JP2003161623A - Navigation system and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system and its program giving a user sufficient information of the traffic. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation system which informs the state of a signal to the user, has a storage section which stores a color change pattern of the signal, an image forming section which forms an image based on the color change pattern stored in the storage section, and a displaying section which composes map information and the image formed by the image forming section and displays it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a navigation device and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to a navigation device and a program that provide users with sufficient traffic information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, GPS (Global Posi)
A car navigation device that acquires position information of its own vehicle by using a driving system and combines it with map information for display is widely used.

[0003]

However, in the conventional car navigation system, the user may not be able to accurately determine the route of his vehicle because he cannot obtain sufficient traffic information.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device and a program capable of solving the above problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in independent claims of the invention.
The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

[0005]

That is, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation device for notifying a user of a state of a traffic light, a storage section for storing a color change pattern of the traffic light, and a color change pattern. An image generation unit that generates an image based on the above, and a display unit that displays the image. The display unit may combine the image with the map information and display the image.

A blinking state determining section for determining the current blinking state of the traffic signal based on the color change pattern of the traffic signal is further provided, and the image generating section generates an image showing the blinking state determined by the blinking state determining section. Good.

The storage unit stores the color change patterns of the plurality of traffic lights, the blinking state determination unit determines the current blinking states of the plurality of traffic lights based on the plurality of color change patterns, and the image generation unit The display unit may generate a plurality of images indicating the current blinking states of the plurality of traffic signals, and the display unit may display a plurality of images indicating the current blinking states of the plurality of traffic lights by combining them with the map information. .

The flashing state determining unit may further include a phase acquisition unit for acquiring the phase in the color change pattern of the traffic light, and the flashing state determination unit may determine the current flashing state of the traffic light based on the phase.

The phase acquisition unit may acquire the current phase of the traffic light by receiving the phase information from a traffic light information providing device that sends phase information indicating the current phase of the traffic light by a wireless medium.

The traffic light information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic light, sends phase information indicating the current phase of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the phase acquisition unit acquires the phase of the traffic light by receiving the phase information. You may.

The traffic light information providing device is provided near the traffic light, sends out phase information indicating the current phase of another traffic light of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the phase acquisition unit receives the phase information, thereby The current phase of the traffic light may be acquired.

From a traffic signal information providing apparatus for transmitting pattern information indicating a color change pattern of the traffic signal by a wireless medium,
A pattern acquisition unit that acquires the color change pattern of the traffic light by receiving the pattern information may be further included.

The traffic light information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic light, transmits pattern information indicating a color change pattern of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the pattern acquisition unit receives the pattern information to thereby obtain the color change pattern of the traffic light. May be obtained.

The traffic light information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic light, sends out pattern information indicating a color change pattern of another traffic light of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the pattern acquisition unit receives the pattern information so that another The color change pattern of the traffic light may be acquired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for a navigation device for notifying a user of the state of a traffic light, wherein the navigation device stores a color change pattern of the traffic light and a color change pattern. An image generation module for generating an image based on
And a display module for displaying an image.

The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and a sub-combination of these feature groups can also be the invention.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and the features described in the embodiments Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The car navigation system according to the present embodiment includes a navigation device 10 and a traffic light information providing device 20.

The traffic light information providing device 20 sends information defining the blinking state of the traffic light by a wireless medium. The traffic light information providing device 20 is installed, for example, in the vicinity of a traffic light, and sends out information defining the blinking state of the traffic light and / or another traffic light by a radio wave beacon or an optical beacon. Also,
When there is a large amount of information or when information is provided over a wide area, the traffic light information providing device 20 may send information that defines the blinking state of the traffic light by an FM signal.

The navigation device 10 is, for example, a car navigation device mounted on a vehicle and notifying a user of vehicle position information. The navigation device 10 acquires information indicating the position of the navigation device 10 from a GPS satellite, synthesizes it with map information, and displays it. Then, the user can confirm the displayed map information and position information and grasp the position of the vehicle of the user.

