JPH10103980A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To grasp an approximate position even when a communication between moving bodies cannot be performed by a method wherein the position of an other moving body is estimated and computed on the basis of map data, on the other moving body, which is received in a receivable point of time and the position is interpolated so as to be displayed on a display. SOLUTION: Whether a communication with an other moving body is impossible or not is judged. In a point of time in which the communication becomes impossible, map data around the other moving body until the point of time in which the communication is possible is read out from a memory. When a radio-wave obstacle exists between an own moving body and the other moving body, it is judged whether the own moving body is guiding a route by a navigation apparatus or not. When the own vehicle is not guiding the route, the estimation and interpolation processing operation of the other moving body is executed, and the estimated and interpolated position of the other moving body is displayed on a display so as to blink in such a way that the position can be discriminated by an operator. In the estimation and interpolation processing operation, the position of the other moving body is detected by a map matching technique on the basis of a position and vehicle speed data which are received form the other moving body until the communication becomes possible when the communication is impossible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device for performing a route search and route guidance to an arbitrarily selected destination, and more particularly to a navigation device to which a communication device such as a vehicle-mounted telephone device or a wireless communication device is connected. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The development of navigation devices using position detection technology based on GPS (Global Positioning System) has been remarkable. In particular, in recent years, in addition to route guidance to a destination, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 650, there is a technology for exchanging and displaying mutual positional information and messages via a communication device between a plurality of mobile units each equipped with a system connecting a navigation device and a communication device. Proposed.

[0003]

However, in the above prior art, the distance between the moving objects exceeds the range in which the communication device can communicate, and there are radio obstacles such as tunnels and high-rise buildings. Therefore, it becomes impossible to continue wireless communication between the moving objects, and it becomes impossible to grasp the position and the running state of another moving object. In addition, since an operator needs to input a message to be transmitted and received by the communication device, the operation is troublesome in an emergency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a wireless communication between mobile units, for example, due to a radio wave obstacle such as a tunnel or a high-rise building. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can roughly grasp the position of another moving object even when wireless communication between the mobile devices becomes impossible.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a navigation device of the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, in a navigation device capable of communicating between mobile units via a wireless communication unit, the positions of the own mobile unit and the other mobile unit are displayed on a display based on event data received from another mobile unit via the wireless communication unit. Display output means, a reception determination means for determining whether or not event data can be received from another mobile unit via the wireless communication means, and a reception disabled state determined by the reception determination means In this case, based on the map data of the other mobile unit received at the time when the mobile terminal can be received, a communication cutoff determining unit for determining whether or not the other mobile unit has temporarily entered a communication cutoff state due to entering the communication disabled area. And, if it is determined by the communication cut-off determination means is a temporary communication cut-off state, based on the event data of the other mobile received at the time of receivable, to estimate the position of the other mobile, It includes an interpolation display means for interpolating displayed on the serial display.

[0006] As a result, even if radio communication between mobiles becomes impossible due to radio wave obstructions such as tunnels and high-rise buildings in wireless communication between mobiles, other mobile communication is impossible. You can roughly grasp your body position.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, an embodiment applied to an automobile, which is a typical example of a moving object, will be described.

[Hardware Configuration] First, a hardware configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a state in which a navigation device as an embodiment according to the present invention is mounted on an automobile.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a centralized control unit, which calculates various data (fuel remaining amount, average fuel efficiency, average vehicle speed, etc.) relating to the running state and controls the following components in an integrated manner. An in-vehicle LAN unit 3 controls so-called local area network communication between the central control unit 2 and a sensor and a drive unit (not shown) necessary for controlling, for example, an antilock brake system (ABS) and four-wheel drive control. 4 is R
An AM card drive, for example, a data reading / writing device for a RAM card that stores information about a driver such as a seat position and a mirror position. Reference numeral 5 denotes a data drive, which is a device for reading / writing various information stored in a data storage medium such as an FD, an MD, and a PD. Reference numeral 6 denotes an audio guide speaker, and audio information from the navigation controller 17 is output via an audio output interface in the central control unit 2. 7
Is a microphone, and an instruction by an operator's voice is input to the navigation controller 17 via a voice recognition interface (not shown) in the central control unit 2. Reference numeral 8 denotes a display such as a liquid crystal display, which displays a navigation screen, a screen for various input operations, and a state of the moving body (vehicle speed, air conditioning setting, etc.). Further, on the front surface of the display 8, there is provided an input device such as a capacitance type or an infrared type capable of performing an input operation by a touch operation according to the display.
Note that, among the display information on the display 8, information that is always necessary during driving is a so-called head-up display (not shown).
May be displayed. Reference numeral 9 denotes a mobile phone as an in-vehicle phone, to which a telephone antenna 13 is connected. An operation switch 10 performs an input operation to the central control unit 2 and the navigation controller 17. Numeral 17 denotes a navigation controller, which receives position information from a GPS (global positioning system) antenna 11 and a CD-RO mounted on a CD-ROM changer 19.
Based on the map information of M, an appropriate route to the destination designated by the operator with the operation switch 10 or the like is searched, and guidance is performed by display on the display 8 and audio output from the audio guide speaker 6. CD-ROM changer 1
The map information of the CD-ROM read by 9 is the basic information of the display information on the display 8 in the following description.

