JPH0916887A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a compact navigation device or high operability without using a large-sized and expensive display device on which a map can be displayed. CONSTITUTION: Based on the running position of a vehicle obtained by a position detection part 1 and road information stored in a road information storage part 2, a CPU part 3 specifies the road where the vehicle is running. When a command to register the running route is inputted from a man-machine interface part 6, the CPU part 3 stores the specified road in a memory 4 correspondingly to a prescribed running route. This operation is repeated for plural running routes, and a desired running route out of plural registered running routes is selected by the man-machine interface part 6, and information corresonding to the selected running route out or traffic information received from a traffic information reception part 7 is displayed on a display part 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle and used, and more particularly to a device for receiving traffic information from the outside, such as an optical beacon receiving device, a radio beacon receiving device, and FM multiplex reception. The present invention relates to a navigation device suitable for obtaining highly-immediate traffic information about a specific traveling route using a device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional navigation device, for example, there is a navigation device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-19000. This navigation device is
Includes M multiplex broadcast receiver and map display. The FM multiplex broadcast receiver receives the FM multiplex broadcast in which the audio signal and the data are multiplexed in different frequency bands, and reproduces the data simultaneously with the reproduction of the audio signal. Further, the map display device stores a wide range of map information, and reads out and displays a segmented map designated by coordinates from the map information. As a result, the navigation device displays the road information included in the data reproduced by the FM multiplex broadcast receiver on the segment map of the map display device,
Information such as traffic jams and accidents sent as traffic information is overlaid and displayed on the map.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional navigation device, since the destination is set and the current position is displayed using the map displayed on the map display device,
A high-definition display capable of displaying a map was needed. Such a display is generally expensive, and a certain size is required to display a map, which makes the entire system including the navigation device expensive and increases the overall size. Had a point.

On the other hand, when the navigation device is used, it is not always necessary to go to an unguided place.
For example, it is used when the user knows the route such as a commuting route or a school route, but wants to follow the optimum route in consideration of the traffic information at that time to reach the destination.
In such cases, it is not necessary to display the map,
In many cases, it is possible to sufficiently guide the destination by displaying the traffic information as text information or outputting it as voice, and it is not always necessary to use the above-mentioned map-displayable display.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device which is compact and has good operability without the need for using an expensive and large display capable of displaying a map.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation device which is mounted on a vehicle and used, wherein position detection means for detecting a traveling position of the vehicle and predetermined road information are stored in advance. Road information storage means for storing, and road specifying means for specifying the road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the traveling position of the vehicle detected by the position detection means and the road information stored in the road information storage means. A travel route storage means for storing the road identified by the road identification means in association with a predetermined travel route; and a start and end instruction for storage of the travel route to the travel route storage means and a start and end instruction for storage. Input means for inputting an identification mark for identifying the travel route that has been input, and a predetermined travel route from a plurality of travel routes stored in the travel route storage means. A travel route selecting means for selecting a line route, a traffic information capturing means for capturing traffic information from the outside, and a travel selected by the traveling route selecting means out of the traffic information captured by the traffic information capturing means. Using traffic information selecting means for selecting traffic information about the route and information about the traveling route selected by the traveling route selecting means based on the traffic information selected by the traffic information selecting means using at least one of voice and image. And guiding means for guiding.

In addition to the configuration of the navigation device according to claim 1, the navigation device according to claim 2 is an average of the quantified information of the traffic information corresponding to each traveling route stored in the traveling route storage means. The guide means further includes traffic information storage means for storing a value, and the guide means guides information based on the average value using at least one of a voice and an image.

In addition to the configuration of the navigation device according to claim 1, the navigation device according to claim 3 is an average of the quantified information of the traffic information corresponding to each traveling route stored in the traveling route storage means. A traffic information storage means for storing values, and an average value corresponding to the travel route selected by the travel route selection means and a current value of the quantified information of the current travel route selected by the traffic information selection means. Including means for comparing traffic information for
The guide means outputs at least one of an average value and a current value and a difference value between the two compared by the traffic information comparison access means with respect to one travel route or a plurality of travel routes selected by the travel route selection means. And guide using at least one of the images.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the navigation device according to the first to third aspects, the driving route storing means stores the surrounding place names at the time when the driving route storing means is instructed to start and end the storage of the driving route. The driving route selecting means further includes a place name storing means for storing the place name storing means in association with the place name storing means.

