JP2005114556A - On-vehicle navigation device, and its traffic information display method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle navigation device and its traffic information display method, capable of simultaneously grasping guide display of branch points on a guide route, and traffic information. <P>SOLUTION: In this traffic information display method of this on-vehicle navigation device for guiding a vehicle along the guide route, receiving traffic information transmitted from the outside of the vehicle, and displaying the traffic information on a display device, when guiding the vehicle along the guide route, the traffic information is received; and when the vehicle is approaching the branch point on the guide route up to a fixed distance, an enlarged map of the branch point and the traffic information are displayed side by side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device and a traffic information display method thereof for searching for a guidance route from a departure point to a destination and guiding a user so that the vehicle travels along the guidance route. The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted navigation device that receives received traffic information and displays the traffic information on a display device, and a traffic information display method thereof.

  The vehicle-mounted navigation device includes a map data storage device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or hard disk on which map data is recorded, a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and a GPS (for detecting the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the vehicle. Global Positioning System) It has a receiver and a self-contained navigation sensor (such as a gyro and a vehicle speed sensor). Then, map data including the current position of the vehicle is read from the map data storage device, a map image around the current position of the vehicle is drawn based on the map data and displayed on the display device, and a vehicle position mark (location) Is displayed superimposed on the map image, the map image is scrolled according to the movement of the vehicle, the map image is fixed on the screen and the vehicle position mark is moved, and where the vehicle is currently traveling Can be seen at a glance.

  In general, the in-vehicle navigation device is equipped with a route guidance function that allows the user to easily travel to a desired destination without making a mistake on the road. According to this route guidance function, the lowest cost route connecting from the starting point to the destination using map data is automatically searched by performing simulation calculation such as horizontal search method or Dijkstra method, and the searched route is guided. It is memorized as a route, and when driving, the guidance route is displayed with a different color from other roads and drawn thickly, or when the vehicle approaches the intersection on the guidance route where it should turn right or left The user is guided to the destination by drawing an arrow indicating the course at the intersection on the map.

  Cost is based on distance, road width, road type (general road or highway, etc.), a value multiplied by a constant according to right turn and left turn, etc., estimated travel time of vehicle, etc. The degree of appropriateness as a numerical value. Even if there are two routes having the same distance, the cost differs depending on whether the user uses a toll road or whether to give priority to distance or time.

  In recent years, a system for providing traffic information from outside the vehicle such as VICS (VEHICLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM) has been put into practical use. In VICS, various traffic information such as accident information and traffic jam information is provided by optical beacons, radio wave beacons and FM multiplex broadcasting. In an in-vehicle navigation device having a VICS receiver, when such traffic information is received, an interrupt process is generated, and the traffic information is superimposed on a map image and displayed.

  However, if the traffic information is displayed when the vehicle is approaching a branch point, the map image cannot be seen, the vehicle position cannot be confirmed, and the route may be wrong. In order to avoid such a problem, an in-vehicle navigation device capable of arbitrarily setting the display time of VICS information has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Also, an in-vehicle navigation device has been proposed in which when a vehicle approaches a branch point, it is not displayed on a display device even if VICS information is received (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-267469 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-47979

  In the vehicle-mounted navigation device described above, the user can surely confirm the guidance route, and the vehicle is prevented from deviating from the guidance route. However, when the vehicle approaches the branch point, it will not be displayed on the display device even if it receives traffic information, so you can not miss traffic information such as traffic jams and accidents on the guidance route you are going to drive until you reach the destination You may spend extra time.

  As described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle navigation device and a traffic information display method thereof capable of simultaneously grasping a guidance display of a branch point of a guidance route and traffic information.

  The above-described problems include a map data recording unit that records map data, a display device that displays a map image created based on the map data, a vehicle position detection unit that detects the current position of the vehicle, and an external vehicle. A traffic information receiving device that receives the traffic information that is sent, and a guide information is appropriately displayed on the display device according to the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detecting unit, and the vehicle is moved to the destination along the guidance route. A control unit for guiding the vehicle to the vehicle, and the control unit receives traffic information by the traffic information receiving device when guiding the vehicle along the guidance route, and the vehicle branches the guidance route. The vehicle navigation system is characterized in that, when a point is approached to a certain distance, the enlarged map of the branch point and the traffic information are displayed side by side on the display device.

