JPH09259385A - Road guiding system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a road guiding system suitable for the utilization of a walker as well for easily intuitively recognizing a direction to advance at each important part to a destination based on the information of the destination and a present location. SOLUTION: A user instructs and inputs the destination and the present location from a terminal 2 and trasmits them through a PHS public CS 4 and an ISDN network 3 to a center device 1. The center device 1 selects an optimum route, the route for minimizing a moving distance for instance, from the received information of the destination and the present location and transmits the direction to advance to the terminal 2 along with the scenery video images of the places stored in the center device 1. The terminal 2 displays the received direction to advance and scenery video images on a monitor screen. In this case, the center device 1 facilitates the discovery of a building or the like to be a guide by switching the scenery video images to be displayed corresponding to the utilization time band of a road guiding service such as daytime, evening and nighttime. In the case that the present location is unclear, a position detected from the time difference of reference signals received from plural GPS satellites 5 is defined as the present location.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for guiding a user to a destination by using landscape images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a device for guiding a road, GPS is used.
(Global Positioning System
The navigation device using m) has been put to practical use. This navigation device estimates a position from the time difference of reference signals received from a plurality of satellites, and displays this position on a monitor screen together with a map recorded in a CD-ROM or the like.

Most of navigation devices on the market are mounted on a vehicle, but a device that can be carried by a pedestrian has been developed. The vehicle-mounted navigation device is composed of a plurality of components such as a monitor / antenna / main body as well as a sensor for monitoring the running state of the vehicle. The navigation device that can be carried by pedestrians is the same as the in-vehicle device in that the display content is a map stored in a CD-ROM or the like, and the user himself / herself understands the content of the map and displays it on the map. It is necessary to deal with the actual landscape.

On the other hand, a method has been proposed in which the display on the monitor screen is not the map itself but the roads, buildings and the like are pseudo-stereoscopicized by CG (computer graphics) technology and displayed in a bird's-eye view image style.

[0005]

First, an in-vehicle type navigation device is composed of a plurality of components such as a monitor / antenna / main body, a sensor for monitoring a running state of a vehicle, and a display style on the monitor screen of the vehicle. It is not suitable for pedestrians because it is supposed to be used in the area.

On the other hand, a navigation device that can be carried by a pedestrian is the same as a vehicle-mounted device in that the display content is a map stored in a CD-ROM or the like, and the user himself / herself understands the content of the map. There is a problem in usability because it is necessary to make correspondence between the notation on the map and the actual landscape. In particular, since visibility is limited at night and the like, it is difficult to find the target on the map, and the usability becomes poor.

The method of displaying the monitor display in a pseudo-stereoscopic manner rather than the map itself and displaying it like a bird's-eye image requires not only the operation of numerically modeling the landscape and inputting it into a CD-ROM or the like, but also inputting all objects. Since it is difficult to do so, it is necessary for users to use their imagination in comparison with the actual landscape, which causes individual differences in the degree of use.

In the above navigation device, C
Since the display contents of the D-ROM and the like cannot be changed, there is a problem in providing the latest information / emergency information.

The present invention makes it possible to provide an intuitive and easy-to-understand route guidance for a key point toward a destination based on the information of the destination and the current location, and is also suitable for portable use by pedestrians. The purpose is to provide a road guidance system.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first invention according to the present invention comprises means for indicating / inputting a destination and a current location, means for transmitting the destination and the current location to a center device, A terminal having means for receiving a direction to go and a landscape image from a center device, and means for displaying the received direction to go and a landscape image, means for receiving a destination and a current location from the terminal, and the received destination And a means for selecting an optimal route between two points of the present location, a means for accumulating at least a landscape image that can be searched from a place in the route, and a route to be traveled based on the selected optimal route, the optimal route. And a center device having means for transmitting to the terminal together with the landscape image retrieved from an inside place, and means for providing a route guidance system. To.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned route guidance system, the means for accumulating the landscape image in the center device retrieves the landscape image from a place on the route and a usage time period of the route guidance service. It is possible, and the means for transmitting the direction to go in the center device together with the landscape image to the terminal, the direction to go based on the selected optimum route, the place in the optimum route and the route guidance service It is characterized in that it is transmitted to the terminal together with the landscape video retrieved from the use time zone.

Further, a third invention according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above route guidance system, the terminal is newly provided with position detecting means, and the position detection output of the position detecting means is used as the present location. .

