JP2000018956A - On-vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle navigation device, where an unsuitable timing guide is prevented and effectiveness of a traffic lane guide is improved by continuously setting a recommended cruising lane that can be run suitably on a branch road of a guide object, until the present position of a vehicle. SOLUTION: When a plurality of traffic lanes are included between a guide branch point and a vehicle position, a recommended cruising lane that can be suitably run on a branch road of a guide object is propagated to a present vehicle position. In the situation of the figure, since this side of a branch point B is an exclusive use lane for a right turn, a vehicle must not veer toward the right end prior to this. However, if the recommended cruising lane is propagated, a vehicle is run on a lane that can be run straight before the branch point B and the recommended cruising lane, where a vehicle is changed to an exclusive lane for a right turn located ahead of a branch point A that is a guide branch point over or from the branch point B, is determined. Accordingly, if a lane guide based upon the recommended cruising lane conducted, a vehicle can turn to the right at the branch point A, namely; a guide at unsuitable timing can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-vehicle navigation device for providing a route to a set destination, and more particularly to a navigation device capable of providing guidance in lane units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a navigation apparatus which detects a current position by a GPS or the like as a vehicle travels, and displays the current position together with a road map on a display to smoothly reach a destination. Further, a navigation system that sets an appropriate route from the current location to the destination and uses the route as a guide is also known, which contributes to a smoother driving.

[0003] In such a navigation system, there is known a navigation system in which, each time a vehicle approaches a branch point to be guided to a user on a route (guide branch point), travel guidance at the guide branch point is performed by voice. ing. For example, the voice guidance of the distance to the junction and the direction of the turn, such as "XX meters ahead to the right." As described above, there is also known one that provides guidance to the name of a guidance junction. As described above, the user is notified by voice with good timing, so that the user does not need to frequently pay attention to the positional relationship between the current location and the guidance junction, which is very convenient.

In the case of a road having a plurality of lanes,
There is also known one that provides travel guidance in lanes (lanes). This is, for example, as follows. When a vehicle traveling in a straight lane out of a plurality of lanes turns left or right at a branch point, it is necessary to move to the left or right turn lane before reaching the branch point. However, there may be a case where the lane cannot be appropriately changed from the time when the guidance for turning left or right at the guidance junction is provided to the time when the guidance reaches the junction due to a large traffic volume or the like.
Therefore, at a point before the guidance of turning right or left at the guidance junction, guidance is provided in advance so as to travel in an appropriate lane for the right or left turn. In addition, this may occur not only when making a right or left turn, but also in a branch portion such as an expressway, for example, only a part of a plurality of lanes may travel straight. In this case, the vehicle cannot travel straight as desired unless the vehicle has previously traveled in the straight lane. Therefore, by guiding the lane to be traveled in this way, more appropriate travel guidance can be provided (FIG. 1).
0).

[0005]

However, when the vehicle is guided to travel on the lane determined based on the guidance junction, the following problem occurs. For example, FIG.
It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling in the left lane of two lanes under the road condition 1. If a route that makes a right turn at junction A, which is a guidance junction, is set, it is necessary to move to the right lane in order to make a right turn at junction A. Please stop by the right lane. " However, if there is a fork B between the fork A and the current position of the vehicle, and there is a right turn lane for the fork B, the vehicle moves to the right lane in accordance with the above-mentioned travel guidance. Then, it is conceivable that the vehicle enters a lane dedicated to right turn for turning right at the branch point B, and the vehicle must be turned right at the branch point B. As a result, the user is guided to the wrong route.

It is also assumed that the vehicle is traveling on the left lane of two lanes in a road condition as shown in FIG. If a route that makes a right turn at junction A, which is a guidance junction, is set, it is necessary to move to the right lane in order to make a right turn at junction A. Please stop by the right lane. "
I will give you a driving guide. However, 100 before branch point A
When about 0 m is a lane change prohibition zone, there is a possibility that the travel guidance may induce a traffic law violation to the user.