The navigation device 10 also receives information defining the blinking state of the traffic light from the traffic light information providing device 20. Then, the navigation device 10 combines the information that defines the blinking state of the traffic light with the map information and displays it. Therefore, the user is
With this, it is possible to confirm the blinking state of the traffic light displayed on the map and to understand the blinking state of the traffic light around the user's vehicle.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the navigation device 10 according to this embodiment. Navigation device 10
Is a traffic light information receiving unit 100 that receives information indicating the blinking state of the traffic light, a pattern acquisition unit 104 that acquires the color change pattern of the traffic light, a phase acquisition unit 102 that acquires the phase in the color change pattern of the traffic light, and a traffic light. Signal information storage unit 106 that stores information indicating the blinking state of the image, image generation unit 108 that generates an image based on the color change pattern and phase of the traffic light, and display unit 110 that displays the image generated by image generation unit 108. And CD-ROM or DVD-R
Recording medium reading unit 1 for reading information from a recording medium such as an OM
12, a map information storage unit 114 for storing map information,
GPS receiver 116 for receiving radio waves from GPS satellites
And a GPS information processing unit 118 that processes information from GPS satellites, and a blinking state determination unit 120 that determines the blinking state of the traffic light based on the color change pattern and phase of the traffic light.
With.

The signal information receiving unit 100 receives the color change pattern information indicating the color change pattern of the traffic light and / or the phase information indicating the phase of the traffic light transmitted by the traffic light information providing device 20 via the wireless medium. And the pattern acquisition unit 1
04 acquires the color change pattern of the traffic light based on the pattern information received by the signal information receiving unit 100. Also,
The phase acquisition unit 102 acquires the phase of the traffic signal based on the phase information received by the signal information reception unit 100. The phase here is information indicating the timing of color change in the color change pattern of the traffic light, and is, for example, the time when the traffic light becomes red, blue, or yellow.

In another example, when a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM stores and provides information indicating a color change pattern and / or phase of a traffic light, the phase acquisition unit 102 The phase of the traffic light read from the recording medium by the recording medium reading unit 112 is calculated by the recording medium reading unit 11
Get from 2. Further, the pattern acquisition unit 104 acquires, from the recording medium reading unit 112, the color change pattern of the traffic light read by the recording medium reading unit 112 from the recording medium. The recording medium reading unit 112 is, for example, a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive.

The storage unit 106 stores the color change pattern of the traffic light acquired by the pattern acquisition unit 104 and the phase acquisition unit 102.
The phase in the color change pattern of the traffic light acquired by is associated and stored. When the pattern acquisition unit 104 acquires both the color change pattern of the traffic light based on the pattern information received by the signal information reception unit 100 and the color change pattern of the traffic light read out from the recording medium by the recording medium reading unit 112. The storage unit 106 includes the signal information receiving unit 100.
The color change pattern of the traffic light based on the pattern information received by is preferentially stored. When the phase acquisition unit 102 acquires both the phase of the traffic signal based on the phase information received by the signal information receiving unit 100 and the phase of the traffic signal read out from the recording medium by the recording medium reading unit 112, the storage unit 10
6 preferentially stores the phase of the traffic signal based on the phase information received by the signal information receiving unit 100. The map information storage unit 114 also stores map information.

The GPS receiver 116 receives information indicating the position of the navigation device 10 from GPS satellites. The GPS information processing unit 118 then receives the GPS receiving unit 116.
The position information of the navigation device 10 is acquired based on the radio wave received by the.

The blinking state determination unit 120 determines the current blinking state of the traffic light based on the color change pattern and phase of the traffic light stored in the traffic light information storage unit 106. Then, the image generation unit 108 generates an image of a traffic signal indicating the blinking state determined by the blinking state determination unit 120. The image generation unit 108 also acquires map information near the position information from the map information storage unit 114 based on the position information received from the GPS information processing unit 118. Then, the image generation unit 108 generates a map image based on the map information acquired from the map information storage unit 114. Then, the display unit 110 synthesizes and displays the image of the map generated by the image generation unit 108 and the image of the traffic light.

Further, the blinking state determining section 120 may determine the current blinking state of each of the plurality of traffic signals based on the color change patterns and phases of the plurality of traffic signals stored in the traffic signal information storage section 106. Then, the image generation unit 10
8 may generate a plurality of images showing the current blinking state of each of the plurality of traffic lights. The display unit 110
May display a plurality of images showing the current blinking state of each of the plurality of traffic lights in combination with a map image.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the data format of the signal information file stored in the signal information storage unit 106 according to this embodiment. The signal information file has a signal identification information field, a color change pattern field, and a phase field. The traffic signal identification information field stores identification information for identifying the traffic signal. For example, the traffic light identification information field stores information on the latitude and longitude of the traffic light. The color change pattern field stores information indicating the color change pattern of the traffic light. For example, the color change pattern field stores the lighting time of each color (red, blue, yellow). The phase field also stores the phase in the traffic light color change pattern. For example, the phase field stores the time at which the traffic light turns red.