According to the present invention, the center device selects an optimum route, for example, a route having a minimum travel distance, based on the information of the destination and the current position which the user has instructed / input from the terminal, and the direction and the center to go. By displaying the landscape video accumulated in the device on the terminal and using it for directions, it is possible to provide intuitive and easy-to-understand directions, and to easily update the landscape videos.
At the same time, the structure of the terminal will be simplified to be suitable for pedestrians to carry.

Furthermore, by switching the landscape image to be displayed according to the time of day when the route guidance service is used, such as daytime / dusk / night, it becomes easier to find a building or the like, which is more intuitive and easy to understand. And

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a center device, 2 is a terminal, and 3 is a terminal device.
Is an ISDN network, 4 is a PHS public CS connected to the ISDN network 3, and 5 is a plurality of GPS satellites.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the center device 1 of this system, which includes a position data / landscape image management unit 11, a landscape image storage unit 12, a GPS signal receiving unit 13, a line control unit 14 including a modem, and an optimum route. The selection unit 15 is configured to be connected to the bus of the control unit 16. GPS signal receiver 1
3, the GPS antenna 13a is connected to the line control unit 1
4 is connected to the ISDN network 3. The GPS signal receiving unit 13 receives the reference signals from the plurality of satellites 5 through the GPS antenna 13a and estimates the position from the time difference between the reference signals.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the terminal 2 of the present system, which includes a display unit with a touch panel 21 and a GPS signal receiving unit 2.
2, a transmission / reception unit 23 including a modem, a route storage unit 24, a landscape image storage unit 25, and a voice output unit 27, and a control unit 26.
It is configured to be connected to the bus. A GPS antenna 22a is connected to the GPS signal receiving section 22, the line control section 14 is connected to the ISDN network 3, and a speaker 28 is connected to the output side of the audio output section 27. The GPS signal receiving unit 22 receives a plurality of satellites 5 through the GPS antenna 22a.
And receive a reference signal from the base station and estimate the position from the time difference between the reference signals.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of the position data / landscape video etc. management unit 11 of the center device 1, wherein a direction ID 112 and an adjacent position ID 11 are provided for each position ID 111.
3, the distance 114 and the target ID 115, and the like, and the like, and the landscape image management data including the landscape image ID 116 and the landmark ID 117 for each time zone such as daytime / dusk / nighttime.

In the above-mentioned configuration, the center device 1 and the terminal 2 are the line control unit 14 of the center device 1, the ISDN network 3, the PHS public CS 4, and the PHS antenna 23 of the terminal 2.
a, data communication is performed by a modem signal, for example, via the transmission / reception unit 23.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the above drawings.

(1) Accumulation of position data and landscape video Prior to the operation of this system, the position data / landscape video management unit 11 of the center device 1 stores the position data and the like as management data.
A direction ID 112 is set for every direction in which the user may move for each position ID 111 corresponding to a place name / number, and a target position indicating an adjacent position ID 113, a distance 114 between position IDs, a target building, and the like. Data such as ID 115 is accumulated.

At the same time, as the landscape image management data, for each direction ID 112, a landscape image ID 116 showing a landscape image stored in the landscape image storage unit 12 for each use time zone, and a landmark ID 117 showing a building or the like as a landmark in it. Accumulate.

Compared to the method in which a user purchases / uses a CD-ROM or the like, both the position data of the center device 1 and the landscape image can be updated as appropriate, opening of roads, detour measures associated with construction / accidents, start of facility sharing / It is possible to flexibly respond to stoppages. In particular, even in a place where the traffic volume changes irregularly due to an event or the like, it is possible to provide a landscape image in real time by using the image from the monitoring device or the like.

The position data / landscape image management unit 11
When the same code is assigned to the target ID 115 and the mark ID 117, the same entity is shown.

(2) Input of Position Information The user designates / inputs the destination and the current location from a soft keyboard or the like displayed on the display unit 21 with a touch panel of the terminal 2. The instructed / inputted destination and current location are transmitted from the line control unit 14 of the terminal 2 and received by the transmission / reception unit 23 of the center apparatus 1 via the PHS public CS 4 and the ISDN network 5. The center device 1 gives instructions from the terminal 2
The input destination and current position are compared with the position ID 111 of the position data / landscape image management unit 11, and if the corresponding position information is not registered, the terminal 2 is instructed to re-input.

When the current location is unknown, the position detection output of the GPS signal receiving unit 22 of the terminal 2 is transmitted to the center device 1,
Further, the position information is obtained by correcting the position detection output of the GPS signal receiving unit 13 of the center device 1. Data communication between the line control unit 14 of the center device 1 and the transmission / reception unit 23 of the terminal 2, including transmission of a landscape image described later, is performed by a modem signal.

