JPH10339641A - Navigation system with non-contact range detecting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system with non-contact range detecting function wherein, with no speed information inside a mobile body required to be taken out, attaching of the system is easier and a moving distance is measured with high precision at always. SOLUTION: A distance information 4 displayed at an integrating range finder 2 of a mobile body is detected in non-contact manner with a pick-up optical system, and from it together with the output from an azimuth detecting means 14, a mobile body's position is calculated. The pick-up optical system allow a distance display image to be projected with a spacially-divided photo- detecting element for detecting change in distance. Errors in the integrating range finder is corrected with GPS position and speed output.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting the moving distance of a moving body by reading distance information of moving distance display means provided on the moving body in a non-contact manner by using an optical system, and detecting the moving body position information. The present invention relates to a navigation device that can be calculated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a car navigation system, a travel distance in a traveling direction of a vehicle is obtained by detecting, for example, the number of rotations of wheels, and the position of the vehicle on a two-dimensional plane is calculated together with the detection of a rotation angle in a yaw direction. And display it.

In the case of an automobile, a distance sensor for detecting the rotation of a wheel can be generally used by extracting the output of the distance sensor of the vehicle body. However, for this purpose, it is necessary to perform the installation at a dealer, a car shop, or the like having specialized knowledge on the installation, and the burden on the user such as installation cost and labor at that time is enormous.

As one of the solutions to this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
There is a method using an acceleration sensor as shown in JP-A-8-43113. In this method, an acceleration sensor is installed so as to detect acceleration in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the output acceleration is integrated twice to calculate a moving distance. According to this method, it is not necessary to take out the distance signal from the vehicle body, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, when traveling on a slope, a part of the gravitational acceleration enters the acceleration in the traveling direction as an error component. There is a problem in terms of accuracy that the noise occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can be easily mounted without requiring any specialized knowledge about a vehicle, and constantly measures the traveling distance of the vehicle under any traveling conditions with high accuracy. It is an object to provide a possible navigation device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact detection device which can be used as information supply means to an electronic device such as a navigation device and which can detect a change in a detection target in a non-contact and optical manner. Is to do.

[0008]

The object of the present invention is to provide a navigation apparatus which is mounted on a moving body provided with moving distance display means for displaying moving distance information and has at least azimuth detecting means for detecting the azimuth of the moving body. Non-contact distance detecting means for optically detecting the moving distance information displayed by the moving distance display means in a non-contact manner; moving distance information obtained by the non-contact distance detecting means; And a position detecting means for detecting the position of the moving object based on the moving azimuth information.

Further, the moving body is a vehicle that moves by the rotation of a wheel, and the moving distance display means is a distance integrator whose distance display is integrated with the rotation of the wheel. A navigation device with a contact distance detection function may be used.

Further, the non-contact distance detecting means has light detecting means for enabling detection in a plurality of spatially divided areas, and the distance integrator is provided to the distance integrator by using the light detecting means. A navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function may be characterized in that it detects the change in the number displayed as "" or recognizes the number to obtain the moving distance information of the moving object.

Here, the distance integrator has one or more disks in which a plurality of numerical values are dispersedly arranged on each peripheral surface, and each of the disks is rotated with the rotation of the wheel, whereby the moving body is rotated. Is a mechanical integrator representing the amount of change in the distance by the amount of rotation of each of the disks, the numerical value on each of the disks is displayed in a display area fixed with respect to the rotational movement of the one or more disks, A continuous change due to the rotation of the disk may be detected by the light detecting means.

In this case, the distance integrator has a number display element for electrically changing and displaying a number, and the number displayed on the number display element changes as the wheel rotates. And a digital integrator that displays the amount of change in distance, and wherein the intermittent display change of the numerical display element is detected by the light detecting means.

Further, the output of the moving distance information of the non-contact distance detecting means may be a pulse-like signal output every time a predetermined distance is moved.

A receiver of a satellite positioning system for calculating position information or speed information of a moving object by measuring code information superimposed on a received radio wave from an artificial satellite or a wave number and a phase of a carrier of the received radio wave. And, further comprising a distance error correction means for correcting the error of the distance information obtained by the non-contact distance detection means, by the position or speed information of the moving object measured by the receiver of the satellite positioning system, The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function may be characterized in that the position detecting means detects the position of the moving body based on the distance information corrected by the distance error correcting means.

