JPS60230685A - On-board navigator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device that displays a departure point, a destination, and the current position of a vehicle with corresponding marks on a display means such as a cathode ray tube.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, as an in-vehicle navigation device, for example,
As shown in Publication No. 8-146814, etc., the travel distance and heading of the vehicle are detected, the current position of the vehicle is calculated from this information, and the map read out as image information from the storage device is displayed on a cathode ray tube, etc. There is known a device which displays the current position of the vehicle obtained by further calculation on the display means and displays the current position of the vehicle obtained by further calculation on the display means, thereby indicating the current position of the vehicle on the map on the screen of the display means.

However, since a very large amount of information is required to display image information as a map, the storage device must be large and expensive.Therefore, the navigation device itself is also large and expensive. It ends up being expensive. Therefore, it is desired to develop a small and inexpensive navigation device suitable for in-vehicle use.

In addition, in this kind of map display, even if the current position of the vehicle is indicated by a mark on the predetermined display map when the starting point and destination point are determined, the map is displayed in a reduced scale and the vehicle is not traveling. It is not possible to accurately indicate the current location of the vehicle. Furthermore, when the distance between the departure point and the destination point is large, it is necessary to display multiple maps in sequence, which makes it difficult to understand the entire travel process of the vehicle and is extremely troublesome.

Although these technical problems can be solved by using a large-capacity storage device and a high-speed arithmetic device, the entire device becomes large-scale, making it difficult to mount it in a vehicle.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and the storage means stores place names and the coordinates of the discussion, rather than map image information, and the place names of the departure point and destination point are entered when inputting. The coordinates of the specified point are read out from the storage means under the control of various control means, and the departure point and destination point are marked and displayed on the display means at an appropriate scale, and the current position of the vehicle is also marked on the display means. Furthermore, by adopting a configuration that displays the names of each departure point and destination point, small size,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-vehicle navigation device that has a practically sufficient navigation function using inexpensive storage means and control means.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functions of the navigation device of the present invention, and as shown in the figure, the device of the present invention has a traveling distance detecting means 1.1 for detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle. a traveling direction detecting means 2 for detecting the current position of the vehicle; a current position calculating means 3 for calculating the current position of the vehicle from the traveling distance and the traveling direction obtained by each of the above detecting means; Current position initial setting means 4 for performing settings; point information storage means 5 in which a plurality of sets of point information consisting of place name information and its position information are stored;
Specify the names of the departure and destination points of the vehicle, search these place names from the point information storage means 5, read the corresponding position information, and set the position information as the coordinates of each point. A point setting means 6, a set point storage means 7 for storing a plurality of sets of starting points and destination points set by the point setting means 6, and selecting one set of starting points and destination points from the set point storing means 7. A point selection means 8 displays a mark indicating the position of the departure point and destination point selected by the point selection means 8 at a predetermined position on the screen of the display means 11 based on the positional relationship between the two, and displays the vehicle at a scale determined by this. A mark display control means 9 for displaying a mark indicating the current position on the screen, and the starting point and purpose.

It is equipped with a place name display control means lO for displaying the names of each place on the display means 11, and the vehicle in motion can be detected based on the positional relationship between the marks indicating the starting point, the destination point, and the current position of the vehicle displayed on the screen of the display means. You can easily find out the exact location.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Next, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention,
Mileage sensor-1OO1 direction sensor 200, keyboard 300, control circuit 400, semiconductor memory 500,
It is composed of a cathode ray tube 12.

The mileage sensor 100 detects the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle using an electromagnetic pickup, a reed switch, etc., and sends a control circuit 40 using a pulse number proportional to the rotation speed of the wheels as a detection signal.
Output to 0.

The orientation sensor 200 is, for example, a fluxgate type geomagnetic detector 2 fixed to the heavy vehicle 13 as shown in FIG.
01, the earth's magnetic field H is detected by decomposing it into a component Ha in the traveling direction of the vehicle 13 and a component Hb perpendicular to the component Ha, and a signal corresponding thereto is output to the control circuit 4°O.

The keyboard 300, as shown in the external view of FIG.
``A''``I'' Contest・◆ ``O'' ・・・ ``U'' Misan ``口J ``WA''``NJ's kana character key, voiced key ``゛'' and half-dry key ``0'' (or more) The character key part 301, including the "key is also called a character key)," and the "clear"
, "Settings", "Departure point", "Destination point", "Set"
, rlj, "2", "3", "I selection", and "start" control key part 302
It consists of Then, key signals obtained by key operations on the keyboard 300 are read into the control circuit 400. In addition, each key is the letter key "a", the letter key "゛",
It is also sometimes called a "clear" key. See you again.
r2” r3. + is sometimes called the numeric key.