Further, a radio transceiver 21 to which a radio antenna 20 is connected is connected to the navigation controller 17 as shown in the figure, and performs data communication between a plurality of mobile bodies described later.

[0010] More preferably, the navigation controller 17 is provided with an FM receiver for receiving FM multiplex broadcasting corresponding to VICS.
The M tuner is connected to a beacon signal receiver that receives a radio wave beacon signal and an optical beacon signal, interprets the information obtained from the beacon signal as traffic regulation information (so-called VICS information), displays it on the display 8, and provides route guidance. It may be used as a condition (restriction condition) of the route search at the time. Further, area information around the travel route may be input from the data drive 5 or the like and used as display information. Note that a method of detecting the position of the own vehicle by the GPS is well-known, and thus description thereof is omitted.

Next, the features of the software of the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0012]

[Update of display screen]

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example on a display of a navigation device as one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a display 8 displays a mobile unit 31 and another mobile unit 35 on the displayed route, and the traveling directions are indicated by arrows. Also,
The other moving object 34 indicates that the vehicle is stopped. 36-3
Reference numeral 8 denotes data obtained from the other mobile unit by data communication between mobile units described below. The forced reception switch 32
This switch is turned on by the operator when the displayed other moving object is no longer displayed on the display 8 or when the operator wants to know the latest current position of the other moving object. Thus, communication outside the predetermined time period described later is performed, and the display screen is updated based on the newly obtained position information of the other mobile object. The emergency transmission switch 33 is a switch that is turned on by the operator when the operator interrupts the traveling of the self-moving body for some reason or wants to gather together once, and the like. It is assumed that communication outside the predetermined time period is performed, and a predetermined message such as “Wait a minute!” Or “Let's get together!” Registered in advance is displayed on the display of the other mobile object. Note that, as shown in a message 38, for example, an arbitrary message input by an input device of another mobile unit or a message input by voice through a microphone is displayed by the data communication between mobile units described later (the voice guide speaker 6). May be used together). Reference numeral 39 denotes a state in which mutual positional relationships are schematically displayed based on positional information of the other mobile object obtained by data communication between mobile objects to be described later. In the case of FIG. 3km behind
2Km behind the other mobile unit 34 (B) at the position
Indicates that the other mobile object 35 (A) is following at 48 km / h. Here, the distance between the moving bodies is preferably a distance interpolated by map matching, but may be a distance calculated from position (coordinate) information between two points in consideration of the load of arithmetic processing.

Each of the display elements on the screen described above is appropriately changed in display color in accordance with a change in the state, and also used together with highlighting such as blinking display.

Next, a process of updating the screen of the display 8 for realizing the above-described operation of the display screen will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process of updating the display screen in the navigation device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The process is started by starting the navigation device.

In the figure, first, a predetermined time A from the previous screen update
Is determined (step S1), and if NO, it is determined whether the emergency FL is on (step S2).

Here, the emergency FL is a processing flag that is exchanged with a transmission / reception process (FIG. 6) to be described later. The emergency FL is displayed on the display 8 of the navigation device mounted on another mobile unit. (FIG. 2) is turned on, and when the own mobile receives data related thereto by inter-mobile data communication described later, the predetermined message registered in advance is transmitted regardless of the predetermined screen update cycle. This is a flag to be displayed on the body display 8.

Next, if NO in step S2, the process proceeds to step S6, while if YES, the emergency FL is turned off in step S3 and the process proceeds to step S4. If YES in step S1, the navigation controller 1
7 based on the latest GPS information stored in a memory (RAM) (not shown) and information received by communication with other mobiles (hereinafter, information between mobiles). Calculate the current position, traveling direction, distance between moving objects, etc.,
It is displayed on the display 8 together with the related text data (step S4, step S5). Then, it is determined whether the forced reception switch 32, the emergency transmission switch 33, or another switch (not shown) on the display 8 is turned on (step S6). If NO, the process returns to step S1, and if YES, the process returns to step S1. Change the display color of the switch that was turned on, or for example, "Start 〇〇〇〇."
And the like (step S7), and the process returns to step S1.

[Inter-Mobile Communication] Next, inter-mobile communication between the own mobile and a plurality of other mobiles will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of inter-mobile communication between navigation apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. Is realized.

