JPH07296295A - Road map display - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the traffic flow smooth without demanding a two-stage thinking by directly displaying an empty road not being in the congestion section. CONSTITUTION:In a display control device 18, congestion information or the like to be taken in by a user accessing a central unit 1, is given from a controller 15. The device 18 temporarily stores the given congestion information or the like in the traffic information storage buffer in a memory 17 when a normal mode is selected. The stored congestion information is held till the next congestion information or the like is taken in. In this state, when the normal mode is switched to the congestion display mode, the controller 18 reads out the stored congestion information or the like and refers to the contents stored in the memory 17. A command to draw an area without congestion in light blue, an area crowded a little more in yellow, and a crowded area in pink is given to a drawing device 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a road map display device used in a traffic information providing system and provided in an in-vehicle device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, traffic information has been provided by connecting a vehicle-mounted device such as a navigation device mounted on a vehicle and a central center device with a communication network to provide predetermined traffic information from the central center device to the vehicle-mounted device. Research and development of the provision system is progressing. Such a traffic information providing system includes, for example, a configuration using an automobile telephone network, a configuration using a communication device (beacon transmitter) installed on the roadside, and a configuration using FM multiplex communication. Is proposed.

More specifically, in the structure utilizing the automobile telephone network, the vehicle is equipped with an automobile telephone, a control device, a navigation device and the like. The central center device sends out predetermined traffic information via the car telephone network when accessed by the user from the car telephone. When the in-vehicle device receives the traffic information from the mobile phone, the in-vehicle device edits the traffic information into a predetermined display format by the control device and displays the edited traffic information on the road map on the display device constituting the navigation device. To do.

On the other hand, in a system using a beacon transmitter, a vehicle is equipped with a beacon receiver instead of the car telephone. The central center device constantly provides the beacon transmitter with traffic information, and the beacon transmitter radiates radio waves including the traffic information to a relatively narrow range. In this state, when the vehicle passes through the radiation area, the vehicle-mounted device receives the radio wave including the traffic information with the beacon receiver and sends the traffic information included in the radio wave to the control device. After that, the same operation as that of the configuration using the automobile telephone network is performed.

The traffic information provided from the central center device includes traffic jam information, road regulation information, accident / construction information, travel time information and the like. Among them, traffic jam information, road regulation information, accident / construction information (hereinafter referred to as “traffic traffic information, etc.”) are displayed as a traffic jam display band for each road lane on the display screen. This traffic jam display band is displayed along the traffic jam section of the road on which the traffic jam occurs. Further, this traffic jam display band is colored in a dark color such as red so that the user can easily see it on the display screen (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-143).
370 gazette).

[0006]

By the way, the user is
Obviously, it is preferable to be able to understand the congestion section as quickly and intuitively as possible by looking at the road map displayed on the display device. However, in the conventional method, the congestion area is displayed in a prominent color such as red or orange,
The user first pays attention to such a part, and then looks at a part without a traffic jam display. In other words, understand a section without traffic congestion through a two-step procedure.

Of course, it is possible to display the section with no traffic congestion in other colors, but normally, the section with traffic congestion is displayed in a bright color that is more noticeable, so that the user first displays traffic congestion. It is still the case to pay attention to the section and understand the section without traffic congestion through the above-mentioned two-step procedure. Therefore, there is a demand for a road map display device that allows a user to recognize a road without traffic congestion first and surely.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a road map display device, which stores road map data in advance, and road map data from the road map storage device. Reading means for reading, display means for displaying a road map corresponding to the road map data read by the reading means, and when traffic information is received, traffic jam information included in the received traffic information, etc. Based on the congestion information stored in the storage unit and the storage unit that stores the information, a display indicating that there is no congestion is displayed along a road that does not correspond to the traffic jam section, and a road that corresponds to the traffic jam section is displayed. Display control means for preventing the display indicating that the traffic is congested.

