite signal received by the receiving means. A controller having a function of calculating at least the current position of the automobile as one of the map information, and a selection means for selecting a desired one from the current position calculated by the controller and the contents of the map information recorded on the medium. And a display unit for displaying map information including the current position selected by the selection unit in the visual field of the driver who is driving the vehicle. 2. The automobile navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medium is a CD-ROM disk or an IC card, and the reading means reads a information from the CD-ROM disk or an IC card. An automobile navigation device characterized by being an IC card reader for reading information from a car. 3. The automobile navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the selection device is a hand switch provided near a steering wheel, an operation switch provided on a controller, or a remote controller. . 4. The automobile navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit receives a hologram laser beam from the head-up display section body that emits the hologram laser beam. An automobile navigation device comprising a hologram sheet attached to a windshield so that an image is formed in front of the windshield. 5. The automobile navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display means separate from the display means is provided near the controller. 6. The automobile navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the map information includes a current position, a traveling direction,
An automobile navigation device characterized by being a vehicle speed, a destination, a current time, a road name, an intersection name, address information, a target marker, a speed limit, and route information.