The non-contact distance detecting means outputs a pulse-like signal as a moving distance information output in accordance with a display change of the distance integrator, and is superimposed on a radio wave received from an artificial satellite. A receiver of a satellite positioning system that calculates the position or velocity information of the moving object by measuring the wave number and phase of the carrier wave of the received radio wave, and the pulsed signal output from the non-contact distance detecting means. Pulse weighting means for determining a distance interval corresponding to each pulse based on position or velocity information of the moving object measured by a receiver of the satellite positioning system, the position detection means Detects the position of the moving object from the distance information calculated based on the distance interval corresponding to each pulse determined by the pulse weighting means. It may be a non-contact distance detection function navigation apparatus according to claim.

Here, when the distance interval corresponding to each pulse determined by the pulse weighting means is larger than a predetermined value, the apparatus further comprises warning means for generating a warning to the user. Is also good.

Further, the object is to provide a navigation device which is mounted on a moving body provided with a display means and detects the position of the moving body, wherein information on the moving body displayed on the display means is optically detected in a non-contact manner. A navigation device comprising a non-contact detecting means, and using the detected moving object information in a process relating to position detection of the moving object, which is achieved by using the following non-contact detecting device as the non-contact detecting means. Is done.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact detecting apparatus for optically detecting an object to be detected in a non-contact manner, wherein a predetermined area in which a time-varying object to be detected is displayed is divided into a plurality of spatially divided areas. A non-contact detection device characterized by having a light detection means for detecting by a detection element of the present invention, and a change detection means for detecting a change in the detection target using a detection result from the plurality of detection elements. You.

The change detecting means may detect a change in the object to be detected based on a difference between at least two detection signals among a plurality of spatially divided detection elements of the light detecting means. A non-contact detection device characterized by the following.

Further, an optical system for forming an optical image of the object to be detected on the plurality of detecting elements of the light detecting means, and an optical system capable of adjusting at least one of an optical axis and a focus of the optical system. The non-contact detection device may further include a system adjustment unit.

Further, the non-contact detection device may further include light irradiation means for illuminating the detection target.

A non-contact detection device further comprising an optical filter for selectively transmitting the illumination light reflected by the detection object from the light irradiation means to the light detection means. Is also good.

Further, the light irradiation is performed in accordance with a value of at least one detection signal among a plurality of detection elements of the light detection means or a predetermined arithmetic processing result using the one or more detection signals. The non-contact detection device may further include light irradiation control means for controlling the operation of the means.

[0024] Further, a monitor means for detouring and taking out a part of the optical image projected on the light detecting means so that a user can visually recognize it may be provided.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, it is assumed that the navigation device is mounted on a moving body that moves on the ground surface such as a car.

An embodiment of a navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function to which the present invention is applied is a navigation device for an automobile, and as a hardware configuration thereof, for example, a mobile device installed in a vehicle as shown in FIG. Distance display means, for example, a pickup sensor 6 that detects distance information from a distance integrator in a non-contact manner, and calculates the traveling speed, traveling distance, and traveling position of the vehicle based on the detection signal, and controls peripheral devices. For example, a controller 300 that is realized by a microcomputer (including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like) is provided. The pickup sensor 6 is a small-sized and low-cost sensor having a simple optical system including a lens, a light-emitting element such as an LED, a light-receiving element such as a photodiode, a half mirror, and the like.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment further includes a gyro 302 for detecting the amount of change in azimuth (rotational angular velocity) of the vehicle, a geomagnetic sensor 304 for detecting the absolute azimuth of the moving object by detecting the terrestrial magnetic field, The GPS receiver 12 measures the position, the moving direction, and the speed of the receiving point by receiving the radio signal, the map memory 306 stores road map data using a CD-ROM or the like, and the controller 300 estimates. It has a display device 308 including a CRT and a liquid crystal display, which displays the current position of the moving object on the peripheral map read from the map memory 306 to the user.

Gyro 302, geomagnetic sensor 304, G
Any of the PS receivers 12 can measure the azimuth of the moving object, and may be configured to include only one of them.

Next, each component in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the moving distance display means 2
Is a distance integrator in a speedometer section in the instrument panel of the vehicle 312 as described above. The non-contact distance detecting means 6 is an optical system (pickup sensor) having a function of detecting the moving distance information 4 displayed on the moving distance display means 2 in a non-contact manner. , A half mirror and the like. Direction detecting means 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a sensor for detecting the moving direction of the vehicle 312,
Gyro 302, geomagnetic sensor 304, GPS receiver 1
2 etc. An error of the distance information optically detected by the non-contact distance detecting means 6 is corrected by the distance error correcting means 8 based on the position or speed information from the GPS receiver 12. This error correction processing will be described later. Then, based on the corrected distance information and the azimuth information obtained by the azimuth detecting means 14, the position detecting means 10 can detect the position of the vehicle. The position detection method is a method called dead reckoning (dead reckoning navigation). If the start position is set by any method, a traveling vector indicating in which direction and how much the vehicle has advanced per unit time can be obtained from the above two detection means. The running position can be obtained by connecting the obtained running vectors.

