JPS6147981A - Route guidance apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a device for guiding a vehicle to a destination according to a predetermined route, and a device for guiding a vehicle to a destination in accordance with a predetermined route. The present invention relates to a route guidance device.

Technical Background of Invention C and its Problems] With the recent development of microcomputers, LSIs, 4M, etc., when entering the planned route from the starting point to the destination point on a map displayed on a display etc. Various vehicle route guidance devices have been proposed in which a microcomputer processes the detection (g) using a direction sensor and a distance sensor, and guides the vehicle to the destination while confirming the vehicle position. By using a guidance device, the driver can grasp the direction and distance to the destination by looking at the display (), reducing the burden of searching for someone in an unfamiliar area, allowing them to concentrate on driving and drive safely. I can do it.

By the way, in order to guide a vehicle from a certain starting point to a designated point, it is necessary to set and store in advance a scheduled route from the starting point to a designated point. The method of setting is relatively complicated and
1. It was easy. 71', for example, to set a route, display a map of the departure area on the screen, move the cursor, which is a mark indicating the vehicle position, on the map displayed on the screen, and select the intersection that the cursor will pass through. After specifying the intersection you are planning to pass according to the current situation, you can operate switches such as turn right, turn left, or go straight to sequentially set the planned route (for example,
47'10), there was a problem in that it was very troublesome to set a route in cases where the set route was long or in areas where there were many intersections, and it was easy to make mistakes.

[Purpose of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to provide a device for guiding a vehicle along a preset scheduled route, in which the scheduled route can be easily and accurately set. An object of the present invention is to provide a route guidance device for a vehicle.

[Summary of the Invention] This invention achieves the above object by sequentially specifying the direction of travel from intersections existing on the route leading to the destination based on the display of the route map. As shown in FIG.
A direction specifying means 1 having a surface for displaying direction information on the displayed road map and specifying the displayed direction information; and a direction specifying means 1 for specifying the direction of a passage extending from an intersection. a direction display control means 3 for displaying and outputting the direction information corresponding to the above-mentioned road map; a traveling direction storage means 5 for storing the direction information designated by the direction designating means 1 and outputted for display; The gist is that the JI4 configuration has an adjacent intersection search means 7 that searches for adjacent intersections existing on the extending road and outputs a signal indicating this F intersection intersection point to the direction display control means 3. .

[Embodiments of the invention] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 21 is a direction sensor that detects the direction of travel of the vehicle from, for example, the earth's magnetic field, and 23 is the direction sensor 21.
a sensor amplifier that amplifies and shapes the output signal of the sensor; 25 is a travel distance measuring sensor that generates pulses for calculating the travel distance PA according to the rotation of the tires; 27 is a display device that displays various displays; An operating section 31 controls the display output of the display VC device 27 when setting a route to a destination, and inputs a signal from the operating section 29 to set the route. It is a microcomputer that inputs the 1g bow detected by the direction sensor 21 and the direction and distance sensor 25, compares it with the set route, and displays the traveling direction of the vehicle on the display device 27.

The display device 27 includes a buffer memory A33, a buffer memory B34, a display control section 35, and a CR7 display section 3.
7 and company. Buffer memory A33 temporarily stores intersection shape information, switch position correspondence display information, etc. supplied from microcomputer-31, and stores this information in C.
This is a buffer 1-memory for displaying on the RT display section S7.

Buffer memory 834 is a microcomputer
This buffer memory temporarily stores the road map information supplied from the CR7 display section 37 and displays this road map information on the CR7 display section 37. [
is for controlling the display of both on the CRT display section 37 at the same time. The operation unit 29 displays p on the CRT display screen.
It has a transparent operation panel 39 arranged in parallel or at small intervals, and a key switch 41 provided near the CRT display section 37. The three transparent operation panels are formed by dividing the screen of the CR7 display unit 37 into several appropriate blocks vertically and horizontally. The key switches 41, which the driver operates according to the contents of the screen as described later, are independent pushbutton switches (114).
J, rol"Fj, rsTARTI, r CL E A
It has four keys: RJ.