  The above-described problem is that in a vehicle-mounted navigation device that guides a vehicle along a guidance route, receives traffic information sent from the outside of the vehicle, and displays the traffic information on a display device, the vehicle along the guidance route When the traffic information is received while the vehicle is guiding and the vehicle is approaching a certain distance to the branch point on the guidance route, the enlarged map of the branch point and the traffic information are displayed side by side. This is solved by the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device.

  In the in-vehicle navigation device of the present invention, when traffic information is received when guiding a vehicle along the guidance route, and when the vehicle is approaching a branch point on the guidance route to a certain distance, Since the guidance display of the branch point of the guidance route and the traffic information are displayed side by side on the display device, the user can grasp them simultaneously. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain road conditions, such as a traffic jam and an accident, further, without deviating from a guidance route.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a DVD on which map data is recorded. Map data is divided into longitude and latitude widths of appropriate size according to scale levels such as 1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000, and 1/100000, and roads are expressed in latitude and longitude. Recorded as a coordinate set of vertices (nodes).

  An operation unit 2 includes an operation panel and a remote control transmitter for operating a navigation apparatus body 10 to be described later. The operation unit 2 is provided with a joystick for moving a pointer (cursor) displayed on the screen up and down, left and right, and various buttons for operating the navigation apparatus body 10.

  A traffic information receiver 3 receives traffic information distributed from a traffic information center (VICS center) outside the vehicle.

  A GPS receiver 5 receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite and detects the latitude and longitude of the current location of the vehicle. Reference numeral 6 denotes a self-contained navigation sensor, which includes an angle sensor 6a such as a gyro that detects the rotation angle of the vehicle, and a travel sensor 6b that generates a pulse for every predetermined travel distance. Reference numeral 7 denotes a liquid crystal display device, and the navigation device main body 10 displays a position around the current location of the vehicle on the display device 7, a guidance route from the departure location (current location) to the destination, a vehicle location mark, traffic information, and the like. Display guidance information. Reference numeral 8 denotes a speaker for providing guidance to the user by voice.

  The navigation device body 10 is composed of the following. A buffer memory 11 temporarily stores map data read from the DVD 1. A DVD controller 12 drives and controls the DVD 1. Reference numeral 13 denotes an interface connected to the operation unit 2, 14 denotes an interface connected to the traffic information receiver 3, 15 denotes an interface connected to the GPS receiver 5, and 16 denotes an interface connected to the autonomous navigation sensor 6.

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a control unit constituted by a microcomputer. The control unit 17 detects the current location of the vehicle based on information input from the interfaces 15 and 16, reads map data of a predetermined area from the DVD 1 to the buffer memory 11, and reads it to the buffer memory 11. Various processes are executed, such as searching for a guidance route under conditions set using the map data.

  Reference numeral 18 denotes a map drawing unit that generates a map image using the map data read out to the buffer memory 11, and reference numeral 19 denotes various menu screens (operation screens) and various marks such as a vehicle position mark and a pointer according to the operation status. This is an operation screen / mark generator for generating Reference numeral 20 denotes a guidance route storage unit that records the guidance route searched by the control unit 17, and reference numeral 21 denotes a guidance route drawing unit that draws the guidance route. In the guidance route storage unit 20, all nodes of the guidance route searched by the control unit 17 are recorded from the departure point to the destination. The guide route drawing unit 21 reads guide route information (node sequence) from the guide route storage unit 20 when displaying a map.

  An audio output unit 22 supplies an audio signal to the speaker 9 based on a signal from the control unit 17. An image composition unit 24 superimposes various marks and operation screens generated by the operation screen / mark generation unit 10 on the map image drawn by the map drawing unit 18, a guidance route drawn by the guidance route drawing unit 21, and the like. Display on the display device 7. Further, for example, when the vehicle approaches a branch point on the guidance route to a certain distance (300 m in this example), an enlarged view near the branch point is created and displayed on the display screen of the display device 7. Examples of such a branch point include an intersection, a three-dimensional intersection, and a highway branch point.

  Thus, in the navigation device 10 configured as described above, the control unit 17 detects the current location of the vehicle from the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 5 and the signal sent from the autonomous navigation sensor 6. Then, map data around the current location of the vehicle is read from the DVD 1 to the buffer memory 11 via the DVD controller 12. Thereafter, a map image is drawn by the map drawing unit 18 based on the map data, and a map image around the current location of the vehicle is displayed on the display device 7.