The road map display device according to a second aspect of the present invention further includes selection means capable of selecting various modes, and when the mode for displaying traffic jam is selected by the selection means, Based on the traffic jam information stored in the storage means, display an indication that traffic is congested along the road that corresponds to the traffic jam section (at the same time, the traffic jam occurs along the road that does not correspond to the traffic jam section. If the mode for not displaying the traffic jam is selected by the selecting means, the traffic congestion section is displayed based on the traffic jam information stored in the storage means. Only the display indicating that there is no congestion is performed along the roads that do not correspond, and the display indicating that there is congestion is not displayed along the roads that correspond to the congestion section.

Further, when the road map is displayed, the road map display device according to the third aspect displays the area where the traffic information is provided and the area where the traffic information is not provided, when the road map is displayed. The display is made to be distinguishable on the screen. Further, according to the road map display device of the fourth aspect, when the storage unit receives the traffic information including the traffic congestion information, the storage unit releases the traffic congestion information stored after a certain period of time.

[0011]

In the structure of claim 1, when the traffic information including the traffic congestion information is received through the traffic information providing system, a display indicating that there is no traffic congestion along a road that does not correspond to the traffic congestion section is displayed. It is possible to prevent the display indicating that there is a traffic jam along the road corresponding to the traffic jam section. Therefore, the user can smoothly drive on the road by selecting the displayed road without considering the traffic jam section.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the above operation can be obtained only when the mode in which the traffic jam is not displayed is selected by the mode selection. When the mode for displaying the traffic jam is selected by the mode selection, the traffic jam section is displayed as usual based on the traffic jam information and the like. Further, in the configuration according to claim 3, when the road map is displayed, when the display range includes a region where the traffic information is provided and a region where the traffic information is not provided, the regions can be distinguished on the screen. . Therefore, when the area where the traffic information is provided and the area where the traffic information can be received are almost the same (generally, the traffic information providing system is the area where the traffic information is provided and the area where the traffic information can be received. Therefore, the user can predict the area where the traffic information cannot be received by knowing the area where the traffic congestion information is not displayed.

Further, in the configuration according to claim 4, even if traffic information including traffic information is received, the traffic information stored after a certain period of time is released. Therefore, after the vehicle acquires the traffic information, When time has passed since entering a region where new traffic information cannot be obtained, there is no fear that incorrect traffic congestion information will be displayed. Particularly, in the configuration according to claim 4 which is dependent on the configuration according to claim 3, when the user is traveling in an area where traffic congestion information and the like are not displayed, and the user also knows this, it was acquired previously. Traffic congestion information etc. will not be displayed by mistake.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <Traffic Information Providing System> FIG. 2 is a block diagram briefly showing the configuration of the traffic information providing system. This traffic information providing system includes a central center device 1 and an in-vehicle device 2.
And a car telephone network 3 that wirelessly connects the central center device 1 and the in-vehicle device 2.

More specifically, the central center apparatus 1 collects traffic information including traffic congestion information, accident information, road regulation information (hereinafter referred to as "traffic congestion information") from various vehicle detectors installed on the road. It is equipped with a traffic control system 4. In addition, the traffic congestion information is the traffic control system 4
In this system, accident information, road regulation information, etc. during the information collection work are added, and they change from moment to moment. It has a function.

The central center device 1 also includes a traffic information providing device 6 that edits the traffic congestion information collected by the traffic control system 4, and the traffic congestion output from the traffic information providing device 6 via the automatic incoming call modem 7. A telephone 8 for transmitting information and the like to the in-vehicle device 2 via the automobile telephone network 3. Table 1 shows a configuration of traffic congestion information and the like sent from the central center device 1.

[0017]

[Table 1]

The traffic jam information etc. is provided time (hour) J1 which represents the time when the traffic control system 4 collected the traffic jam information etc.,
(Minute) J2 and a secondary mesh number J3 for specifying a mesh map number including a place where traffic congestion occurs. Here, a mesh map is a road map (for example, 10 km x
10km), and the mesh map number is the number attached to each mesh map.