As described above, since the lane guidance is simply performed without considering the road conditions other than the vicinity of the guidance junction A, guidance is performed at inappropriate timing, and various problems occur. Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and by continuously setting a recommended traveling lane that can appropriately proceed to the guide destination branch road to the current position of the vehicle, the above-described inappropriate timing at the inappropriate timing is achieved. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle navigation device that prevents guidance and improves the effectiveness of lane guidance.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle-mounted navigation device, wherein the guide means comprises a route from the departure point to the destination. Every time the vehicle approaches a predetermined branch point to be guided, which is present on the destination route set as, the traveling guidance for that branch point is performed. In setting the destination route, for example, the route cost is calculated using the Dijkstra method based on the link information of the link connecting the nodes and the connection information between the links, and the route setting is performed by connecting the link having the minimum route cost. It is possible to do.

In addition to the traveling guidance at such a guidance junction, when a route having a plurality of traveling lanes is included from the guidance junction to the own vehicle position, which lane should be traveled. I will also guide you. For this purpose, first, the recommended driving lane determining means performs a recommended driving that can appropriately proceed from the own vehicle position to the route beyond the guidance junction based on the change in the lane condition in the route between the own vehicle position and the guidance junction. Determine the lane. Then, the guidance means performs a predetermined lane guidance each time the vehicle approaches a point to be guided for traveling in the recommended travel lane, based on the recommended travel lane determined by the recommended travel lane determination means.

The "change in lane conditions" to be considered when determining the recommended driving lane includes, for example, merging or branching of lanes, increasing or decreasing the number of lanes without merging or branching lanes, or permitting only traveling in the direction of branching. That a dedicated lane exists. Therefore, for example, if the currently traveling lane is a lane for traveling in the branching direction, but the destination route is set in a direction that does not branch, the lane is changed to a lane that can travel in the direction that does not branch. Give guidance.

As described above, the recommended traveling lane that can appropriately travel on the road to which the guidance is to be branched is continuously set to the current position of the vehicle, so that the guidance at the inappropriate timing described above is prevented. The effectiveness of guidance can be improved. For example, in the situation shown in FIG.
Is a lane dedicated to right-turn, so that the vehicle travels on a straight-ahead lane in front of junction B, and changes lanes to a lane dedicated to right-turn just before junction A, which is a guidance junction, after exceeding junction B. A recommended driving lane is determined. Therefore, if the lane guidance based on the recommended traveling lane is performed, the vehicle can make a right turn at the junction A, and can travel along the destination route.

Further, for example, in the situation shown in FIG. 12, even if the timing of the lane guidance for turning right at the junction A is set to, for example, 700 m before the guidance point, If the lane change prohibition zone is about 1000 m before the lane change prohibition zone is determined, the recommended traveling route is determined in consideration of the lane change prohibition zone, so that the lane is changed to the right turn lane before the lane change prohibition zone. Recommended driving lane is determined. Therefore,
If the lane guidance based on the recommended driving lane is provided, the guidance does not forcibly change lanes in the lane change prohibition zone and induces the user to violate traffic regulations, and the driving according to the destination route is also performed. It becomes possible.

As a method of determining a recommended traveling lane, for example, as shown in claim 5, for each point where the lane condition changes, the lane condition is sequentially changed in the direction of the own vehicle position starting from the guidance junction. By performing a lane propagation process of determining a recommended traveling lane after the lane condition change point for the recommended traveling lane before the situation change point in consideration of a change in the lane condition at the point,
It is conceivable to determine a recommended traveling lane that can appropriately travel from the vehicle position to the route beyond the guidance junction. this is,
Ultimately, the purpose is to determine the lane on which the route ahead of the guidance junction can be properly traveled. The recommended traveling lane is sequentially propagated in consideration of each lane situation at the lane situation change point.

By the way, although the recommended lane is basically determined in units of guidance junctions, as described in claim 6, when a plurality of guidance junctions are located close to each other, May determine the recommended traveling lane up to the route ahead of the foremost guidance junction. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when a branch point is considered alone, even if there are two lanes before and after the branch point, as shown in FIG. In consideration of the fork, the recommended traveling lane before and after the nearest fork is one lane. When only the branch point closest to the own vehicle position is considered, the driver is informed that either of the two lanes may be passed when passing the branch point, but after passing, the left lane is considered in consideration of the next branch point. The guidance to change lanes will be given. However, when the distance between the branch points is close, the section allowed for the lane change is short, and such a lane change becomes difficult due to, for example, a large traffic volume. Therefore, when a plurality of guidance junctions are close to each other, it is preferable to determine a recommended traveling lane to the route ahead of the foremost guidance junction among the guidance junctions.