The blinking state determining section 120 refers to the signal information file and determines the blinking state of each traffic light.
Specifically, the current blinking state of each traffic light is determined based on the time stored in the phase field, the lighting time of each color stored in the color change pattern field, and the current time.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a display screen of the display section 110 according to this embodiment. FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a display screen of the display unit 110 when the navigation device 10 acquires, for each traffic signal, information indicating a blinking state of the traffic signal. Figure 4
(B) shows an example of a display screen of the display unit 110 when the navigation device 10 holds information indicating a blinking state of a plurality of traffic lights.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the display unit 110
Is a traffic signal 3 at an intersection through which the user's vehicle 200 can pass.
The blinking states of 04 and 306 are displayed. In this case, when the vehicle 200 approaches the traffic light 304, the signal information receiving unit 100 uses the radio wave beacon or the optical beacon from the traffic light information providing device 200 provided near the traffic light 304,
Receive pattern information and / or phase information for traffic signals 304 and 306. Then, the display unit 110 displays the blinking state of the traffic signals 304 and 306 based on the pattern information and / or the phase information of the traffic signals 304 and 306 received by the signal information receiving unit 100.

Further, when the vehicle 200 passes the traffic signal 312, the signal information receiving section 100 causes the traffic signal information providing device 200 provided near the traffic signal 312 to send the traffic signal 30 to the traffic signal 30.
4 and 306 pattern information and / or phase information may be received. Then, the display unit 110 uses the traffic signals 304 and 3 based on the pattern information and / or the phase information of the traffic signals 304 and 306 received by the signal information receiving unit 100.
The blinking state of 06 may be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the display unit 1
10 is a plurality of traffic signals 3 existing on the displayed map.
00, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 31
The blinking states of 2 and 314 may be displayed. In this case, the signal information receiving unit 100 uses the signal information providing device 20.
Signals 300, 302, 30 from 0 to FM signal, etc.
4, 306, 308, 310, 312, and 314 pattern and / or phase information is received. Then, the display unit 110 has the traffic signals 300, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 3 received by the signal information receiving unit 100.
Signals 300, 302, 304, 306, 3 based on 12 and 314 pattern and / or phase information.
The blinking states of 08, 310, 312, and 314 are displayed.

Further, the phase receiving section 100 may receive the pattern information of the traffic light having a relatively large amount of information by the FM signal and the phase of the traffic light having a relatively small amount of information by the radio wave beacon or the optical beacon.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the navigation device 10 according to this embodiment. The navigation device 10 includes a CPU 700, a ROM 702,
RAM 704, communication interface 706, hard disk drive 708, database interface 710, DVD-ROM drive 712, CD-
ROM drive 714. CPU700 is R
It operates based on the programs stored in the OM 702 and the RAM 704 to control each unit. The database interface 710 is for writing data to the database.
And update the contents of the database.

The DVD-ROM drive 712 is a DVD
Read data or program from ROM 720 C
It is provided to the PU 702. CD-ROM drive 714
Reads the data or program from the CD-ROM 722 and provides it to the CPU 702.

The program provided to the CPU is a DVD
-Provided by the user by being stored in a recording medium such as -ROM 720 or CD-ROM 722. The program stored in the recording medium may be compressed or uncompressed. The program is read from the recording medium, installed in the hard disk drive 710, and stored in the RAM 70.
6 and is executed by the CPU 702.

The program stored in the recording medium and provided and installed in the hard disk drive 710 has, as a functional configuration, a traffic signal information receiving module, a phase acquisition module, a pattern acquisition module, a signal information storage module, and an image generation. It has a module, a display module, a recording medium reading module, a map information storing module, a GPS receiving module, a GPS information processing module, and a blinking state determining module.
The operation that each module causes the navigation device 10 to perform is the same as the operation of the corresponding member in the navigation device 10 described in FIGS. 1 to 4, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

DV as an example of the recording medium shown in FIG.
The D-ROM 720 or the CD-ROM 722 can store some or all of the functions of the operation of the navigation device 10 in the embodiment described in the present application.

