JPS61212721A - Course guide unit for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the display of running track of a vehicle as required, by arranging a current running position detecting means, a running track computing means, a position memory means for memorizing information on position of intersections, a passing direction computing means and a track display force specifying means for force specifying the display of running track for an image display means. CONSTITUTION:An arithmetic unit 16 detects the current running position of a vehicle using the detection signals of a running distance sensor 10 and a bearing sensor 12 to determine running track by a storage processing thereof. Moreover, the arithmetic unit 16 also is given output signals of a keyboard 20 and a start switch 22 and an intersection memory position is applied thereto from a map data memory 24. The unit 16 determines the direction of the vehicle passes at intersections based on the current running position of the vehicle and the memory position of the intersection to control a display unit 28 through a display controller 26 by an image display command. Thus, the running track of the vehicle and the direction of passing at the intersection is displayed as image on a map with the unit 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a route guidance device for a vehicle that can display the passing direction of each intersection existing on a travel route.

(Background of the Invention) As a device used to guide a vehicle to a destination, devices disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-150814 and others have been proposed in the past, and this type of device displays the traveling trajectory of the vehicle. It had been.

However, this conventional device has a problem in that the route along which the vehicle should travel cannot be easily confirmed from the display of the travel trajectory.

Therefore, a device has been proposed that focuses on the intersections that exist on the route that the vehicle should travel, and displays the passing direction of the vehicle from the position immediately before each intersection, and the trajectory of the vehicle from the position immediately before each intersection. There is.

However, in the device according to this proposal, since these displays are automatically switched, it is not possible to select the display of the travel trajectory as necessary, which causes inconvenience in using the device.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a route guidance device for a vehicle that can select the display of the traveling trajectory of the vehicle as necessary.

(Configuration of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus according to the present invention is configured as shown in FIG.

In the figure, the running position of the vehicle is detected by the running position detection means a, and the running trajectory of the vehicle has already been determined by the running position calculation means.

Further, the position storage means C stores the position information of each intersection existing on the travel route of the vehicle, and the passing direction calculation means d stores the position information of the vehicle at each intersection based on the current travel position and the stored position information of each intersection. The direction of passage is required.

Roughly, the image display means e displays the direction in which the vehicle is passing through an intersection from the position immediately before each intersection to the position immediately before the vehicle's travel trajectory.

Then, the image display means e is forcibly instructed to display the traveling trajectory of the vehicle by the trajectory display forced instruction means f.

(Description of Embodiments) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The mileage sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2 detects the mileage of the vehicle, and in this embodiment, a distance pulse is obtained from the mileage sensor 10 every time the vehicle travels a distance.

Further, the running direction of the vehicle is detected by a direction sensor 12, and the direction sensor 12 of this embodiment is composed of a geomagnetic sensor.

Detection signals from these sensors 10 and 12 are given to an arithmetic unit 16 of a processing unit 14.

The arithmetic device 16 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and the processing device 14 is provided with a storage device 18 for storing processing data of the arithmetic device 16.

The arithmetic unit 16 detects the current traveling position of the vehicle using the detection signals from the sensors 10 and 12, and calculates the traveling trajectory of the vehicle by accumulating the current traveling position.

In general, output signals from a keyboard 20 and a start switch 22 are also provided to the arithmetic unit 16, and intersection storage locations are provided from a map data storage device 24 as map data necessary for map display.

Furthermore, the computing device 16 determines the passing direction of the vehicle at each intersection based on the current traveling position of the vehicle and the intersection storage position.

The image display command obtained by the arithmetic unit 16 is given to a display control device 26, and the display control device 26 controls the display of a display device 28 such as a CRT.

By performing this display control, the display device 28 displays an image of the travel trajectory of the vehicle and the passing direction of the intersection on the map.

In this embodiment, a mode changeover switch 30 is provided to forcibly instruct the arithmetic unit 16 to display the traveling trajectory of the vehicle among these displays.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained according to a flowchart.

When the device of this embodiment is powered on, the starting position of the vehicle,
It is determined whether data regarding the target position has been input by operating the keyboard 20 (step 100 in FIG. 3).

The data input is performed by teaching the exact coordinates of the starting position and the target position, or by teaching the approximate position by specifying the unit area to which the starting position and the target position belong.
When the approximate position teaching is performed, the starting position is determined from the list of unit areas displayed on the display device 28 as shown in FIG.

