JP2817340B2 - Voice guidance device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a moving object, for example, a car used for an automobile.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system that detects the current position of a moving body and guides drivers, passengers, and the like of geographical information near the current position by voice.

<Conventional Technology> Conventionally, a car navigation system that provides a driver with vehicle position information and route guidance information has been provided. This system is equipped with a geomagnetic sensor, a direction sensor such as a gyro, a mileage sensor for measuring the mileage, a map memory, and a display.The current position of the vehicle is obtained, and the position and the vector of the traveling direction are displayed on the display. This is superimposed and displayed on a map.

The driver can grasp the position of the vehicle on the map and the direction of the vehicle while looking at the display.

In the above car navigation system,
Since the driver must look at the display while driving, it is dangerous, so the location information of the vehicle is displayed on the screen, and at the same time, the location name, intersection name, A device for notifying a driver of a road name by voice has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 64-75911 and 64-16915).

For example, when approaching an intersection or the like, a voice such as "Please turn right at a three-way intersection" or "Please turn right at a three-way intersection" can be issued to the driver to instruct the distance to the intersection or the direction to turn.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, the above-described voice guidance device has the following problem.

Only common names such as "intersection" and "three-way intersection" are generated, and guidance based on actual place names such as "Tokyo Station" or "intersection of Ginza x Chome" is not possible, so the ability to appeal to drivers is weak.

Since it occurs only in limited fixed phrases such as "It is xxx at xkm" or "turn right", the driver gets tired of listening immediately and the driver does not pay attention.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a voice guidance device capable of providing voice guidance according to an actual place name.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a voice guidance device capable of producing a text that has a change and is not tired of sound and providing voice guidance.

<Means and Actions for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, as shown in FIG. 1, a voice guidance device includes a road map storage unit A storing road map data, Guidance information storage means B which stores the specific name of the above specific map in association with the position information of the point, and position detection means C which detects the vehicle position
And when it detects that the position of the vehicle has approached a specific point on the map, it searches for the unique name of the point based on the position information of the specific point, and adds the guidance text together with the fixed text. It has a sentence generating means D to be created and a speech rule synthesizing means E to convert the created guidance sentence into a speech signal.

The fixed text prepared by the text generating means D is, for example, a text such as "I have XXXX soon." Here, “xxx” is a unique name read from the guidance information storage unit B.

According to the above voice guidance device, since the unique name of each point is stored in the guidance information storage means B, the text generation means D
Can prepare a guide sentence along with a fixed sentence only by preparing a fixed sentence. Voice rule synthesis means E
Can perform voice guidance based on the actual place name by voice synthesis.

In addition, the voice guidance device of the present invention includes the above sentence generation means D
However, various types of standard sentences are prepared, and any one of the standard sentences may be selected to create a guide sentence.

The above-mentioned various fixed sentences may be composed of a plurality of fixed sentences representing substantially the same contents. For example, "I have an XXXX soon."
You can see, ""I'm approaching xxx "and so on.
Thus, where only one type of style is less likely to change and is tiring, guidance can be provided in various styles, so that the driver's attention can be kept.

The guide information storage means B stores a unique name of a specific point on the road map and a detailed description about the specific point in addition to the positional information. However, only when it is registered that a detailed description is desired, a command to synthesize a voice signal in accordance with the above detailed description is given to the voice rule synthesizing means E. The detailed description is, for example, information that tells in detail what kind of assortment is available if the specific point is a department store, or what hotel if it is a hotel.

Further, the guidance information storage means B may store a unique name of a specific point on a road map and a classification code of the unique name in addition to the position information.

The classification code corresponds to a classification such as a station, a department store, and a hotel. When the driver desires voice guidance with a clear purpose of shopping or staying, the sentence generation means D searches the guidance information storage means B for a point having only a classification code corresponding to the purpose and outputs it. be able to. Further, the sentence generation means D searches the guidance information storage means B for points of the same class within a certain range from the coordinates of the given point, and sequentially outputs the points. I can guide you.

As shown in FIG.
Further, a route guidance information storage means F is provided, and a text generation means D
May be composed of a plurality of fixed sentences representing the contents related to route guidance.

