JPH11351887A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To highly utilize shared data by a system that is constructed by simulating a client/server model. SOLUTION: A center device 20 is provided with a central processor 21 with a transmitter/receiver 23 for external communication and a central memory 22 where the central processor 21 read and write data. On the other hand, a vehicle-mounted navigation device 30 is provided with a terminal processor 31 with a GPS receiver 34 for specifying a current position and a transmitter/ receiver 33 for external communication and a terminal memory 32 where a terminal processor 31 read and write data. The central processor 21 and the terminal processor 31 communicate as needed to share the latest data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system which utilizes a shared data by using a system constructed by imitating a client / server model.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An in-vehicle navigation device capable of displaying map information on a display in a vehicle cabin and assisting in route guidance from a current position to a destination is provided with a readout storing map information of a region including the current position and the destination. Many use a CD-ROM which is a dedicated storage medium. The conventional in-vehicle navigation device 1 shown in FIG. 6 has a map information storage medium such as a CD-ROM mounted on a map information reader 2 and a processor 3 called a navigation controller.
The user can operate a key using a keyboard 4 attached to the computer to specify a display area including a current location and a destination. The map information of the designated area is displayed on the map information reader 2.
Is read from the map information storage medium by the processor 3
Are developed on a built-in drawing memory (not shown), and map information of an area scrolled in accordance with the movement of the vehicle is displayed on the display 5. The current location of the vehicle is G
The location is determined by the PS receiver 6 and displayed on the current location display screen. Reference numeral 7 denotes a memory in which the processor 3 reads and writes processing data as needed.

[0003]

When the map information stored in the map information storage medium is changed or added, the conventional on-vehicle navigation device 1 needs to replace the map information storage medium itself, which is a read-only memory. However, even if the latest road map data is regularly updated, it takes a certain amount of time to publish the latest version of a map information storage medium such as a CD-ROM. For temporary traffic obstacles that are not recorded on the map information storage medium, such as roads that were closed during the restoration work due to earthquake or earthquake damage, or roads that were restricted to alternate traffic due to widening work, In many cases, it is not possible to deal with this problem, and users who use road traffic on a daily basis relying on map information that lacks the latest information may suffer from traffic obstacles without prior knowledge. In Do you 惑 were those facing the problem that may interfere with the route guidance.

[0004] In addition, this type of in-vehicle navigation device is increasingly mounted not only on a privately owned vehicle but also on a commercial vehicle, so that detailed map information on the area can be utilized in sales activities and home delivery. Attempts have been made to make work more efficient. In many cases, the map information required for this type of business activity is edited by writing its own business route in general road map information, and the map information containing the business information is mapped so that all business vehicles can share it. The number of business offices that install editing devices capable of editing information in offices is increasing.

[0005] Many of these sales offices connect a sales vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle navigation device to a center device installed in the sales office via a wireless communication device, and the activity of an individual sales vehicle that changes from moment to moment. Although a system for centrally managing the situation has been introduced, the wireless communication device mounted on the commercial vehicle is not related to the on-board navigation device, and therefore, the business responds to periodic calls from the center device. The service vehicle wirelessly reports the current location, and the operator manually inputs the current location for each in-vehicle navigation device on the center device side that has received the notification. For this reason, there is no problem when the number of commercial vehicles is small, but when targeting commercial vehicles exceeding a certain number,
There has been a problem that the current location is limited, and efficient system operation cannot be expected. Also, arterial roads in the business area are causing traffic jams,
Even if you want to notify other commercial vehicles or make an emergency call to select another detour route, the information processing in the center device depends on the manual operation of the operator, And it was difficult to disseminate it quickly.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to achieve high utilization of shared data by a system constructed by imitating a client / server model.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a central processor having a central processor having communication means for external communication, a central device having a central memory for reading and writing data by the central processor, and In-vehicle navigation device having a terminal processor having current location specifying means for specifying and communication means for external communication, and a terminal memory for reading and writing data by the terminal processor,
The central processor and the terminal processor communicate at any time to share the latest data.