In the figure, a data format 40 is composed of the following fields.

ID code 41: A group ID for identifying the own group consisting of the own mobile unit and a plurality of other mobile units.

Information bit 42: includes a code indicating whether or not the data after the own field is urgent, a mobile ID of a transmission source, a mobile ID of a transmission destination used in a telephone line described later, and a transmission time. It is.

Self-moving body data 43: The self-moving body ID includes the moving body ID of the self-moving body, current position information of the self-moving body, a running / stopped code, a traveling direction, and a vehicle speed.

Other moving body data 44: A field for transmitting data received from another moving body to another moving body different from the other moving body, and is constituted by one or more own moving body data 43. In some cases, there may be cases in which the own mobile unit makes a call first, or in which none is included due to the positional relationship with other mobile units.

Communication method data 45: Code data indicating the current communication method (wireless / telephone) between other moving objects.

Message data 46: This is text data that is an arbitrary message input by the input device of the display 8 or a message input by voice through a microphone.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a state in which communication between mobile units is performed wirelessly between a plurality of mobile units by the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a moving body A to a moving body D are traveling on a certain route. Reference numerals 46 to 47 denote ranges in which each mobile unit can perform wireless communication. Needless to say, the actual wireless communication range has a more complicated shape depending on the surrounding environment. At this time, for example, the inter-moving object information transmitted by the moving object A does not directly reach the moving object D. But,
The mobile unit B and the mobile unit C sequentially relay the inter-mobile unit information of the mobile unit A based on the data format of FIG. 4 while adding the data of the own mobile unit. Information can be received. In this case, due to the positional relationship between the moving bodies, the information between the moving bodies transmitted from the same other moving body is relayed and transmitted from a plurality of other moving bodies. The data to be determined is selected based on the transmission time included in the information bit field 42 (FIG. 4).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the transmission / reception processing of the inter-mobile communication in the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing is started by starting the navigation apparatus.

In the figure, in step S11, a radio communication frequency with another moving object is set. In step S12, a mobile body ID for wireless communication and a telephone number of the mobile phone 9 are set. Since these setting operations are not frequently changed in normal use, it is needless to say that if not changed, only the confirmation can be easily performed.

Steps S13A to S23 are a transmission / reception routine, and the same processing is performed for both wireless communication and telephone line communication. First, it is determined whether or not GPS information has been received (step S13A). If YES, the received GPS information is stored in a memory (step S14), and the process returns to step S13A. On the other hand, if NO in step S13A, it is determined whether inter-moving body information has been received (step S13B), and if NO, the process returns to step S13A. On the other hand, step S13
In the case of YES at B, the received inter-moving object information is
By interpreting based on the data format of (1), it is determined whether the address is for the own group (step S15), and YES
In the case of, the inter-moving body information is stored in the memory (step S16), and it is determined whether the inter-moving body information includes the emergency transmission code due to the emergency transmission switch 33 being turned on by another moving body. (Step S17). In the case of YES in step S17, the emergency FL is turned on (step S18: Thereby, the predetermined message such as "wait a little!" Or "let's get together!" (Displayed on the display 8),
Further, it is determined whether or not the inter-moving body information includes a forced receiving code resulting from the forced receiving switch 32 being turned on by another moving body (step S19A). If NO in step S17, the process directly proceeds to step S19A.
If NO in step S19A, step S19A
At 19B, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time B has elapsed since the previous transmission of the information between moving bodies. On the other hand, in the case of YES in step S19A, it is necessary to transmit without waiting for the predetermined time B to elapse, and the process proceeds to step S21.

If NO in step S19B, it is determined whether or not the operator has turned on the emergency transmission switch 33 on the display 8 of the own moving body (step S20).
In the case of ES, a predetermined message is added to the own moving body data, and transmission is performed based on the data format of FIG. 4 together with the inter-moving body information received in the memory in step S14 (step S21), and the process returns to step S13A. If YES is determined in the step S19A, the own mobile unit data and the inter-mobile unit information received in the memory in the step S14 are transmitted based on the data format of FIG. 4 (step S21), and the process returns to the step S13A. On the other hand, if NO in step S20, it is determined whether the forced reception switch 32 has been turned on by the operator on the display 8 of the own moving body (step S22), and if YES, the display has disappeared from the display 8. The other mobile unit is connected to the telephone line to transmit and receive information between the mobile units (step S23), and the process returns to step S13A. On the other hand, if NO in step S22, the process directly returns to step S13A. In the case of NO in step S15, the process directly proceeds to step S21 to transmit the own moving object data and the received inter-moving object information in order to perform long-distance mutual communication beyond the communication range of wireless communication. is there.

