JPH10141979A - Navigation apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a navigation apparatus by which a guide broadcasting operation, by a voice, having an optimum content can be performed automatically according to the running environment of a vehicle by a method wherein guide information according to a detected running environment is selected from a plurality of pieces of guide information in a storage means. SOLUTION: Road map information 5a, operation-explanation-screen creation information 5b, voice guide information 5c for operation explanation, voice guide information 5d for route guidance and voice guide information 5e for sightseening guide are contained in an external storage device 5. The voice guide information 5d, for route guidance, on a guidance crossing on a guidance route up to a destination is stored in the external storage device 5 in units of blocks in every distance up to the guidance crossing. A plurality of kinds of voice guide information from a shortest reproducing time up to a longest reproducing time are prepared so as to be stored respectively in a memory address at the external storage device 5. Then, the time required until a vehicle reaches the guidance crossing is estimated, a longest voice guidance comment which can be broadcast within the estimated time is selected automatically, and a route guide broadcasting operation can be performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular navigation apparatus for providing route guidance and sightseeing guidance by voice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a vehicular navigation apparatus that provides voice route guidance and sightseeing guidance when approaching a guided intersection or a sightseeing spot.

[0003]

However, in the conventional vehicle navigation system, route guidance and sightseeing guidance by voice are started at a guide intersection or a preset point in front of a sightseeing spot. If it is necessary to drive at low speed due to traffic congestion and it takes time to reach the guidance intersection or sightseeing spot, the voice guidance broadcast ends shortly before the guidance intersection or sightseeing spot, and if you want to listen again, the voice However, there is a problem that the user has to listen to the information by operating the reproduction button of the guide broadcast.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular navigation device that changes the content of a voice guidance broadcast according to the traveling environment of a vehicle.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) The invention of claim 1 is applied to a vehicular navigation apparatus provided with a broadcasting unit that broadcasts guidance information by voice. Then, storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of guidance information, detection means for detecting a traveling environment of the vehicle, and guidance information corresponding to the traveling environment detected by the detection means are selected from the plurality of pieces of guidance information in the storage means. Selecting means, and the broadcasting means broadcasts the guidance information selected by the selecting means. (2) In the vehicle navigation device according to the second aspect, the guidance information includes a plurality of pieces of route guidance information having the same guidance target and different broadcast times, and the detecting unit determines a required traveling time from a start point to an end point of the route guidance. The route guidance information that can be broadcast within the required travel time and that has the longest broadcast time is selected by the selection means. (3) In the vehicle navigation device according to the third aspect, the guide information includes a plurality of pieces of sightseeing guide information having the same guide target and different broadcast times, and the detecting unit determines a required travel time from the start point to the end point of the sightseeing guide. Detecting means selects the sightseeing guide information that can be broadcast within the required travel time and that has the longest broadcast time by the selection means. (4) In the vehicle navigation device according to the fourth aspect, the guide information includes the night guide information, the detecting unit detects night driving, and selects the night guide information when the night driving is detected by the selecting unit. It was made. (5) In the vehicle navigation device according to the fifth aspect, the guidance information includes the guidance information on rainy weather, the detection means detects rainy travel, and when the rainy travel is detected by the selection means, the guidance information on rainy weather is selected. It was made. (6) In the vehicle navigation device according to the sixth aspect, the guide information includes detailed guide information, the detection means detects the stop or slow motion of the vehicle, and the detection means detects the stop or slow motion of the vehicle. The guide information is selected. (7) According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined operation member is operated by the selection means, the guidance target selects the shortest broadcast time guidance information among the same guidance information. is there.

[0006]

【The invention's effect】

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling environment of the vehicle is detected, and guidance information corresponding to the traveling environment is selected from a plurality of pieces of guidance information and broadcast by voice. It is possible to automatically perform a guidance broadcast by voice having an optimum content according to the environment. (2) According to the invention of claim 2, the required travel time from the route guidance start point to the end point is detected, and within the required travel time from among a plurality of pieces of route guidance information having the same guidance target and different broadcast times. Since the route guidance information that can be broadcasted and has the longest broadcast time is selected and broadcasted by voice, the route guidance broadcast by voice having the optimum content according to the traveling environment of the vehicle can be automatically performed. (3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, the required travel time from the start point to the end point of the sightseeing guide is detected, and within the required travel time from a plurality of pieces of sightseeing guide information having the same guidance target and different broadcast times Since the sightseeing guide information that can be broadcasted and has the longest broadcast time is selected and broadcast by voice, the sightseeing guide broadcast with voice having the optimum content according to the traveling environment of the vehicle can be automatically performed. (4) According to the invention of claim 4, night driving is detected,
At the time of running at night, the guide information at night is selected and broadcast by voice, so that the guide broadcast by voice optimal for night running can be automatically performed. (5) According to the fifth aspect of the invention, rainy travel is detected,
Since guidance information on rainy weather is selected and broadcast by voice when traveling on rainy weather, voice guidance optimal for traveling on rainy weather can be automatically performed. (6) According to the invention of claim 6, when the vehicle stops or slows down, detailed guidance information is selected and broadcasted by voice when the vehicle stops or slows down. , A detailed guide broadcast can be automatically performed. (7) According to the invention of claim 7, when the predetermined operation member is operated, the guidance target selects the shortest broadcast time guidance information from the same guidance information and broadcasts it by sound. In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily cancel the guidance broadcast by voice according to the driving environment.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