The central processor is connected to a map information reader for reading map information stored in a map information storage medium, and the terminal processor reads the map information transferred via the central processor. A display for displaying a screen is connected. Further, the central memory separately stores unique information transmitted from a plurality of vehicle-mounted navigation devices. Further, the central processor statistically processes the unique information collected by the plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices, and transfers a processing result to each of the in-vehicle navigation devices. Further, the central processor is connected to an error correction unit that corrects an error in the current position information transferred from the vehicle-mounted navigation device, and transfers the current position information corrected by the error correction unit to the vehicle-mounted navigation device. It is a feature.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 show the first to fifth navigation systems of the present invention, respectively.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment.

A navigation system 11 shown in FIG.
Has a configuration in which a plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices 30 are arranged around a center device 20. The center device 20 corresponding to a server and the in-vehicle navigation device 30 corresponding to a client are applied to a client / server model. It is composed. Center device 20
Has a central processor 21 having a transceiver 23 as a communication means for external communication, and a central memory 22 in which the central processor 20 reads and writes data. Reference numeral 24 denotes a map information reader that reads map information from a map information storage medium, and is connected to the central processor 21. On the other hand, the on-vehicle navigation device 30 is a terminal processor 3 having a transceiver 33 as a communication means for external communication.
1 and a terminal memory 32 in which the terminal processor 31 reads and writes data. In addition to the GPS receiver 34 connected to the terminal processor 31 as current position specifying means for specifying the current position, a keyboard 35, a display 36, a microphone 37 for voice input, a speaker 38 for voice output, and the like are connected. It is. Display 3
6 displays the map information transferred via the central processor 21 on the screen.

Since the on-vehicle navigation device 30 is not provided with a map information reader, it is necessary to take in the map information by communicating with the center device 20. Therefore, when displaying the vehicle position and the map on the display 36 of the in-vehicle navigation device 30, a command is input by operating the keyboard 35 in the vehicle interior. After this command is stored in the terminal memory 32, the transceiver 33
Is transmitted to the transceiver 23 of the center device 20 via the. The central processor 21 having received the command via the transceiver 23 stores the command in the central memory 22 as information unique to the in-vehicle navigation device 30.

The command transmitted from the in-vehicle navigation device 30 to the center device 20 is analyzed by the central processor 21, and the central processor 21 executes a process according to the content of the command according to the analysis result. For example, when a command for commanding a map display is transmitted, the central processor 21 outputs map information corresponding to the scale and display range obtained by the command analysis to the map information reader 24.
From the map information storage medium via the. At this time, the read map information corresponding to the scale and the display range is stored in the central memory 22 in the center device 20 as information unique to the in-vehicle navigation device 30. Further, the map information is displayed on the display 36 by the central processor 21.
Is converted into a drawing instruction sequence for the vehicle, and the converted drawing instruction sequence is transmitted from the transceiver 23 to the vehicle-mounted navigation device 30. The terminal processor 31 in the in-vehicle navigation device 30 displays a map on the display 36 based on the received drawing command sequence.

On the other hand, the display of the own vehicle position is performed according to the same procedure as described above. First, the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 34 is stored in the terminal memory 32 by the terminal processor 31 and then transmitted from the transceiver 33 to the center device 20. The transmitted position information is received by the transceiver 23 of the center device 20 and supplied to the central processor 21. Central processor 21
Saves the position information in the central memory 22 as unique information. Since the position information has already been converted into the actual display coordinates by the terminal processor 31 in the in-vehicle navigation device 30, the display coordinates are stored in the central memory 22 as the unique information of the in-vehicle navigation device 30. Further, the display pattern of the vehicle position extracted from the display coordinates and the unique information is converted into a drawing command sequence by the central processor 21 in the center device 20.

The drawing command sequence converted by the central processor 21 is transmitted from the transceiver 23 of the center device 20 and transmitted to the terminal processor 31 via the transceiver 33 of the on-vehicle navigation device 30. The terminal processor 31 supplies the drawing instruction sequence to the display 36, so that the own vehicle position is displayed on the map displayed on the screen. In the present embodiment, the terminal processor 31 in the in-vehicle navigation device 30 performs only input / output processing, and the central processor 21 in the center device 20 performs all other processing related to navigation. Equipment load and processing load are reduced as compared with the conventional case.