Further, the traffic jam information and the like includes a link status flag J4 indicating the presence / absence of traffic jam, a traffic jam degree J5 and a link number J6.
have. Here, the degree of congestion J5 is represented by the degree of progress of the vehicle, for example, the vehicle is traveling at 10 km / h or less, or 20 km / h or less. Are "vacant" and "slightly crowded"
It is expressed in three stages, "traffic jam". Here, the link is a vector indicating a road section, and the direction of the vector is taken to be the traveling direction of the vehicle. Therefore, two round trip links are defined in the same road section.

Further, the traffic jam information and the like is a unit J of the traffic jam length.
7, a congestion length J8 in this unit, a unit J9 of distance from the link start end and a distance J10 in this unit, and a unit J11 of distance from the link end and a distance J12 in this unit. <In-Vehicle Device> The in-vehicle device 2 is connectable to the automobile telephone network 3 and is capable of receiving the traffic congestion information transmitted from the central center device 1 and accessing the central center device 1 arbitrarily. The telephone 9, the navigation device 10 that detects the current position of the vehicle and displays the current position and the like together with the road map, and the traffic jam information that is received by the automobile telephone 9 and acquired through the automobile telephone modem 11 And a communication device 12 for outputting to the navigation device 10.

The navigation device 10 is based on sensor outputs of a vehicle speed sensor, a geomagnetic sensor (not shown), a GPS receiver for receiving radio waves transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite traveling in an orbit around the earth, and the like. A position detection device 13 for detecting the current position of the vehicle,
The storage device 14 is a road map storage unit in which road map data and the like composed of a combination of links and nodes are stored in advance. For example, a CD-ROM or an IC card can be applied to this storage device 14.

The vehicle speed sensor, geomagnetic sensor, G
The PS receiver may not be provided at all, and for example, the current position of the vehicle can be detected only by the vehicle speed sensor and the geomagnetic sensor, and the current position of the vehicle can be detected by only the GPS receiver. A gyro may be used instead of the geomagnetic sensor. The node is generally a coordinate point for identifying a road intersection, a bending point, or the like, and a link is a vector connecting the nodes. In addition, the road map data includes data such as link numbers, addresses of start and end nodes of links, distances of links, directions passing through the links, types or types of roads. In addition, the road type refers to a road such as a highway, a national road, a prefectural road, and a main highway, which is classified by type.

When the current position of the vehicle is detected by the position detecting device 13, the navigation device 10 also reads the road map data around the current position from the storage device 14 and outputs the current position data and the road map data. The controller 15 configured by a CPU (central processing unit) and the like, which outputs the traffic congestion information and the like including the accident information and the like given from the communication device 12, and the current position and the traffic congestion information and the like are displayed on the road map. The display device 16 includes a CRT, an LCD (liquid crystal display), and the like. In this embodiment, the control device 15 corresponds to the reading means and the display device 16 corresponds to the display means.

Further, the navigation device 10 is
It has a traffic information storage buffer (not shown) for temporarily storing the received traffic congestion information and the like, and also has a memory 17 in which a program necessary for display is stored in advance, and a control device 15.
A display control device 18 which is a display control means for controlling a later-described drawing device based on various data given from the drawing device, and a drawing device for drawing a road map or the like on the display device 16 under the control of the display control device 18. 19 and.
The display control device 18 is a mode selection unit for selecting a mode such as a normal mode, a traffic jam display mode, and a traffic jam non-display mode by a user touching the screen with a finger or operating a hard switch. The key 20 is connected. The drawing device 19 also includes a frame buffer (not shown) that temporarily stores the data supplied from the display control device 18.

