JPH1164011A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide with ease and simply, a navigation system, wherein such new information as road condition which can be recognized at actual running is registered. SOLUTION: A current position measurement means 2, a map information storage medium 7 where a map data is stored, a reading device 6 which reads a map data from the map information storage medium 7, a display device 10 for displaying the map data on a screen, a voice input means 11, a voice process means 12 for processing the information inputted by the voice input means 11, a storage medium 13 wherein a voice process data and the coordinate data of a voice input point are stored while being related to each other, a speech means 10a for replaying a voice data from the storage medium 13 via the voice process means 12, and a control device 1 for controlling them, are provided. When a current position on a map which is displayed on the display device 10 reaches a voice input point, a voice data is read out of the storage medium 13 based on the control signal from the control device 1, and a guide voice is outputted from the speech means 10a via the voice process means 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus, and in particular, displays map data read from a map information storage medium on a screen of a display device, and presents the current position coordinates of an own vehicle calculated on the map by current position positioning means. The present invention relates to an improvement of a voice guide in a navigation device configured to overwrite display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a current position is determined by using radio waves from a plurality of satellites, map data is read from a map information storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and a map is displayed on a display device such as an LCD or CRT. As a result, navigation devices that can be used for route guidance to a destination are rapidly spreading for use in vehicles.

[0003] Such a navigation device is configured, for example, as shown in FIGS. The navigation device includes, for example, a control device 1 such as a CPU that controls various devices described below and a GPS receiver (which receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites and outputs positioning data of a current position). Current position measuring means) 2, a gyro sensor 3, a vehicle speed sensor 4, an input device 5 such as a keyboard, a reader 6 for reading map data from a map information storage medium described later, and map data stored therein. It comprises a map information storage medium 7 such as a CD-ROM, a display image memory 8, a display controller 9, a display device 10 for displaying map data on a screen, and a voice guide device G. A gyro sensor 3 for measuring the traveling angle of the vehicle and a vehicle speed sensor 4 for measuring the traveling speed of the vehicle are connected to the control device 1 so that self-contained navigation based on satellite navigation based on the GPS receiver 2 is combined. Positioning can be made possible.

[0004] In particular, the voice guide device G is, for example, "10
Please make a left turn (or right turn) at the intersection of 0m ", a sound source Ga that generates a guide voice, a preamplifier Gb that amplifies the guide voice, a main amplifier Gc connected to the preamplifier Gb, and a main amplifier Gc. And a speaker Gd, for example, and the speaker Gd is disposed at an appropriate place in the vehicle interior.

[0005] This navigation device operates, for example, as follows. First, when the control device 1 is started up, map data necessary for displaying the current position of the vehicle is read from a map information storage medium 7 such as a CD-ROM via the reader 6, and the control device 1 displays a display image. The drawing process is performed in the memory space of the memory 8 and displayed on the display device 10 via the display controller 9. Then, the current position coordinates of the own vehicle are calculated from the GPS receiver 2 as absolute position positioning data, or are calculated from the absolute position positioning data from the GPS receiver 2 and the relative position information of the gyro sensor 3 and the vehicle speed sensor 4. The control device 1 performs an overwrite drawing process on the map already drawn in the display image memory 8, and displays the display device 10 via the display controller 9.
Will be displayed. The position of the own vehicle on the map is displayed while moving along with the movement of the own vehicle, and is also displayed on a route set in advance. Then, on the set route, when turning left or right at a specific intersection on the route from the departure point to the destination, based on a control signal from the control device 1, the turning direction at the target intersection is Voice guide device G
Is instructed by the guidance voice from the speaker Gd.
Therefore, if the vehicle is driven in accordance with the guidance voice, it is possible to easily reach the destination.

[0006]

By the way, according to this navigation device, while confirming the position of the vehicle on the map displayed on the display device 10, it follows the guidance sound from the speaker Gd of the voice guide device G. Driving has the characteristic that the user can surely move along the route from the departure point to the destination without fail.

[0007] However, such voice guidance is an auxiliary role of the map information displayed on the display device 10, and the route information such as “Please turn left (or right) at the intersection 100 m ahead” is provided. One speaker G
Since the driver merely flows from d, the expressive power is insufficient for the driver to intuitively recognize and judge the turning direction and the sense of distance at the intersection.

[0008] Therefore, when setting a route, by inputting as much as possible a target object, a building serving as a landmark, or the like existing near an intersection where a left or right turn is made, it is possible to approximate the actual feeling. Is extremely complicated and troublesome, and traffic conditions such as traffic congestion, road size, road surface conditions, etc. that can be recognized only after actually driving must be entered during driving each time. It is a problem in terms of gender.

In particular, when inputting road conditions, landmarks, and the like to an arbitrary point on a map, characters must be selected one by one from the 50 sounds displayed on the display device 10 and registered by operating the input means 5. Furthermore, there is a problem that the registration operation is extremely complicated and troublesome, and it is more difficult to register road conditions and the like during traveling from the viewpoint of safety.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device capable of registering new information such as a road condition that can be recognized during actual driving, easily and easily.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a current position measuring means, a map information storage medium for storing map data, and reading map data from the map information storage medium. A reader, a display device for displaying map data on a screen, a voice input unit, a voice processing unit for processing information input by the voice input unit, and associating the voice processing data with the coordinate data of the voice input point. A storage medium for storing, a sound emitting means for reproducing sound data from the storage medium via a sound processing means, and a control device for controlling these, and a current position on a map displayed on the screen of the display device is displayed. When the voice input point is reached, voice data is read from the storage medium based on a control signal from the control device, and the voice output means is output via the voice processing means. A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the voice output means is output from the display apparatus, and a third aspect of the present invention is that the voice output means is provided in a vehicle interior. A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the storage medium is configured as a card and is configured to be attachable to and detachable from a storage device.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment of a navigation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The feature of this embodiment is that a voice input unit 11 capable of inputting new information such as road conditions at the time of traveling by voice is provided, and a voice processing unit 12 for performing voice processing on the input voice information is provided. A storage medium 13 for storing the voice processing data and the coordinate data of the voice input point in association with each other is provided, and a voice output means 10a for outputting a guide voice based on an output signal from the voice processing means 12 is provided. .

In particular, as the voice input means 11, for example, a microphone is suitable, and a microphone is attached to a lead end of a lead wire led out of the apparatus, and the voice input means 11 is driven by an occupant or driver sitting in a passenger seat. Information to be registered therein can be input by voice each time. The voice input information is voice processed by the voice processing means 12 and stored in the storage medium 13 in association with the coordinate data of the voice input point, and the voice data read from the storage medium 13 is transmitted through the voice processing means 12. The voice output means 10a outputs the voice as a guide voice. The sound emitting means 10a is preferably a speaker, for example, and is arranged at an appropriate place in the vehicle interior.
For example, it can be built in the display device 10.

The storage medium 13 employs, for example, a non-volatile memory, a magnetic storage medium, or the like, and is built in a storage device. For example, the storage medium 13 is configured as a card and can be inserted into and removed from the storage device. It can also be configured to be.
In particular, if the storage medium 13 is configured as a card, the storage medium 13 can be applied to a navigation device mounted on another vehicle even when the user gets on another vehicle.

This navigation device operates, for example, as follows. First, when the control device 1 is started up, the map data necessary for displaying the current position of the vehicle is read from the map information storage medium 7 via the reader 6 and the control device 1 stores the memory space of the display image memory 8. The display processing is performed on the display device 10 via the display controller 9.
Will be displayed. And the current position coordinates of the vehicle are GPS
It is determined as absolute position positioning data from the receiver 2 or is determined from the absolute position positioning data from the GPS receiver 2 and the relative position information of the gyro sensor 3 and the vehicle speed sensor 4. 8 is overwritten on the map already drawn on the map 8 and displayed on the display device 10 via the display controller 9. If a guidance route is set in advance on the map and it is registered to output a guide voice for turning left or right at a specific intersection along the route, the position of the vehicle on the set route is determined. Is displayed as movable, and
Before entering the target intersection, the turning direction at the intersection is output from the sound emitting means 10a.