Next, the details of the non-contact distance detecting means 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows an example of an optical system configuration of the pickup sensor 6 for detecting the moving distance information 4 displayed on the distance integrator 2 in a non-contact manner. The pickup sensor 6 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the lens system 102 and the half mirror 1
06, a light receiving element (light detecting means) 110, a light emitting element (light irradiating means) 108, and a cover 104. Here, the lens system 102 is a glass or plastic rod lens or a lens system including a plurality of lenses. The half mirror 106 is an optical element having a function of splitting light into two, and may or may not have polarization. The light receiving element (light detecting means) 110 is a photodiode or a CCD.
It is a photoelectric conversion element that detects light and converts it into an electric signal. The light-emitting element 108 is an element that can control a light-emitting function such as an LED or an LD with an electric signal. The cover 104 is for preventing disturbance light from entering the light receiving element 110 and for supporting each optical element.
A plastic material is preferable for cost reduction.

In the normal operation, the moving distance information 4 displayed by the distance integrator 2, particularly the least significant digit having the largest distance resolution (in the case of an automobile trip meter, the normal resolution is 1)
00m) through the natural light through the lens system 1
02, the light is projected onto the light receiving element 110 through the half mirror 106. Then, the light receiving element 110 is moved to the position 1 shown in FIG.
Spatially divided like 10a, 110b, 110c,
By utilizing the detection results from the plurality of divided light receiving areas, the change in the number of the least significant digit is detected to know the moving distance.

When adjusting the optical system, the light emitting element 108 is manually turned on and the light is transmitted to the half mirror 1.
The light is reflected at 06 and irradiates the distance integrator 2. Focus adjustment can be easily performed by optically designing in advance so that the degree of focus of the image projected on the light receiving element 110 can be determined based on the sharpness of the spot on the irradiation surface formed by the irradiation light. Although the focus adjustment mechanism is not shown, it can be dealt with by moving at least one or more optical elements of the lens system 102, the half mirror 106, and the light receiving element 110 in the optical axis direction. Regarding the optical axis adjustment, similarly to the above, it can be determined whether or not the spot on the irradiation surface hits the target. The optical axis adjustment mechanism can be handled by adding a mechanism for inclining the entire pickup sensor 6 in an arbitrary direction.

Further, as an optical system adjusting method without using the light emitting element 108, the image projected on the light receiving element 110 is bypassed by the half mirror 106 on the way, and the part where the light emitting element 108 in FIG. There is a way to look through it. The focus may be optically designed in advance so that it can be determined based on the sharpness of the image seen at that time and also on the optical axis depending on whether or not the image of the target portion can be seen. Each adjustment mechanism may be the same as described above. Thereby, the light emitting element 1
08 is not used, so that the cost can be reduced.

In a normal operation state by natural light, when a vehicle enters a dark place such as a tunnel or a shade,
There is a possibility that the light amount to the light receiving element 110 is reduced as a whole, and the distance cannot be detected. Such a state is that the detection signal from one divided region is smaller than a predetermined threshold value as a representative of the spatially divided light receiving element 110, or the average magnitude of the detection signal of the entire detection element. Is smaller than a predetermined threshold value. When this condition is satisfied, the light emitting element 108 is automatically turned on,
By irradiating on the surface of the dark distance integrator, the amount of light to the light receiving element 110 can be increased, and the distance can be detected again. The automatic irradiation by the light emitting element 108 is performed instantaneously when the above conditions are satisfied.If the operation is controlled by a microprocessor or the like, the interruption is almost without interruption, that is, without causing an error caused by a change in external light, The moving distance can be detected.

In the case of an automobile, since the pickup sensor 6 is installed in the instrument panel, it may obstruct the driver's view of the instrument depending on the installation location. In this embodiment, as a countermeasure, FIG.
The pickup sensor 6 is connected to the distance integrator 2 so that the moving distance information 4 can be detected from slightly below as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
What is necessary is just to install in the position below and nearer. However, in the case of a user who does not need the distance information of the least significant digit of the distance integrator 2, the size is reduced by, for example, simplifying the configuration of the optical system, and the distance is displayed immediately above the display of the target numerical value. The pick-up sensor 6 is located at a position that does not hinder
Can also be arranged.

As shown in FIG. 3C, various division patterns of the light receiving element 110 can be selected. By making the division pattern finer, the change in the number of the moving distance information 4 can be read finely, and as a result, the resolution of distance detection can be improved. Also, the high-resolution light receiving element 11
By using 0, there is a possibility that not only a change in the number but also the number itself can be recognized, and as a result, the reliability of distance detection can be improved.