The microcomputer 31 includes a CPU, ROM, and RA.
a central control unit 43 consisting of M; a sensor interface 45 into which the detection signals from the direction sensor 21 and the mileage sensor 25 are input; and an input boat 47 into which signals from the three transparent operation panels and the key switch 41 are input; There are four output ports for outputting display-related signals processed by the central controller 43 to the display device 27, a road map storage device 50 for storing road map information, and a road map storage device 50 for storing data regarding intersections such as intersection shape. It has an intersection point data storage device 51 that stores the intersection point data. j route map storage device 5
0 stores map data in which roads, intersections, railways, rivers, etc. are color-coded. This classification is, for example, green for passages, yellow for intersections, magenta for railroads, bays for rivers, ζiη, etc., white for letters, red for set routes, and color-coded travel 111 (traces for tracks in cyan, etc.). For example, in Figure 3 (・
: In order to store the road map on the CRT 2 and display it on the CRT 2, the road map memory 'A' location 50 must be stored.
1j Top) In order to display the divided colors, as shown in Fig. 11, a three-layer structure consisting of a red memory pattern R, a green memory pattern G, and a blue memory pattern B is constructed in correspondence with each other. From the memory pattern of (j
It has been completed. In this case, the bit combinations of each memory pattern are well-known bit combinations as shown in FIG. 5 in order to display the above-mentioned colors in combination of each memory pattern. The route map written 10 in different colors in the road map storage device 50 is supplied to the buffer memory 834 via the output port 49 under the control of the central control unit 43, and from this buffer memory B34 the display system 1a11 C through part 35
The corresponding red, green, and blue electron guns on the RT display section 37 are controlled, and a passage map is displayed on the CRT display section 37 in different colors.

The intersection data storage device 51 stores the shape of each intersection corresponding to each intersection existing on the road map, and the shape data of each intersection stored in the intersection data storage device 51 is The data is supplied to the buffer memory A 33 through four output ports under the control of the central control section 43, and is supplied from the buffer 1 memory 834 to the CRT display section 37 under the control of the display system section 35. The shape of the intersection can be displayed over the displayed road map.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained using the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7.

The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are related to the route setting work to the destination.
) Processing flow for guiding and controlling the vehicle to the destination according to J5 and the set route (steps 2.0'O to 2
40 and steps 600 to 820).

First, the processing flow performed when setting a route to a destination will be explained according to steps 100 to 120 in FIG. 6 and steps 300 to 490 not shown in FIG. 7.

First, operate the rONJ switch of the key switch 41 to perform initial settings, and the index image of each passage map will be displayed on the CRT.
It is displayed on the display section 37. (Steps 100, 110
), the departure area is selected from among the restored road map areas displayed on the screen of the CRT display unit 37, and the road map of this departure area is displayed on the screen (step 120).

The passage map thus displayed on the screen of the CRT display section 37 is, for example, as shown in FIG. In addition to this road map, there is a cursor mark 61 on the road map shown in FIG.
Eight cursor marks (three cursor marks 39a, 3911.39G, 39'l, 39
Q, 39f.