The semiconductor memory 500 is a ROM (read onl
ymemoly) configuration, point information consisting of place name information and its position information is stored, and the control circuit 40
This point information is read by 0. For example, point information for Akashi City (where the city hall is the representative point) is stored in memories 501a to 501g of FIG. 5, which shows a memory map of the semiconductor memory 500. That is, each of the memories 501a to 501c has an 8-bit configuration, and the place name information "Akashi" is stored in codes representing the kana characters "a", "chi", and "shi".

The most significant bit of each memory 501a to 501c indicates place name information, and the memory 501c that stores the last character of place name information is ``l゛''.
, O'' for other memories 501a and 5otb.
is assigned. Therefore, each memory 501a to 50
The remaining 7 bits of 1c represent kana characters. With 7 bits, it is possible to express all the clear, voiced, semi-voiced, consonant, and persistent sounds of kana characters. Furthermore, the memories 501d to 501g store location information of Akashi City, for example, the memories 501d and 501e store the east longitude, and the memories 501f and 501g store the north latitude.

Furthermore, the memories 502a to 502g store point information regarding the place name and location of "Kobe City".

By the way, as for location information, as shown in the map of Japan in Figure 6, the convenience-L coordinate axis χ (east), y (north) is set, and the relative distance coordinates (χ, y) based on this coordinate axis are memorized. I try to do that. In this case, Japan is expressed within an area of 1700 km square, and 1700 km is allocated to 2 bytes (16 bits) of memories 501d (502d) and 501e (502e) in the χ coordinate, and memories −501f (502f) and 501g in the y coordinate. (5
When allocated to 2 bytes (16 bits) of 02g), 1
Since it is about 26 m per bit, it can be a practically sufficient unit in this device.

For example, place names include approximately 680 cities throughout Japan, as well as wards, towns, villages, interchanges, stations, castles, lakes, mountain passes, mountains, etc.
If we prepare about 300 place names for each device, including Mt., etc., there will be 13,800 place names for all 46 prefectures excluding Okinawa Prefecture. Therefore, in order to store both place name information and location information, if the average number of characters for place names is 5 characters and the location information is 4 bytes (2 bytes each for χ and y) as described above, the total number of characters is 124,200. A part-time job is required. To store this data, four ROMs are required for the 256, which has the highest capacity on the market to date, but one ROM is sufficient for the IM Hibi-1 ROM, which is expected to be commercially available in the future. So small.

It is possible to use lightweight and highly reliable semiconductor memory.

The cathode ray tube 12 may be of a conventional type, and may have a rectangular screen 12A as shown in the external view of FIG. Note that the coordinate axes u and v are the coordinates (u, v
), and on this screen 12A,
Marks for the starting point, destination point, and current location (details will be described later), as well as the names of the starting point and destination point are displayed.

The control circuit 400 consists of a well-known microcomputer system (not shown), includes various input/output interface circuits (not shown), and uses the semiconductor memory 5 based on place name information input by operating the keyboard 300.
The position information is read from 00, an appropriate scale is determined in consideration of the positional relationship between the starting point and the destination point, and a mark indicating each point is displayed, and the place name of each point is also displayed.Meanwhile, the mileage sensor 100 Signal from and direction sensor 200
, the current position of the vehicle 13 is calculated based on the signal, and a mark indicating the current position of the vehicle 13 is displayed on the corresponding coordinates of the screen 12A of the cathode ray tube 12 at a predetermined scale. It is.

The operation of the control circuit 400 will be explained below in FIGS. 8(a) to 8(a).
This will be explained in detail based on the flowchart shown in i).

FIG. 8(a) shows a flowchart of the main routine, in which the operation starts by starting power supply to the control circuit 400, initializing variables etc. in step SL, and then sequentially performing point setting preparation processing S2 and point setting. Each of the subroutines S2 to S5 including processing/setting point storage processing S3, point selection processing Φ mark display control processing/place name display control processing S4, and current position initialization processing S5 is repeatedly executed.