[0010]

In the navigation device according to the first aspect, the road on which the vehicle has traveled is stored in association with the travel route, and when the desired route is selected from the stored plurality of travel routes, the selected travel route is selected. Since it is possible to guide traffic information about the route using at least one of voice and image, it is possible to drive a specific driving route, such as a commuting route or a school route, whose geography is known to some extent, without displaying a map. Information about the route can be guided using at least one of voice and images.

In addition to the operation of the navigation device according to the first aspect, the navigation device according to the second aspect stores the average value of the quantified information of the traffic information, so that the traffic information cannot be received. However, it is possible to guide average information using at least one of voice and image.

In addition to the operation of the navigation device according to claim 1, the navigation device according to claim 3 stores the average value of the quantified information of the traffic information, and stores the average value for the selected travel route. , It is possible to calculate the result of comparing the current value of the information quantified from the current traffic information and compare the selected driving route with the average state to see whether it is currently crowded or vacant. It can be easily judged.

In the navigation device according to a fourth aspect, in addition to the operation of the navigation device according to the first to third aspects, the surrounding place names at the time point when the start and end of the storage of the traveling route are designated are associated with the traveling route. Since it is stored, the desired traveling route can be selected by selecting the place name, and the traveling route can be easily searched.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the navigation device includes:
It includes a position detection unit 1, a road information storage unit 2, a CPU unit 3, a memory 4, a display unit 5, a man-machine interface unit 6, and a traffic information reception unit 7.

The position detecting unit 1 uses the outputs of a distance sensor for detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle, a direction sensor for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the earth's magnetic field, and the like to detect the current state of the vehicle by autonomous navigation or the like. CPU detects position
The current position of the vehicle is output to the section 3. In addition, the position detector 1
Is a beacon receiver that receives data such as position information and traffic information (intersection name, destination information, traffic jam information, accident information) radiated from a beacon antenna installed on the side of the road. You may use the GPS receiver etc. which receive the electric wave transmitted from the GPS satellite which is navigating, and detect the present position of a vehicle directly.

The road information storage unit 2 is composed of a CD-ROM drive or the like, and the road information storage unit 2 stores position detection road map data, route calculation road map data and the like. Further, as the road information storage unit 2, a CD
-It is not limited to the ROM drive, and a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card having a feature of small size, or the like may be used.

The traffic information receiving unit 7 receives, for example, a beacon receiver which receives data such as road information (intersection name, destination information, traffic jam information, accident information) radiated from a beacon antenna installed on the roadside of the road. And the like, and outputs the received traffic information to the CPU unit 3. The man-machine interface unit 6 is used by the user to operate the navigation device, and outputs a predetermined operation command or the like to the CPU unit 3 by using a predetermined key or the like described later.

Based on the current position of the vehicle output from the position detection unit 1 and the shape of each road, the intersection name, the link number, etc. output from the road information storage unit 2, the CPU unit 3 drives the vehicle at present. The specified road is specified, and the link number of the road is stored in the memory 4 in association with the travel route. The CPU unit 3 also creates character information and the like to be displayed on the display unit 5, and also selects necessary traffic information from the traffic information output from the traffic information receiving unit 7.

The display unit 5 displays the character information and the like output from the CPU unit 3, and is, for example, a dot matrix display. Since the display unit 5 does not display a map, an expensive and large map display is unnecessary.