The pickup sensor 6 described above is
It is used as a configuration separated from the navigation device body. For this reason, the power of the pickup sensor 6 is supplied by branching from the power line of the navigation device, or
Alternatively, necessary electric power is supplied from the navigation device. In general, since the navigation device receives power from a cigarette lighter of an automobile, a configuration may be used in which power is supplied to both the navigation device body and the pickup sensor using a branching unit that branches the power source to the pickup sensor.

The detection principle of the non-contact distance detecting means of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The distance integrator 2 of the vehicle has a mechanism in which the disk 3 in the figure rotates with the rotation of the wheels. The numbers are arranged over the entire peripheral surface of the disk 3, and the amount of change in the distance that appears as the amount of rotation of the disk 3 can be known based on the numbers seen in the slit below the speedometer. In order to improve the distance detection resolution as much as possible, a case will be described as an example where the disk 3 is used as the least significant digit (normally inscribed in units of 100 m) of a trip meter of a vehicle.

For example, as shown in FIG.
Let us consider a case where a numeral image on the disk peripheral surface is projected and detected using the numeral 10. In this drawing, the light receiving element 110 is drawn just above the disk 3, but an optical system as shown in FIG. In the right table of FIG. 4, a change in the detected light amount in each of the divided areas of the four-divided light receiving element 110 is shown with the passage of time (a change in distance). The numbers in the table indicate the relative magnitude of the detected light amount.In the case of a black number on a white background like the disk in the left figure, the gap between the numbers between the numbers becomes the brightest, Of "4". Other than that, the portion over the black numbers is slightly darkened and is represented by the amount “3”. Accordingly, in the case of the projection state shown in the left diagram, each divided region of the four-divided light receiving element,
,... Are 4, 3, 3, and 3, respectively. And, as the distance changes, the peak position of 4 becomes
,,,, ... move in this order. Therefore, if this peak position can be detected, a change in the distance can be known.

However, only the fact that the detected light amount of 4 is relatively larger than the others is merely shown.
Absolute values have no meaning. Therefore, the peak position cannot be determined by, for example, searching for a detected light amount larger than 3.5. This is because when the vehicle runs in the shade and the portion of the distance integrator becomes dark, 4 and 3 become 2 and 1, for example. Therefore, in order to perform the detection independent of the background light amount, it is necessary to consider the time change in each divided region as a whole and relatively. For example, when the amount based on the difference between the adjacent light receiving elements is calculated as (−) + (−), 1, −
A signal that can be detected by dividing the peak position into four, such as 1, 1, -1,..., Is obtained, and the detection is not affected by the background light amount.

The above-described difference processing and peak position detection processing can be realized by using a hardware-configured logic circuit that receives the detection results of the divided detection elements as inputs. In the present invention, the specific calculation method for obtaining the peak position is not limited to this, and any other calculation means may be used as long as it can detect a time change of a numerical value moving with the rotation of the disk 3. You may use it. Alternatively, the output of the divided detection element may be directly sent to the navigation apparatus main body, and the above-described processing may be implemented in software by a program or the like provided on the main body side.

When the detection is performed by the optical element 110 divided into four parts as shown in FIG. 4, if the disk 3 is the least significant digit of the trip meter provided with a numeral in increments of 100 m, 1 / thereof.
4, a distance change can be detected up to 25 m. On the other hand, in the case of a normal navigation device that detects a distance by extracting a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle body, the resolution is about 40 cm or 80 cm. According to this value, 25m seems quite coarse, but the current position mark actually displayed on the navigation screen is not moved at a resolution of 1m or less, and is about several meters to several tens of meters (scale of map display). It usually moves only after the change in the distance appears. Therefore, there is not much problem even with a resolution of about 25 m as long as the current map display scale. In a navigation device, it can be said that the accuracy of the integrated distance is more important than the resolution. In this regard,
In principle, the signal based on the distance information indicated by the distance integrator is the vehicle speed signal of the vehicle body, so that it is clear that the same accuracy as that of a navigation device using a normal vehicle speed signal can be realized.

In a conventional navigation device of a type that uses a vehicle speed signal, a pulse signal is received as a vehicle speed signal. For this reason, in consideration of the case where the output signal of the pickup sensor 6 is actually connected to a conventional navigation device, the pickup detection signal is output via the pulse generator 20 as shown in the drawing, so that the device can be used. Versatility and convenience can be improved. As a result, a conventional navigation device that uses a vehicle speed signal can be used without modification.