-First Embodiment of the Invention- FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a first embodiment. The navigation device for a vehicle according to the first embodiment is mainly configured with a CPU 1. The RAM 1, the ROM 3, and the interface 4 are connected to the CPU 1. CPU 1 also has interface 4
, An external storage device 5, a display control device 6, a direction sensor 7, a distance sensor 8, a GPS sensor 9, an input device 1
0, connected to the amplifier 11. The external storage device 5 stores road map information 5a, operation explanation screen creation information 5b, operation explanation audio guide information 5c, and route guidance audio guide information 5.
d, sightseeing guide audio guide information 5e is included. The display control device 6 draws a road map on the image display unit 12, and displays a current route and a guidance route to a destination on the road map. The direction sensor 7 detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the distance sensor 8 detects the traveling distance of the vehicle.
The GPS sensor 9 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and detects the current position, the traveling direction, and the like of the vehicle by satellite navigation. The input device 10 is a device for inputting a destination and the like. Further, the amplifier 11 drives the speaker 13 to broadcast voice route guidance and sightseeing guidance.

First, the route guidance broadcast by voice will be described. FIG. 2 shows route guidance information for broadcasting at a guidance intersection on a guidance route to a destination. The route guidance voice guide information 5d of the guidance intersection is stored in the external storage device 5 in block units for each distance to the guidance intersection. FIG. 2 shows audio guide information 300 m before the guidance intersection, and n types of audio guide information from the shortest reproduction time T1 to the longest reproduction time Tn are prepared.
These are recorded at the memory addresses A1 to An of the external storage device 5, respectively. For example, the audio guide with the shortest playback time T1 has the minimum necessary content of "300 m ahead, left direction", but the audio guide with the longest playback time Tn is "300 m ahead, intersection at △△, left direction. After that, it will be on the road for a while. "

In the conventional vehicle navigation apparatus, a plurality of pieces of route guidance information having different contents depending on the reproduction time are not prepared for the same guidance target.
Of the shortest reproduction time T1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of broadcasting route guidance voice guide information when a vehicle approaches a guidance intersection. Now, as shown in (a), when the vehicle a approaches the guidance intersection B on the guidance route (indicated by the thick line in the figure), broadcasting of the voice guide information is started at the point A. When the vehicle travels at the normal vehicle speed, the broadcast ends at point C immediately before the guidance intersection B as shown in FIG. However, when traffic congestion and traffic regulations forced low-speed driving,
As shown in (c), the broadcasting of the voice guide information ends much before the case of the normal vehicle speed. The normal vehicle speed is the legal speed of the route.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C on the time axis. In the case of the normal vehicle speed, when the broadcasting of the voice guide information starts at point A at time TA, the broadcasting of the voice guide information ends at point C at time TbB,
At the time TbC, the vehicle reaches the guidance intersection B. Information broadcast end point C
The time from (TbC-TbB) to the guidance intersection B is a preparation time until the route guidance broadcast is recognized and the course is changed at the guidance intersection B.

However, in the conventional vehicle navigation system, only one type of voice guide information at the guidance intersection is prepared. Therefore, when traveling at a low vehicle speed due to traffic congestion or the like, guidance from point A at time TA is performed. When the broadcast starts, the broadcast ends at time TbB. Thereafter, the vehicle travels at a low vehicle speed, reaches point C at time TcB, and
At cC, the vehicle reaches the guidance intersection B. Therefore, when the vehicle travels at a low vehicle speed, it takes (TcC-TbB) time to reach the guidance intersection B after the guide broadcast ends,
The preparation time is longer by (TcC-TbC) time than the normal vehicle speed.