The plurality of fixed sentences are, for example, "Please turn right at the intersection after the next XXX", "Go straight at the signal at the next XX corner". As a result, the route guidance information storage means F knows the route to be guided, so that the sentence generation means D searches the guidance information storage means B to find a specific point on the route to be guided. By combining basic sentences with their unique names, reliable route guidance and route instruction can be performed according to the place names.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the voice guidance device. The voice guidance device is mounted on the body 11 of a car, and includes: a road map database 4 storing road map data; and a unique name of a specific point on the road map corresponding to the position information of the point. A guidance information database 1 stored and stored; a geomagnetic sensor 10 mounted on the roof of the vehicle body 11; a wheel speed sensor 9 mounted on wheels of the vehicle body 11; azimuth information of the geomagnetic sensor 10 and running of the wheel speed sensor 9; A position detection unit 8 that calculates a traveling locus based on the distance information and detects the current vehicle position;-When it is detected that the position of the vehicle approaches a specific point on the map, the position information of the specific point is added to the position information. A sentence generation unit 2 that searches for a unique name of the point based on the sentence and creates a guide sentence along with a fixed sentence; a voice rule synthesis unit 3 that converts the created guide text into a voice signal; Was A speaker 7 for outputting voice; a display controller 5 for displaying a map obtained from the road map database 4 and a current vehicle position detected by the position detector 8 on a display 6; is there.

The speaker 7 may be prepared for exclusive use, or a part of an audio device such as a car stereo mounted on the vehicle may be used.

In addition, a gyro (mechanical gyro, laser gyro, optical fiber gyro) is used instead of the geomagnetic sensor 10
May be used to obtain the azimuth information by detecting the turning angular velocity of the vehicle body and performing time integration. Alternatively, the travel distance may be obtained from an odometer attached to the vehicle instead of the wheel speed sensor 9. . The position detection unit 8 can also match the detected vehicle position with the road on the map, and correct the position error of the vehicle by using the restriction that the vehicle runs only on the road. Yes (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-14
No. 8115).

The guide information database 1 may be constituted by, for example, a CD-ROM, or may be other optical disks, magnetic disks,
Various media such as a semiconductor memory can be used. In order to reduce the hardware cost, for example, one CD-ROM area may be divided and shared by the road map database 4 and the guidance information database 1.

The guidance information database 1 stores a unique name, coordinates, classification, and detailed description of the guidance target. Table 1 shows an example of the stored data.

The sentence generation unit 2 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer function, and has a fixed sentence, for example, "There is XXXX soon." This "xxx"
By assigning a unique name obtained by searching the guidance information database 1 to a portion corresponding to "x", a guidance sentence can be created. With a microcomputer,
Since the text generation unit 2 and the display control unit 5 can be shared by a single hardware function, it is possible to reduce the development burden and cost of hardware.

The voice rule synthesizing unit 3 uses a so-called text synthesizing device that inputs a sentence mixed with kanji and kana. In the case of text synthesis, it is collated with a dictionary containing kanji / kana mixed sentences, converted to reading, and then synthesized with phonetic symbols. Display text 6
Can also be displayed.

In the above voice guidance device, when the position detector 8 detects the current vehicle position, the position information is transmitted to the text generator 2. The text generation unit 2 searches the guidance information database 1 according to the position of the vehicle, creates a guidance sentence, and sends it to the voice rule synthesis unit 3. The voice rule synthesizing unit 3 converts the guidance sentence into a voice signal. The converted audio signal is output from the speaker 7 through an audio amplifier (not shown), and is heard by a driver or a passenger.

For example, when a vehicle approaches Osaka Station from the west, the sentence generation unit 2 obtains the position coordinates of the vehicle, searches the guide information database 1, and sequentially creates the following sentences.

"Soon, there is Nishi-Umeda Station.""Soon, there is Suzuki Department Store.""Soon, there is JR Osaka Station.""Soon, there is Tanaka Department Store.""Soon, there is Higashi-Umeda Station." There will be a Siberian Hotel soon. ”The voice rule synthesizing unit 3 receives these guidance messages and guides them from the reading speaker 7.

Also, just using the style "Soon, there is xxxx" is hard to change and it is easy to get bored.
In addition to "There is xxxx", prepare a style such as "I can see xxxx soon" or "I am approaching xxxx" and guide them while changing the style as appropriate.

In addition, considering that it is difficult to hear once,
It is also possible to repeat the same guidance text twice or repeat the guidance while changing the style (for example, "
There is ×××. XXXXX is approaching ").

It is also effective to occasionally output a word such as "Please don't be too nervous" to relieve the tension of driving.

In the above-described embodiment, only the guidance that there is an approaching object is stopped. However, the following can also be performed as needed by the user.

(1) When the object of interest is limited For example, when a passenger is sent to a station, only the station is sufficient for the geographical guidance. Therefore, using the "classification" data contained in the guidance information database 1, the guidance information database 1 is searched only for objects of the same classification, and only necessary guidance is performed. In the above example, guidance for department stores and hotels is not provided, but only for stations.