Recently, the distance integrator 2 may be a digital integrator such as a liquid crystal display. In this case, since the switching of the numbers is performed instantaneously electrically, the minimum resolution of the distance detection is the same as the resolution represented by the increments of the numbers.
As for the detection principle, the fact that the number display is electrically instantaneously switched to the next number is detected by spatial division detection of the light receiving element.

Next, the configuration of a unit using a Kalman filter as an example of the distance error correcting unit 8 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The distance signal output from the non-contact distance detecting means 6 is a constant distance (about 25 m in the above example) as described above.
It is a pulse signal generated every time the vehicle travels. In the distance error correcting means of the present embodiment, the pulse signal is received by the vehicle speed converter 40, the number of pulses is counted by a pulse counter, and the distance per unit time, that is, the vehicle speed V
Convert to od. An error correction coefficient is calculated by the Kalman filter 42 from the vehicle speed Vod and the speed output of the GPS receiver 12. Then, the error correction unit 44 uses the error correction coefficient.
The error of the vehicle speed Vod is corrected at
Is calculated. The distance calculator 46 converts the vehicle speed V into a distance by time integration and outputs the distance.

Next, the Kalman filter 42 will be described. First, assuming that the true vehicle speed is V ', the relationship between the scale factor error ε and the bias δ, which are the main error factors of the non-contact distance detecting means 6, is expressed by Equation 1.

[0048]

(Equation 1)

Here, the scale factor error ε is an error that occurs when the tire diameter deviates from a previously assumed value due to a change in tire air pressure, wear, or tire replacement. When obtaining the running distance from the vehicle speed Vod, if the running distance becomes long, even a slight scale factor error ε becomes large as the distance error, and the navigation accuracy deteriorates. The bias δ corresponds to the slip of the tire. This is because the tire is considered to be always slipping at a certain speed or higher.

In order to realize the Kalman filter 42 for calculating the error correction coefficient, the respective signal generation processes of the scale factor error ε and the bias δ are expressed by the following state equations.

[0051]

(Equation 2)

[0052]

(Equation 3)

Here, it is assumed that the scale factor error ε and the bias δ hardly change in a short time. Also, V1 (k) and V2 (k) are prediction errors, and assume white noise with an average of almost 0.

Next, the speed V output by the GPS receiver 12
Assuming that gps is almost accurate, the observation process of the vehicle speeds Vod and Vgps can be expressed by the observation equation of Expression 4 when expressed by Expression 1.

[0055]

(Equation 4)

Here, ω (k) is observation noise, and is assumed to be white noise with almost zero mean.

The Kalman filter 42 is realized by an iterative calculation which is a general calculation method of a Kalman filter using Equations 2 and 3 as a state equation and Equation 4 as an observation equation.

Thereafter, based on the converged estimated values of the scale factor error ε and the bias δ, the error correction unit 44 corrects the error according to the equation (5) obtained by modifying the equation (1).

[0059]

(Equation 5)

With the above arrangement, it is possible to correct not only the above-mentioned errors such as the change in tire air pressure, but also the errors inherent in the distance integrator 2 due to the mechanism. High accuracy can be maintained even under running conditions.

Further, as described above, the system of the present invention using the pickup sensor 6 may be inferior in resolution in comparison with the type in which the vehicle speed signal is obtained from the vehicle body. However, in this regard, if the GPS can be positioned, the G
Since the PS normally outputs the positioning result in a one-second cycle, its G
This can be handled by using the speed output of the PS. That is, even when the vehicle is actually moving, a certain distance (25 in the above example) is used.
m) (until the pulse enters the vehicle speed conversion unit 40), the current position mark on the navigation screen cannot be moved, but during that time, it can be finely moved by using the speed output of the GPS.

As described above, the pickup sensor 6 and G
When the PS receiver 12 is combined, the accuracy is improved by correcting various errors of the pickup sensor 6 with the GPS speed output, and then the short distance output is handled by the GPS speed output, and the long distance, that is, the pulse is output. When there is an input, it can be handled by the sensor accuracy of the pickup sensor 6 (see FIG. 7). That is, high-precision, high-resolution distance detection is always possible.

Next, the processing procedure of the navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The main processing procedure in the present embodiment is repeated at a predetermined time period. For example, as shown in the general flow shown in FIG. Power ON (Step 100)
Thereafter, a predetermined initial process (step 102)
Is performed. At the time of this initial processing, initial processing in the GPS receiver 12 and the like is also performed.

In step 104, the current position is automatically set using the position obtained by the position detection means 10 in the previous main processing or the initial positioning result of the GPS receiver 12 if there is no previous position. When the GPS receiver 12 cannot perform normal positioning, the user may manually input the current position.