Next, the panel portion of the navigation device constructed as described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the panel portion of the navigation device shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the panel section 8 includes a display section (display) 5, a registration key K1, an information key K2, a delete key K3, an UP / DOWN key K4, a guide key K5,
A SET key K6 and an insertion slot 9 for a medium (map medium) that stores road information used in the road information storage unit 2 are provided. Registration key K1, information key K2, deletion key K3, U
P / DOWN key K4, guide key K5, SET key K6
Is provided as a switch of the man-machine interface unit 6, and a predetermined operation command can be input to the CPU unit 3 by operating each key. Display 5
As described above, since the character information and the like are displayed and the map is not displayed, a small display that allows the character information to be read is used, and it is possible to downsize the entire device and reduce the cost of the device. It is possible.

Next, the specific operation of the above navigation device will be described. In the following description, as an example, a case of using it for a round trip between a home and a company during commuting will be described.

First, when the vehicle is used for commuting for the first time, since the traveling route for displaying the traffic information is not registered, the start of the traveling route registration is declared at the time of departure. In particular,
When the registration key K1 is pressed, the CPU unit 3 shifts to the travel route registration mode, and when the SET key K6 is pressed, the CPU unit 3 starts registration of the travel route.

The registration of the traveling route is performed as follows. First, the current position of the vehicle is calculated by the position detection unit 1 in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle, and the road shape calculated by the position detection unit 1 is stored. The stored road shape and the road shape data output from the road information storage unit 2 are correlated to specify the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the link numbers of the specified roads are sequentially stored in the memory 4 as data. Remember.

Next, when the vehicle arrives at the company, the end of registration of the traveling route is declared. Specifically, for example, by pressing the SET key K6 again, the CPU section 3 determines that the registration of the travel route is completed. The user stores numbers, symbols and the like in association with the travel route as identification marks for identifying the registered travel route. This registration process is
By displaying the alphabet, numbers, etc. on the display screen of the display unit 5, operating the UP / DOWN key 8 to select the desired character etc., and pressing the SET key K6, the selected character etc. are confirmed, Numbering of driving routes is performed.
Here, for example, it is assumed that A6 is assigned to the traveling route.

Next, it is assumed that the same traveling route A6 as described above is used also when working on the next day. In this case, the display of traffic information is requested, and A6 is specified as the number of the traveling route. Specifically, as a traffic information display request, the information key K2 is pressed, and the UP / DOWN key K4 is pressed as in the case of registration.
Use to select the number of the travel route and confirm the number with the SET key K6. When the information key K2 is pressed, the CPU unit 3 selects the information about the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling from among the traffic information input from the traffic information receiving unit 7. Specifically, since the traveling route A6 is stored as a link string, it corresponds to the link number of the currently traveling road in the traffic information in link units transmitted from the information beacon or FM multiplex broadcasting. Select the information you want. CPU
Based on the selected traffic information, the section 3 displays the information and location on the display screen of the display section 5 if there is an accident or construction, or if there is traffic jam, displays the section and distance. be able to.

Here, a display example of the traffic information on the selected traveling route by the above processing will be described. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of traffic information on a selected travel route. With reference to FIG. 3, for example, “A6” is displayed as the number of the selected traveling route on the upper stage of the screen, and “R26 uphill accident” and “Hanazono intersection traffic jam 1 km” are displayed on the middle and lower stages, respectively. Therefore, the user is informed that, out of the traveling route A6 on which the vehicle is currently traveling, there is an accident on the ascending route on the road 26 on which the vehicle is currently traveling, and there is 1 km of traffic congestion at the Hanazono intersection. It

In addition to the traffic information described above, the navigation device of this embodiment can also display the selected content of the selected travel route and the approximate travel time. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the selection contents of the travel route and the approximate travel time. With reference to FIG. 4, the display unit 5
As the selected driving route at the top of the display screen of
6 ”is displayed,“ Motomachi 3-chome to Shinmachi ”is displayed in the middle row, and“ approximate travel time 50 minutes ”is displayed in the lower row. With this display, the user can select the travel route A6
This travel route corresponds to the travel route from Motomachi 3-chome to Shinmachi, and its approximate travel time is 5
You can be informed that it is 0 minutes. The above approximate travel time is the travel time for each link of the travel route.
The travel time of all processes is calculated by totaling by the U unit 3, and is displayed on the display unit 5.