39 (1, 39h) and a SET key display 393 are displayed at the same time.These cursor mark three movement displays and SET key display are caused by the above-mentioned transparent operation placed on the screen of this CRT display section, 37. The transparent operation panel 39 senses this by pressing each display part of the three panels, and sends this information to the central control unit 43 via the input capo 1-47. It transmits information and executes processing in response to the placement of each display portion when pressed.The cursor mark movement displays 39a to 39j1 are for moving the cursor mark 61 in a desired direction. For example, if you touch and press the cursor mark movement display 39a with your finger, the cursor mark 61 moves to the right, and the cursor mark movement display 39a moves to the right.
When 0 is pressed, the cursor mark 61 moves to the left, and when the cursor mark movement display 39g is not pressed, the cursor mark 61 moves upward one step. Then, by operating these eight cursor marks 39a to 391), the cursor mark 61 is moved to the desired departure intersection or the vicinity of the departure intersection. Cursor movement display 39 to move the cursor mark 61 to the departure intersection or above the departure intersection
After moving using keys a to 39h, press the S E 'T switch display part 39s displayed on the screen to move to the intersection point P of 5 where the cursor 7-61 is currently located.
, i'= (- is replaced with the current position and coordinates indicating the middle position (steps 300, 310, 320): In this way, the cursor mark 61 is moved f8 to the departure intersection or the vicinity of the departure intersection. However, in some cases, the cursor mark 61 may not be located exactly on the intersection, so search for the yellow dot that indicates the intersection on the passage map centering on the current position where this cursor mark exists. (Step 330).As shown in Fig. 11, this search for yellow dots is performed by gradually enlarging the dots forming the o-road map in a spiral shape with the current position P as the center, until each dot becomes yellow. The search is performed while identifying whether it is the dot 1- or not.In the case of Fig. 11, if the search is performed while expanding the dots one by one in a spiral shape, centering on the current position iWP of the dot, At the same exit, a yellow dot indicating the intersection C is detected.By doing this, even if the cursor mark 61 is not exactly located on the Fumiko point, the cursor mark 61 can be moved to the vicinity of the intersection. By moving the cursor mark 61 using the 8-motion display, it is possible to accurately set the cursor mark 61 on the starting intersection.As shown in FIG. The current position of cursor mark 61 is replaced with the coordinates of the searched yellow dot intersection point position, and the current position of cursor mark 61 is moved to the intersection point position of these coordinates (step 340).
, 350). The table stored in the intersection data storage device 51 is searched from the coordinate position of the intersection detected in this way, the intersection number corresponding to this coordinate is detected, and the detected intersection number is used for the planned route. It is registered as intersection data (step 360). Next, the intersection shape corresponding to the detected intersection point number is read 71' from the intersection data storage device 51 (step 370).

Now, if the departure intersection is the intersection where the cursor mark 61 is present in FIG. 9, this intersection is a crossroads, so the cursor mark movement display 3
When trying to display on the screen 9a to 39h, four cursor marks are displayed 39a as shown in FIG.
, 39c, 39e, and 39g can display the shape of the intersection where the cursor mark 61 exists, that is, the shape of a crossroads. That is, in order to display the shape of this intersection using the cursor mark movement displays 39a to 3911, steps 350, 390, and 400 are performed.
First, in step 3701, it is determined from the read intersection shape which switch position on the three transparent operation panels should be displayed, and then the display data corresponding to the determined switch position is transferred to the buffer memory A33. , the shape of the intersection is superimposed on the passage map using the display data stored in the buffer memory A, and the cursor mark 7B is dynamically displayed 3ga, 39c, as shown in FIG.
39e.

It is indicated by 39g. In this way, the cursor mark 61 is aligned with the departure intersection, and the shape of this departure intersection is transferred to the cursor mark! 1/J display 3
After being displayed on the screen by 9a, 39c, 39e, 39G, 5TAR is then displayed in step 410.
Checks whether the T key is on.

This 5TART key is pressed when the setting of the scheduled route is completed, and by pressing this 5TART key, the vehicle is invited to follow the set scheduled route, but in this case Since the starting intersection has only been set and not all routes have been set yet, naturally the 5TART key has not been pressed.Therefore, the process proceeds to step 420, where the intersection shape is not shown and the cursor mark movement display 39a, 39c, 39e, 39g
Wait for the corresponding switch on the transparent operation panel to be pressed.

If the switch part is pressed, one of the eight memory dots around the intersection corresponding to the pressed switch part is selected (step 43o).

440). As shown in FIG. 13, there are eight memory dots 1 to 8 around the memory dot C representing the intersection point.
1 to 8 correspond to cursor mark movement displays 39.1 to 5911, respectively, as shown in FIG. Therefore, cursor mark key hyperactivity display 399
When is pressed, memory dot 1 shown in Figure 13
is selected and, for example, when the cursor mark movement display 390 is selected, the memory dot 7 is selected. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, if you want to proceed upward at the intersection where the cursor mark 61 is located, press the cursor mark movement display 39 and the memory dot shown in FIG. 13 will appear. 1 is selected, and it is identified that the route is to be set in this direction.