[0015] The recommended driving lane is affected not only by changes in the lane conditions caused by the road itself, but also by dynamic factors such as traffic congestion and temporary traffic regulation. Therefore, as set forth in claim 7, a receiving means, such as a VICS receiver, capable of receiving traffic-related information from the outside is provided, and the recommended driving lane is determined based on the traffic-related information received by the receiving means. It may be.

On the other hand, as for the execution timing of the lane guidance, as shown in FIG. 9A, for example, when the lane must be changed to the right turn dedicated lane to make a right turn at the guidance junction,
It is conceivable to provide guidance for lane change at a predetermined distance (for example, about 700 m) before the branch point (assuming that the above-described lane change prohibition section does not exist). Of course, changing the predetermined distance to guide according to the road conditions such as expressway or general road,
In the case of lane guidance, there is another factor to consider, although it may be adopted in the same manner as in the case of guidance about a branch point. For example, it is traffic-related information that changes dynamically, such as the degree of congestion in the lane to which the lane is changed. As a result of the lane guidance, when the lane change is necessary, the lane to which the lane has been changed is congested, and at the normal guidance timing, for example, 700 before the junction.
If the user is informed of the lane change in front of m, it is assumed that the vehicle is already blocked in that lane. Therefore, claim 8
As shown in (2), if the guidance unit performs the lane guidance at a timing determined also in consideration of the traffic-related information received by the reception unit, the lane guidance can be performed before the normal. For example, as shown in FIG.
Guide lane change in front.

As the guidance means, it is conceivable to execute lane guidance by outputting a voice from a voice utterance device. The lane guidance may also be executed by outputting a voice from the voice utterance device and displaying an image on a display device that displays characters and graphics on a screen. Considering current navigation systems and the like, it is common to provide guidance by appealing to visual and auditory senses by outputting audio along with screen display. This is also preferable.

In the case of lane guidance, when voice is output from a voice utterance device, there is an advantage in that the driver does not need to shift his / her viewpoint to the display device, so that safe driving can be further ensured. And the like.

[0019]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle-mounted navigation device 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The in-vehicle navigation device 20 includes a position detector 24, a map data input device 26, an operation switch group 28, a navigation ECU 30 connected thereto, an external memory 32 connected to the navigation ECU 30, a display device 34, and a speaker 35. ing. In addition, navigation EC
The U30 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components.

The position detector 24 is a GPS (Global Position) that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a well-known gyroscope 38, a distance sensor 40, and satellites.
ingSystem).
Each of these sensors 38, 40, and 42 has an error having a different property, and is configured to be used while interpolating with a plurality of sensors. It should be noted that depending on the accuracy, a part of the above-described components may be used, and a rotation sensor for the steering wheel, a wheel sensor for each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

The map data input device 26 is a device for inputting various data including map data and map data for improving the accuracy of position detection. As a storage medium, CD-
A ROM or DVD is generally used, but other media such as a memory card may be used.

The display device 34 is a color display device. On the screen of the display device 34, a current vehicle position mark input from the position detector 24, map data input from the map data input device 26, and It is possible to superimpose and display additional data such as a guide route to be displayed on the map and a mark of a set point described later.

Further, the vehicle is configured to notify the driver of the traveling guidance by voice via the speaker 35,
Both the display on the display device 34 and the audio output from the speaker 35 can guide the driver to travel.
For example, in the case of a right turn, a content such as "Please turn right at the next intersection" is output by voice. If the driver is notified by voice, the driver can check the traffic information at the set point without moving the viewpoint, so that further safe driving can be achieved. Also, when there are multiple lanes as well as guidance about junctions,
It also provides lane guidance as to which lane to drive. The details of the lane guidance will be described later. Note that the display device 34 and the speaker 35 correspond to “guidance means” of the present invention.

The operation switch group 28 is, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 34, and is used for various inputs. Then, when the in-vehicle navigation device 20 inputs the position of the destination with the operation switches 28,
It has a so-called route guidance function of automatically selecting an optimal route from the current position to the destination to form a guidance route, displaying the guidance route on the display device 34, and guiding by voice via the speaker 35. . As a technique for automatically setting the optimum route, a technique such as the Dijkstra method is known.