In a predetermined portion of the memory 17, for display in the normal mode, each road type and display color are stored in association with each other, for example, light blue for expressways and red for national roads. . Also, due to the overlapping display in the traffic jam display mode, "vacant" is light blue, "slightly congested" is yellow, and "traffic jam" is pink. It is stored in association with the degree of. <Display Example 1> Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, the display control device 18
The operation of the drawing device 19 will be described. When the current mode data and road map data are given from the control device 15 when the normal mode is selected, the display control device 18 refers to the content stored in the memory 17 and indicates the current position of the vehicle. The drawing device 19 is instructed to draw the position display mark in a specific color and each road in the display color. The drawing device 19 to which this drawing command is given draws the display contents in the frame buffer based on the drawing command, and at a predetermined timing,
The drawing contents are sequentially read from the frame buffer and drawn on the display device 16. Therefore, in the display device 16,
As shown in FIG. 3, each road A, B, C is displayed with a position display mark in a color according to the road type.

Further, the display control device 18 is given from the control device 15 the traffic congestion information and the like taken in by the user accessing the central center device 1. When the traffic jam information or the like is given when the normal mode is selected, the display control device 18 temporarily stores the given traffic jam information or the like in the traffic information storage buffer in the memory 17. The traffic jam information and the like stored in the traffic information storage buffer is held until the traffic jam information and the like is fetched next time.

When the normal mode is switched to the traffic jam display mode in this state, the display control device 18 reads the traffic jam information and the like stored in the traffic information storage buffer and then refers to the contents stored in the memory 17. And, where there is no traffic jam, light blue, where there is a little congestion, yellow,
The drawing device 19 is instructed to draw in pink when traffic is congested. At this time, each road
The display color in the normal mode remains the same.

Each traffic congestion display band is the traffic congestion length J8 (Table 1
Of course, the length along the direction of the traffic jam is changed and displayed in accordance with (see). That is, when the congestion length is long, the congestion display band is also displayed in a long form along the direction of the congestion, and when the congestion length is short, the congestion display band is also displayed in a short form along the direction of the congestion. Further, it goes without saying that each traffic jam display band is displayed at a different display position corresponding to the lane in which the traffic jam is recognized, which is recognized based on the link number J6 (see Table 1). That is, the respective traffic congestion display zones are displayed along the right side (lane in the opposite direction) and the left side (lane in the traveling direction) of the road to which the traffic congestion information and the like are given.

The subsequent operation of the drawing device 19 is as described above. As a result, the traffic jam display band is as shown in FIG.
Displayed on both sides of the road. In FIG. 4, light blue, which indicates a place without congestion, is blank, yellow, which indicates a little crowded region, is shaded, and pink, which indicates a congested region, is black. Therefore, each road is displayed in a color corresponding to the road type, and only the traffic jam display band is displayed in a color corresponding to the degree of traffic jam, so that the user can reliably recognize the traffic jam section.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display screen displayed when the traffic jam non-display mode is selected. When the traffic jam non-display mode is selected by the user, each road is displayed in the original color. On the other hand, the traffic jam display band is displayed in light blue where there is no traffic jam, but the display of a slightly congested area or a traffic jam area is deleted. Therefore, the user can intuitively know the road displayed in light blue without thinking about a traffic jam section, and can smoothly travel on the road. <Display Example 2> In the above description, the traffic congestion information provided from the traffic control system 4 is the secondary mesh number for specifying the mesh map number indicating the range in which the traffic control system 4 has collected the traffic congestion information. J3 is included.

Therefore, when the road map is displayed, it is assumed that the display range extends over the boundary of the mesh. In this case, if the traffic jam display mode or the traffic jam non-display mode is selected, the area where the traffic jam display band is displayed and the area where the traffic jam display band is not displayed coexist, and the user cannot collect the traffic jam information, etc. , I don't know if the traffic jam zone is not displayed because there is no traffic.

Therefore, in this display example 2, the mesh number J3 is confirmed every time the traffic information is provided,
Each mesh is stored in the traffic information storage buffer. Then, when the traffic jam display mode or the traffic jam non-display mode is selected, when searching the mesh for which the traffic information is provided and displaying the road map on the map screen, the mesh where the traffic information is provided A boundary line is drawn on the boundary of the mesh to distinguish it from the non-mesh.