FIG. 5 shows a broadcast program of voice guidance information for route guidance stored in the ROM 3. With reference to this flowchart, the route guidance operation of the first embodiment will be described using the situations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the route guidance voice guide information shown in FIG. 2 as an example. The CPU 1 is an input device 1
When the route guidance mode by voice is set to 0 and the vehicle reaches the point A in front of the guidance intersection by a predetermined distance, the control program shown in FIG. 5 starts to be executed. In step 1, the average vehicle speed of the vehicle immediately before reaching the route guidance start point A is determined. In the following step 2, the required time TAB to reach the guidance intersection B is predicted based on the average vehicle speed of the calculation result and the distance from the start point A to the guidance intersection B.

In step 3, an information block corresponding to the guidance intersection is searched from the route guidance voice guide information 5d in the external storage device 5. For example, in the case of 300 m before the guidance intersection, the voice guidance information block for route guidance shown in FIG. In step 4, the guide information number n of the information block is set in a variable i, and in step 5, it is confirmed whether the required time TAB to the guidance intersection B is longer than the reproduction time Ti. Playback time Ti is required time TAB
If it is longer, the guide comment of the reproduction time Ti cannot be broadcast until the vehicle reaches the guide intersection B, so the process proceeds to step 7, where the variable i is decremented and the guide comment of the shorter reproduction time is read in step 5. Repeat the judgment.

If the reproduction time Ti is shorter than the required time TAB, a guide comment for the reproduction time Ti can be broadcast before the vehicle reaches the guidance intersection B. To broadcast.

By operating a specific key of the input device 10, a detailed route guidance broadcast having a long reproduction time can be canceled, and the broadcast can be switched to a general outline guidance broadcast.

As described above, the time required for the vehicle to reach the guidance intersection is predicted, and the longest voice guide comment that can be broadcast within the predicted time is selected to perform the route guidance broadcast. It is possible to automatically perform a route guidance broadcast by voice having an optimum content according to the environment.

Next, a tourist guide broadcast by voice will be described. FIG. 6 shows sightseeing guide information for broadcasting at a sightseeing spot. The tourist guide audio guide information 5e is stored in the external storage device 5 in block units for each broadcast start point coordinate of the tourist guide.
Is stored in FIG. 6 shows the coordinates (Fs
X, FsY), the audio guide information for sightseeing guidance, and the longest reproduction time T from the outline guidance of the shortest reproduction time TSG1.
There are provided n types of voice guides up to the detailed guide of SGn, and memory addresses B1 to B1 of the external storage device 5, respectively.
Bn.

In the conventional vehicle navigation apparatus, a plurality of pieces of sightseeing guide information having different contents depending on the reproduction time are not prepared. For example, the shortest reproduction time T shown in FIG.
There is only one kind of outline description of SG1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of broadcasting sightseeing guide information when a vehicle approaches a sightseeing spot. Now, as shown in (a), it is assumed that the vehicle a approaches the sightseeing spot, starts sightseeing guidance at point Fs, and ends sightseeing guidance at point Fe. When the vehicle travels at a normal vehicle speed, as shown in FIG.
End the tourist information at the point. However, if low-speed driving is forced due to traffic congestion or traffic regulation, as shown in (c), the sightseeing guide ends much before the normal vehicle speed. The normal vehicle speed is the legal speed of the route.

FIG. 8 shows a broadcast program of audio guide information for sightseeing guidance stored in the ROM 3. With reference to this flowchart, the sightseeing guidance operation of the first embodiment will be described using the situation shown in FIG. 7 and the sightseeing guidance voice guide information shown in FIG. 6 as an example. The CPU 1 starts executing the control program shown in FIG. 8 when the sightseeing guide start point Fs is reached when the sightseeing guide mode by voice is set on the input device 10. In step 11, the average vehicle speed immediately before reaching the start point Fs of the tourist information broadcast is determined. In a succeeding step 12, the required time TSG to the end point Fe is calculated based on the average vehicle speed of the calculation result and the distance to the end point Fe.
Predict.

At step 13, an information block corresponding to the coordinates of the sightseeing guide start point is searched from the sightseeing guide voice guide information 5e in the external storage device 5. For example, in the case of the sightseeing guidance start point coordinates (FsX, FsY), the sightseeing guidance voice guide information block shown in FIG. In step 14, the guide information number n of the information block is set in a variable i, and in subsequent step 15, it is confirmed whether or not the required time TSG to the sightseeing guide end point Fe is longer than the reproduction time TSGi. If the playback time TSGi is longer than the required time TSG, the playback time TSGi is required until the sightseeing guide end point Fe is reached.
Since the guide comment cannot be broadcasted, the process proceeds to step 17, the variable i is decremented, and the determination in step 15 is repeated for the guide comment having a shorter playback time.