Further, by employing a central processor 21 having a high processing capability in the center device 20, a voice synthesis process, a voice recognition process, or an Internet browser function conventionally performed by, for example, a processor in an in-vehicle navigation device. Processing such as browsing, which requires a large amount of calculation or requires a large amount of memory capacity, can be performed by the processor 21 in the center device 20, thereby providing high-quality speech synthesis and speech recognition, or a faster Internet browser. Processing can be realized. In addition, if the software or the map database of the central processor 21 of the center device 20 is upgraded, the navigation function and the map information can be upgraded at a time, so that the facility update cost accompanying the upgrade can be minimized. it can. On the other hand, the terminal processor 31 in the in-vehicle navigation device 20 can reduce the required capacity as compared with the central processor 21 in the center device 20, so that the manufacturing cost of the in-vehicle navigation device 30 can be further reduced. In addition, since the center device 20 holds the unique information of the in-vehicle navigation device 20, for example, the center device 20
By adding a display (not shown) as display means to the vehicle, it is possible to display the current location of the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle navigation device 30. In this way, even if a vehicle equipped with the on-vehicle navigation device 30 has an accident, the center device 20 can know the position information until the accident occurs, and can analyze the vehicle accident from the information. It is possible.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The navigation system 41 shown in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which the map information reader 24 is deleted from the center device 20 shown in FIG. 1, and a map information reader 42 is provided on the in-vehicle navigation device side. Here, the command instructed by the user by operating the keyboard 35 of the in-vehicle navigation device 30 is stored in the terminal memory 32 and then transmitted from the transceiver 33 to the transceiver 23 on the center device 20 side. The transmitted command is stored in the central memory 22 of the center device 20 as unique information of the in-vehicle navigation device 30.

The command transmitted to the center device 20 is analyzed by the central processor 21, and processing according to the analysis result is performed by the central processor 21. For example, in the case of a command related to map display, the central processor 21 acquires information on the scale and display range obtained by the command analysis, and stores this information in the central memory 22 as information unique to the vehicle-mounted navigation device 30. At the same time, the data is transferred to the in-vehicle navigation device 30 via the transceivers 23 and 33. The terminal processor 31 in the in-vehicle navigation device 30 obtains the map information necessary for displaying the scale and the display range from the map information reader 42. The map information read from the map information reader 42 is converted into a drawing command sequence by the terminal processor 31 and displayed on the display 36.

With respect to the display of the vehicle position, the central processor 21 extracts a display pattern representing the vehicle position from the unique information, transmits the display pattern to the terminal processor 31 via the transceivers 23 and 33, and stores it in the terminal memory 32. . The terminal processor 31 acquires position information on the position of the vehicle from the GPS receiver 34 and converts the output of the GPS receiver 34 into actual display coordinates. The display coordinates and the display pattern stored in the terminal memory 32 are converted by the terminal processor 31 into a drawing instruction sequence for the display 36, and the vehicle position is displayed on the map displayed on the screen in a superimposed manner.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Navigation system 51 shown in FIG.
Represents the unique information of the plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices 30,
It is configured so that it can be stored individually in the central memory 22 in the center device 20. The operation between the plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices 30 and the center device 20 is the same as that of the navigation system 11 shown in the first embodiment, and therefore, only the transfer of unique information will be described here.

Here, an example is described in which two in-vehicle navigation devices 30 and 30 mutually display their own vehicle positions. First, the central processor 21
Extracts the position information from the unique information of one of the in-vehicle navigation devices 30, and sets this as position information F1. Similarly, the central processor 21 extracts the position information from the unique information of the other in-vehicle navigation device, and sets it as position information F2. Further, the central processor 21 extracts the scale and the map display range from the unique information of one of the on-vehicle navigation devices 30, and converts the position information of the other vehicle into the display coordinates of the one on-vehicle navigation device 30. The converted display coordinates and the display pattern indicating the position of the other in-vehicle navigation device 30 are stored in the central processor 2.
1 converts it into a drawing command sequence for the display 36. Thus, the drawing command sequence is transmitted to the transceivers 23 and 33.
Is transmitted to one of the in-vehicle navigation devices 30 via the. The terminal processor 31 in one of the on-vehicle navigation devices 30 supplies the drawing instruction sequence to the display 36, and displays the position of the other vehicle on the map together with the position of the own vehicle.