Further, the on-vehicle navigation device 20
Has a communication device 44. This communication device 44
The device used for communication with the information center 10 as an external transmission source, and used as the communication device 44 may be a mobile communication device such as a car phone or a mobile phone, A dedicated receiver may be used.

Here, the configuration of the information center 10 will be briefly described. The information center 10 collects by an external event collection device 12 that collects external events such as road conditions from various sensors S and the like mounted near the road, and various regulations and external event collection devices 12 together with a road map in the center area. A road network data storage device 14 in which various types of traffic information created based on the external events are stored;
A communication device 16 for communicating with a navigation device 20 mounted on a vehicle via a wireless line such as a car phone or a mobile phone; a position data (current position and destination) received from the navigation device 20 and a road network data storage device A control device 18 is provided for controlling a target road such as a traffic regulation or a traffic jam based on the information stored in the communication device 14 and transmitting the information via the communication device 16.

With such a configuration, the on-vehicle navigation device 20 performs the following operation. That is, after the power is turned on, the navigation ECU 30 displays the guide route from the menu displayed on the display device 34 by operating the operation switch group 28 by the driver.
If you select the route information display process to display on the
The following processing is performed. That is, when the driver inputs a destination based on the map on the display device 34, G
The current location of the vehicle is obtained based on the satellite data obtained from the PS receiver 42, the cost is calculated by the Dijkstra method between the destination and the current location, and the shortest route from the current location to the destination is a guidance route. Is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display device 44 so as to guide the driver to an appropriate route.

In this guidance, "branch point guidance" and "lane guidance" are performed. The branch point guidance is for guiding how to pass through the guide branch point every time the vehicle approaches the guide branch point on the destination route. Note that the “guidance junction” refers only to a junction determined to require guidance from the road shape, surrounding conditions, and the like. Therefore,
Instead of pointing to all the junctions on the destination route,
A branch point that merely passes when traveling on a so-called "road way" does not basically correspond.

The lane guidance provides guidance on which lane to travel when there are a plurality of lanes that can be traveled. For example, only one lane on the right side of two lanes is a lane dedicated to right turn. If you are currently driving in the left lane, you will receive a guidance such as "You are 700 meters ahead and turn right. Please stop by the right lane." Prior to this lane guidance, when a route having a plurality of traveling lanes is included between the guidance junction and the own vehicle position, a change in the lane condition in the route between the own vehicle position and the guidance junction is included. Based on this, a recommended traveling lane that can appropriately travel from the vehicle position to the route beyond the guidance junction is determined. Then, every time the vehicle approaches a point to be guided for traveling in the determined recommended traveling lane, predetermined lane guidance is performed. In the following description, the words “lane” and “lane” are mixed, but both are used with the same meaning.

Here, the determination of the recommended driving lane will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process of determining a recommended traveling lane executed by the navigation ECU 30. First, in the first step S10, it is determined whether or not a guidance junction is located ahead of the position where the vehicle is present on the destination route. In this case, it is determined whether there is a guidance junction between the vehicle position and a predetermined distance ahead.
That is, even if the destination route itself is long, this determination is made only within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position. For example, 5
It is about Km / h. Of course, this determination distance may be changed between a general road and an expressway.

If there is a guidance branch point (S1)
0: YES), it is determined whether or not the road in front of the branch point (meaning the vehicle position side) has two or more lanes. 1
If it is a lane (S20: NO), the process returns to S10 because there is no need for lane guidance, but if there are two or more lanes (S20: YE)
S) Since it is necessary to perform lane guidance, a recommended traveling lane for lane guidance is determined by the processing of S30 and subsequent steps.

First, in S30, a lane that can travel to a branch point at the guidance branch point is set as a recommended traveling lane. Then, in subsequent S40, it is determined whether or not the point at which the lane condition changes has been traced to the own vehicle position in the opposite direction to the traveling direction, and if tracking has not been performed to the own vehicle position (S40).
40: NO), in subsequent S50, it is determined whether or not the lane changes at the change point detected in the reverse tracking. If the lane changes (S50: YES), the recommended traveling lane is propagated according to the change (S6).
0). As described above, the recommended traveling lane from the own vehicle position to the guidance junction is determined by sequentially transmitting the recommended traveling lane from the guidance junction to the own vehicle position. As described above, predetermined lane guidance is performed based on the determined recommended travel lane each time the vehicle approaches a point to be guided in order to run the recommended travel lane.
Details and timing of the lane guidance will be described later.