If it is determined in step S21 that the own mobile unit is not located at an intermediate position of other mobile units in the group, that is, the head and the tail of the group (the current mobile unit in the group is determined by the communication between mobile units up to that point). Because we know the position,
(Determinable), it is assumed that data received from another mobile unit is not transmitted again from the own mobile unit. Further, when the inter-mobile communication is performed by the telephone line by the switching process of the inter-mobile communication described later, the same data as the data content transmitted by the telephone line is transmitted from the wireless transceiver 21. I do. This is for performing switching processing of inter-mobile communication according to the electric field strength of the inter-mobile information received from another mobile.

<Switching process of inter-mobile communication> By the way, since the running state of FIG. 5 has changed and, for example, the inter-mobile distance between the mobile B and the mobile C has been widened, the inter-mobile communication by radio has become difficult. It may not be possible. A switching process for preventing interruption of inter-mobile communication by efficiently and economically using wireless communication and communication by a vehicle-mounted telephone (by minimizing the use of the vehicle-mounted telephone) will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a process for switching communication between moving objects in the navigation device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the electric field strength of a certain mobile unit received by the own mobile unit via wireless communication.
Each plot in the figure indicates that communication was performed between mobile units by wireless communication or a telephone line, T1 represents a communication cycle of wireless communication, and T2 represents a communication cycle of telephone. S1 is a threshold value at which switching from wireless communication to communication through a telephone line is performed due to a decrease in electric field strength. As actual processing, wireless communication is performed a predetermined number of times H after a lapse of time T or when the electric field strength becomes smaller than S1. Switching is performed when it is performed. S2 is a threshold value at which the electric field strength increases and communication from the telephone line is switched to wireless communication. Here, since communication between mobile units by telephone requires a cost, it is assumed that there is a relationship of (wireless communication cycle T1) <(telephone communication cycle T2).

Next, the rules for communication over a telephone line will be described with reference to FIGS. This is necessary because wireless communication has a one-to-many communication partner, while telephone communication has a one-to-one communication.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 are diagrams for explaining rules in communication over a telephone line according to an embodiment of the present invention, and show, as an example, communication by four mobile bodies per group. The following rule is applied to a case where a state in which the display of any other mobile body disappears from the display 8 on the display 8 as the specific mobile body, or a new mobile body D The determination is made when a state in which information cannot be received occurs (these states occur almost simultaneously with other moving objects).

FIG. 8 shows, as a basic rule, a case where four mobile units are in a positional relationship where wireless communication is not possible. In step I, connection, mutual communication, and line disconnection of telephone lines are performed by the mobile unit D in the order of the mobile unit C, the mobile unit B, and the mobile unit A. Since the mobile unit D sequentially communicates information between mobile units based on the data format of FIG. 4, at this point in time, the information between mobile units of all other mobile units in the group has been obtained. Is the moving object B and the moving object C, the moving object B is the information between the moving objects of the moving objects A and C, and the moving object C is the moving object A and the moving object B.
Information between mobiles is not available. So, step
In II, by moving body C, moving body B and moving body A in order.
Then, in step III, the mobile unit B communicates with the mobile unit A via the same telephone line.
This means that the mobile units of each of the mobile units have obtained the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a case where wireless communication cannot be performed between some mobile units. Which mobiles are performing wireless communication can be grasped by referring to the code included in the communication format data 45 in the data format of FIG.

In FIG. 9, it is assumed that wireless communication is performed between the moving body B and the moving body C surrounded by a broken line as shown. In this case, in Step I, the moving object D
Communication by telephone lines is performed in the order of the mobile unit C and the mobile unit A, and for the mobile unit B, information on the mobile unit D between the mobile units is transmitted from the mobile unit C by wireless communication. Then, in step II, the communication by the telephone line from the mobile unit C to the mobile unit A is performed, so that the four mobile units can obtain the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group.

In FIG. 10, it is assumed that wireless communication is performed between the moving objects A and B, and between the moving objects C and D, which are surrounded by broken lines as shown. In this case, the communication between the mobile unit D and the mobile unit B via the telephone line is performed, so that the four mobile units can obtain the inter-mobile information of all the other mobile units in the group.

<Modification of Rule for Communication over Telephone Line> Next, for example, in step I of FIG.
When the mobile unit D performs communication between the mobile units in the order of the mobile unit C, the mobile unit B, and the mobile unit A, for example, the data of the mobile unit C obtained by the communication between the mobile units with the mobile unit C is transferred to the next mobile unit. Other vehicle data 4 in data format in inter-mobile communication with body B 4
There may be a rule to put it in the field of No. 4. The rules for this method are shown in FIGS.
3 will be described.

FIGS. 11 to 13 are diagrams for explaining rules in telephone line communication as a modification of the embodiment according to the present invention. To summarize this rule,
The principle is that the mobile unit D transmits all the information of the other mobile units that have been obtained in the communication up to that point to the mobile unit that will perform communication by telephone.