Similarly, the other in-vehicle navigation device 30 can also display the position of the own vehicle and the position of one vehicle on the display 36 in the vehicle compartment. In this way, the two vehicles connected via the center device 20 can display the current location of each other on the display 36 of the own vehicle while being away from each other. It is not necessary to limit the number of vehicles to two, and the same can be applied to three or more vehicles. All vehicles belonging to the system confirm the current location of other vehicles on the display 36 of the own vehicle. Or
By passing each other's position information, it is also possible to obtain and display the inter-vehicle distance. Further, in this example, the case where the position information is exchanged is taken as an example, but it is easily understood that the unique information can be exchanged between the in-vehicle navigation devices 30 in the same procedure. This also enables high-speed inter-vehicle communication.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Navigation system 61 shown in FIG.
Is characterized in that the use frequency of a specific route is obtained by statistical processing. Central processor 21 in center device 20
Is an ID string (ID1, ID1, ID1) for identifying a “road representing a route being guided” related to each vehicle-mounted navigation device 30 from the unique information of each vehicle-mounted navigation device 30.
ID3) are taken out for three sets. Next, the central processor 21 stores all the IDs in the central memory 22 and sorts them in the order of ID numbers. Thereafter, by counting how many of the IDs are present, the frequency of use for the ID number can be obtained. This usage frequency is stored in the statistical data memory 22a secured in the central memory 22.

Since the above-mentioned frequency of use is tabulated for each road, the central processor 21 takes the map information and converts the map information into a drawing command sequence to be displayed on the display 36 of each on-vehicle navigation device 30. By changing the drawing color of the road according to the frequency of use, the map display on the in-vehicle navigation device 30 can display the road whose color is changed according to the frequency of use. Thus, when there are a large number of in-vehicle navigation devices 30, it is possible to predict traffic congestion on the road by changing the display color of the road. Further, by obtaining the frequency of the destination by the same method, it is possible to predict the congestion of the destination.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Navigation system 7 shown in FIG.
1, when the central processor 21 in the center device 20 acquires the position information from the in-vehicle navigation device 30,
It is characterized in that position correction information from the GPS receiver 34 and the position information are corrected by a position correction algorithm generally known as D (Differential) -GPS. Specifically, an FM multiplex receiver 25 is connected to the central processor 21 as an error correction means for correcting an error in the current position information transferred from the on-vehicle navigation device 30. The position received by the FM multiplex receiver 25 is The central processor 21 can correct the position information using the correction information. The position information corrected by the central processor 21 is transferred to each of the on-vehicle navigation devices 30, and is used for converting display coordinates. This allows
The display 36 of each in-vehicle navigation device 30 can display the vehicle position with high accuracy. Incidentally, D-GPS is called a relative positioning system, and at a reference point whose position is known accurately,
The position of the reference point is compared with the positioning result of the GPS receiver,
An error component included in the PS signal is detected, and a position measurement error is substantially the same within a radius of 100 to 200 km around the reference point.
This system suppresses the current location error to within several meters by providing the S receiver with position correction information from the base station using FM multiplex radio waves or the like. In the fifth embodiment, since the center device 20 functions to relay the FM multiplex radio wave from the base station, the in-vehicle navigation device 30 equipped with the transmitter / receiver 33 does not need to be equipped with the FM multiplex receiver. Receiving the position correction information sent from the device 20;
Highly accurate current location is possible.