For example, when the vehicle is traveling on the road IR1 on the map shown in FIG. 2, the width of the road IR1 may be locally narrow and one-way at the point of the vehicle P1. If it is found, the voice input means 11 indicates that "the width of the road is locally narrow from 30 m ahead,
It is one-way street "to the control device 1. The input information is subjected to voice processing by the voice processing means 12, and the voice processing data is associated with the coordinate data of the point P1, and the direction of the traveling direction and the like are stored in the storage medium 1.
3 is stored. In addition, the own vehicle position is a point P2 on the road IR2.
In the case where it is found that the straight ahead of the intersection J1 is prohibited by one way, the voice input means 1
By inputting “the intersection of J1 is not allowed to enter by one-way traffic”, the voice processing data by voice processing, the position coordinate data of the point P2, and the direction are stored in the storage medium 13.
Is stored. Further, the own vehicle is located at a point P on the road IR3.
In step 3, if it is determined that a crossing exists in front, the voice input means 11 inputs "a crossing is 50 m ahead", and the voice processing data by voice processing and the position coordinate data of the point P3 are obtained. The direction and the like are stored in the storage medium 13.

Next, for example, when the own vehicle reaches the point P1 when the vehicle again travels on the road IR1, the voice data stored in the storage medium 13 is read out based on the coordinate data of the point P1, and the voice processing is performed. A guide sound of "the road width is locally narrowed from 30 m ahead and is one-way" is output from the sound emitting means 10a of the display device 10 via the means 12. Also, at the points P2 and P3, the guide voice input in the past is output from the sound emitting means 10a.

Next, the flow of voice guide registration will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S1, a desired guide voice is input to the control device 1 by the voice input unit 11. In step S <b> 2, the voice input point input by the voice input unit 11 is positioned by the GPS receiver 2. In step S3, the input information from the voice input unit 11 is subjected to voice processing in the voice processing unit 12. In step S4, the voice processing data voice-processed by the voice processing means 12 and the coordinate data of the voice input point are associated with each other and stored in the storage medium 13 together with the direction of the vehicle, and the registration of the voice guide is completed. I do.

According to this embodiment, information such as road conditions newly recognized during traveling can be stored in the storage medium 13 by the voice input means 11 in association with the position coordinates of the voice input point each time. In addition to being able to play back easily, when the same position coordinates are reached,
The registered guide voice can be reproduced, and the quality of voice guidance can be improved.

In particular, if a microphone is used at the time of voice input, it is necessary for the driver to input new information safely and easily by uttering a voice even while driving. Information can be registered in a timely and accurate manner.

The voice information input by the voice input means 11 is processed by the voice processing means 12 and is stored in the storage medium 1.
3, the audio data read from the storage medium 13 is output as a guide audio from a sound emitting means 10a such as a speaker via the audio processing means 12, so that the map data displayed on the display device 10 The navigation function can be further enhanced by the synergistic effect of.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, as for voice input, a guide voice predicted in advance is stored in an IC memory, and a headline voice corresponding to the guide voice is generated. It can also be done by speaking. Further, the sound emitting means can be arranged at an appropriate place in the vehicle compartment without being built in the display device.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, information on a target, a road condition, etc. newly recognized during traveling is stored in the storage medium by voice in association with the position coordinates of the voice input point. In this case, the registered guide voice is reproduced when the vehicle travels again at the same place. Therefore, the navigation function can be further enhanced in combination with the quality improvement of the voice guidance.

In particular, if a microphone or the like is used at the time of voice input, even if the vehicle is running, the driver can input new information safely and easily by voice. Can be registered with good timing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a map for explaining voice input.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of voice guide registration.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the voice guide device shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control device 2 GPS receiver (current position positioning means) 3 gyro sensor (current position positioning means) 4 vehicle speed sensor (current position positioning means) 5 input means 6 reader 7 map information storage medium 8 display image memory 9 display controller DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Display apparatus 10a Voice emitting means 12 Voice processing means 13 Storage medium

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A current position measuring means, a map information storage medium for storing map data, a reader for reading map data from the map information storage medium, a display device for displaying the map data on a screen, a voice input means, A voice processing means for processing information input by the voice input means, a storage medium for storing the voice processing data and the coordinate data of the voice input point in association with each other, and voice data from the storage medium via the voice processing means It comprises a sound emitting means for reproducing and a control device for controlling these, and when the current position on the map displayed on the screen of the display device reaches the voice input point, the sound is transmitted from the storage medium based on a control signal from the control device. A navigation device for reading voice data and outputting a guide voice from a sound emitting means via a voice processing means. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein said sound emitting means is incorporated in a display device. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein said sound emitting means is disposed at an appropriate place in a vehicle interior. 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium is configured like a card, and is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from a storage device.