That is, to explain according to a specific usage example, first, the user presses the keyboard 30 before setting the starting point and destination point.
Operate the "Clear" key at 0. As a result, Fig. 8 (b) showing details of subroutine S2 of point setting preparation processing
), this key operation is detected (step S21.522), and initialization is performed such as zero-clearing the memories Pn, Sn, Ys, Gn, Xg, Yg (described later) for setting each point. (Stemp523
) is carried out.

Next, a plurality of sets of departure points and destination points are set, and processing for storing these points is performed (subroutine S3).

As an example, Group 1; Departure point – Iichi Akashi City Destination point 111 Kobe City Group 2; Departure point – 11 Himeji City Destination point 111 Ako City Group 3; Departure point – 11 Himeji City Destination point 111 Akashi City This section explains how to set the .

First, to set Akashifu as the starting point for the first group,
Using the keyboard 300, press each key for “setting” and “1”
, "starting point", "a", "power", "shi", "set"
and operate. As a result, subroutine S3 of FIG. 8(a) is executed. FIG. 8(C) is a detailed flowchart, in which the operation of the "setting" key is detected in steps S31 and S32, the next key operation is detected to be a numeric key in steps S33 and S34, and the step Nbu S3
In step 5, the contents of the numeric key are set in the variable m. In this case, m is set to rlJ, indicating that the first set of points is being set.

After setting the variable m, step 336 is executed, which is a subroutine for setting the starting point, and a detailed flowchart is shown in FIG. 8(d). That is,
In steps 5301 and 5302, the operation of the "departure point" key is detected, and the subroutine of place name/point search processing in step 5303 is executed. This subroutine is shown in FIG. 8(e). In step 5601, the contents of the operated key are read, and if it is determined in step 5602 that it is a character key, in 5603, the content of the operated key is read into the memory for storing the character string of the place name. It is stored in Pn (n=1.2・war...). Step 86 every time a character key is operated
Since 01 to 5603 are executed, the memory Pi contains “
"a", "power" is stored in P2, and "shi" is stored in P3, respectively. Finally, press the "r set" key,
If this is detected in step 5604, step 56
The semiconductor memory 500 is searched based on the character strings "a", "chi", and "shi" input in step 05, and the character string "a" is searched.
Memory 501a stores point information having “power” and “shi”.
~501g, and in step 5606, the address of the head memory 501a of this point information is set to variable A. Next, returning to the flowchart of FIG. 8(d), in step 5304, the first address where the information on the starting point of the m-th group is stored is transferred to the variable Asm to be stored. Therefore, since m=1, the address of the memory 501a is stored in Asl. By storing point information using addresses in this way, the number of required memories can be reduced. Of course, the content of the point information itself may be read out and stored. Next, returning to the flowchart of FIG. 8(C), the destination point setting process subroutine of step S37 is executed. To set the destination point to Kobe City as described above, press the keys ``Destination'', ``K'', ``
Operate as ``Tsu'', ``Go'', r゛J, and ``Set''. As a result, in FIG. 8(f) showing a detailed flowchart of the subroutine S37 written in L, the operation of the "destination point" key is detected in steps 5701 and 5702, and step 5703 is executed. This step 5703 is shown in FIG.
This is the same as step 5303 in step d), and the explanation will be omitted, but by this execution, the address of the first memory 502a of Kobe City point information (memories 502a to 502g) is stored in variable A, and step At 5704, the first address where the information on the destination point of the m-th group (m=1.2.3) is stored is transferred to a variable Agm that stores it. Therefore,
Since m=1, the address of the memory 502a is stored in A g + .

With this, the process of setting the first set of departure points and destination points and the process of storing the set points (step S3) are completed. To set the departure point and destination point for the second and third groups, click
After operating the "SET" key, specify the number of sets using the numeric key "2" or "3", and thereafter set the starting point and destination point in the same way as for the first set.

In this way, after setting the starting point and destination point for the first to third sets, the user selects one set from among them as necessary. For example, when the keys ``select'', ``1'', and ``set'' are operated on the keyboard 300, the point selection process, mark display control process, and place name display control process in step S4 of FIG. 8(a) are performed. The subroutine is executed.

That is, FIG. 8(g) is a flowchart thereof. First, in step 58()l, 5802, the operation of the "select" key is detected. Next, in steps 5803 and 5804, the operation of the numeric keys is detected, and in step 5805, the contents of the numeric keys are set in the variable m. Therefore, m=1. Next, in steps 5806 and 3807, the variable A' S + that stores the first address of the point information of the first set of departure points is
The semiconductor memory 500 stores this point information based on
Read the memories 501a to 501g from the skewer, set the memories 501a to 501C to the memory Sn, and set the memory 50 to
1d, 501e to Xs (2 bytes), memory 501
f, 501. Transfer each g to Ys (2 bytes). Further, in steps 3808 and 5809, the same execution as above is performed.