FIG. 11 shows, as a basic rule in the present modified example, a case where four mobile units have a positional relationship in which wireless communication cannot be performed. In step I, the connection of the telephone line from the mobile unit D to the mobile unit C, mutual communication, and line disconnection are performed. Since the mobile unit D communicates information between mobile units based on the data format shown in FIG. 4, at this time, the mobile unit D is the information between mobile units of the mobile unit C, and the mobile unit C is the mobile unit D.
(The alphabet written to the left of each moving object indicated by the triangle indicates the inter-moving object information that the moving object has obtained in the corresponding step. 13). In step II, the mobile unit D adds the information of the mobile unit C obtained in step I to the information of the own mobile unit, and performs communication with the mobile unit B by telephone. At this point, the moving body D can obtain the information between the moving bodies B and C, and the moving body B can obtain the information between the moving bodies C and D. If step III is performed in the same manner, at this point in time, the mobile units D and A can obtain the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group.
Further, by performing Steps IV and V as shown in the drawing, the information of the four moving bodies can be obtained between the other moving bodies in the group. According to this rule, the number of times of telephone communication can be reduced as compared with the case of FIG. 8, which is advantageous in cost.

In FIG. 12, it is assumed that wireless communication is performed between a moving object B and a moving object C surrounded by a broken line as shown. In this case, in step I, the mobile unit D performs communication with the mobile unit C via the telephone line. At this point, the mobile unit D can obtain the information between the mobile units B and C, and the mobile unit C can newly obtain the information between the mobile units D. In step II, the wireless communication is performed between the mobile unit B and the mobile unit C, so that the mobile unit B can newly obtain the inter-mobile unit information of the mobile unit D. In step II, the mobile unit D adds the information of the mobile unit B and the mobile unit C obtained in step I to the information of the own mobile unit, and communicates with the mobile unit A by telephone. At this point, the mobile units D and A have obtained the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group. Further, by performing Step III and Step IV as shown in the figure, the four mobile units can obtain the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group.

In FIG. 13, it is assumed that wireless communication is performed between the moving objects A and B, and between the moving objects C and D, respectively, which are surrounded by broken lines as shown in the figure (steps).
I, step III). In this case, in step II, the mobile unit D
Communication from the telephone line to mobile unit B is performed from
III, between the mobile A and the mobile B, the mobile C and the mobile D
By performing the wireless communication between the mobile units, the four mobile units can obtain the inter-mobile unit information of all the other mobile units in the group.

The specific moving object is not limited to the moving object D described above, and may be, for example, the last moving object or the first moving object when rule determination is required.

Next, a description will be given, with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 14 and 15, of the switching processing of the inter-mobile communication performed based on the above-mentioned rule.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a process of switching communication between the own mobile unit and one other mobile unit in the communication between mobile units according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The own mobile unit performs this switching process for each of the other mobile units belonging to the own group.

In the figure, in step S31, the electric field strength of the radio wave received from the other mobile object is detected. And
It is determined whether or not the electric field strength is smaller than threshold value step S2 (step S32). If YES, it is further determined whether or not the electric field strength is smaller than threshold value S1 for time T (step S33), and NO If step S31
Return to On the other hand, if YES in step S33, it is determined whether communication with the other mobile unit is currently being performed via a telephone line (step S34). If YES, the process returns to step S31. On the other hand, if NO in step S34,
The operator is prompted to select whether to use a telephone line because the electric field strength in the wireless communication with the other mobile body is reduced (step S35).

If NO in step S35, it is determined whether a telephone call has been received from the other mobile unit (step S35).
39). This is a transmission / reception process in another mobile unit (FIG. 6).
, The forcible reception switch 32 is turned on by the operator on the display 8 (step S22), and a telephone line is connected to transmit and receive information between mobile bodies (step S23) accordingly. is there. Therefore, in the case of YES in step S39 (the telephone is being received from the other mobile unit), the process proceeds to step S36 to perform communication processing with the other mobile unit via a telephone line (described later with reference to FIG. 15). Do). On the other hand, if NO in step S39, the process returns to step S31. In the case of YES in step S35, communication processing with the other mobile unit via the telephone line is performed (step S36), and step S3 is performed.
Return to 1.

If the answer is NO in step S32, it is determined whether communication with the other mobile unit is currently in progress via a telephone line (step S37). In the case of NO in step S37, the process proceeds to step S39, and it is determined whether a telephone call has been received from the other mobile body. YES in step S37
In the case of, the wireless communication is more economical, so the use of the telephone line with the other mobile is stopped, that is, the acquisition of the inter-mobile information of the other mobile is resumed by the wireless communication (step S38). Then, the process returns to step S31.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a communication process between a mobile unit and one other mobile unit via a telephone line in inter-mobile communication according to the embodiment of the present invention. This process is a telephone line communication process that is performed based on the determination made by the switching process in FIG. 14, which has been performed on the state of wireless communication with each other mobile unit in the own mobile unit. This process is necessary because the telephone line can be connected to only one other mobile at a time.