Specifically, when the user selects the traffic jam display mode or the traffic jam non-display mode, a line corresponding to the boundary line is written on the map including the current position of the vehicle written in the frame buffer of the drawing device 19. And draw. Figure 5
Shows a road display screen in which a boundary line is drawn in the traffic jam display mode. On one side of the boundary line related to the mesh for which the traffic information is acquired, the traffic jam display bands are displayed on both sides of the road as in FIG. 4, but the other side of the boundary line related to the mesh for which the traffic information is not acquired. On the side of, like FIG. 3, only the road is displayed in a color according to the road type.

In this way, since the area where the traffic information is acquired and the area where the traffic information is not acquired are distinguished by the boundary line, the user cannot collect the traffic congestion information and the like, and thus the traffic congestion display band is not displayed. It is possible to distinguish whether the traffic jam display band is not displayed because there is no traffic jam. In addition,
In addition to drawing a boundary line on the boundary of the mesh, it is also possible to display that the map related to one mesh is filled with a light background color. <Display Example 3> In Display Example 1, when the traffic congestion information and the like captured by the user accessing the central center device 1 is given from the control device 15 to the display control device 18, the display control device 18 is given. It is explained that the traffic jam information etc. is temporarily stored in the traffic information storage buffer in the memory 17, and the traffic jam information etc. stored in the traffic information storage buffer is retained until the next traffic jam information etc. is fetched. did.

Normally, when a vehicle is traveling within a range (called a service area) where traffic information can be provided from the traffic control system, new information is updated at intervals of about several minutes. Even if the traffic jam information and the like stored in the traffic information storage buffer is not particularly deleted, there is no problem as long as the traffic jam information and the like are retained until the next time the traffic jam information and the like is captured.

However, if the user exits the service area, new traffic information cannot be received and the traffic information is not updated. Therefore, when the user approaches the service area again and selects the traffic jam display mode or traffic jam non-display mode, Displays old traffic information and is inconvenient for the user. Therefore, in this example, the traffic congestion information etc. temporarily stored in the traffic information storage buffer is erased at the time when the traffic congestion information etc. is fetched next time or the predetermined time has passed, whichever is earlier. I did it. Here, the predetermined time may be a fixed time determined when the navigation device 10 is designed or may be a time set by the user operating a predetermined key.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the traffic congestion display bands displayed on both sides of the road disappear as a result of the traffic congestion information and the like stored in the traffic information storage buffer being erased. <Other Embodiments> The embodiments have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the user selects the traffic jam display mode or the traffic jam non-display mode, each road is displayed in a color according to the road type as in the case where the normal mode is selected. When the mode or the traffic jam non-display mode is selected, for example, each road may be uniformly displayed in a light color.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example of the configuration for obtaining the traffic congestion information and the like by using the automobile telephone network 3 has been described, but the configuration may be such that a beacon transmitter installed on the roadside is used. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the configuration using the automobile telephone network or the beacon transmitter, but also to various configurations that can obtain the traffic congestion information and the like.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the traffic information etc. is obtained by using the automobile telephone, but for example, an ordinary telephone (either dial or push type) may be mounted on the vehicle-mounted IC before traveling. It is also possible to connect a storage means such as a card via a modem and obtain traffic congestion information and the like via an IC card or the like. In addition, based on the position information transmitted from the beacon transmitter installed on the roadside instead of the vehicle speed sensor,
The present position may be detected.