In addition, Sn and Gn (n=1.2---) are the starting points,
Memory for storing the place name information of the destination point, Xs and Xg are memories for storing the X coordinate component of the same location information, Ys and Y
g is a memory that stores the X coordinate component of the same position information.

The point selection process is thus completed, and the mark display control process (step S4) is subsequently executed. That is, in FIG. 7, a hypothetical rectangular area 12B consisting of a horizontal length χ and a vertical length y is set on the screen 12A of the cathode ray tube 12, and its outer periphery is Marks for the starting point and destination point are displayed on a 12 cm height based on a predetermined scale.

First, in step 5810, the ratio of the east-west distance lXs-XgI between the starting point and the destination point to the horizontal length χ of the rectangular area 12B is determined.
Similarly, the ratio between the north-south direction ratio @ l Y s - Ygl and the vertical length iy of the rectangular area 12B is ry =, cy/I
Ys−Ygl, and in step 5811 this ratio rχ, r
Compare the size of y. If 1χ≦ry, set rχ, rχ
>ry, set ry as scale r (step 5812
．． 5813).

Next, the coordinates (X) of the midpoint between the starting point and the destination point.

, YO) in step 5814 using the following formula X o = (X s + Xg)/2Y o = (Y
s+Yg)/2, and this midpoint is the center of the rectangular area 12B, that is, u=0. The exchange of coordinates and the reduction by the scale r to correspond to the origin of v=o are calculated in step 5815 based on the following formula %) ) ) ). Here, (Us, Vs) is screen 12
The coordinates of the starting point in A, (Ug, Vg) are also the coordinates of the destination point, so these coordinates are in the rectangular area 1.
It is obvious that it is on the outer circumference 12C of 2B.

Next, in step 5816, the coordinates (U S, Vs)
, (Ug, Vg), a display signal is output to the cathode ray tube 12 to display a starting point mark 901 and a destination point mark 902, as shown in FIG. 9 (&). This completes the execution of the mark display control process.

Finally, in step 5817, a signal is output so that the cathode ray tube 12 displays the place names of the starting point and destination point based on the memories Sn and Gn.

An example of the display is shown in FIG. 9(a), and the screen 12
On the left side of A, at the top is ``Start'', and below that is the place name of the departure point.
Akashi], ``Goal'' is also displayed in the upper right corner, and the destination place name ``Kobe'' is displayed below it. With this, the execution of the place name display control process is completed, and the entire execution of step S4 is completed.

Now, if the vehicle 13 is at the set starting point, the user only has to operate the "start" key immediately, but if the vehicle 13 is at a point a little far away, then the coordinates of the starting point (Xs, Ys)
Operate the "Start" key when you reach . As a result, the subroutine S5 of the current position initialization process shown in FIG. 8(a) is executed. FIG. 8(h) shows the flowchart of step 351. In S52, the operation of the "start" key is detected, and in step S53, the coordinates (X
s, Ys) are set in the coordinate memories Xp, Yp of the current position used for the cumulative calculation of the current position.

When the setting of the starting point, destination point, and current position is completed as described above and the vehicle continues to run, the pulse signal obtained by the mileage sensor lOO is used to set the starting point, destination point, and current position. An interrupt signal is input to the microcomputer, thereby executing the interrupt processing routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8(i).

In this flowchart, first, the direction signals Ha, H
5901), and the angle θ formed by the earth's magnetic field H shown in FIG. 3 and the traveling direction 13A of the vehicle 13 is calculated using the following formula (% formula %) (Step S902). Next, calculate each direction component dχ, dy for each coordinate axis χ, y of the unit traveling distance tlldJ1 based on the following formula (% formula %) Step 5903), Step 590
4, it is added to the integrated values χp and yp of the coordinate components of the current position.

Next, in step 5905, the coordinates (up, vp) on the screen 12A are calculated based on the scale r using the following formula (%)), and in step 5906, the coordinates (up, vp) on the screen 12A are calculated as shown in FIG. 9'(b). As shown in FIG. 9, a signal is output to display a mark 903 at the current position.