By looking at the selection of the traveling route and the display of the approximate travel time as described above, the user should use the same route for the next day's work, or should he / she go to another route. It becomes possible to judge. Therefore, if each traveling route is registered in the memory 4 by traveling a plurality of different traveling routes from home to company one by one as described above, the approximate travel time of the registered traveling route is displayed sequentially, It is possible to select the most suitable driving route from among them. Further, when the vehicle is traveling on the selected traveling route, the traffic information stored in the memory 4 may be updated as time passes or the vehicle moves.

Further, in the navigation device of the present embodiment, when the vehicle travels on the selected traveling route without displaying the map, the characters such as the guidance of the intersection name near the intersection and the guidance at the intersection where a left turn is made are displayed. By using the information and the simple symbols, it is possible to display the guidance information on the display screen of the display unit 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of intersection guidance during traveling. With reference to FIG. 5, when the vehicle approaches the intersection, “A6” is displayed as the traveling route on the upper stage of the display screen of the display unit 5, and “Hanazono intersection” is displayed on the middle stage as the name of the intersection, The bending direction of the intersection is displayed using a simple symbol (arrow), and "200 m" is displayed as the distance to the intersection in the lower row.

Therefore, the navigation device of the present embodiment can simply guide the traveling route without displaying the map. The information about the intersection is stored in the road information storage unit 2.

Next, a process relating to quantitative information such as traffic congestion information among traffic information will be described. For quantitative information such as congestion information, daily information is averaged and stored in the memory 4, and an optimum route can be selected before departure based on the averaged information. Specifically, for example, the traffic congestion information is often quantified by the travel time of each link, so the traffic congestion information at that time is linked as additional information to the travel route registered when the traffic congestion information is received. The unit is stored in the memory 4.

This storage operation may be additionally registered by a user operation. Specifically, if the additional travel information registration request is made for the same travel route out of the registered travel routes for the second time, whether the additional information is replaced or whether the average value of the additional information is taken. Let the user select. For example, when the registration key K1 and the information key K2 of the man-machine interface unit 6 are pressed at the same time, a transition is made to the additional information registration mode. In this additional information registration mode, whether additional information is replaced, You may make it select whether to take the average value with the information to the last time.

By storing the average value of quantitative information such as traffic congestion information in the memory 4 as described above, even if traffic information cannot be obtained by the traffic information receiving unit 7, the stored average traffic congestion is obtained. Based on the information, the user can select the optimum traveling route. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the traveling route is stored, the registration number composed of symbols and numbers is stored in the memory 4 as an identification mark for identifying the traveling route. You may make it memorize | store in the memory 4 together with the place name, the intersection name, etc. of the circumference of each time of the start and end of registration.
In this case, a desired traveling route can be selected based on the registered place name or intersection name, and selection of the traveling route becomes easier.

When selecting a driving route, the situation such as traffic congestion may change from time to time, and it is necessary to show the driver the current traffic situation of the selected driving route by comparing it with the stored average traffic congestion information. Then, the driver can judge whether or not this traveling route is particularly crowded than usual, and the determination of the traveling route becomes easier.

By displaying both the current traffic congestion status, the average traffic congestion information, and the comparison result thereof for a plurality of driving routes frequently used by the driver, it becomes easier to determine the traveling route. Note that any of the current traffic jam condition, average traffic jam information, and comparison result may be omitted depending on the display space limitation.

Next, an example of guiding the difference between the current traffic jam situation and the average traffic jam situation will be described. FIG.
It is a figure which shows the example of a display which guides the difference of the present traffic jam condition and the average traffic jam condition. Referring to FIG. 6, A6 and A3 are
It is the number of the traveling route registered in advance, and in this example,
Two driving routes are displayed at the same time. Although the approximate travel time is used as the quantified value of the traffic jam condition, the total traffic distance, the number of traffic jam locations, and the like may be used. Further, the display content shows the current rough travel time and the difference between the current rough travel time and the average rough travel time. For example, it can be seen that the route A6 has a difference of +15 minutes from the average and is more crowded than usual, while the route A3 has a difference of -20 minutes from the average and is vacant than usual. Therefore, it is understood that the driver can reach the destination more quickly by selecting the traveling route A3 as the traveling route, and it is better to select the traveling route A3.