The positional information of the accuracy required for the operation of this system is obtained by the differential GPS method with the installation position of the center device 1 as a reference.

(3) Selection of Optimal Route The optimal route selection unit 15 of the center device 1 manages the information of the destination and the current location received from the terminal 2 and the position data / landscape video etc. management unit 11 accumulated position management. From the data, for example, in FIG. 5, the route having the smallest moving distance is selected as the optimum route 31. The selection result is output as a series of pairs of the position ID 111 indicating the passing point 32 and the direction ID 112 indicating the direction to proceed.

(4) Selection of Landscape Video The center device 1 searches for and selects a landscape video to be displayed from the output of the optimum route selection unit 15 and the time zone at the time when the user makes a service request. For example, in FIG. 5, for the nighttime service request from the current location indicated by the place name / lot number i, the corresponding image i-2-3 of the landscape image ID 116 of the direction ID 2 in FIG. 4 is read from the landscape image storage unit 12. Send to terminal 2. At the same time, the corresponding landmark ID 117
The mark i-2-2 is also transmitted.

The terminal 2 stores the received information in the route storage unit 24 for the contents of the mark ID 117 and the landscape video storage unit 25 for the landscape image at each passing point.

(5) Display of landscape video The terminal 2 displays the landscape video received from the center device 1 on the monitor screen of the display unit 21 with a touch panel. At that time, a building or the like corresponding to the landmark ID 117 read out from the route storage unit 24 is displayed by a pointer or the like to assist the user in finding the direction in which to proceed.

Further, the control unit 26 of the terminal 2 estimates the position by the GPS signal every set time, and the route storage unit 24
The displayed image is switched at the time when the passing point 32 accumulated in is approached the set distance or less, or the user selects the optimum route 3
At a time point when the distance is more than a set distance from 1, the sound output unit 27 gives a warning sound.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the GP is used for position estimation.
Although the S signal is used, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the GPS signal receiving unit is not mounted for use in an urban area where the lot number display is complete.

The communication between the center device and the terminal uses the PHS as the example of the modem signal, but a mobile phone may have the same configuration. Also, it can be realized by PHS digital data communication.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The user can easily find the direction to go by comparing the landscape image displayed on the monitor screen of the terminal with the actual landscape.

Also, the landscape image of the center device can be updated as appropriate, and the latest information that is difficult to handle with a CD-ROM, etc.
It becomes possible to provide emergency information.

Further, when the landscape image is divided into the use time zones and switched, it becomes possible to easily reach the destination even at night when visibility is not good.

Further, when the current position is specified by using the position detecting means such as GPS, the route guidance service becomes possible especially when the current position is unknown.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a center device of the system in the above embodiment example.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of a terminal of the system in the above embodiment example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a position data / landscape image management unit in the center device.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the above-described embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Center device 11 ... Position data / landscape image management unit 111 ... Position ID 112 ... Direction ID 113 ... Adjacent position ID 114 ... Distance 115 ... Target ID 116 ... Landscape image ID 117 ... Mark ID 12 ... Landscape image storage unit 13 ... GPS signal receiving unit 14 ... Line control unit 15 ... Optimal route selecting unit 16 ... Control unit 2 ... Terminal 21 ... Display unit with touch panel 22 ... GPS signal receiving unit 23 ... Transceiver unit 24 ... Route storage unit 25 ... Landscape image storage unit 26 ... Control part 27 ... Voice output part 31 ... Optimal route 32 ... Passing point 3 ... ISDN network 4 ... PHS public CS 5 ... Terminal

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A means for indicating / inputting a destination and a current location, a means for transmitting the destination and the current location to a center device, a direction for going from the center device and a means for receiving a landscape image, and the received direction for going. And a means for displaying a landscape image, means for receiving a destination and a current location from the terminal, means for selecting an optimum route between the received destination and the current location, and at least from a place in the route The center having means for accumulating searchable landscape images, and means for transmitting the direction to be traveled based on the selected optimal route to the terminal together with the landscape image retrieved from a place in the optimal route A route guidance system comprising: a device. 2. A means for accumulating a landscape image in the center device is capable of searching the landscape image from a place in a route and a time period of use of a route guidance service. The means for transmitting to the terminal together with the image transmits to the terminal together with the landscape image searched for the direction to proceed based on the selected optimum route from the place in the optimum route and the usage time zone of the route guidance service, The route guidance system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The route guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is newly provided with position detecting means, and the position detection output of the position detecting means is used as the current location.