The above is an outline of the processing for determining the recommended lane. The details will be further described. Regarding the above "points where lane conditions change", the following three types are available:
That is, there are a lane change point, a lane junction, and a lane branch point. First, the lane change point is a point where there is no increase or decrease in links such as a lane junction or a lane branch point, and only lane information changes on one link. Also,
The lane junction indicates lane information at a point where links from two or more directions merge. On the other hand, a lane branch point indicates lane information at a point where a link branches in two or more directions.

For example, FIG. 3 shows a specific example of a point at which the lane condition changes near Edobashi JCT when accessed from the direction of Takebashi Junction (JCT) on the Metropolitan Expressway. The road from the direction of Takebashi JCT has two lanes. First, there is a lane junction at the entrance of Kurebashi Bridge, and the number of lanes increases to three lanes at the lane junction. After that, there is a lane change point where the number of lanes increases to 4 before the Edobashi exit, and there is a lane branch point because the Edobashi exit exists. The number of lanes has been reduced to three due to the lane branch point. In front of the Edobashi JCT, there is a lane change point where lane regulation changes. Specifically, it is a lane change prohibition zone, one of the three lanes is a lane in the direction of branching to Haneda at Edobashi JCT, and the other two lanes are branched to Mukojima. The direction of the lane.

The following describes the details of each of the three types of "points at which the lane conditions change", the recommended traveling lane propagation process, and the lane guidance. (1) Lane change point (lane increase / lane decrease / others) As lane change points include lane increase, lane decrease, and others, they will be described in order.

(1-1) Increase of lane At the lane increase point of the lane change point, the recommended travel lane before propagation (in this case, the propagation is from the guidance junction to the direction of the vehicle position, so the vehicle position is referred to. In this case, the recommended traveling lane of the exit link at the lane increase point is shown.) And the lane relationship between the approach link and the propagation process are classified. However, when the total number of lanes of the incoming link is 1 or less, the lane guidance itself is unnecessary, so the propagation processing itself is interrupted.

FIG. 4A shows a case where a recommended traveling lane before propagation exists on the approach link. In this case, only the lane existing after propagation is propagated in the recommended traveling lane before propagation. . Specifically, since the number of lanes has increased from three to four, the two lanes on the right are the recommended lanes before propagation, so the second lane from the right is the first lane from the right after propagation. It is the recommended driving lane after propagation. In this case, the lane to be traveled does not have to be changed. However, since the number of recommended travel lanes changes before and after propagation, the lane is guided before travel (exit link side). . In other words, on the approach link side, only the rightmost lane is the recommended travel lane, but the second lane from the right is also the recommended travel lane.

On the other hand, FIG. 4B shows a case where the recommended traveling lane before propagation does not exist on the approach link. In this case, the closest lane to the recommended traveling lane before propagation in the approach link is shown. Make the lane the recommended driving lane. Specifically, the number of lanes has increased from three lanes to four lanes. Before the propagation, the rightmost lane is the recommended traveling lane, and there is no corresponding lane after the propagation. Therefore, the lane at the right end after propagation is set as the recommended traveling lane.
In this case, since the position of the recommended traveling lane always changes before and after propagation, it is subject to lane guidance. In other words, "Please follow the rightmost lane" is indicated.

(1-2) Lane Reduction At the lane reduction point of the lane change point, as shown in FIG. 5, the recommended traveling lane before propagation is propagated as it is. However, it must be noted that the relative position within the overall total lane changes. In the case of FIG.
Before propagation, the rightmost lane is the recommended lane before propagation, but that lane is the second lane from the right after propagation. It should be noted that the lane reduction point is not a lane guidance point because the position of the recommended traveling lane does not change.

(1-3) Lane Decrease The other point of the lane change point is a point indicating that a situation other than the increase or decrease of the lane has changed. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6A, there is a four-lane road, and one lane at the right end of the lane is a lane dedicated to right-turning, but has disappeared at the branch. In this case, it is considered in the same manner as in the case of increasing the number of lanes. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 6 (A), the rightmost lane before propagation is the recommended lane, so it is considered that there is only a right turn lane after propagation and there is no corresponding lane after propagation. The rightmost lane, that is, the second lane from the right, is set as the recommended traveling lane.
In this case, since the position of the recommended traveling lane always changes before and after propagation, it is subject to lane guidance.

