JPH11351899A - Navigator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigator for enabling a driver to easily recognize a rough location even in a region where the driver is unfamiliar. SOLUTION: When it is detected that a vehicle passes (exceeds) a regional boundary (S110-Y) based on a detection result by a position detector and node information for indicating the regional boundary (a prefecture boundary or a municipality boundary) being set as map data, passing guide information corresponding to the passed regional boundary is read. Then, when the boundary guide using the passing guide information is not prohibited (S120-N), boundary guide information by either 'image only', 'voice only', or 'image and voice' is provided (S150-S190) according to a separately set guide setting, thus enabling a driver to easily recognize which region the driver is driving even if the driver does not change the road map on a display screen to a wide region for verifying on the map.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus for providing guidance by image or voice when passing a predetermined point set in advance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a navigation device, a road map is displayed on a display screen, a current position of a vehicle is displayed on the displayed road map with a mark, and the mark is displayed in accordance with the traveling of the vehicle. The relative position of the vehicle on the vehicle is used to inform the driver of the current position of the vehicle.

[0005] The road map on the display screen usually displays the names of the landmarks, the names of the landmarks, and the like, along with the positions of the landmarks, facilities, and the like that are landmarks during traveling.

[0004]

However, in an area where the driver has no intuition about the land, the location of the driver or the location of the landmark displayed on the road map can be used to determine the approximate location where the driver is currently driving. This is often difficult to determine, so to get a rough idea of where you are,
Each time, it is necessary to switch the map displayed on the display screen to a wider area and check it, and there is a problem that the operation is cumbersome.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that enables a driver to easily recognize a rough location even in an area where there is no intuition about the land, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. I do.

[0006]

According to the navigation apparatus of the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, as a node information indicating a specific point on a road, a regional border such as a prefectural border or a municipal border on a road map is used. The guide means detects that the vehicle has passed the regional border based on the node information and the detection result by the position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle. ,
Guidance information indicating that the user has crossed a regional border is provided by at least one of an image and a sound.

Therefore, according to the navigation apparatus of the present invention, if at least information for recognizing the name of the area where the vehicle has entered due to the crossing is provided as guidance information indicating that the vehicle has crossed the boundary, it is possible to determine which area the user is currently in. The driver can be easily and quickly grasped.

In addition, since it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation such as switching the road map on the display screen to a wide area one by one to confirm such a rough location, the driver can concentrate on driving. Driving safety can be improved. In addition, the target of cross-border guidance,
The level of the regional border, such as a prefecture, a ward, a municipal, or the like, is arbitrary, and may be set by the user.

However, depending on the shape of the regional borders and roads, the same regional border may be repeatedly crossed within a short period of time. In such a case, if the crossing guidance is performed every time the crossing is repeated, the driver may feel uncomfortable. May be given. Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, a guidance prohibiting unit that prohibits the subsequent provision of guidance information may be provided for a regional border where guidance information has already been provided by the guidance unit.

However, if it is not performed very frequently, it is unlikely that the driver will feel uncomfortable. In order to correctly grasp the current location, it is necessary to provide guidance information repeatedly even at the same regional border. There are many cases where it is better to go. Therefore, when the guidance prohibiting means is provided, further, when the preset release condition is satisfied,
Prohibition releasing means for releasing the prohibition of the guidance processing by the guidance prohibiting means may be provided.

[0011] The release condition is, specifically, that the vehicle is separated from the regional boundary by a set distance or more, that the vehicle travels a set distance or more after passing through the regional boundary, and that a set time or more passes after passing through the regional boundary. And that the accessory switch is operated (on or off).

By the way, an image output device for outputting an image of guidance information or a voice output device for outputting a voice is generally used not only for cross-border guidance but also for various information provisions. For this reason, for example, an enlarged view of an intersection displayed on a screen by approaching the intersection or VI
CS (Vehicle Information and Communication System)
m: information that is more important than cross-border guidance, such as information necessary to ensure driving safety, such as various regulatory information obtained through the Road Traffic Information System,
It is desirable that the guidance means be configured to stop or delay the cross-border guidance and to provide the information after the end of providing the high importance information.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a navigation device 2 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an entire configuration of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a navigation device 2 of the present embodiment includes a position detector 4 for detecting a current position of a vehicle.
And a VICS receiver that receives an FM broadcast signal via a radio antenna to collect various road traffic information and a radio beacon signal and an optical beacon signal from a VICS service fixed station located near the road 6, a map data input device 8 for inputting map data for displaying a road map and so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and a liquid crystal display capable of color display. A display device 10 for displaying a map or various information, and a sound output device 1 including a speaker, an audio amplifier, and the like for outputting sound.
An external memory 14 for storing image data used when providing information by image via the display device 10, audio data used when providing information by voice via the audio output device 12, and the like. Operation switches 16 for inputting various commands to the device 2.
And a remote control sensor 18 for inputting a signal from a remote control terminal (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) C capable of inputting the same command as the operation switch group 16, and input via the operation switch group 16 and the remote control sensor 18. In accordance with various commands, a control circuit 20 for controlling the position detector 4, the VICS receiver 6, the external memory 14, the display device 10, and the audio output device 12 to execute various processes is provided.