(2) When you want a detailed explanation When you are riding for a specific purpose, such as shopping or staying, it is convenient to get information about department stores and hotels. In this case, if the detailed description is desired to be registered in the text generation unit 2, the text generation unit 2 can search the guidance information database 1 for the detailed description and output the voice. For example, "The Suzuki Department Store is coming soon. It has a special assortment of goods. The purchase of gifts is here."

(3) When comprehensive guidance is desired For example, when searching for a hotel to stay at, it is desirable to give the coordinates of a certain point (destination) and guide the nearby hotels by brute force. In this case, input means for providing the coordinates of the destination to the text generation unit 2 is required, but input means attached to a conventional car navigation system may be used.

The sentence generation unit 2 searches the guide information database 1 for a hotel within a certain range from the coordinates of the given point, and sequentially describes the details.

(4) When instructing a route As shown in FIG. 4, if a storage device 12 storing route information to be guided is added and a fixed sentence for route guidance is prepared, the route can be designated. Can be. Route information is
For example, before starting driving, the driver is required to input a destination and desired route calculation conditions (specifically, the shortest distance route, the shortest time route, and the like), and the travel time or travel distance is used as a parameter to calculate the distance from the current location to the destination. The shortest distance or the like can be obtained by calculating by the so-called Dijkstra method.

When the text generation unit 2 determines that an intersection or the like is approaching based on the route information, it searches the guidance information database 1 and says "Please turn left at an intersection of 300 m past XXX in front of you." Make instructions. In this way, it is possible to give a route instruction in accordance with the location according to the position of the vehicle.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the speech rule synthesizing unit 3 is limited to a text synthesizing device if it is not intended to display on the display 6 in the form of kanji or kana mixed sentences. Not necessarily. The sentence generation unit 2 may directly generate a sentence expressed in the form of phonetic characters, and the speech rule synthesis unit 3 may convert the sentence into speech. Table 2 shows an example of data stored in the guidance information database 1 when the pronunciation is represented by katakana, accent marks, and punctuation marks.

In addition, a typical sentence created by the sentence generation unit 2 is such as "Morse", "Nishiumeda", "Ekigaarima".

In addition, the present invention can be applied to other moving objects such as ships and aircraft (for example, pleasure boats and pleasure airplanes).

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the voice guidance device of the present invention, a guidance sentence suitable for the site can be created and output on the spot, and the guidance sentence can have a wide variety of variations. .

Therefore, qualified and abundant information can be provided to the driver while traveling, and great support can be expected in the case of geographical guidance.

In particular, when the objects of interest of the driver and the passenger are limited, guidance can be provided only for the necessary objects.

Further, a ripple effect that enhances the knowledge of the driver and the passenger can be expected. For example, when traveling on an inexperienced road, drivers and passengers can receive route guidance and geographical knowledge along the road, and also receive geographical knowledge when traveling on known roads. ,knowledge·
As they become more educated, they become more knowledgeable about geography and become more attached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a voice guidance device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a voice guidance device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a specific voice guidance device mounted on a vehicle. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of FIG. A: road map storage means, B: guidance information storage means, C: position detection means, D: text generation means, E: voice rule synthesis means, F: route guidance information storage means

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-30615 (JP, A) JP-A-64-75911 (JP, A) JP-A-64-16917 (JP, A) JP-A-61-198016 (JP) JP-A-63-251900 (JP, A) JP-A-61-290473 (JP, A) JP-A-3-209600 (JP, A) JP-A-3-21817 (JP, A) JP-A-2-141686 (JP, A) JP-A-2-118686 (JP, A) JP-A-1-149200 (JP, A) JP-A-64-33700 (JP, A) JP-A-59-17108 (JP, A) A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A road map storage means (A) storing road map data, and guide information storing a unique name and a detailed description of a specific point on the road map in association with the position information of the point. Storage means (B), position detection means (C) for detecting the position of the vehicle, and detecting that the position of the vehicle has approached a specific point on the map, Search for the unique name and / or detailed description of the location, create a guidance message that includes the unique name of the location together with the fixed form text, and Only in that case, a sentence generating means (D) for creating a guidance sentence including the above detailed explanation and a speech rule synthesizing means (E) for converting the created guidance sentence into a voice signal are provided. Voice guidance device. 2. The guide information storage means (B) also stores a classification code in association with position information of a specific point on a road map, and the text generation means (D) stores a classification code of the vehicle. Detects that it has approached a location on the map that has the specified specific classification code, it searches for a unique name for that location,
2. The voice guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guidance text is created together with a fixed text.