In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the number of lanes is four.
Although there is no change as it is, there is a change in the lane regulation state where lane change is prohibited. If there is a lane restriction state in which lane change is prohibited at either end of the recommended traveling lane, the lane guidance range end position is moved to the first position (in the reverse direction of travel) where lane restriction is eliminated. As a result, the recommended traveling lane that changes lanes in the lane change prohibition zone is not propagated.

(2) Lane Merging Point At the lane merging point, the lane continuing to the exit link within the lane of the incoming link (determinable from the connection state of the lane) is set as the recommended traveling lane to be propagated, and the subsequent processing is performed. Is the same processing as lane increase (when the propagation target of the recommended traveling lane of the approach link is all lanes). FIG. 7A shows a case in which a propagation target lane of the recommended traveling lane exists in the approach link, and roads having a total of two lanes merge into four lanes. If the rightmost lane of the four lanes before propagation is the recommended travel lane, the rightmost lane of the two lanes after propagation is also the recommended travel lane.

However, even if the lanes are merged,
As shown in (B), when there is no propagation target lane of the recommended traveling lane in the approach link, the lane guidance itself becomes unnecessary, and the propagation process itself is interrupted. (3) Lane branch point As described above, the lane branch point indicates lane information at a point where a link branches in two or more directions. In this case, it is the same as the case of lane reduction in (1-2) described above. In other words, the recommended traveling lane before propagation is propagated as it is, but since the relative position within the overall total lane changes, attention is paid to this.

As described above, according to the on-vehicle navigation device 20 of the present embodiment, every time the vehicle approaches a predetermined branch point to be guided on the set destination route,
The travel guidance for the junction is performed.In addition to the travel guidance for the guidance junction, when a route having a plurality of traveling lanes is included from the guidance junction to the own vehicle position, It also provides guidance on which lane to drive. Therefore, by propagating the recommended traveling lane to the present destination of the vehicle to be able to travel appropriately on the guidance target branch destination road, guidance at inappropriate timing in the case of the above-described related art is prevented, and lane guidance is performed. Effectiveness can be improved.

For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 11, the right turn-only lane is located just before the branch point B.
A recommended traveling lane is determined in such a manner that the vehicle travels in a straight-ahead lane in front of, and after passing the fork B, the lane is changed to a lane dedicated to right turn just before the fork A which is a guidance fork.
Therefore, if the lane guidance based on the recommended traveling lane is performed, the vehicle can make a right turn at the junction A, and can travel along the destination route.

Further, for example, even if the timing of the lane guidance to make a right turn at the junction A in the situation shown in FIG. If the lane change prohibition zone is about 1000 m before the lane change prohibition zone is determined, the recommended traveling route is determined in consideration of the lane change prohibition zone, so that the lane is changed to the right turn lane before the lane change prohibition zone. Recommended driving lane is determined. Therefore,
If the lane guidance based on the recommended driving lane is provided, the guidance does not forcibly change lanes in the lane change prohibition zone and induces the user to violate traffic regulations, and the driving according to the destination route is also performed. It becomes possible.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, when determining the recommended traveling lane, in the above embodiment, the guidance lane is determined in units of guidance junctions. However, when a plurality of guidance junctions are present in close proximity, the guidance that is present in the forefront among them is provided. It is also preferable to determine a recommended traveling lane to the route ahead of the branch point. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when a branch point is considered alone, two lanes before and after the branch point are considered.
Even if there is a lane, as shown in FIG. 8 (B), when considering the further branch point, the recommended traveling lane before and after the nearest branch point is one lane as a result. When only the branch point closest to the own vehicle position is considered, the driver is informed that either of the two lanes may be passed when passing the branch point, but after passing, the left lane is considered in consideration of the next branch point. The guidance to change lanes will be given. However, when the distance between the branch points is close, the section allowed for the lane change is short, and such a lane change becomes difficult due to, for example, a large traffic volume. Therefore, when a plurality of guidance junctions are close to each other, it is preferable to determine a recommended traveling lane to the route ahead of the foremost guidance junction among the guidance junctions.