In the figure, first, the own moving body is currently grasping.
That is, based on the current position information of each other mobile unit stored in the memory and the above-mentioned predetermined rule, the communication order for when the own mobile unit starts communication via the telephone line is calculated (step S41). ). Steps S42 and S43 are a waiting routine to wait for the communication order of the own mobile unit. When the own mobile unit comes, or when the inter-moving unit information of another mobile unit that should be able to be received waits for a predetermined time C, If not, the process proceeds to step S44. In step S44, inter-mobile communication is sequentially performed with each of the other mobiles for which new data has not been obtained among the other mobiles for which communication via the telephone line has been determined by the processing of FIG. 14 described above. In order to determine each other mobile unit for which new data has not been obtained, the inter-mobile communication data from the other mobile unit received before the own mobile unit starts communication via the telephone line (FIG. 4)
Based on the data format of
And the transmission time.

[Estimation Interpolation Processing] Next, the estimation interpolation processing by the navigation device of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the guess interpolation processing by the navigation device of this embodiment. FIG.
20 are diagrams showing display screens showing the processing results of the flowchart shown in FIG.

In this estimation interpolation processing, since the distance between the moving objects exceeds the communicable range of the communication device and there is a radio wave obstruction such as a tunnel or a high-rise building, the radio communication between the moving objects is performed. This processing is executed when communication cannot be continued and the position data and the like of another mobile body cannot be received.Specifically, the position data and vehicle speed data received from the other mobile body until the time when communication was possible Alternatively, based on the vehicle speed data of the own moving body, a rough position is grasped and displayed by a well-known map matching technique.

As shown in FIG. 16, the process is started, and it is determined in step S61 whether communication with another mobile body is impossible. In step S61, communication with another mobile body is disabled. At that point (Yes in step S61),
Proceeding to step S62, the peripheral map data of the other moving object is read from the memory up to the point in time when communication was possible. next,
In step S63, it is determined based on the read peripheral map data whether there is a radio wave obstacle such as a tunnel, a high-rise building, a mountain, or the like between the own moving body and another moving body. Step S
If it is determined in step 63 that there is a radio wave obstacle (step S
(Yes at 63), the process proceeds to step S64, and it is determined whether or not the own moving body is currently performing route guidance by the navigation device. If the route guidance is not being performed in step S64 (No in step S64), the process proceeds to step S65, in which a presumed interpolation process of another moving body is executed, and a screen is displayed so that an operator can identify a position estimated and interpolated with respect to the other moving body. (In addition to the blinking display, for example, the display color of another moving object may be changed or the display character may be changed.). If the route guidance is being performed in step S64 (Yes in step S64), the process proceeds to step S66, in which similarly the presumed interpolation processing of another vehicle is executed, and the position of the presumed interpolation of the other moving body can be identified to the operator. Blinking on the screen as shown. In the estimation interpolation processing in steps S65 and S66, as shown in FIG. 17, for example, another mobile unit P1 enters a tunnel and communication becomes impossible, and the other mobile unit P1 until the time when communication is possible is performed.
Position data and vehicle speed data received from
2, the position of the other mobile unit P1 is detected by a map matching technique based on the vehicle speed data, and the coordinate point of the other mobile unit P1 on the map is determined by the vehicle speed data of the own mobile unit P2 or the time point at which communication was possible. While blinking while moving based on the vehicle speed data of the other moving body P1, a message "Predictive interpolation is being displayed!" Is displayed. Further, in the above-described step S64, when the own mobile is guiding the route by the navigation device, the route to the destination of the other mobile is set in advance, so that there is an advantage that the estimation interpolation is easily executed. Therefore, step S65,
Comparing the guess interpolation processing at step 66, the guess interpolation processing at step S66 can be processed more easily.

If it is determined in step S63 that there is no radio wave obstruction (No in step S63), the process proceeds to step S73, in which the distance between the own mobile unit and the other mobile unit is set within the communicable range of the communication device. Is determined to be outside the communication area due to exceeding the communication area. If it is out of the communication area in step S73 (Yes in step S73), the process proceeds to step S74 to warn the operator that the vehicle is out of the communication area, and then shifts to communication processing using a telephone line in step S69 described later. . In this step S74, as shown in FIG. 18, the other mobile object P1 outside the communication area cannot be displayed.
The message "ID1" is displayed, and the other mobile object outside the communication area is identifiably displayed as ID1. On the other hand, if it is not out of the communication area in step S73 (No in step S73), the process proceeds to a telephone line communication process in step S69 described later.