The center device 20 can also distribute a radio broadcast signal or a TV signal to each of the on-vehicle navigation devices 30 in place of the position correction information, so that a radio receiver, a TV receiver, etc. The in-vehicle navigation device 30 which is not equipped with the broadcast receiving means can enjoy viewing and enjoying radio broadcasts and television broadcasts.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A central processor having communication means for external communication, a central device having a central memory for reading and writing data by the central processor, a terminal processor having a current location specifying means for specifying a current location, and communication means for external communication; The terminal processor includes an in-vehicle navigation device having a terminal memory for reading and writing data.Since the central processor and the terminal processor communicate at any time and share the latest data, the terminal processor is arranged around the center device having the central processor. Multiple in-vehicle navigation devices exchange data with each other by relaying the center device, or the center device manages data stored separately by each in-vehicle navigation device and broadcasts the processing results. By transferring, all in-vehicle navigation devices are updated with the latest data. Can share, crowded / congested expected indication of vehicle position, measurement of the distance to the preceding vehicle, FM
D-GP without additional hardware such as multiplex receiver
The present invention has an excellent effect that a broadcasting service that does not require additional hardware such as GPS position correction such as S and a BS / CS receiver can be easily realized.

A map information reader for reading map information stored in the map information storage medium is connected to the central processor, and a display for displaying the map information transferred via the central processor on the screen is connected to the terminal processor. As a result, the map information is read entirely by the center device, and the read results are transferred to the individual in-vehicle navigation devices and displayed on the display, eliminating the need for a map information reader that was indispensable for conventional in-vehicle navigation devices. Thus, there is an effect that the cost can be reduced by the equipment load limited to the display means and the input means.

Further, since the central memory is configured to individually hold the unique information transmitted from the plurality of on-vehicle navigation devices, the current status and the past operation status of each on-vehicle navigation device can be accurately determined on the center device side. This makes it possible to perform efficient operation management of all the vehicles equipped with the on-vehicle navigation device, so that the operation can be centrally performed.

Further, the central processor statistically processes the unique information collected by the plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices, and transfers the processing result to each of the in-vehicle navigation devices. Information on roads to be used is aggregated as unique information, color-coded according to frequency of use, and transferred to each in-vehicle navigation device, thereby recommending road data useful for efficient road use to business destinations, or Statistical processing is performed on the different road congestion conditions depending on the time zone, and it is possible to notify the in-vehicle navigation devices according to the time zone.

Further, according to the present invention, the central processor is connected to error correction means for correcting the current position information transferred from the vehicle-mounted navigation device, and transfers the current position information corrected by the error correction means to the vehicle-mounted navigation device. Therefore, even if each vehicle is not equipped with additional hardware such as an FM multiplex receiver, error correction information necessary for correcting the current location information can be obtained by the FM multiplex receiver installed in the center device. By transferring this to each in-vehicle navigation device, it is possible to easily correct a GPS position such as D-GPS and to reduce the load on the equipment of the in-vehicle navigation device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a first embodiment of a navigation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a second embodiment of the navigation system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a third embodiment of the navigation system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the navigation system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the navigation system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a conventional navigation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 41, 51, 61, 71 Navigation system 20 Center device 21 Central processor 22 Central memory 23 Transceiver 24, 42 Map information reader 30 In-vehicle navigation device 31 Terminal processor 32 Terminal memory 33 GPS receiver 35 Keyboard 36 Display 37 Microphone 38 speaker

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A central processor having a communication means for external communication, a center device having a central memory for reading and writing data by the central processor, a current location specifying means for specifying a current location, and a communication means for external communication. In-vehicle navigation device having a terminal processor and a terminal memory in which the terminal processor reads and writes data,
The navigation system wherein the central processor and the terminal processor communicate at any time to share the latest data. 2. The central processor is connected to a map information reader for reading map information stored in a map information storage medium, and the terminal processor reads the map information transferred via the central processor. 2. A display for displaying a screen is connected.
Navigation system as described. 3. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the central memory individually stores unique information transmitted from a plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices. 4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the central processor statistically processes the unique information collected by the plurality of in-vehicle navigation devices, and transfers a processing result to each of the in-vehicle navigation devices. 5. The central processor is connected to error correction means for correcting an error in the current position information transmitted from the on-vehicle navigation device, and transfers the current position information corrected by the error correction means to the on-vehicle navigation device. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein