JP4092829B2 - Car navigation system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a car navigation device that displays map data according to the position of a vehicle as a road map, and more particularly to a car navigation device configured to be able to receive information from the outside.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been considered a car navigation apparatus that includes a position detection unit that detects the position of a vehicle, and a display unit that displays map data corresponding to the vehicle position detected by the position detection unit as a road map. Yes. In this type of car navigation device, the position of the vehicle is detected by position detecting means using GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like, and the route from the position of the vehicle to the destination is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Based on the map data, the route on which the vehicle should travel is displayed on a display means such as a liquid crystal display together with the position of the vehicle.
[0003]
In recent years, in this type of car navigation apparatus, at least a part of information to be displayed on the display means using a traffic data service such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) or ATIS (Advanced Traffic Information Service) is used. It is considered to receive (for example, traffic jam information) from the outside. Further, it is considered to use a communication device such as a mobile phone as a receiving means for receiving such information.
[0004]
On the other hand, a communication device such as a mobile phone can receive information that is not directly related to a road map even when it functions as a receiving means of a car navigation device. For example, notification of the telephone number of the calling party, e-mail via the Internet, e.g. mobile phone mail known by a product name (provided by NTT DOCOMO) such as "Short Mail", character data, voice data related to a call, etc. Can also be received. Also, it is conceivable that the receiving means configured exclusively for the car navigation apparatus can receive character information such as an e-mail.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, when a communication device such as a mobile phone receives the character data, it may be possible to notify the user of the reception in various notification forms such as a buzzer sound, a melody sound, light emission, and vibration. (For example, see JP-A-11-265332). Also, when the content of received character data is transmitted to the user, it is considered to transmit it to the user in various transmission forms such as display on a display, printing, storage in a memory, and the like.
[0006]
However, in many cases, the notification mode and the transmission mode in the communication device are set without considering the case where the communication device is used as a receiving unit of the car navigation device. In this case, it is not possible to select an appropriate notification form or transmission form according to the running state of the vehicle. For example, if a notification or transmission with a display is made while the vehicle is running, the driver will take his eyes off, causing a safety problem. Further, depending on the presence or absence of a passenger, an appropriate notification form or transmission form may differ.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention provides a car navigation apparatus having a receiving means for receiving information from the outside, in accordance with various situations such as a running state of the vehicle, in accordance with a notification form or a transmission form when the receiving means receives character data. The purpose was to make it possible to select appropriately.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, the receiving means not only receives at least a part of information to be displayed on the display means from the outside, but also character data of e-mail or mobile phone mail. It is configured to be able to receive. Then, the notification means notifies the driver that the reception means has received the character data in the notification form selected by the notification form selection means. This notification mode selection means is based on at least one of the riding state of the vehicle, the running state of the vehicle, the operating state of the accessory device of the vehicle, the weather state, the driving state of the driver, or the position of the vehicle. The notification mode of the notification means is selected. Note that the notification mode selection means can be set to select a notification mode for performing the notification by vibrating the driver's seat when there is a passenger.
[0009]
For this reason, the notification means includes the presence / absence of a passenger (boarding state of the vehicle), whether or not the vehicle is traveling (the driving state of the vehicle), the usage state of the audio or the like (the operation state of the accessory device of the vehicle), or the weather Driving in an appropriate notification form corresponding to at least one of the following conditions: the driver's driving state, the road on which the vehicle travels (vehicle position), etc. The above notification is made to the person.
[0010]
Therefore, in the vehicle equipped with the car navigation device of the present invention, the notification mode when the receiving means receives the character data is appropriately selected according to various situations, and the driving safety without impairing the convenience of the device. Ru can be ensured.
[0012]
In 請 Motomeko 3 according the invention, the notification means and transmitting means, the presence or absence of a passenger, whether the vehicle is running, use state such as audio, or weather, operating conditions, road which the vehicle travels, an equal Accordingly, the notification and transmission can be performed to the driver in an appropriate notification form and transmission form corresponding to at least one of attention required by the driver. Therefore, in the vehicle equipped with the car navigation device of the present invention, both the notification form and the transmission form when the receiving means receives character data are appropriately selected according to various situations, and the convenience of the apparatus is impaired. Therefore, the driving safety can be further ensured. Note that the notification mode selection means can be set to select a notification mode for performing the notification by vibrating the driver's seat when there is a passenger .
[0013]
The invention according to claim 4 is the notification form in which the notification means performs the notification by uttering a word, or the notification form in which the notification is performed by generating a sound other than the word in the configuration according to claim 1 or 3. At least any two or more of a notification form for vibrating the driver's seat to perform the notification, a notification form for lighting the hazard and performing the notification, or a notification form for blinking the display means and performing the notification One of them can be selectively executed, and the notification form selection means selects any one of the executable notification forms.
[0014]
When speaking a word, it is the easiest to understand and the driver does not need to take his eyes off. When sound other than words is generated or when the driver's seat is vibrated, it is not necessary for the driver to take his gaze off and it is difficult for the passenger to notice. Of these, the influence on driving is small especially when voices other than words are generated. In addition, when the hazard is lit, the display means is blinked, and the driver's seat is vibrated, the above notification can be executed well even when listening to music or the like with a loud sound. Turning on the hazard is effective when driving with the intention of stopping the vehicle when character information is received.
[0015]
In the present invention, one of at least two of these notification forms is appropriately selected by the notification form selection means and executed by the notification means, so in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or 3 Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to better secure the driving safety without degrading the convenience of the apparatus by selecting a more appropriate notification form.
[0016]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the third aspect , the transmission means reads out a sentence corresponding to the character data and transmits the contents thereof, and the character corresponding to the character data is displayed in the display means. From at least any two or more of transmission forms for displaying and transmitting the contents, or transmission forms for storing the character data and transmitting the contents when the driver performs a predetermined operation One is selectively executable, and the transmission form selection means selects one of the executable transmission forms.
[0017]
When the text corresponding to the character data is read out, the driver does not need to take his eyes off and can immediately know the contents of the character data. When displaying character data, the contents of the character data can be well known while listening to music. Further, when character data is stored, the contents can be known at the convenience of the driver.
[0018]
In the present invention, one of at least two of these transmission forms is appropriately selected by the transmission form selection means and executed by the transmission means. In addition to the effects of the invention according to claim 3 , There is an effect that it is possible to ensure better driving safety without degrading the convenience of the apparatus by selecting a more appropriate transmission form.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a car navigation apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The car navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment is a so-called VICS-compatible car navigation apparatus that can receive traffic jam information and the like transmitted from the center 50.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation device of the present embodiment includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 3, an operation switch group 5, a communication device 7, a voice output device 9, an external memory 11, a display device 13, A remote control sensor 15, a remote control 17, a voice recognition unit 19, and a control device 21 are provided.
[0021]
The position detector 1 includes a geomagnetic sensor 23, a gyroscope 25, a distance sensor 27, and a GPS receiver 29, and is a part that detects the current position of the vehicle based on these various detection signals. If the current position of the vehicle can be detected, it is not necessary to provide all the sensors, and it is sufficient to provide at least one or more of them.
[0022]
The map data input device 3 includes a DVD player, a hard disk, a CD player, and the like, and stores map data including road map data. The operation switch group 5 is a switch attached to the left and right or the top and bottom of the display device 13 formed of a liquid crystal display, and the driver performs various selections and commands various operations via the operation switch group 5. Can be. Here, the communication device 7 uses a mobile phone device.
[0023]
The voice output device 9 utters voices for navigating the driver and explanations of screen operations. The external memory 11 has an area for temporarily storing data received via the communication device 7. The display device 13 displays a map for navigating the driver, displays a destination selection screen, and the like. The remote control sensor 15 receives the radio wave transmitted from the remote controller 17 and detects the operation state of the remote controller 17. The voice recognition unit 19 recognizes voices uttered by the driver as words.
[0024]
These position detector 1 to speech recognition unit 19 are connected to a control device 21. The control device 21 is composed of a microcomputer centered on a CPU, ROM, and RAM. The control state of the operation switch group 5, the operation state of the remote control 17 detected via the remote control sensor 15, and the operation recognized by the voice recognition unit 19. Each part is controlled based on various commands corresponding to the person's voice. For example, the current position of the host vehicle is detected via the position detector 1, and a route from the current position to the destination corresponding to the command is calculated based on the map data stored in the map data input device 3, The vehicle is instructed to the driver through the voice output from the voice output device 9 and the display on the display device 13 on the route to be followed.
[0025]
The display device 13 is a color liquid crystal display, and a vehicle current position mark input from the position detector 1 and a road map corresponding to the map data input from the map data input device 3 according to the above processing. The destination mark and the guidance route to the destination can be displayed in an overlapping manner. The navigation process of the control device 21 as described above is well known and will not be described in detail.
[0026]
Here, since a general mobile phone device is used as the communication device 7, the communication device 7 receives an e-mail or a mobile phone mail even during the execution of the navigation process. Therefore, the car navigation device according to the present embodiment appropriately notifies the driver that the e-mail has been received, and in order to appropriately transmit the content of the received e-mail to the driver, It has such a configuration.
[0027]
That is, an audio signal detector 31 that detects the use state of audio, a vehicle signal detector 33 that detects signals from various sensors of the vehicle, and the presence or absence of a passenger other than the driver are detected by a pressure sensor provided in each seat. An occupant detector 35 and a weather detector 37 for detecting the weather at the current position from humidity and the like are provided as situation detecting means, and a detection signal is input to the control device 21. A seat vibrator 39 made of a well-known vibrator is provided under the seat of the driver's seat and is driven and controlled by the control device 21. In addition, the control device 21 is configured to be able to output a drive signal to a hazard or the like (not shown) provided in the vehicle.
[0028]
On the other hand, the center 50 collects and processes data such as traffic jam information displayed on the display device 13 together with the road map corresponding to the map data, and transmits the processed data to the communication device 7. The above-mentioned mail is also transmitted to the communication device 7 via the communication device 52.
[0029]
Next, in the car navigation device configured as described above, processing executed by the control device 21 in relation to each mail will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in this process, it is first determined whether or not a new mail has been received in S1, and if not received (S1: NO), the process waits in S1 as it is.
[0030]
When a new mail is received (S1: YES), the process proceeds to S3, and the presence / absence of a passenger is determined via the passenger detector 35. If there is a passenger (S3: YES), the process proceeds to S5, notification according to the setting / conditions is performed, mail is stored in the external memory 11 and stored in subsequent S7, and then the process proceeds to S1. Then, in S1, it waits until the next mail is received again.
[0031]
Here, in the present embodiment, as a notification form for notifying the driver that a mail has been received, (1). Notify by saying a word such as “I received an email”. (2). Announcement is made by generating sound other than words such as “Pawn”. (3). The seat vibrator 39 vibrates and notifies the driver's seat. (4). Notify by turning on the hazard. (5). The display screen of the display device 13 is blinked for notification. It has the form.
[0032]
When there is a passenger and the process proceeds to S5, the above notification is made in the form set to the driver from among the above (2), (3), and (5). For this reason, it is difficult for passengers to notice that the mail has been received. In particular, in the forms (2) and (3), the driver does not have to take his / her line of sight out of all, and in the form (2), the influence on driving is extremely small. Further, in the subsequent S7, the mail is stored in the external memory 11, so that the driver can confirm the contents of the mail by performing a predetermined operation at a convenient time, for example, after dropping the passenger. . In the present embodiment, as a transmission form for transmitting the contents of the received mail to the driver, in addition to the form stored in the external memory 11, (1). Read the email text. (2). The mail text is displayed on the display device 13. It has the form.
[0033]
Next, when there is no passenger (S3: NO), the process proceeds to S11, and based on the current position of the vehicle detected via the position detector 1, it is determined whether or not the current position is in a restricted state. That is, it is determined whether or not the current position is in a situation where a restriction should be imposed on the notification form and the transmission form. When the current position is under restricted conditions, for example, in an urban area, an intersection or a narrow road, in a suburb, an intersection, a tunnel, or a narrow road, on an expressway, at an intersection (confluence) or a tunnel, on a mountain road, an intersection, a tunnel , Where the current position of the vehicle is on a narrow road or winding road.
[0034]
When the current position is not under the restriction status (S11: NO), the process proceeds to S13, where it is determined based on the detection signal of the weather detector 37 whether the weather is under the restriction status. If the weather is in a restricted condition, it means rain or snow. When the weather is not in the restricted state (S13: NO), the process proceeds to S15, and it is determined based on the detection signal of the vehicle signal detector 33 whether the driving state is in the restricted state. When the driving state is in a restricted state, when the accelerator is stepped on more than a predetermined amount to accelerate, when the brake is stepped on and decelerating, when the gear is put on the back and the back is on, Is turned on and the vehicle is turning right and left, and the vehicle is running on a curve with a steering angle greater than or equal to a predetermined value.
[0035]
If it is determined that any of the above S11 to S15 is under the restriction condition (YES), the process proceeds to S17, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling. If the vehicle is traveling (S17: YES), the process proceeds to S5 described above to notify according to the setting / condition, and the mail is stored in the external memory 11 and stored in S7, and then the process proceeds to S1.
[0036]
However, in this case, the notification form selected in S5 changes as follows depending on which restriction situation is present. That is, when the current position, weather, or driving state is in a restricted state, (3) and (4) are prohibited as notification forms. Further, when the driving state is in a restricted state, particularly when accelerating / decelerating, backing, or turning at a high speed, (5) is also prohibited as a notification form. Which notification mode to select from the notification modes other than the above-described prohibition is determined by the driver's setting or default.
[0037]
On the other hand, when it is determined that any of S11 to S15 is not under the restriction situation, it is a case where the vehicle is traveling or stopped at a constant speed on a wide road that is straight and has no intersection or junction. In this case (S15: NO), the process proceeds to S19, and it is determined whether the operation state of the accessory device of the vehicle is in a restricted state. The case where the operation state is under the restriction state indicates a case where the air conditioner, the audio, or the display device 13 is being operated.
[0038]
If the operation state is not under the restriction state (S19: NO), the process proceeds to S21, and based on the detection signal of the audio signal detector 31, it is determined whether or not the audio is being used. When the audio is not in use (S21: NO), notification according to the setting is performed in S23, and in step S25, the mail is read or displayed according to the setting, and the process proceeds to S1. In this case, in S23, notification is made in the desired form set by the driver from among the notification forms (1) to (5), and in S25, the driver is notified from among the transmission forms (1) or (2). The contents of the mail are transmitted in the set desired form. However, it is desirable to prohibit the transmission form (2) when traveling. Further, the notification form (4) is prohibited during traveling, and the notification forms (3) and (5) are also prohibited during high-speed traveling.
[0039]
If it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling (NO) in S17 or if it is determined that audio is being used (YES) in S21, a notification corresponding to the setting / condition is given in S27, and the above-described S25 is performed. Migrate to Here, the following notification form and transmission form are selected in accordance with the processing path that has passed until S27 and S25.
[0040]
When the audio is in use (S21: YES), the notification form and the transmission form are set to the desired form set by the driver, but when the notification form (1) or (2) is executed, the notification volume is set. The notification form of any one of (3) to (5) is executed at the same time. Similarly, when the transmission mode (1) is executed, the transmission volume is adjusted or the transmission mode (2) is also executed simultaneously.
[0041]
If the operation state is under the control state (S19: YES), the notification mode of (3) is operated during the operation of the air conditioner and the audio, and notifications of (3) and (5) are performed during the operation of the display device 13. Each form is prohibited. In addition, during the traveling, the notification mode (4) may be prohibited at the same time. The transmission form may be a desired form set by the driver, but it is desirable to prohibit the transmission form (2) when traveling.
[0042]
As described above, in the car navigation device according to the present embodiment, the presence / absence of a passenger, the current position of the vehicle, the weather, the driving state of the driver, the driving state of the vehicle, and the operating state of the accessory device of the vehicle including the audio are set. Based on this, an appropriate notification form and transmission form are selected. For this reason, the most appropriate notification form and transmission form are selected according to the attention required by the driver, the difficulty of driving, etc., and the driving safety is satisfactorily ensured without impairing the convenience of the device. be able to. In this embodiment, when there is a passenger (S3: YES), it is prevented that the passenger knows that the mail has been received or the contents of the mail are known. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from invading to further improve the driving safety and to secure the secret of communication.
[0043]
In addition, the selection method of the alerting | reporting form in the said embodiment and a transmission form is an example, Comprising: A driver | operator's hope can carry out various setting changes. For example, the presence / absence of a passenger does not have to be referred to when selecting a notification form and a transmission form. The notification form and the transmission form may be selected based on only one or four. In this case, those not used for the processing among the above-mentioned situation detecting means can be omitted. Further, either the notification form or the transmission form may be fixed regardless of the situation.
[0044]
Furthermore, the above-mentioned notification form and transmission form can set the selection method most suitable for the driver according to the respective characteristics. In other words, the notification form (1) is the easiest to understand and does not require the driver to take his eyes off. The notification form (2) and the notification form (3) do not require the driver to take his eyes off and are not easily noticed by the passenger. Of these, the notification mode (2) has little influence on driving. In addition, the notification forms (3), (4), and (5) can be performed well even when listening to music or the like with a loud sound. Among these, the notification mode (4) is effective when the vehicle is driven with the intention of stopping the vehicle when receiving the mail.
[0045]
On the other hand, in the transmission form (1), the driver does not need to take his eyes off and can immediately know the contents of the mail. With the transmission form (2), the contents of the mail can be well known even while listening to music. Furthermore, when mail is memorized, the contents can be known at the convenience of the driver. In the above-described embodiment, by setting these notification forms and transmission forms to be appropriately selected according to the driver's preference, the safety of the driving is further improved while ensuring the convenience of the device. Can be secured.
[0046]
In the above-described embodiment, the position detector 1 is the position detection means, the display device 13 is the display means, the communication device 7 is the reception means, the above-described hazard, sound output device 9, display device 13, and seat vibration. The device 39 corresponds to the notification means, and the audio output device 9, the external memory 11, and the display device 13 correspond to the transmission means, and among the above-described processes executed by the control device 21, S5, S23, and S27 are notification mode selections. S7 and S25 correspond to the transmission mode selection means.
[0047]
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in addition to electronic mail and mobile phone mail, character data such as a caller's telephone number notification in a general call may be similarly notified or transmitted. In the above embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, for example, when the current position is in a restricted condition (S11: YES), the judgment on the weather or the like is not performed (S13), but all situations are referred to. The notification form and transmission form that can be implemented may be narrowed down, points may be set for each situation, and the notification form and transmission form may be set according to the total of the points.
[0048]
Further, the communication device 7 may be a receiver configured exclusively for a car navigation device, not a general mobile phone device. In car navigation devices, it is also considered to receive map data from the outside instead of storing map data in a storage means such as the map data input device 3, but in such a device, for example, an optical beacon or the like If receiving means for receiving is provided, it is also conceivable to receive character data such as the e-mail by the receiving means. The present invention can also be applied to such receiving means.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a car navigation device to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control device of the car navigation device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position detector 3 ... Map data input device 5 ... Operation switch group 7 ... Communication device 9 ... Voice output device 11 ... External memory 13 ... Display device 15 ... Remote control sensor 17 ... Remote control 19 ... Voice recognition unit 21 ... Control device 29 ... GPS receiver 31 ... Audio signal detector 33 ... Vehicle signal detector 35 ... Passenger detector 37 ... Weather detector 39 ... Seat vibrator 50 ... Center

Claims (5)

Position detecting means for detecting the position of the vehicle;
Display means for displaying map data corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the position detection means as a road map;
Receiving means for receiving from outside at least a part of information to be displayed on the display means;
A car navigation device comprising:
The receiving means is configured to be able to receive e-mail or mobile phone mail text data,
Informing means for notifying the driver that the receiving means has received the character data;
The notification based on at least one of the riding state of the vehicle, the driving state of the vehicle, the operating state of the accessory device of the vehicle, the weather state, the driving state of the driver, or the position of the vehicle. A notification form selection means for selecting a notification form of the means;
Equipped with a,
The car navigation device characterized in that the notification mode selection means can be set so as to select a notification mode for performing the notification by vibrating the driver's seat when there is a passenger . Position detecting means for detecting the position of the vehicle;
Display means for displaying map data corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the position detection means as a road map;
Receiving means for receiving from outside at least a part of information to be displayed on the display means;
A car navigation device comprising:
The receiving means is configured to be able to receive e-mail or mobile phone mail text data,
Informing means for notifying the driver that the receiving means has received the character data;
The notification based on at least one of the riding state of the vehicle, the driving state of the vehicle, the operating state of the accessory device of the vehicle, the weather state, the driving state of the driver, or the position of the vehicle. A notification form selection means for selecting a notification form of the means;
Equipped with a,
The notification mode selection means can be set to select a notification mode for performing the notification by turning on a hazard when the vehicle is running at a constant speed or stopping on a straight road having no intersection or junction. A car navigation apparatus characterized by that. Position detecting means for detecting the position of the vehicle;
Display means for displaying map data corresponding to the position of the vehicle detected by the position detection means as a road map;
Receiving means for receiving from outside at least a part of information to be displayed on the display means;
A car navigation device comprising:
The receiving means is configured to be able to receive e-mail or mobile phone mail text data,
Informing means for notifying the driver that the receiving means has received the character data;
Transmitting means for transmitting the content of the character data received by the receiving means to the driver;
The informing means based on at least one of a boarding state of the vehicle, a driving state of the vehicle, an operation state of an accessory device of the vehicle, a weather state, a driving state of a driver, or a position of the vehicle. A notification form selection means for selecting the notification form;
The transmission based on at least one of the riding state of the vehicle, the traveling state of the vehicle, the operating state of the accessory device of the vehicle, the weather state, the driving state of the driver, or the position of the vehicle. A transmission form selection means for selecting a transmission form of the means;
Equipped with a,
The car navigation device characterized in that the notification mode selection means can be set so as to select a notification mode for performing the notification by vibrating the driver's seat when there is a passenger . A notification mode in which the notification means performs the notification by speaking a word, a notification mode in which the notification is performed by generating a sound other than a word, a notification mode in which the notification is performed by vibrating the driver's seat, and a hazard is lit The notification mode for performing the notification, or the notification mode for performing the notification by blinking the display means, is configured to selectively execute one of at least any two or more,
The car navigation device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the notification form selection means selects any one of the executable notification forms. A transmission form in which the transmission means reads out a sentence corresponding to the character data and transmits the contents thereof, a transmission form in which characters corresponding to the character data are displayed on the display means and the contents are transmitted, or the characters It is configured to store data and selectively execute one of at least any two or more of the transmission forms that transmit the contents when the driver performs a predetermined operation,
4. The car navigation apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the transmission form selection means selects any one of the executable transmission forms.

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