Further, in the above embodiment, the display screen of the display unit 5 is used for guiding the traffic information and the like. However, a voice generating unit such as a speaker is provided instead of the display unit 5, and the traffic information and the like are provided only by voice. The user may be notified, or the user may be notified of traffic information and the like by using both voice and image.

[0040]

In the navigation device according to the first aspect of the invention, the travel route for which the traffic information is desired to be provided is stored in advance, and then the travel route for which the traffic information is desired is selected and selected. Since it is possible to guide the information about the traveled route using at least one of voice and image, it is not necessary to use an expensive and large display unlike a conventional navigation device, and a compact and easy-to-operate navigation device is provided. It becomes possible to do. In addition, since the information regarding the traveling route is provided by using at least one of the voice and the image without displaying the map, it is possible to minimize the increase in the load on the driver during driving.

In addition to the effect of the navigation device according to claim 1, the navigation device according to claim 2 stores the average value of the quantified information of the traffic information, so that the traffic information can be directly obtained. Even if there is not, it is possible to obtain average traffic information from the stored average value.

In addition to the effect of the navigation device according to the first aspect, the navigation device according to the third aspect can store the average value of the quantified information in the traffic information and compare it with the current information. Therefore, it becomes easier to select the travel route.

In addition to the effects of the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the navigation device according to claim 4 associates a place name around a point for instructing the start and end of storage of the travel route with the travel route. Since it is stored, when searching for a desired travel route, it is possible to search by using a place name, which facilitates the search for the travel route.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an appearance of a panel unit of the navigation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of traffic information on a selected travel route.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of selection contents of a travel route and approximate travel time.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of guidance on an intersection during traveling.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example for guiding a difference between a current traffic jam situation and an average traffic jam situation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 position detection unit 2 road information storage unit 3 CPU unit 4 memory 5 display unit 6 man-machine interface unit 7 traffic information reception unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device mounted on a vehicle for use, comprising position detecting means for detecting a traveling position of the vehicle, road information storing means for storing predetermined road information in advance, and the position detecting means. A road specifying unit that specifies a road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the traveling position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle and the road information stored in the road information storing unit; Traveling route storage means for storing the stored road in association with a predetermined traveling route, and traveling for instructing the traveling route storage means to start and end storage of the traveling route, and for inputting a storage start command and end command Input means for inputting an identification mark for specifying a route, and a desired traveling route from a plurality of traveling routes stored in the traveling route storage means. A travel route selecting means for selecting a traffic information, a traffic information capturing means for capturing traffic information from the outside, and a travel route selecting means selected from the traffic information captured by the traffic information capturing means. Traffic information selecting means for selecting traffic information on the traveling route, and information on the traveling route selected by the traveling route selecting means based on the traffic information selected by the traffic information selecting means is at least one of voice and image. A navigation device including a guide means for guiding using. 2. The vehicle further includes traffic information storage means for storing an average value of quantified information out of traffic information corresponding to each traveling route stored in the traveling route storage means, wherein the guiding means comprises: The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein information based on the average value is guided using at least one of a voice and an image. 3. A traffic information storage means for storing an average value of quantified information among traffic information corresponding to each travel route stored in the travel route storage means, and selected by the travel route selection means. Including the average value corresponding to the travel route and the traffic information comparison means for comparing the current value of the quantified information of the current travel route selected by the traffic information selection means, the guide means, For one traveling route or a plurality of traveling routes selected by the traveling route selecting means, at least one of the average value and the current value, and a difference value between the two compared by the traffic information comparing and accessing means are voice and image. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein guidance is provided using at least one of the above. 4. A place name storage unit for storing a place name in the vicinity of a time point at which the start and end of storage of the travel route is instructed to the travel route storage unit in association with the travel route, and the travel route selection unit includes: 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the corresponding traveling route is selected based on the place name stored in the place name storage means.