The destination to which the target position belongs is selected by key operation.

When it is confirmed that the data regarding the departure position and the target destination position have been input, an initial intersection serving as a temporary starting position and a final intersection serving as a temporary target position are determined (step 102).

Figure 5 explains the determining action of the above initial intersection.
The position ZS (XS, YS) is defined as the exact starting position if it is taught, and if the approximate position is taught using a unit area, it is defined as the center position of that unit area, and the surrounding area is Memory intersection la, Zb, ZC, Zd
Among them, the nearest memorized intersection Za is set as the initial intersection.

If the position ZS is given by specifying the unit area, when the vehicle is guided to the initial intersection using the direction display as described later, there is a risk that the guidance will be inaccurate or incorrect. Therefore, it is preferable to determine an initial intersection that is a certain distance from the position Zs as described below.

In this case, among the memory intersections za, zb, zc, and zd, the one that satisfies the following two equations and is the closest is taken as the initial intersection.

Note that here, the unit area is 1 km square, and the value is 3000.
(m> shall be adjusted and set according to the size of the unit area.

Y (Yd-Ys)<X (Xd-Xs>(X-XS>)
2+ (Y-YS) 2≦3000 position (X
d, Yd) are the coordinates of the target position Zd, and the initial intersection is determined from the shaded area in FIG.

FIG. 6 explains the final intersection determination operation, and the final intersection is a memorized intersection Zl that exists around the target position Zd (Xd, Yd) of the vehicle.

,7. Among m, ln, and 20, the nearest memory intersection is 7m.

Note that if the target position Zd is taught accurately, that position is used, and if only the unit area is specified, the center position is used, and the memorized intersection where the value of the following formula is the minimum is used as the final target position Zd. Determined as an intersection.

D2= (X-Xd) 2+(Y-Yd) 2 Once the initial intersection and final intersection are determined in this way, the shortest travel route from the initial intersection to the final intersection is determined (third Figure step 104).

FIG. 7 explains the procedure for determining this shortest route. First, the starting intersection is set and stored as a reference intersection (step 106), and all adjacent intersections (-next intersections) of the reference intersection are searched. (Step 108
).

Next, the distance from the reference intersection to each secondary intersection is calculated (step 110), and all adjacent intersections (secondary intersections) of these secondary intersections are roughly searched (step 11).
2).

Further, the distance from each secondary intersection to each secondary intersection is calculated (step 114), and then the distance of the travel route from the reference intersection to each secondary intersection via the primary intersection is determined (step 116).

Then, the shortest route with the shortest distance among the routes to the secondary intersection is determined (step 118).

Further, after the positions of the primary and secondary intersections only on the shortest route are stored (step 120), if it is determined that the secondary intersection is not the final intersection (step 12)
2>, the secondary intersection on the shortest route is set as the reference intersection (step 124>, and the processes from step 108 onwards are repeated).

In this way, the shortest route from the starting intersection to the final intersection is found, and at that time, the position of each intersection on the shortest route and the distance between intersections are memorized. (Step 130 in FIG. 10) A trajectory is displayed on the map (Step 132), and a guide is displayed to guide the vehicle from the starting position to the initial intersection (Step 126 in FIG. 3).

If only a unit area is specified, a map including area A is displayed as shown in FIG. 8, and then an initial intersection 7 is displayed in area B at the left corner as shown in FIG.
-a direction is displayed with an arrow (Fig. 10 Step 13)
4).

When the vehicle reaches the initial intersection according to the guidance display of the initial intersection and this is confirmed, the start switch 22 shown in FIG. 2 is operated, thereby confirming that the vehicle has reached the initial intersection (step 128 in FIG. 3).

When the confirmation is made, the initial intersection position ZS is set as the origin position Zo (step 129>, and then the guidance process in which the travel trajectory and intersection guidance display are performed is started.

The display of these travel trajectories and intersection guidance is performed based on the detected current travel position of the vehicle, and the detection is performed as follows.

When the input of the distance pulse obtained by the mileage sensor 10 is confirmed (step 136 in FIG. 11), the above process for guiding the vehicle is temporarily interrupted (step 138).
The distance measurement calculation process shown in FIG. 12 is started (step 140).
).

In this process, first, the traveling direction θ of the vehicle detected by the direction sensor 12 is taken in (step 142), and then the traveling distance ΔX in the X direction and the traveling distance ΔY in the Y direction are determined (step 144).