Next, while performing the guess interpolation processing in step S65, it is determined in step S67 whether or not the other mobile body, which is being guessed and interpolated, has passed a branch such as an intersection. If it is determined in step S67 that the vehicle has passed the forked road (Yes in step S67), the process proceeds to step S68, and the estimation interpolation process is stopped. In this step S68, as shown in FIG. 19, it is impossible to determine whether the other moving object P1 has made a straight turn on the fork or turned left or right on the branch road by the map matching technique. "ID!" Is displayed to stop the interpolating process of the other moving object P1, and the other moving object is displayed as ID1 so as to be identifiable. When the estimation interpolation processing is executed in step S66, the process proceeds to step S75 described later without determining the passage of the branch road in step S67. That is,
In the case of route guidance in step S64, the estimation interpolation processing is continued even if the other moving object displayed for estimation interpolation passes through a branch road such as an intersection.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S67 that the vehicle does not pass through the branch road (No in step S67), the process proceeds to step S75, and it is determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the estimation interpolation process. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the estimation interpolation processing in step S75 (step S75).
If “Yes” at 75, the process proceeds to step S68 to stop the estimation interpolation process, and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S68).
(No at 75), the process proceeds to step S76 and proceeds to step S61.
Then, it is determined whether or not communication with another mobile unit that has become unable to communicate has been resumed. If the communication is not resumed in step S76 (No in step S76), the process returns to step S64 to determine whether or not the self-moving body is performing route guidance by the navigation device, while the communication is resumed in step S76 (step S76). (Yes in S76), Step S77
To stop the estimation interpolation processing and return to the start point of this program. In this step S77, since communication with the other mobile unit P1 is resumed and accurate position data can be obtained by wireless communication, as shown in FIG. 20, "stop the guess interpolation display!" After the display, the other moving object P1 is blinked and displayed, the estimation interpolation processing of the other moving object P1 is stopped, and the mode is shifted to the normal display mode. On this occasion,
If the accurate position of the other moving object P1 and the position estimated and interpolated are shifted, the other moving object P is slowly displayed on the screen.
1 is moved to an accurate position and corrected and displayed so that the operator does not feel uncomfortable.

After the guess interpolation process is stopped in step S68, it is determined in step S69 whether or not the operator has issued a communication instruction via a telephone line. If a communication instruction via the telephone line has been made in step S69 (Yes in step S69), the process proceeds to step S70. That is,
In step S69, for example, as shown in FIG.
While blinking the other mobile unit P1, an error message "Interpolation has been disabled!" Is displayed to warn the operator to stop the guess interpolation process, and the telephone communication button 100 is pressed by the operator. (To confirm the intention of the operator), it is determined whether or not a communication instruction as to whether or not to acquire the position data or the like of the other mobile unit P1 via the telephone line is issued. In the step S70, it is determined whether or not the telephone communication flag Ftel is set to 1. The telephone communication flag Ftel indicates that the telephone communication flag Ftel has been set when communication processing via the telephone line has been performed at least once during the processing of this program.
1 is set in tel. If the telephone communication flag Ftel is not set to 1 in step S70 (step S70)
(No in 70), the process proceeds to step S71, and the communication processing by the telephone line described in step S36 of FIG. 14 is executed. In the communication processing using the telephone line in step S71, the mobile phone of the other mobile body is turned off,
If the phone itself has been destroyed and communication is not possible even within the communication area, a message such as "Cannot communicate!" Is displayed and "Please stop!" Such a stop warning message is transmitted.

After the communication processing by the telephone line in step S71, the flow advances to step S72 to set the telephone communication flag Ftel to 1 and to return to the start of the program. It is to be noted that whether or not the telephone communication flag Ftel is set to 1 in step S70, that is, whether or not the communication processing by the telephone line has been performed at least once during the processing of this program is inevitably determined by the telephone line. When the communication processing is performed, the telephone charge increases, so it is considered that it is better to limit the number of times of communication through the telephone line to one in principle regardless of whether communication is possible.

If the communication instruction via the telephone line is not issued in step S69 (No in step S69), and if the telephone communication flag Ftel is set to 1 in step S70 (Yes in step S70), the respective Returns to the start of the program.

The present invention can be applied to a modification or modification of the above embodiment without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in the present embodiment, the voice output to the operator from the voice guide speaker 6 or the notification by the display on the display 8 is not limited to only one, and the voice and the display are appropriately selected. It goes without saying that they may be used in combination.

In addition, the input operation to the navigation device by the operator in the above-described embodiment is not limited to the input operation from the operation switch 10, but it is also possible to appropriately use an instruction by voice recognition. Needless to say.