Therefore, in the next step 450, a green dot indicating a road or a yellow dot indicating an intersection is searched at the center of the direction selected in this manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 14(a), surrounding dots are sequentially searched in a spiral manner as shown in diagram T411, centering on the intersection C indicated by a yellow dot. As a result, if a new yellow dot is detected in the previously selected direction, this means that a new 1ζ intersection has been detected, so the process returns to step 350 and the above-described processing regarding the intersection point is performed. (step 460)
). However, if the yellow dot is not detected and a green dot is detected, it means that a passage extending from the intersection, in this case extending upward as shown in FIG. 9, has been detected. Replace the coordinates of the current position with the coordinates of this new green dot that has been searched, and change the color of the current position dot in 9-dynamics to the red dot, which is the color of the set route, as shown in Figure 14(b). Instead, the process returns to step 450 (steps 470, 480, 49
0). Hereinafter, the process loop of steps 450 to 490 is repeated. The cursor mark 61, which was located at a position not shown in FIG. The setting route will be displayed in red.

As a result, it is displayed on the screen as shown in Figure 10.
When we arrive at the next intersection, a dot is detected at Stella 7゛・160, so we search for the intersection number from the coordinate data of this yellow dot, register it, and roughly check this 9% point. In order to set the direction of travel from
1+, 39g.

39 d. Above: By reversing the ball movement, it is possible to complete the route setting from the mountain base point to the eye point (γ point).

After completing the route setting work as described above, move the vehicle to the departure intersection, and at this departure intersection,
When the TART key is operated, step 20 shown in FIG.
Vehicle guidance control shown after 0 is started.

Jξ, when the Tli cars approached the starting intersection where the invitation 9 was set in the above route setting step 1, the 5TA
When the RT key is pressed to start reading 9, the coordinates (Xs, Ys) of the departure intersection point are supplied to the buffer memory in the microcomputer 31, and displayed on the screen of the CRT display section 37. In addition to displaying the blower 1,
The center 111j control part 43 has a soft groove) 1:
As the initial value X01YO of the i-stop section, set the 1f markers XS and YS of the departure intersection, and set the departure intersection that you are currently trying to pass through first; (
(Reads the Bunko point number two places ahead on the set route as
Furthermore, the distance from the current intersection to the next intersection to be passed is read (steps 210, 220).

Next, while the vehicle is traveling at a constant unit distance ΔD based on the distance data from the mileage sensor, the orientation data of the vehicle is read from the orientation sensor, and each coordinate point (X) at which the vehicle has traveled is determined based on the equation shown in step 230.

At the same time as plotting Y) in the buffer memory, the distance to the next intersection at the position where the vehicle has traveled is calculated moment by moment from the distance to the next intersection read in step 220 and the travel distance plotted. be(
Step 230).

In this way, when the distance to the next intersection is 50 Qm1 steps, I
-Display the route map and travel trajectory on the display section 37. Steps 240 and 600) After confirming that the OLE and AR main keys are not pressed, return to step 230 and check that the distance to the next intersection point is "5Q". This evening] process is repeated until Q is less than m.In this process of filling in 9 cells, if the CLEAR key is pressed (well, for some period of time), there is an error, and the vehicle control 9 control is activated. If this is not possible, return to step 100 and start over from the beginning. (Step 6'
IO＞.

If the distance to the next intersection is less than or equal to 50 On+, the process proceeds to step 620, where FIG.
), the shape of the next negotiation point is displayed, and
If the next intersection is not the target intersection, an arrow in the forward direction 11 is displayed in the intersection shape display (steps 630, 640>).

Then, calculate the distance to the next intersection f, π.

If this distance is 100m or more, see Figure 15 (a).
The entry display segment to the next intersection point is set to 10 as shown in
The distance to the next intersection is controlled by a distance display of 0mfa, and the distance to the next intersection is displayed every 100m in hour/2 minutes. Then, if J5 is at step 650 and the distance to the next negotiation point is 100 m, the result shown in FIG. 15 (I) is J:
After the direction arrow flashes (step 665),
Proceeding to step 670, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling straight.

This is not a particular problem when the vehicle is turning right or left, but when the vehicle is turning right or left,
, the point at which the vehicle has passed the intersection is determined by identifying whether the vehicle has turned at the intersection point at seven points using the direction data from the direction sensor.