If the reproduction time TSGi is shorter than the required time TSG, a guide comment of the reproduction time TSGi can be broadcast before the sightseeing guide end point Fe is reached.
Broadcast guide comments.

By operating a specific key of the input device 10, a detailed sightseeing guide broadcast can be cancelled, and a normal outline guide broadcast can be switched.

As described above, the time until the vehicle reaches the sightseeing guide end point is predicted, and the longest voice guide comment that can be broadcast within the predicted time is selected to perform the sightseeing guide broadcast. It is possible to automatically perform a sightseeing guide broadcast by voice having an optimum content according to the traveling environment of the guide target section.

Second Embodiment of the Invention A second embodiment of the present invention for performing a sightseeing guide broadcast in accordance with a detailed traveling environment such as running at night, running in rainy weather, or stopping is described.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the second embodiment. In addition,
The same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will focus on the differences. The light switch 14, the wiper switch 15, and the hazard switch 16 are connected to the vehicle navigation device of the second embodiment via the interface 4. When the light switch 14 is turned on, the CPU 1 determines that the vehicle is traveling at night, and performs a sightseeing guide broadcast including a topic related to the night of the sightseeing spot to be guided. Further, when the wiper switch 15 is turned on, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in rainy weather, and a sightseeing guide broadcast including a topic about rainy weather at the tourist destination to be guided is performed. Further, when the hazard switch 16 is turned on, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped or slowing down, and a sightseeing guide for the sightseeing spot is broadcast, and the sightseeing guide is displayed on the image display unit 12.

FIG. 10 shows sightseeing guide information for broadcasting at a sightseeing spot. This tourist guide audio guide information 5e '
Are stored in the external storage device 5 in block units for each broadcast start point coordinate of the tourist guide. FIG. 10 shows sightseeing guide voice guide information at the sightseeing guide start point coordinates (FsX, FsY), and includes n types of voice guides from an outline guide of the shortest reproduction time TSG1 to a detailed guide of the longest reproduction time TSGn, and at night. A tourist guide for running, a tourist guide for running in rainy weather, a tourist guide for running in rainy weather at night, and a tourist guide for stopping or slowing down are provided.
Memory addresses C1 to Cn, CL0, C0W, CLW, CH
It is recorded in.

FIG. 11 shows a broadcast program of audio guide information for sightseeing guidance stored in the ROM 3. The sightseeing guidance operation according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to this flowchart, using the sightseeing guidance voice guide information shown in FIG. 10 as an example. Steps that perform the same processing as in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 will be assigned the same step numbers, and differences will be mainly described. The required time TSG to the end point Fe is predicted based on the average vehicle speed immediately before the tourist information start point Fs and the distance to the end point Fe, and the tourist information is provided from the audio guide information for tourist information 5e 'in the external storage device 5. After the information block corresponding to the start point coordinates is read out to the RAM 2, the interruption to turn on the hazard switch 16 is permitted in step 21.

In steps 22, 23 and 26, it is confirmed that the light switch 14 and the wiper switch 15 are turned on. When both the light switch 14 and the wiper switch 15 are turned on, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at night in rainy weather. Check if it's too long. The required time TSG is the playback time TSGLW
If it is longer, the process proceeds to step 25 and the speaker 13
Broadcasts the guide comment of the address CLW at night in rainy weather. On the other hand, when the reproduction time TSGLW is longer than the required time TSG, the tour guide in the case of night rainy weather is abandoned, and the routine proceeds to step 14, where the above-mentioned ordinary tourist guide broadcast is performed.

When only the wiper switch 15 is turned on, it is determined that the vehicle is running on rainy daytime.
It is checked whether the required time TSG to the tourist information end point Fe is longer than the reproduction time TSGOW of the tourist information in rainy weather. If the required time TSG is longer than the reproduction time TSG0W, the process proceeds to step 28, where the address COW is set by the speaker 13.
We broadcast guide comment of rainy weather. On the other hand, when the reproduction time TSG0W is longer than the required time TSG, the sightseeing guide in rainy weather is abandoned, and the routine proceeds to step 14, where the normal sightseeing guide broadcast described above is performed.

If only the light switch 14 is turned on, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at night, and it is determined in step 29 whether the time TSG required to reach the sightseeing guide end point Fe is longer than the reproduction time TSGLO of the sightseeing guide at night. Confirm. If the required time TSG is longer than the reproduction time TSGL0, the process proceeds to step 30, where the speaker 13 broadcasts a guide comment at night at the address CL0. On the other hand, when the reproduction time TSGL0 is longer than the required time TSG, the tourist information at night is abandoned, and the routine proceeds to step 14, where the above-mentioned ordinary tourist information broadcast is performed.