Then, these distances ΔX and ΔY are added to the previous cumulative distance X in the X direction and cumulative distance Y in the Y direction, resulting in the coordinate Z(X) indicating the current traveling position of the vehicle.

Y) is determined (step 146).

The above distance measurement calculation is performed as an interrupt to the guidance process every time a distance pulse is input, and when this process is completed, the above-mentioned guidance process is restarted (Fig. 11, Step 1).
48).

In this guidance process, the trajectory of the vehicle is displayed between each intersection, and an intersection guidance display indicating the direction in which the intersection should be passed is displayed before each intersection.The processing for these displays will be explained below. do.

When the vehicle reaches the initial intersection (ZS) and the start switch 22 is operated (step 129), the position Zo
is the vehicle's current traveling position Z determined by the above distance measurement function.
It is set as the initial position of (X, Y), and
The position of the next intersection is set as position Z, and roughly the position of the next intersection is set as position Z2 (
FIG. 13 step 150).

These positions ZO+Z1#Z2 are updated each time the vehicle passes the next intersection Z1, and at that time, the position Z is set to the position Zo, the position Z2 is set to the position Z1, and The next intersection position after intersection Z2 is set as position Z2 (step 168).

Once the positions Zo, Z+, and ZS are set, it is determined whether the intersection at position Z (that is, the next intersection) is the final intersection closest to the target position of the vehicle (step '152), and the intersection or the final intersection, text to that effect is displayed (step 154).

Then, the distance to the next intersection (Zl) searched using the positions Zo and Z+ is set, and the approach direction to the next intersection (Z,) and the exit direction from the next intersection (Zl) are set. (step 156).

Furthermore, a test area and an error determination area are determined as follows (step 158).

FIG. 14 explains the determining action of these areas. In the figure, a vehicle passes straight through an intersection at position Z from an intersection at position Zo, and then turns left at an intersection at position @Z2.

When a vehicle passes straight through an intersection (Zo) toward the next intersection (Z, ), a verification area 200 is set for the next intersection (Zl), and when a vehicle passes through the next intersection (Zl>), a test area 200 is set for the next intersection (Zl). A test area 202 is set for (ZS).

The verification area 200 has a substantially rectangular shape centered on the position Z1, and its long side is set perpendicular to the direction in which the vehicle passes through the intersection.

The distance between the long sides is 0.06 times the distance L1 from position Zo to position Z1, and the short side is a partial arc of a circle with a radius of length 0.11+. There is.

The test area 202 set at the next intersection Z1 has a radius of 0.1 times the distance from position @Z+ to position Z2, and is circular with the intersection (ZS) as the center.

On the other hand, an error determination area 204 is set when the vehicle passes through the intersection Zo, and an error determination area 206 is set when the vehicle passes through the intersection (Z+).

These error determination areas 204 and 206 are approximately rectangular, and their long sides are in the direction ZO77 and the direction Z, respectively.
It is said to be 1Z2.

And their short sides are a circle with radius 1.11+ centered at position Zo, Z+, position Z1. Radius 1 centered on Z2.
It is considered to be a partial arc of the circle 1L2.

When the verification area and error determination area are determined as described above, the next intersection (Zl) is determined as the next intersection (Zl) in FIG.
, ), it is determined whether the intersection is a straight intersection (step 160).

At that time, if it is determined that the next intersection (Z,) is a straight-through intersection, passage through that intersection (Z,) is monitored (step 162).

During this monitoring, when the vehicle is in the approximately rectangular verification area (first
In Fig. 4, when entering the area 200>, the traveling distance from the position Zo becomes the distance mentioned above, and by reaching the next intersection (
Zl) is confirmed to have passed (step 162
), the position ZO*11*72 is updated (step '168), and for example, in FIG. 14, the position Z is changed to the position Zo, the position Z2 is changed to the position Z1, and the position of the next intersection is changed to the position Z2. be done.

Also, in Fig. 14, the vehicle is at position Z+ (however, Zo
When the next intersection Z2 (updated to Zl) is not a straight-through intersection, as in the case where the next intersection Z2 (updated to Zl) is reached, a reset bearing is determined (step 164).

This reset direction is selected to be an intermediate direction between the approach direction and the exit direction of the next intersection (Z+), and is within the turning angle range of the vehicle at the next intersection (Zl).
When the vehicle enters the verification area 202 and turns in its reset direction, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the next intersection (Zl) (step 166).