In step 106, the display processing section stores the map data including the current position set above in the map memory 3.
06, and further generates image data so that a predetermined mark indicating the current position of the moving object is superimposed and displayed on the map indicated by the map data, and the display device 30
Send to 8.

Thereafter, in step 108, the following interrupt processing 112, 114, and 116 are permitted.

The moving distance calculation interruption process 112 is a process that is performed at intervals of a predetermined time Δt. The moving distance is obtained by correcting an error based on data obtained from the non-contact distance detecting means (pickup sensor) 6 and the GPS receiver 12. Is calculated by the distance error correction means 8 in order to obtain

The moving direction calculation interrupting process 114 is also a process for entering at a certain time interval Δt, and the direction of the moving body is calculated by the direction detecting means 14 from data obtained by the gyro 302 and the geomagnetic sensor 304.

In the mobile object position calculation interrupt processing 116, the calculation result in the movement direction calculation interrupt processing 114, the calculation result in the movement distance calculation interrupt processing 112, the positioning result in the GPS receiver 12, and the map The current position of the moving object is estimated by collating the information of the memory 306 with each other.

In step 118, the position detecting means 10
Compares the position of the moving object estimated in the moving object position calculation interrupt processing 116 with the position of the moving object set in step 104 to determine whether the current position of the moving object is moving. I do. As a result, if it is moving (Yes in Step 118), in Step 120, the display processing unit changes the display of the current position, and if necessary, updates the map. If the user has not moved (No in Step 118), the processes in and after Step 112 are repeated.

Next, the processing procedure of the moving distance calculation interruption processing 112 executed by the distance error correction means 8 at every fixed time Δt will be described with reference to FIG.

In this process, first, at step 130, a counter value obtained by counting the pulse outputs of the non-contact distance detecting means (pickup sensor) 6 and the speed output (Vgps) of the GPS receiver 12 are input. In step 132,
The distance per unit time, that is, the vehicle speed Vod is calculated from the counter value (vehicle speed conversion unit 40 in FIG. 5). Next, in step 134, the Kalman filter processing shown in FIG. 5 (Kalman filter 42 in FIG. 5) from Vgps and Vod
I do.

Further, at step 136, it is determined whether or not there is a new pulse input this time. If so, the process proceeds to step 138, where it is determined whether or not the Kalman filter processing at step 134 has converged. The convergence determination can be made based on the fact that the change in the error correction coefficient, which is the estimated value, becomes small. If the convergence has occurred, the process proceeds to step 140, where the processing of the error correction unit 44 in FIG. 5 is performed, and the corrected vehicle speed V is integrated in step 142 (the distance calculation unit in FIG. 5) to calculate the distance d.

If the determination in step 136 or 138 is No, the process proceeds to step 144, where GP
It is determined whether the S receiver 12 can perform normal positioning. If the number of received satellites is 3 or more and normal positioning is possible, step 1
At 48, the distance d is calculated by integrating the positioning result Vgps. When the number of received satellites is less than 3 and normal positioning is impossible, the distance d is set to 0 at step 146. Is set to

Next, the azimuth detecting means 14 determines that a predetermined time Δ
The processing procedure of the movement azimuth calculation interrupt processing 114 executed for each t will be described with reference to FIG.

In this processing, first, at step 190, if the number of receivable GPS satellites is three or more, the GPS azimuth θgps calculated at step 206 of the mobile position calculation interrupt processing 116 described later; The rotational angular velocity ω (= dθ / dt) measured by the gyro 302 is acquired.
If the number of receivable GPS satellites is less than three,
Instead of the GPS azimuth obtained in the moving body position calculation interruption processing 116, the GPS azimuth θgps obtained in the previous processing in step 192 described later is used.

At step 192, the GPS azimuth θgps
Then, the rotational angular velocity ω is integrated over time by a mathematical expression including predetermined correction coefficients a and b as shown in FIG.
The correction coefficients a and b are set according to the gyro 302 to be used. For example, when correction of the gyro error is not required at all, a = 1 and b = 0 may be set. Normally, b indicates a gyro bias error, and a gyro output value at the time of stopping the moving body is used.

Next, the position detecting means 10 sets a predetermined time Δ
The processing procedure of the moving object position calculation interruption processing 116 executed for each t will be described with reference to FIG.

In this process, first, at step 200, the normal positioning position data Xg, Yg, Z by satellite information or GPS
Enter g. In step 202, the azimuth and distance of the moving object are obtained from the results of the calculation interruption processes 114 and 112.