With such a device configuration of the present invention, when a starting point and a destination point are specified by place name, the control circuit 400 reads out the positional information of the desired point from among the point information stored in advance, and uses this as the starting point and the destination point. and display both points as marks on the cathode ray tube 12 at an appropriate scale, display the place names of these two points on the cathode ray tube, and furthermore display the current position whose time and time are calculated as marks. As described below, a navigation device having a navigation function suitable for in-vehicle use can be obtained.

First, the semiconductor memory does not store image information as it is as a map, but stores point information consisting of place name information and position information as a basic element, so it is possible to store point information over a wide area. It is possible.

Second, since the starting point and destination point are specified by place name and pre-stored location information is read out and set as the coordinates of both points, the exact location can be known with a simple operation.

Third, multiple departure points and destination points can be set and memorized, one set can be selected as needed, and the departure point and destination point can be searched in advance. By selecting a set of points and storing it in memory, you can easily know the current position of the vehicle by simply entering the number specifying the set of points using the numeric keys, without having to enter the place name of each point each time. be able to.

Fourthly, from the distance and positional relationship between the starting point and the destination point,
Marks 901 and 902 indicating both points are displayed at appropriate positions on the screen 12A, and the current position of the vehicle 13 is displayed at a scale determined by the marks 903, so the user can set the position and scale of each mark. You can avoid troublesome operations such as

Fifth, by displaying the place names of the departure point and destination point, it is possible to clearly distinguish the points from other groups, and the vehicle
You no longer have to worry about forgetting place names while driving 3.

In this embodiment, it is used as a point information storage means.

Although a ROM semiconductor memory is used, it is of course possible to store even more point information by using a large capacity storage device such as a floppy disk.

Further, instead of inputting with the keyboard 300, it is also possible to input using a voice input device.

Further, instead of the cathode ray tube 12, a dot matrix type liquid crystal display device may be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, point information consisting of place name information and position information is stored in the storage means, and the departure point and destination point are marked and displayed as coordinates on the display means at a predetermined scale based on the point information. Therefore, even a small storage means can be used as a data storage means with a sufficient amount to display the current position of the vehicle, and the current position of the vehicle can be displayed accurately with a simple operation. Therefore, it is possible to provide an on-vehicle navigation device that is small, inexpensive, and has a practically sufficient navigation function.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the navigation device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the orientation sensor, and FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the keyboard.
Figure 5 is a diagram showing a memory map of a semiconductor memory, Figure 6 is a diagram showing coordinates set on a map of Japan, Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a cathode ray tube in relation to mark settings, and Figure 8 (a
) to (i) are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the control circuit, respectively, and FIGS. 9(1) and (b) are diagrams showing examples of display on a cathode ray tube. 1-----1 mileage detection means, 2-----progressing direction detection means, 3-----1 current position calculation means, 4----
m--Current position initial setting means, 5-----Single point information storage means, 6-----Point setting means, 7--General fixed point storage means 8-----Single point selection means, 9 ------
Mark display control means, 10---1 place name display control means, 11---1 display means, 12-1111 cathode ray tube, l 3---1 vehicle, 10o-1---mileage sensor , 200---m one-way sensor, 300---
--Keyboard, 400--1--Control circuit, 500-
-111 semiconductor memory-1901,902,903--
---Mark. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent Masuo Oiwa Figure 1 10 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 1 year old 1 1'' 1 Figure 8 (0) (b) Figure 8 (c) (d) Figure 8 (e) (f) Figure 8 (9) Figure 8 (h) (1) Figure 9 (A) (8)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A traveling distance detecting means for detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle, a traveling direction detecting means for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a current position calculation for calculating the current position of the vehicle from the traveling distance and traveling direction obtained by each of the above detecting means. means, current position initial setting means for initializing the current position for the current position calculation means, display means capable of displaying a surface using a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, and a plurality of point information consisting of place name information and its position information. The stored point information storage means specifies the names of departure points and destination points of the vehicle, searches the point information storage means for these place names, reads out the corresponding point information, and stores the read out point information. A point setting means for setting the coordinates of each of the above points, a set point storage means for storing a plurality of departure points and destination points set by the point setting means, and a set of departure points and destination points from the set point storage means. a point selection means for selecting a starting point and a destination point, based on the positional relationship between the departure point and the destination point selected by the point selection means, displaying a mark indicating the position of both at a predetermined position on the screen of the display means, and a scale determined thereby; An in-vehicle navigation device comprising: a mark display control means for displaying a mark indicating the current position of the vehicle on the screen; and a place name display control means for displaying the names of the departure point and the destination point on the display means. .