It goes without saying that the information on the vehicle speed may be calculated based on the movement amount per unit time of the position information obtained by the GPS function.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When communicating between mobile units via wireless communication means and displaying the positions of the own mobile unit and other mobile units on a display based on event data received from other mobile units via wireless communication, the wireless communication is performed. It is determined whether or not event data can be received from another mobile unit via communication.If it is determined that the event data cannot be received, other data is received based on the map data of the other mobile unit received at the time when reception is possible. It is determined whether or not the mobile unit has been temporarily disconnected due to entering the communication disabled area. Based on the data, the position of the other moving object is estimated and calculated and interpolated and displayed on the display. For wireless communication between the moving objects, for example, there is a radio obstacle such as a tunnel or a high-rise building. Wireless communication between each other In case it impossible, can roughly grasp the position of the other mobile.

[0072]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a state in which a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on an automobile.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example on a display of the navigation device of the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a display screen updating process in the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of inter-mobile communication between navigation devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which inter-mobile communication is performed wirelessly between a plurality of mobile objects by the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing transmission / reception processing of inter-mobile communication in the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating switching processing of inter-mobile communication in the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining rules in communication via a telephone line according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a rule in communication via a telephone line according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a rule in communication via a telephone line according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a rule in communication via a telephone line as a modification of the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a rule in communication via a telephone line as a modification of the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a rule in communication via a telephone line as a modification of the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a switching process of the inter-mobile communication between the self-mobile and one other mobile in the inter-mobile communication according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a communication process using a telephone line between the own mobile unit and one other mobile unit in inter-mobile communication according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a guess interpolation process by the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display screen showing a processing result of the flowchart shown in FIG. 16;

18 is a diagram showing a display screen showing a processing result of the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display screen showing a processing result of the flowchart shown in FIG. 16;

20 is a diagram showing a display screen showing a processing result of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 vehicle body 2 central control unit 3 in-vehicle LAN unit 4 RAM card drive 5 data drive 6 voice guide speaker 7 microphone 8 display 9 mobile phone 10 operation switch 11 GPS antenna 12 FM antenna 13 telephone antenna 17 navigation controller 19 CD-ROM changer 20 Wireless antenna 21 Wireless transceiver 31 Own mobile body 32 Forced reception switch 33 Emergency transmission switch 34, 35 Other mobile body

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device capable of communicating between mobile units via a wireless communication unit, wherein the position of the own mobile unit and the position of the other mobile unit are determined based on event data received from another mobile unit via the wireless communication unit. Display output means for displaying on a display, reception determination means for determining whether or not event data can be received from another mobile body via the wireless communication means, and a state in which reception is not possible by the reception determination means. When it is determined, based on the map data of the other mobile unit received at the time when the mobile terminal can be received, the communication for determining whether or not the other mobile unit has been temporarily disconnected from the communication due to entering the communication disabled area. When it is determined by the cutoff determining means and the communication cutoff determining means that the communication is temporarily interrupted, the position of the other mobile body is estimated based on the event data of the other mobile body received at a time when reception is possible. Calculated,
A navigation device comprising: an interpolation display means for performing an interpolation display on the display. And a warning means for warning that the interpolation display has been continued for a predetermined time or more when the interpolation display of the other moving object by the interpolation display means has continued for a predetermined time or more. The navigation device according to claim 1. 3. When the interpolation display of the other moving object by the interpolation display means is continued for a predetermined time or more, a warning means for stopping the interpolation display and warning that the interpolation display has been stopped is further provided. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein 4. When the other moving object passes through a branch while the other moving object is being interpolated and displayed by the interpolating display means, the interpolating display is stopped and a warning that the interpolating display is stopped is issued. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a warning unit that performs the warning. 5. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interpolation display means estimates the position of another moving body based on vehicle speed data of the own moving body and performs interpolation display. 6. The interpolation display device according to claim 1, wherein the interpolation display means estimates the position of the other moving object based on the vehicle speed data of the other moving object received at a receivable time and performs interpolation display. A navigation device as described. 7. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interpolation display means displays the other moving objects that are interpolated and displayed and the other moving objects that are not interpolated and displayed. 8. An in-vehicle telephone unit capable of communicating between mobile units, wherein when the interpolating display by the interpolating display unit is stopped and the reception is still impossible, the display output unit is connected to the in-vehicle telephone unit. The position of the own moving body and the position of the other moving body are displayed on a display based on event data received from the other moving body via the means.
The navigation device according to claim 5. 9. The apparatus further comprises a route guidance determining means for determining whether or not the own moving body is performing route guidance, and when the own moving body is determined to be performing route guidance by the route guidance determining means, the other moving body is determined. 5. The navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the interpolation display by the warning unit is continued even when the navigation device passes through a fork.