At step 204, it is determined whether or not the GPS can be positioned normally (the number of received satellites is three or more). When normal positioning is possible (Yes in step 204), three components of the velocity vector are obtained, and the azimuth can be calculated as in step 206 using the horizontal components Vx and Vy among them. The calculated orientation may be directly replaced with θgps, but may be subjected to filtering processing. If the number of receivable GPS satellites is one or two (step 20)
No in step 4), the azimuth cannot be reset by the GPS velocity vector in step 206, and the moving azimuth calculation interrupt processing 1
The moving azimuth is determined only by the integration of the angular velocity based on the gyro data in 14.

Thereafter, in step 208, the moving distance components ΔX and ΔY of the moving body on the horizontal plane are calculated from the moving direction θgps and the moving distance d. In step 210, the current position coordinates X and Each is added to Y, and new positions X and Y are obtained.

The positions X and Y obtained in this way are compared with the GPS positioning positions Xg, Yg and Zg output when GPS normal positioning is possible in step 212, and if they are far apart (Yes in step 212), the process proceeds to step 212. 21
The program proceeds to step 4 where the GPS positioning positions Xg and Yg are reset.
Then, in step 216, a map matching process for matching the detected position with the road data stored in the map memory 306 is performed to further improve the position accuracy.

In the above embodiment, the pickup sensor 6
5, the distance is calculated by the distance error correcting means 8 using a Kalman filter as shown in FIG. 5, but the method of calculating the distance in the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG.
Pulse weighting means 1002 for weighting one pulse output from the pickup sensor 6 using the distance information or speed information from the receiver 12, that is, calculating a distance interval indicated by one pulse output; A configuration may be provided in which a distance calculating unit 1004 that calculates a moving distance from the distance interval and the pulse count number is provided.
According to such a configuration, there is no need for the driver to previously set the distance unit indicated by the numerical value of the distance integrator 2 detected by the pickup sensor 6, and the distance information indicated by the distance integrator 2 has an error. Even if there is, it can be automatically corrected.

The distance interval indicated by one pulse output obtained by the pulse weighting unit 1002 is checked. If the distance interval is larger than a preset value, a warning unit 1006 for generating a warning by sound, light, or the like is activated. A configuration may be provided. According to such a configuration, the pickup sensor 6
Is detected not the least significant digit of the distance integrator 2, that is, the digit of the next highest digit but the digit of the highest resolution, and can warn the driver of this. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pickup sensor 6 from being erroneously mounted and to always prompt the detection of a correct numerical value.

Further, the pickup sensor 6 (FIG. 3) of the above embodiment illuminates the object to be detected by irradiating light from the light emitting element 108, and performs automatic control of the illumination light in accordance with a change in the detected light amount. However, instead of this, the configuration may be such that illumination light is constantly emitted while the navigation device is used.

For example, a low power consumption red LED or the like is used as the light emitting element 108 to illuminate the distance integrator 2 of the vehicle. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, an optical filter 111 for selectively transmitting the illumination light of the red LED reflected by the distance integrator 2 is connected to the beam splitter 106 and the light receiving element 110.
May be arranged between them. The power supply to the pickup sensor 6 is performed by branching a power supply line to the navigation device main body. Normally, since the power line is connected to the cigarette lighter of the vehicle, the power to the navigation device main body and the pickup sensor 6 is turned on at the same time when the ACC of the vehicle is turned on. According to such a configuration, at the same time as the above-described tunnel countermeasures, the influence of background brightness can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the display of the distance integrator 2 provided in the vehicle is detected by the pickup sensor 6 in a non-contact manner. It is not limited to this. According to the non-contact detecting means of the present invention, other vehicle information other than the distance displayed by the vehicle main body is detected in a non-contact manner as in the above embodiment, and the detected vehicle information is detected by the navigation device main body. To the side. According to such a configuration, various types of vehicle information detected on the vehicle side can be used on the navigation device side.

[0089]

According to the navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function of the present invention, it is not necessary to take out the speed information inside the moving body, so that the labor and cost for the user when installing the device are remarkably reduced. Further, it is possible to provide a navigation device capable of constantly measuring the moving distance of the moving body in the traveling direction in any traveling condition with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a non-contact distance detecting unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of FIG. FIG. 3C is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a division pattern of the optical element of the non-contact distance detecting means.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a detection principle of a non-contact distance detection unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing one embodiment of a distance error correction unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a general flow of the navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a moving distance calculation interruption process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a moving azimuth calculation interruption process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a moving object position calculation interruption process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a configuration block diagram showing another embodiment of the navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of another example of the non-contact distance detecting means of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... moving distance display means (distance integrator), 3 ... disk in the distance integrator, 4 ... moving distance information, 6 ... non-contact distance detecting means (pickup sensor), 8 ... distance error correcting means, 10 ...
Position detecting means, 12: satellite positioning system receiver (GPS receiver), 14: azimuth detecting means, 20: pulse generator, 102 ...
Lens system, 106: half mirror, 108: light irradiation means, 110
... Light detecting means, 111 ... Optical filter, 300 ... Controller, 302 ... Gyro, 304 ... Geomagnetic sensor, 306 ... Map memory, 308 ... Display device, 310 ... Navigation device, 310
… Moving body (vehicle).