  Further, when the user operates the operation unit 3 to set the destination, the control unit 17 uses the current position of the vehicle as the starting point, and uses the map data on the DVD 1 for the route with the lowest cost from the starting point to the destination. To explore. Thereafter, the route obtained by the search is stored as a guide route in the guide route storage unit 20, and the guide route is superimposed on the map image and displayed. And the control part 17 outputs guidance information suitably with a driving | running | working of a vehicle, and guides a vehicle to drive | work along a guidance route to the destination.

  Hereinafter, an example of the traffic information display method of the vehicle-mounted navigation device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 extracts and shows a part of process performed by the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus.

  First, when the traffic information receiver 3 receives traffic information (VICS information) in step S <b> 1, the traffic information is sent to the control unit 17.

  Thereafter, in step S2, the control unit 17 determines whether or not the guidance route is being guided. When the guidance route is not guided (NO), the process proceeds to step S4, and the control unit 17 controls the map drawing unit 18 to display traffic information (VICS information) in the center of the display device 7 as shown in FIG. To be displayed on the map image.

  On the other hand, when the guidance route is being guided (YES), the process proceeds to step S3, and the control unit 17 determines the current position of the vehicle based on signals sent from the GPS receiver 5 and the autonomous navigation sensor 6. If the vehicle is, for example, a certain distance (300 m) or more away from the intersection (NO), the process proceeds to step S5, and the control unit 17 superimposes traffic information on the map image at the center of the display device 7 as shown in FIG. To display.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle is within a certain distance (300 m) from the intersection, for example, and the enlarged view of the branch point is displayed on the display device 7 (YES), the process proceeds to step S6, and the control unit 17 is shown in FIG. Thus, for example, the display screen of the display device 7 is divided into left and right parts, an enlarged view of a branch point is displayed on one screen side (right side in FIG. 5), and the other screen side (left side in FIG. 5) is displayed. Display traffic information. When the vehicle approaches an intersection, a signal may be generated from the control unit 17 to the audio output unit 22 to create an audio signal, and the user may be informed that the intersection is near via the speaker 9.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when route guidance is not being performed, and when route guidance is being performed but the intersection enlarged guide map is not being displayed, traffic information is superimposed on the map image. indicate. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the traffic information is displayed on a wide screen, and the visibility of the traffic information is excellent.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when traffic information is received while the intersection enlarged guide map is displayed and the intersection guidance is provided, the traffic information and the enlarged intersection map are displayed side by side as shown in FIG. Thereby, while confirming the own vehicle position with respect to a guidance intersection, the possibility of missing traffic information is avoided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display image of the display device by the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the guidance route guidance is not displayed, and the traffic A display display when information is received is shown. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display image of the display device by the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays guidance route guidance and is constant from the intersection. A display display when traffic information is received when the distance is more than the distance is shown. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display image of the display device by the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing the display display when approaching within a certain distance from the intersection. Yes.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... DVD-ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Operation part 3 ... Traffic signal receiver 5 ... GPS receiver 6 ... Autonomous navigation sensor 6a ... Angle sensor 6b ... Distance sensor 7 ... Display apparatus 8 ... Speaker 10 ... Navigation device body 11 ... Buffer memory 12 ... DVD-ROM controller 17 ... Control unit 18 ... Map drawing unit 19 ... Operation screen / mark generation unit 20 ... Guidance Route storage unit 21 ... guide route drawing unit 22 ... sound output unit 24 ... image creation unit

Claims (4)

A map data recording unit that records map data;
A display device for displaying a map image created based on the map data;
A vehicle position detector for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
A traffic information receiving device for receiving traffic information sent from outside the vehicle;
A controller that appropriately displays guidance information on the display device according to the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detector, and guides the vehicle to a destination along a guidance route;
The control unit receives traffic information by the traffic information receiving device when guiding the vehicle along the guidance route, and the vehicle approaches a branch point of the guidance route to a certain distance. Sometimes, the in-vehicle navigation device, wherein the enlarged map of the branch point and the traffic information are displayed side by side on the display device. In the traffic information display method of the in-vehicle navigation device that guides the vehicle along the guide route, receives traffic information sent from the outside of the vehicle, and displays the traffic information on the display device,
When the vehicle receives the traffic information when guiding the vehicle along the guidance route, and the vehicle is approaching a certain distance to the branch point on the guidance route, an enlarged map of the branch point; A traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device, wherein the traffic information is displayed side by side.   3. The traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the traffic information is displayed on a map of the current position of the vehicle, except in a section from the branch point to a certain distance. .   3. The traffic information display method for an in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2, wherein when the guide route is not set, the traffic information is displayed on a map of the current position of the vehicle.

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