Here, the position detector 4 is a GPS (Global
A GPS receiver 4a that receives a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite for a positioning system via a GPS antenna and detects the position, direction, speed, and the like of the vehicle, and a gyro that detects the magnitude of the rotational motion applied to the vehicle. A scope 4b;
The vehicle includes a distance sensor 4c composed of a vehicle speed sensor, a wheel sensor, and the like for detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle, and a geomagnetic sensor 4d for detecting an absolute azimuth based on geomagnetism. Each of the sensors 4a to 4d has an error having a different property, and is configured to be used while complementing each other. Depending on the accuracy, only a part of the above-described sensors 4a to 4d may be used, or the steering angle of the vehicle obtained from the rotation difference between the left and right steering wheels may be accumulated to change the direction. A sensor or the like to be obtained may be used.

The map data input device 8 generally uses a CD-ROM because of its data amount, but may use a medium such as a memory card. The map data input from the map data input device 8 includes coordinates of a specific point (hereinafter, referred to as a node) on a road, such as a bend or an intersection of a road, a regional border of a prefecture or a ward, a municipal government, or the like. Node information to be represented, link information specifying characteristics of links connecting the nodes (link length, start and end coordinates, road width, road type, etc.), and names of facilities and places to be displayed on the map Etc. are stored.

Next, the control circuit 20 includes a CPU, a ROM,
It is mainly composed of a well-known microcomputer composed of a RAM and executes well-known navigation processing.
That is, the current position of the vehicle is obtained based on the detection signal from the position detector 4, and a road map near the current position read from the map data input device 8, a mark representing the current position, and the like are displayed on the display screen of the display device 10. In addition to display, operation switch group 1
6 or the destination is input via the remote control C, the optimum route from the current position to the destination is automatically selected and displayed on the road map on the display screen, or the set route is displayed. Processing such as a guide (for example, an enlarged map near the intersection is automatically displayed when approaching the intersection, and the traveling direction at the intersection is displayed with an arrow or guided by voice) is performed.

In addition to the navigation processing, the control circuit 20 transmits road traffic information and the like collected via the VICS receiver 6 via the same display device 10 and voice output device 12 as those used for the navigation processing. Information provision processing provided by images and voices, and cross-border guidance processing provided by images or voices to provide guidance information indicating the fact when vehicles cross regional borders such as prefectures, municipalities, etc. I do.

Here, the cross-border guidance processing which is a main part of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As the user setting items for the cross-border guidance processing, the guidance type (no cross-border guidance / image only / sound only / image and sound) and the level of the local border where guidance is provided (prefecture level / ward municipal level) are operated. It can be set arbitrarily through the switch group 16 or the remote controller C.

Further, for this cross-border guidance process, the external memory 14 is notified of image data on an image representing the characteristics of each region and a message indicating that the user has crossed the border, such as "entered XX city, XX prefecture". Cross-border guidance information composed of voice data used for synthesizing voices to be played back is stored in association with nodes representing each regional border. Further, each cross-border guide information is provided with a prohibition flag that is set when cross-border guidance using the information is prohibited, and the prohibition flag is set after the ignition key is turned on. It is assumed that all are reset by the initialization processing.

Specific examples of the image diagram represented by the image data include a prefecture chapter, a prefectural flower, a prefectural bird, and the like. For example, "Mt. Fuji" and "Tea-picking scenery" can be used. For Tokyo, "Tokyo Tower", "Shintocho Building", "Asakusa Sensoji" and the like can be used. Note that these image diagrams may be of one type or a plurality of types for each region. In the case where there are a plurality of types, the image diagram to be displayed may be switched every time a border is crossed, or may be changed according to the season or season. The switching may be performed depending on time. When the landscape is displayed, the image may be switched between day and night, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, or a limited-time image diagram that displays only the time of holding an event such as a festival representing the area may be prepared.

The cross-border guidance process is started when the navigation process is being performed and the guidance type is set to a value other than "no cross-border guidance". As shown in FIG. 2, first, as shown in FIG. At 110, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed through a regional border (crossing) based on the detection result of the position detector 4 and the node information of the map data input from the map data input device 8. Then, the process waits by repeatedly executing the same step until an affirmative determination is made.