First, we will explain the case where the vehicle is traveling straight. The process returns to step 230 via , and the above operation is repeated, but the distance to the intersection is Q' m
That is, if an intersection has been reached, the process proceeds to step 770, where the next intersection is replaced as a passing intersection AN, and the guidance point is moved forward by one point! /), Previous Self Suna Mbu 210
(I'm going back.

Further, in step 670, if the vehicle is not traveling straight, reading direction data from the direction sensor (step 690).
), it is determined whether the traveling direction of the vehicle that has entered this 3cm direction is a predetermined reset direction, i.e. h1, which is the reset direction in which 15 city cars are considered to have passed through the intersection, and if it is the reset direction, it is determined whether the vehicle is heading toward the intersection or not. At that time, it will have passed, so
The intersection point of the passage (Bronze the vote to the buffer memory:・
Then, the initial value coordinates (Xo, '10) of the trunk processing section are set, and the passing intersection point ffl+W (XN, YN) is calculated as l-1, and the distance traveled to the next intersection is calculated as follows: Reset the first freeze h゛th] (steps 750, 76
0>. Then, advance the instruction point one step forward (step 770), return to step 210, and repeat the same operation 1". Also, go to step 700 d3 and reset 1 (if different from i) The distance to the intersection point is 11
00m or less. This meaning of "within -100m" indicates that the vehicle must be within 00n+ after yA after passing through the intersection. -1Ql] If the distance is not within -1Ql]n, the process returns to step 23○ via step 610@ and repeats the above operation, but if the distance is within -100n1, the exit direction from the intersection is stored as intersection data. Check whether it matches the exit direction, and if so, proceed to step 770, move the KM/Q intersection one step ahead), and return to step 210 and perform the same operation for the next intersection. Repeat. However, in step 720, if the heading directions do not match, it is considered that the heading was in the wrong direction, so a bulletin signal is output, and an indication of the wrong direction is displayed on the CRT display section. A comment instructing re-registration of the route is displayed (steps 730, 740).

Further, as a result of the check in step 630, if the next intersection is the target intersection, the intersection point name on the CRT display flashes and the distance to the target intersection is Q m.
Display the distance in the segment until ○n1
When the target light point is reached, an end display is performed (SUP 8.00, 810.820>).

[Effects of rc light] As explained above, this light between J and (1) sequentially specifies the direction of travel from intersections existing on the route to the destination based on the display of the road map. By setting the planned route to the destination in advance,
Follow the planned route [In the dual-use route guidance device, when specifying the direction of travel from the intersection when setting the planned route, C indicates the direction information that can be taken from the intersection to the route currently displayed. After displaying the information corresponding to the map, you can specify the direction of travel by specifying the V display section that shows the direction information should be taken on this display section, so you can easily and accurately specify the direction of travel. Routes can be set.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram corresponding to claim 24 of this invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle route guidance device showing an embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 3 is an example of a route map displayed on the screen. The figure shown in Figure 4 is the memory IM g of the passage map shown in Figure 3.
! , Figure 5 is a diagram showing the combination of memory bits for color-coding the route map, and Figures 6 and 7 are the route guidance for vehicles in Figure 2. Flowcharts 1 to 8 to 10 showing the operation of the device are diagrams showing passage maps and switches displayed on the screen during route setting work, and Figs. 15 is a diagram showing the shape of an intersection and arrows indicating the direction of travel at the intersection in the vehicle guidance control diagram. 1. Orientation 18 Determining means 3. H position display control means 5... Traveling direction storage means 7... Adjacent intersection search means Fig. 15 (Q) Fig. 15 @ (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] By sequentially specifying the direction of travel from intersections on the route to the destination based on the road map display, the planned route to the destination can be set in advance, and the vehicle can follow the planned route. The device includes a direction specifying means having a function of displaying direction information on the displayed road map and specifying the displayed direction information; An azimuth display control means for causing the designation means to output a display corresponding to the road map; a heading storage means for storing the azimuth information specified by the azimuth designation means that is displayed and output;
A vehicle route guidance system comprising: adjacent intersection search means for searching for an adjacent intersection existing on a road extending to specified azimuth information and outputting a signal indicating this adjacent intersection to the azimuth display control means. Device.