When the hazard switch 16 is turned on, an interrupt occurs in the CPU 1 in a step 31 and a step 32
Then, the guide comment is broadcast by the speaker 13 at the time of stopping or slowing down the address CH.

If the tourist information reproduction time is longer than the required time TSG up to the tourist information end point Fe, and the night or rainy weather information broadcast cannot be performed, the addresses C1 to C1 are set in steps 14 to 17 as described above. From the normal guide comments stored in Cn, the guide comment with the longest reproduction time within the required time TSG is selected and broadcast.

By operating a specific key of the input device 10, the detailed tourist information broadcast and the rainy and nighttime tourist information broadcast can be canceled, and it is possible to switch to a general outline information broadcast.

As described above, the driving environment such as night driving, rainy driving, stopping or slowing down is detected, and the sightseeing guide according to the driving environment is selected and broadcasted. Can provide tourist information.

In the configuration of the above embodiment, the CPU
1, an amplifier 11 and a speaker 13 serve as broadcasting means, and the external storage device 5 serves as a storing means. The direction sensor 7, the distance sensor 8, the GPS sensor 9, the CPU 1, the light switch 14, the wiper switch 15, and the hazard switch 1
6 is a detecting means, the CPU 1 is a selecting means, and the input device 10
Constitute the operation members.

In the above-described embodiment, the voice guidance information for route guidance is used as a guide comment according to the playback time. However, various short guide comments are prepared, and a plurality of guide comments are prepared according to the playback time. A long guide comment may be configured in combination. In addition, the type of the guidance information by voice is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, route guidance information at the time of driving at night, running at rainy weather or at a stop, or at a slow speed may be prepared and broadcast by voice. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing route guidance information for broadcasting at a guidance intersection on a guidance route to a destination.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of broadcasting route guidance voice guide information when a vehicle approaches a guidance intersection.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C on a time axis.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a broadcast program of route guidance audio guide information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing sightseeing guide information for broadcasting at a sightseeing spot.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of broadcasting sightseeing guide information when a vehicle approaches a sightseeing spot.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a broadcast program of sightseeing guide audio guide information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing sightseeing guide information for broadcasting at a sightseeing spot according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a broadcast program of audio guide information for sightseeing guidance according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 CPU 2 RAM 3 ROM 4 Interface 5 External storage device 5a Road map information 5b Operation explanation screen creation information 5c Operation explanation audio guide information 5d Route guidance audio guide information 5e, 5e 'Sightseeing guidance audio guide information 6 Display control device 7 Direction sensor 8 Distance sensor 9 GPS sensor 10 Input device 11 Amplifier 12 Image display unit 13 Speaker 14 Light switch 15 Wiper switch 16 Hazard switch

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular navigation apparatus provided with a broadcasting means for broadcasting guidance information by voice, a storage means for storing a plurality of guidance information, a detection means for detecting a traveling environment of the vehicle, and a plurality of the storage means. Selecting means for selecting guidance information according to the driving environment detected by the detection means from among the pieces of guidance information, wherein the broadcasting means broadcasts the guidance information selected by the selecting means. Vehicle navigation device. 2. The navigation system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information includes a plurality of pieces of route guidance information having the same guidance target and different broadcast times, and the detecting unit includes a route guidance start point to an end point. A navigation device for a vehicle, wherein the selecting means selects route guidance information that can be broadcast within the detected required traveling time and has the longest broadcasting time. 3. The vehicular navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information includes a plurality of pieces of sightseeing guidance information having the same guidance target and different broadcast times, and the detecting unit starts sightseeing guidance. A navigation device for a vehicle, wherein a required travel time from a point to an end point is detected, and the selection means selects sightseeing guide information that can be broadcast within the detected required travel time and has a longest broadcast time. 4. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information includes guidance information at night, the detection means detects night driving, and the selection means at night. A navigation apparatus for a vehicle, wherein when the traveling is detected, the guidance information at night is selected. 5. The vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information includes guidance information on rainy weather, the detection means detects traveling on rainy weather, and the selection means includes rainy weather. A navigation device for a vehicle, wherein the guidance information on rainy weather is selected when traveling is detected. 6. The vehicular navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information includes detailed guidance information, and the detection unit detects a stop or slow motion of the vehicle, and performs the selection. Means for selecting the detailed guide information when the stop or slowdown of the vehicle is detected. 7. The vehicular navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the selecting unit is configured to provide a shortest broadcast of the same guide information as a guide target when a predetermined operation member is operated. A navigation device for a vehicle, wherein time guidance information is selected.