However, up to which level of the regional border the cross-border guidance is to be performed is previously set as the user setting item described above, and accordingly, the corresponding level of the regional border is determined according to the setting. If an affirmative determination is made in S110, the process proceeds to S120, in which the external memory 14 is searched for cross-border guidance information corresponding to the passed regional border, and whether or not the prohibition flag of the searched cross-border guidance information is set. Judge. If an affirmative determination is made, that is, if cross-border guidance for the local border is prohibited, S
The process returns to step 110 and waits until the next crossing is detected. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S130.

In step S130, the use state of the display device 10 and the audio output device 12 is checked, and it is determined whether or not other information is currently being provided. Then, the process proceeds to S150 as it is, while if an affirmative determination is made, the process proceeds to S140, where the provision of the information currently being provided is completed, and there is no longer a wait for provision of information having a higher importance than the cross-border guidance. Then, the process proceeds to S150.

In S150, it is determined whether or not the guidance type is set to "image guidance only". If the determination is affirmative, the flow shifts to S160 to execute cross-border guidance using only images. In the cross-border guidance using the image, only the image data of the cross-border guidance information corresponding to the crossed regional border is read from the external memory 14, and the image is displayed on the display screen of the display device 10 for about 10 seconds based on the image data. Let it. At this time, the display area W for displaying an image is set at the upper right corner of the display screen D, as shown in FIG.

This is a convention of displaying a map in a navigation system, in which a map direction mark R is displayed at the upper left of the road map display area D1. The various function switches K displayed at a height of about 4 are generally displayed on the left side of the display screen D, so that important information such as ~ is not hidden. is there.

When a plurality of maps are simultaneously displayed on the display screen D, in principle, the upper left of the display screen D
The display area W of the cross-border guidance is set. Normally, only when a simple map is displayed together with a normal road map, various types of information displayed in the simple map display area D2 are not hidden. The display area W is set at the upper right corner of the road map display area D1.

On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in S150, the process moves to S170, and the guidance type is "only voice guidance".
Is determined, and if a positive determination is made, the process shifts to S180 to execute cross-border guidance using only voice. In this cross-border guidance by voice, only the voice data of the cross-border guide information corresponding to the crossed regional border is read from the external memory 14, a voice signal is synthesized based on the voice data, and supplied to the voice output device 12 to output the voice ( If, for example, a negative determination is made in step S170, the guidance type is set to "image and voice", and the process proceeds to step S190. Execute cross-border guidance by both voice and voice.

In this case, of the cross-border guidance information corresponding to the crossed regional border, both the image data and the voice data are read from the external memory 14 and displayed based on this image data in exactly the same manner as the processing in S160 and S180. Apparatus 10
And displays an image on the display screen, and generates audio from the audio output device 12 based on the audio data.

During the execution of S160, 180, and 190, an information provision request with a higher importance than the cross-border guidance (for example, VI
Display of traffic regulation information collected via the CS receiver 6,
If there is an enlarged view of an intersection or a schematic diagram of a highway branch performed as a part of the navigation processing, the processing is interrupted and priority is given to providing high-priority information.

When the processes in S160, S180, and S190 are completed, the process proceeds to S200, in which the prohibition flag of the cross-border guidance information used for the cross-border guidance is set, and the prohibition executed separately from this process is prohibited. After activating the release processing, the process returns to S110. Here, the prohibition release processing started in S200 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When this prohibition release processing is started, first, S
At 210, based on the detection result of the position detector 4, a predetermined distance L1 [m] after the crossing is detected first
(E.g., 5000 [m]) or more is determined, and if a negative determination is made, the process repeats the same steps to stand by; if an affirmative determination is made, S is reached.
The process proceeds to 220, and after the prohibition flag is reset, the process ends.

As described above, in the navigation device 2 according to the present embodiment, when the vehicle crosses the local border, the cross-border guidance is performed, and thereafter, the cross-border guidance for the same local border is prohibited. When the vehicle travels as described above, the prohibition is released.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), when a certain regional border is first crossed (X1), a cross-border guide is performed, and after that, before traveling for L1m or more, the same regional border is crossed (X2). If you do, cross-border guidance is prohibited, but L1m
If the vehicle crosses the same regional border (X3) after traveling, the cross-border guidance is performed again.

Therefore, the navigation device 2 of the present embodiment
According to, according to the cross-border guidance that is performed when crossing a regional border, the driver can determine which hit (region) is currently driving without switching the road map displayed on the display screen to a wide area. You can recognize your approximate location. As a result, there is no need to perform an operation such as switching a road map to confirm such a current position, and the driver can concentrate on driving, so that driving safety can be improved.