Next, processing performed using the detection area and error determination area will be explained.

It was confirmed that the vehicle had left the inspection area of intersection Zo (
FIG. 15 Step 170) and step 172) when the test area of the next intersection (Z, ) has not been reached,
The vehicle is in the error determination area (area 204 in Fig. 14).
．． 206> is constantly determined (step 1).
74), and if it is determined that the vehicle has left the error determination area during that time, a message to that effect is displayed (step 1).
76), thereby confirming that the vehicle has deviated from the shortest route.

Also, the vehicle can then proceed to the next intersection (Z) without taking the shortest route.
If it reaches the test area of l), the next intersection (Zl)
It is determined whether or not is a straight-through intersection (step 17
8).

At this time, if it is determined that the next intersection (Zl) is a straight-through intersection, the process in FIG. is monitored (step 1
80).

When the passage of that intersection (Zl) was confirmed, the 15th
The process shown in the figure ends as it is, but if the vehicle leaves the verification area of the intersection (Zl) without confirmation of its passing (step 182), an error will be generated as the vehicle has traveled in a direction different from the route guidance direction. A display is performed (step 176).

In order to prevent such a wrong direction of travel at an intersection, the process shown in FIG. 16 is performed, and as a result, the above-mentioned intersection guidance display shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, for example, is performed.

In FIG. 16, when it is confirmed that the vehicle has entered the verification area of the next intersection (Zl), step 184);
For example, if the vehicle turns six at the next intersection (Zl), the first
As shown in Figure 7, the intersection area is enlarged (
At step 188), the exit direction from the intersection is displayed with an arrow, and the remaining distance to the intersection (Z, ) is roughly displayed in segments at the arrow base C in the figure (step 190).

When the vehicle reaches 100 meters before the intersection (Z,), for example, as shown in FIG. ).

When it is confirmed that the vehicle has passed the next intersection (Z,) (step 194), the direction of passing through this intersection is stopped (step 196), and the display of the travel trajectory, which will be described next, is restarted.

The start switch 22 indicates that the vehicle has reached the initial intersection.
When confirmed by the operation (Fig. 19 Step 198>
, the initial intersection position Zs (ZO) is set as the initial position for the mileage accumulation process performed at step 146 in FIG. 12 (step 201).

Then, a map including the initial intersection (Zo) is displayed (step 203), and the vehicle's travel trajectory is displayed on the displayed map by accumulating the travel positions Z (X, Y) that are successively determined with position ZS as the initial position. is displayed (step 205).

Thereafter, when it is confirmed that the vehicle has entered the test area of the next intersection (Zl) (step 207), the display of the map and trajectory is interrupted in order to perform the intersection guidance display (step 209).

When it is confirmed that the vehicle has passed through the next intersection (zl) (step 211>, it is determined whether or not that intersection (Z,) is the final intersection (step 213>). ) is not the final intersection, its position Z1 is set as the initial position for the travel distance accumulation process (step 215).

FIG. 20 shows an example of a display resulting from the process of FIG. 19. As can be understood from the figure, the displayed map is simplified, and the roads connecting each intersection are displayed as straight lines.

Then, by the process of step 215 above, the law sentence difference point position Z
1, the position Z is set as the initial position of the mileage accumulation process each time the vehicle passes through the characteristic 210.
, 212, the driving trajectory is displayed at each intersection (
Zo ) is the starting point.

Roughly speaking, each time it is confirmed that the next intersection (Zl) has passed (Step 217 in Figure 21), the current intersection (Zl)
The travel trajectory data previously held between the previous intersection (Zo) and the previous intersection (Zo) will be deleted (
step 219).

Also, as can be understood from Fig. 22, the intersection immediately before passing (Z
The display 214 of the travel trajectory from ) to the current intersection (Zl) is straightened and corrected to match the road display therebetween (step 221).

Here, it is determined whether the display of the travel trajectory was forcibly instructed by operating the mode selector switch 30 when the process of FIG. 16 in which the intersection passing direction is displayed is started (step 250). .

At this time, if it is determined that there was no forced instruction, the display is automatically switched to the intersection passing direction as described above, but if it is determined that there was a forced instruction, then the display shown in Fig. 16 is displayed. The process ends and the display of the intersection passing direction is prohibited.