In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0041]

As described above, according to the invention of the road map display device of claim 1, when the traffic information including the traffic jam information is received through the traffic information providing system, the traffic is displayed along the road which does not correspond to the traffic jam section. As the conventional method is used, the traffic jam area is displayed and the user pays attention, and then the traffic area is not displayed. There is no need to force the two-step thinking, and the flow of traffic can be made smooth.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the user wants to know the traffic jam section clearly, he or she selects the mode for displaying the traffic jam, and based on the traffic jam information included in the received traffic information, It is possible to display the road corresponding to the traffic jam section. Therefore, it is possible to meet a wider demand of the user. According to the invention of claim 3,
When displaying a road map, when the display range includes a region where traffic information is provided and a region where traffic information is not provided, the regions can be distinguished on the screen, so that the user can collect the traffic information. When you are in an area, you can know in which direction you should drive to get out of the area where traffic information can be collected and you cannot receive traffic information. Also,
When the destination or waypoint is near the boundary between the two areas, it is possible to reach the destination or waypoint while avoiding traffic congestion through the area where traffic information can be collected as much as possible. On the contrary, when you are outside the area where traffic information can be collected, you can know in which direction you can get the traffic information faster. Also, even though the vehicle is outside the area where traffic information can be collected,
If the traffic information is displayed on the screen, it can be known that the information is old information.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even if the traffic information including the traffic information is received, the traffic information stored after a certain period of time is released. Therefore, after the vehicle acquires the traffic information, When time has passed since entering a region where new traffic information cannot be obtained, when there is approaching a region where traffic information can be obtained again, there is no fear that erroneous traffic congestion information or the like will be initially displayed. Therefore, in the sense that it is possible to prevent the vehicle from traveling based on incorrect traffic congestion information, it is possible to contribute to smooth traffic.

Particularly, in the invention according to claim 4 which is dependent on the invention according to claim 3, when the user is traveling in an area where traffic congestion information and the like are not displayed, and the user also knows this, The previously acquired traffic jam information and the like are not displayed by mistake, which is more significant in that it does not cause confusion to the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display screen when a traffic jam non-display mode is selected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram briefly showing a configuration of a traffic information providing system including a road map display device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen when a normal mode is selected.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen when a traffic jam display mode is selected.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a road display screen in which a boundary line is drawn in the traffic jam display mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which traffic jam display zones displayed on both sides of a road disappear as a result of erasing traffic jam information and the like stored in a traffic information storage buffer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Central Center Device 2 In-vehicle Device 3 Car Telephone Network 14 Storage Device 15 Control Device 16 Display Device 17 Memory 18 Display Control Device 19 Drawing Device 20 Mode Selection Key

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle for use in a traffic information providing system, wherein a vehicle-mounted device receives traffic information including traffic congestion information transmitted from a central device and provides the user with the traffic information. Road map storage means for storing map data in advance; reading means for reading road map data from the road map storage means; display means for displaying a road map corresponding to the road map data read by the reading means; When the traffic information is received, a storage unit that stores the traffic congestion information included in the received traffic information and a road that does not correspond to the traffic congestion section based on the traffic congestion information stored in the storage unit. And a display control means for displaying that there is no congestion along the road and not displaying that there is traffic along the road corresponding to the traffic jam section. Road map display device that. 2. A vehicle for use in a traffic information providing system, wherein a traffic information including traffic congestion information transmitted from a central device is received by an on-vehicle device and provided to a user, and the traffic information is provided on the on-vehicle device. Road map storage means for storing map data in advance; reading means for reading road map data from the road map storage means; display means for displaying a road map corresponding to the road map data read by the reading means; When the traffic information is received, a storage unit that stores the traffic congestion information and the like included in the received traffic information, a selection unit that can select various modes, and a traffic congestion display by the selection unit When the mode is selected, a table showing that traffic is congested along the road corresponding to the traffic jam section based on the traffic jam information stored in the storage means. If the mode that does not display the traffic jam is selected by the selection means, there is no traffic along the road that does not correspond to the traffic congestion section based on the traffic jam information stored in the storage means. And a display control unit that does not display the traffic jam along the road corresponding to the traffic jam section. 3. The display control means, when displaying a road map, displays the area where the traffic information is provided in the display range.
The road map display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when a region that is not provided is included, the region is displayed so as to be distinguishable on the screen. 4. The road according to claim 1, wherein the storage means releases the stored traffic jam information after a certain time when traffic information including traffic jam information is received. Map display device.