In addition, when the vehicle crosses the same regional border repeatedly, the cross-border guidance is not activated at each cross-border but is performed at intervals so as not to cause annoyance. There is no pleasure. Further, in the navigation device 2 according to the present embodiment, when the display device 10 and the sound output device 12 provide information other than the cross-border guidance, when the cross-border is detected, the navigation device performs the cross-border guidance after the information provision is completed. If there is a request for providing information of high importance during the cross-border guidance, the cross-border guidance is interrupted.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when there is an information provision request of low importance (request 2) during the cross-border guidance (cross-border 2), the information of low importance is kept until the cross-border guidance is completed. Although the start of the provision is delayed, if there is a higher importance information provision request (request 1) during the cross-border guidance (cross-border 1), the cross-border guidance is interrupted and the provision of the high-priority information is stopped. Done. In addition, regardless of the provision of high importance information (request 3) and the provision of low importance information (request 4), if a cross border (cross border 3, cross border 4) is detected during other information provision, the The start of the cross-border guidance is delayed until the information provision ends.

As described above, according to the navigation device 2 of the present embodiment, information is provided in accordance with the importance of information. , Which can be provided without delay. In the above embodiment, as a condition for resetting the prohibition flag, that is, a condition for canceling the cross-border guidance prohibition, the distance L
Although whether or not the vehicle has traveled 1 m or more is used, for example,
It may be used whether or not a distance L2 [m] or more from the regional border has been reached. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, after a certain boundary is first crossed (Y1) and crossing guidance is executed, once outside the prohibited area within each L2 [m] on both sides of the local boundary. If the user crosses the same regional border (Y2) after exiting, the cross-border guidance is performed again. However, even if the user crosses the same regional border (Y3) without leaving the prohibited area, the cross-border guidance is not performed. .

The conditions for canceling the cross-border guidance prohibition are as follows:
Alternatively, whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after crossing the border may be used, or a combination of these may be used. Furthermore,
The setting may be such that all prohibition flags are reset only when the accessory switch is operated (on or off) without providing any cancellation condition.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when executing the cross-border guidance, the image data and the voice data of the cross-border guidance information which are stored in the external memory 14 in advance are used. The VICS base station installed in the
The one obtained via the receiver 6 may be used.

In this embodiment, the external memory 14 corresponds to the data storage means of the present invention.
0 is a position detecting means, S160, S180, and S190 are guiding means, S120 and S200 are guidance inhibiting means, and S21.
0 and S220 correspond to the prohibition canceling means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating processing contents of a cross-border guidance processing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing contents of a prohibition release processing.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of a display screen on which cross-border guidance information is displayed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which cross-border guidance is prohibited by a cross-border guidance process and a prohibition release process, and the prohibition is released.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the timing at which cross-border guidance is performed by the cross-border guidance processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Navigation device 4 Position detector 4
a ... GPS receiver 4b ... Gyroscope 4c ... Distance sensor 4
d geomagnetic sensor 6 VICS receiver 8 map data input device 1
0: display device 12: audio output device 14: external memory 16
... operation switch group 18 ... remote control sensor 20 ... control circuit 30
... Control circuit C ... Remote control D ... Display screen W, D1,
D2: Display area

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Node information indicating a specific point on a road, map data including a link information indicating a connection state between the specific points, a map data for expressing a road map, and guidance information set corresponding to the node information A data storage means for storing a current position of the vehicle; a position detection means for detecting a current position of the vehicle; and detecting that the vehicle has passed the specific point based on a detection result of the position detection means and the node information. A navigation device that provides guidance information corresponding to a specific point by at least one of an image and a sound. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the node information is a local border such as a prefectural border or a municipal border on the road map. And cross-border guidance indicating that the vehicle has crossed the regional border as guidance information corresponding to the node information representing the regional border. Navigation apparatus characterized by being set. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a guide prohibition unit that prohibits the subsequent provision of the guide information at a local border where the provision of the guide information has already been performed by the guide unit. A navigation device as described. 3. The navigation device according to claim 2, further comprising a prohibition canceling unit for canceling the prohibition of the guidance process by the guidance prohibiting unit when a preset canceling condition is satisfied. 4. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the prohibition canceling unit sets the canceling condition to be at least a set distance from the regional border. 5. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the prohibition canceling unit sets the prohibition canceling condition to travel a set distance or more after passing through the regional border. 6. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the prohibition canceling unit sets the cancellation condition such that a predetermined time or more has passed after passing through the regional border. 7. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the prohibition canceling unit sets operation of an accessory switch as the cancellation condition. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image output device for outputting the image of the guide information or the audio output device for outputting the voice is providing information of higher importance than the cross-border guidance. 8. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the provision of the cross-border guidance is delayed or stopped.