These programs may be read and executed by the navigation device 10 directly from the recording medium, or may be executed by the digital camera 10 or the printer 12 after being installed in the navigation device 10. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a single recording medium or a plurality of recording media. Also,
It may be stored in an encoded form.

A DVD-ROM 72 is used as a recording medium.
0, a CD-ROM 722, an optical recording medium such as a PD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, and a semiconductor memory such as an IC card or a miniature card can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium to provide the program to the navigation device 10 via the communication network.

The navigation device 10 according to the present embodiment
According to this, since the blinking state of the traffic light can be displayed by being combined with the image of the map, even when a large vehicle is traveling in front of the user's vehicle, the user can You can check the blinking status.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0045]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation device and a program for providing a user with sufficient traffic information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a navigation device 10 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of a signal information file stored in a signal information storage unit 106 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display unit 110 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a navigation device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Navigation device 20 Traffic light information providing device 100 Signal information receiver 102 Phase acquisition unit 104 pattern acquisition unit 106 signal information storage unit 108 image generation unit 110 Display 112 recording medium reading unit 114 map information storage 116 GPS receiver 118 GPS information processing unit 120 Flashing state determination unit 200 user vehicles 300-314 traffic light 700 CPU 702 ROM 704 RAM 706 Communication interface 708 hard disk drive 710 database interface 712 DVD-ROM drive 714 CD-ROM drive 720 DVD-ROM 722 CD-ROM 724 Various databases

Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C032 HB22 HB24 HC08 HC22 HD03                 2F029 AA02 AB07 AC02 AC06 AC13                       AC14                 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 BB13 BB15                       FF05 FF13 FF22 FF27 FF32

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device that notifies a user of the state of a traffic light, a storage unit that stores a color change pattern of the traffic light, an image generation unit that generates an image based on the color change pattern, A navigation device comprising: a display unit that displays an image. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the image combined with the map information. 3. A blinking state determination unit that determines a current blinking state of the traffic light based on the color change pattern of the traffic light, wherein the image generation unit is the blinking state determined by the blinking state determination unit. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the image showing the state is generated. 4. The storage unit stores the color change patterns of a plurality of the traffic lights, and the blinking state determination unit determines a current blinking state of the plurality of traffic lights based on the plurality of color change patterns. Determine, the image generation unit generates a plurality of the images showing the current blinking state of each of the plurality of traffic lights, the display unit, the plurality of indicating the current blinking state of each of the plurality of traffic lights 4. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the image of FIG. 5. A phase acquisition unit that acquires a phase in the color change pattern of the traffic light, wherein the blinking state determination unit determines a current blinking state of the traffic light based on the phase. The navigation device according to claim 3. 6. The phase acquisition unit receives the phase information from a traffic signal information providing device that transmits phase information indicating a current phase of the traffic signal by a wireless medium,
The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the current phase of the traffic light is acquired. 7. The traffic signal information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic signal, sends phase information indicating a current phase of the traffic signal by a wireless medium, and the phase acquisition unit receives the phase information. The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the phase of the traffic signal is acquired. 8. The traffic signal information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic signal, and sends phase information indicating a current phase of another traffic signal of the traffic signal by a wireless medium, and the phase acquisition unit outputs the phase information. The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the current phase of the other traffic light is acquired by receiving the current phase. 9. A pattern acquisition unit that acquires the color change pattern of the traffic light by receiving the pattern information from a traffic light information providing device that sends pattern information indicating the color change pattern of the traffic light by a wireless medium. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising: 10. The traffic light information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic light, transmits pattern information indicating the color change pattern of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the pattern acquisition unit receives the pattern information. The navigation device according to claim 9, wherein the color change pattern of the traffic light is acquired by: 11. The traffic light information providing device is provided in the vicinity of the traffic light, and sends pattern information indicating the color change pattern of another traffic light of the traffic light by a wireless medium, and the pattern acquisition unit is configured to perform the pattern information. The navigation device according to claim 9, wherein the color change pattern of the other traffic signal is acquired by receiving the color change pattern. 12. A program for a navigation device for notifying a user of the state of a traffic light, the storage device storing a color change pattern of the traffic light in the navigation device, and an image based on the color change pattern. A program comprising an image generation module for generating the image and a display module for displaying the image.