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device mounted on a moving body provided with moving distance display means for displaying moving distance information and having at least azimuth detecting means for detecting the azimuth of the moving body. Non-contact distance detecting means for optically detecting the moving distance information to be obtained in a non-contact manner, based on the moving distance information obtained by the non-contact distance detecting means and the moving azimuth information obtained by the azimuth detecting means. A navigation device having a non-contact distance detecting function, comprising: a position detecting means for detecting a position of the moving body. 2. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is a vehicle that moves by rotation of a wheel, and the moving distance display means displays a distance with the rotation of the wheel. A navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function, wherein the navigation device is a distance integrator whose display changes in total. 3. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 2, wherein the non-contact distance detecting means has a light detecting means capable of detecting in a plurality of spatially divided areas. A non-contact method of obtaining a moving distance information of the moving body by detecting or recognizing a change in a number displayed as moving distance information on the distance integrator using the light detecting means. Navigation device with distance detection function. 4. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 3, wherein the distance integrator has one or more disks on which a plurality of numerical values are dispersedly arranged on each peripheral surface. Is a mechanical integrator that represents the amount of change in distance of the moving object by the amount of rotation of each of the disks by rotating the wheels with the rotation of the wheels, and is a display fixed with respect to the rotational movement of the one or more disks. A navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function, wherein a continuous change of a numerical value on each of the disks displayed in an area with the rotation of the disks is detected by the light detecting means. 5. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 2, wherein the output of the moving distance information of the non-contact distance detecting means is a pulse-like signal output every predetermined distance. Characteristic navigation device with non-contact distance detection function. 6. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 2, wherein the code information superimposed on the radio wave received from the artificial satellite or the wave number and phase of the carrier of the received radio wave are measured. A receiver of the satellite positioning system that calculates the position or speed information of the moving object, and an error of the distance information obtained by the non-contact distance detecting means,
A distance error correcting unit that corrects the position or speed information of the moving object measured by a receiver of the satellite positioning system, wherein the position detecting unit calculates the distance information corrected by the distance error correcting unit. A navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function, wherein the navigation device detects the position of the moving object based on the information. 7. The navigation device with a non-contact distance detecting function according to claim 2, wherein the non-contact distance detecting means outputs a moving distance information.
A pulse-like signal is output in response to a display change of the distance integrator, and the code information superimposed on the received radio wave from the artificial satellite, or by measuring the wave number and phase of the carrier of the received radio wave, A receiver of a satellite positioning system that calculates the position or speed information of the moving object; and a pulse-like signal output from the non-contact distance detection unit, a distance interval corresponding to each pulse, a reception of the satellite positioning system. Pulse weighting means for determining based on the position or speed information of the moving object measured by the machine, wherein the position detecting means is based on a distance interval corresponding to each pulse determined by the pulse weighting means. A navigation device with a non-contact distance detection function, wherein the navigation device detects the position of the moving object from the distance information calculated in the above. 8. A non-contact detection device for optically detecting an object to be detected in a non-contact manner, wherein a predetermined area in which a time-varying object to be detected is displayed is detected by a plurality of spatially divided detection elements. A non-contact detection device comprising: light detection means for detecting; and change detection means for detecting a change in the detection target using detection results from the plurality of detection elements. 9. The non-contact detection device according to claim 8, wherein the change detection means detects a difference between at least two detection signals among a plurality of spatially divided detection elements of the light detection means. A non-contact detection device that detects a change in the detection target based on the detection result. 10. The non-contact detection device according to claim 8, wherein: an optical system for forming an optical image of the detection target on the plurality of detection elements of the light detection means; A non-contact detection device, further comprising: an optical system adjustment unit configured to adjust at least one of focus. 11. The non-contact detection device according to claim 8, further comprising monitor means for bypassing and extracting a part of the optical image projected on the light detection means so that a user can visually recognize the part. Non-contact detection device characterized by the above-mentioned. 12. A navigation device mounted on a moving body provided with a display means for detecting a position of the moving body, wherein the information about the moving body displayed on the display means is optically detected in a non-contact manner. 12. A non-contact detection device according to claim 8, further comprising a detection unit, wherein the non-contact detection unit uses the detected moving object information in a process related to position detection of the moving object. A navigation device, which is a device.