The recommended driving lane is affected not only by changes in lane conditions caused by the road itself, but also by dynamic factors such as traffic congestion and temporary traffic regulation. Therefore, the communication device 44 may acquire traffic-related information such as traffic congestion information from the external information center 10 and determine the recommended driving lane based on the traffic-related information.

For example, when traffic congestion information is acquired, it is also effective to change the execution timing of the lane guidance according to the traffic congestion state. Specifically, when it is necessary to change lanes in a lane dedicated to a right turn to make a right turn at a guidance junction, as shown in FIG. 9A, guidance for lane change is provided a predetermined distance (for example, about 700 m) before the junction. It is possible to do. However, when the lane to which the lane is to be changed is congested and a lane change is guided at a normal guidance timing, for example, 700 m before the branch point, it is assumed that the lane is already full of vehicles. Therefore, the in-vehicle navigation device 20 acquires the traffic congestion status from the information center 10 via the communication device 44, and determines that it is better to give early guidance because the lane to which the lane is to be changed is congested. Is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is more preferable to guide the lane change at 900 m before the normal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle-mounted navigation device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the on-vehicle navigation device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a point where a lane condition changes.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a lane increase point.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a lane decrease point.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a dedicated lane disappearing point and a lane change prohibition point.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a lane merging point;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a case in which lane guidance is combined with a case in which a branch point is solely guided and lane guidance is combined.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example in which the guidance timing is changed according to the presence or absence of traffic congestion.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of lane guidance.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a problem that occurs in conventional lane guidance.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of inconvenience caused by conventional lane guidance.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Information center 12 ... External event collection device 14 ... Road network storage device 16 ... Communication device 18 ... Control device 20 ... In-vehicle navigation device 24 ... Position detector 26 ... Map data input device 28 ... Operation switch group 30 ... Navi ECU 32 external memory 34 display device 35 speaker 38 gyroscope 40 distance sensor 42 GPS receiver 44 communication device

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Every time the vehicle approaches a predetermined branch point to be guided which exists on a destination route set as a route for reaching a destination from a departure point, traveling guidance is performed for the guidance branch point. An in-vehicle navigation device provided with guidance means, wherein a route having a plurality of traveling lanes is included between the guidance junction and the vehicle position, and the vehicle position and the guidance junction are included. Based on changes in lane conditions on the route between
It is provided with a recommended travel lane determining means for determining a recommended travel lane that can appropriately travel from the own vehicle position to the route ahead of the guidance junction, and the guide means is a recommended travel lane determined by the recommended travel lane determination means. A predetermined lane guidance is performed each time the vehicle approaches a point to be guided in order to travel in the recommended traveling lane. 2. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the change in the lane condition is a merging or branching of lanes. 3. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the change in the lane condition is an increase or decrease in the number of lanes without merging or branching of lanes. . 4. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the change in the lane condition is that there is a dedicated lane permitted to travel only in the branching direction. In-vehicle navigation device. 5. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the recommended traveling lane determining means sequentially determines the lane condition in the direction of the own vehicle position starting from the guidance junction. For each point that changes, a lane propagation process is performed to determine the recommended lane after the lane condition change point for the recommended lane before the lane condition change point in consideration of the change in the lane condition at that point. Thereby determining a recommended traveling lane that can appropriately travel from the position of the vehicle to the route ahead of the guidance junction. 6. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein said recommended driving lane determining means is provided when a plurality of said guide junctions are close to each other. Determining a recommended traveling lane up to a route ahead of a guidance junction present at the forefront; 7. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit capable of receiving traffic-related information including at least traffic congestion information from outside, wherein the recommended driving lane determining unit includes: Determining the recommended driving lane based on the traffic-related information received by the receiving means. 8. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 7, wherein said guidance means performs said lane guidance at a timing determined also in consideration of traffic-related information received by said reception means. In-vehicle navigation device. 9. The on-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance unit performs the lane guidance by outputting at least a voice from a voice generating device. Navigation device. 10. The on-vehicle navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said guidance means executes said lane guidance by outputting it by voice from said voice generation device, and displays said lane guidance on a screen. An on-vehicle navigation device characterized by being configured to be executable by displaying an image on a display device that displays characters and graphics.