In addition, in the process shown in FIG. 19 in which the driving trajectory is displayed, when the vehicle enters the verification area for the next intersection (Zl) (step 207), the same determination as above is made (step 252). ).

At this time, if it is determined that there was no forced instruction, the display of the traveling trajectory will be interrupted as described above.
When it is determined that such a compulsory instruction was given,
The step 209.2'11 is omitted and the display of the travel trajectory continues as it is.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, by selecting a fixed display of the travel trajectory, for example, if you deviate from the guidance route for a break etc., it becomes possible to easily return to that route again, and the final After reaching the intersection, it becomes possible to reach the destination without error, and therefore the usability of the device is significantly improved.

In this embodiment, a mode changeover switch 30 is provided, but by inputting a special number (for example, r9999J) for the target position using the keyboard 20, input regarding the starting position and the target position can be changed. It is also possible to configure the device to omit this switch 30 by providing the above-mentioned forced instructions according to patents featuring data.

In addition, in order to accurately confirm passing through a straight intersection, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to monitor and determine that the vehicle has passed through the intersection (Z,) when the vehicle enters the verification area of the intersection (Z,) and the distance LH becomes the minimum. I'll go.

In general, in order to perform the shortest route setting process shown in FIG. 7 in a short time, it is preferable to store the distances to all the divergence points for each intersection in the map data storage device 24 in advance.

A yaw rate sensor or the like can be used as the direction sensor 12, and a compact disk device or a magnetic tape playback device can be used in the storage bag @24.

It is possible to use a ROM or the like.

In step 176 of FIG. 15, it is preferable to display an error message as shown in FIG. 24, give a chime sound to the driver, and then start the process shown in FIG. 25.

First, a trajectory display for guiding the vehicle to the shortest route is started (step 223), and the position of the intersection that the vehicle passed immediately before the error occurred is set (step 225).

Then, the vehicle is driven toward the shortest route using the trajectory display, and at this time the number of intersections passed is monitored (step 227).

At that time, if the number of intersections passed is less than 11, it is determined whether the current driving position is within 200 m in the X direction and Y direction from the intersection passed immediately before the error occurred (step 229>, if it is within 200 m). When the determination is made, the guidance process is started (step 231
).

Furthermore, when it is determined that the intersection is not within 200 meters, the number of intersections passed is monitored again.

After that, when the number of intersections passed reaches 11, it is determined that it is not possible to return to the shortest route, and an instruction to re-enter only the current position is displayed as shown in FIG. 26 (step 233). .

When the current position is re-inputted in accordance with the instruction, the process shown in FIG. 3 is performed using the input data, and the guidance process is started from the beginning.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, since the display of the traveling trajectory can be arbitrarily selected as required, it is possible to significantly improve the convenience of the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a claim correspondence diagram, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, Fig. 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a unit area. An explanatory diagram of an input screen display example, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the initial intersection determination action, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the final intersection determination action,
7 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, FIGS. 8 and 9 are explanatory diagrams of screen display examples explaining the initial intersection guidance operation, 1st
FIG. 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the determining operation of the verification area and error judgment area, FIGS. 15 and 16 are flowcharts explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 17 and 18 are examples of screen displays immediately before an intersection. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a flowchart 17-t. explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 22 is an illustration of the operation of correcting the travel trajectory display, FIG. 23 is an illustration of the operation of determining passage through a straight intersection, and FIG. 24 is an explanation of an example of an error display. 25 is a flowchart explaining the processing procedure performed for guiding the user to the shortest route, and FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a display instructing re-input of the current position. Meter...Travel trajectory calculation means b...Map storage means C...Image display means d...Intersection passage detection means ゛e...Trajectory display correction means 10...Midage distance sensor 12...Direction Sensor 14...Processing device 16...Arithmetic device 18...Processed data storage device 20...Keyboard 22...Start switch 24...Map data storage device 26...Display control device 28...・Display device 30...mode changeover switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Current travel position detection means for detecting the current travel position of the vehicle; Travel trajectory calculation means for calculating the vehicle travel trajectory by accumulating the current travel position; and position information of each intersection existing on the vehicle travel route. a passing direction calculation means for calculating the passing direction of the vehicle at each intersection based on the current traveling position and the stored position information of each intersection; A route guidance device for a vehicle, comprising: image display means for displaying the travel trajectory of the vehicle up to the immediately preceding position; and trajectory display forced instruction means for forcibly instructing the image display means to display the travel trajectory. .