JPH08261778A - Route-guiding apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To lighten a driver's uneasiness and realize safe guide by facilitating the specification of an intersection to be guided by the enlarged view of the intersection. CONSTITUTION: A present position is displayed together with map data on a display screen by a vehicle mark 70. A route 73 to a destination mark 71 is displayed (1). if a guide point 72 exists ahead in a running direction, the guide point is displayed on an enlarged scale (2). In displaying the point on an enlarged scale, a control display 75 such as a one-way traffic or an access- limited, etc., is displayed as well, so that a driver is easy to specify the guide point 72 during the actual running.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route guidance device for a vehicle, which is mounted on a vehicle and displays a map in accordance with pre-recorded road map data while displaying the current position of the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a route guidance device such as a navigation device, there have been various methods for displaying information for supporting driving on a screen by using a liquid crystal display element (hereinafter abbreviated as "LCD"). Being developed. For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-38511, passage restriction information such as prohibition of right turn and prohibition of left turn at each intersection is recorded in advance, and the passage restriction information is provided before approaching the next intersection on the traveling route of the vehicle. indicate. JP-A-4-29937
In the prior art of Japanese Patent Publication No. 8, the traffic jam information is displayed on the road map display screen. In the prior art of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53500/1993, when a complex intersection exists on the traveling route of the vehicle, the intersection is enlarged and displayed when approaching the intersection, and a display of the traveling direction of the vehicle is added.

[0003]

The vehicle route guidance device is installed in a very limited space near the driver's seat of the vehicle, and it is difficult to display it on a large screen. Furthermore, the driver has to concentrate his attention on driving the vehicle, and the time for which the display screen can be seen is extremely limited.
In the prior art of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-38511, although the road near the current position, which is a part of the travel route, is displayed, it is difficult to instantaneously grasp the overall information of the travel route. In the prior art of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-299378, although the traffic congestion information in a relatively wide range is displayed, it is difficult to grasp the relationship with the intersection where the vehicle is actually going to pass in a short time.

According to the prior art for displaying an enlarged view of an intersection, such as Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53500/1993, the problems described above are solved and the traveling direction at the intersection is shortened only when the intersection is approached. It can be read from the screen with. However, even this prior art has the following problems. Many roads have similar shapes, and if there are many intersections, it is difficult to determine which one corresponds to them by just looking at the enlarged map. Roads may intersect three-dimensionally by overpasses or tunnels, and it is difficult to distinguish three-dimensional three-dimensional structures from a two-dimensional planar display. When a road is subject to traffic restrictions, there is a risk that a road that is physically legal but not legal may be displayed as a travel route. Even if legal restrictions are added as in the prior art of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 54-38511, the content of the restriction information recorded together with the road map data will depend on the time of accident or the time of day. It is not possible to display dynamic information such as when traffic is regulated or highway ramps are closed, and it is not possible to provide sufficient support for actual driving.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle route guidance device capable of easily displaying an intersection on a vehicle travel route in an enlarged manner so as to reduce driver's anxiety and provide safe route guidance. Is.

[0006]

The present invention displays the current position of a vehicle with respect to pre-recorded road map data,
In a vehicle route guidance device having a function of enlarging and displaying an intersection near the intersection on the travel route, an information storage unit for storing related information of the road included in the road map data, and an enlarged display of the intersection, An information display means for reading information on a road related to the intersection from an information storage means and displaying the information on the road, the vehicle route guidance device. Further, the present invention is characterized by further comprising image processing means for three-dimensionally displaying the road map data related to the intersection when the intersection is enlarged and displayed. Further, the present invention is a regulation storage unit for storing traffic regulation information for a road included in the road map data, and, when enlarging the intersection, displaying traffic regulation information from the regulation storage unit for a road related to the intersection. And a regulation display means for reading and displaying.
Further, the present invention is characterized by comprising a regulation receiving means for receiving traffic regulation information for a road as data and storing it in the regulation storing means.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when the intersection is enlarged and displayed near the intersection on the route on which the vehicle travels, the information related to the road stored in the information storage means is also displayed by the information display means. To do. As a result, the driver can easily identify the intersection, and can grasp the information sufficiently even in a very short time while driving and continue safe driving without anxiety.

Further, according to the present invention, since the road map data related to the intersection is three-dimensionally enlarged and displayed, it becomes easy to compare the road map data with the actual state while driving, and the intersection is identified and the traveling route is grasped. Will be easier.

Further, according to the present invention, when the enlarged display is performed near the intersection, the traffic regulation information relating to each road is read from the regulation storage means by the regulation display means and displayed together with the road map data. This makes it easy to avoid selecting a route on which traffic is restricted, and realizes safe guidance that reduces driver's anxiety.

Further, according to the present invention, since the latest traffic regulation information for the road can be received as data by the regulation receiving means, it is possible to easily grasp the temporal change of traffic regulation and the influence of traffic congestion. You can realize safe guidance without anxiety.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the basic electrical construction of an embodiment of the present invention. Information about roads and intersections is recorded in the map recording device 1, and a certain range including the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 2 is displayed on the display device 3 as an image. The display device 3 displays a road map, for example, by a color LCD or a color CRT, and displays the current position of the vehicle in a superimposed manner on the road map.

Such image processing for display is performed by the central processing circuit 4 realized by including a microcomputer and the like while using the main memory 5 including ROM and RAM as a program memory and a work area. The central processing circuit 4 creates display data for the display device 3 and causes the display device 3 to perform display via the image output drive circuit 6. The route along which the vehicle travels is input to the central processing circuit 4 in advance via the operation keys 7 or the like. In the present embodiment, not only the image display by the display device 3 but also the guidance by the voice message from the voice output device 9 via the voice output drive circuit 8 is performed. For example, if a voice message is simultaneously generated when an enlarged view of an intersection is displayed near the intersection, the driver can know without seeing the enlarged view of the intersection on the display device 3. .

Data communication is possible between the central processing circuit 4, the map recording device 1 and the current position detecting device 2 via a communication bus 10. The map recording device 1 includes a CD-ROM disk 11 in which road map data and road information are recorded, and can be exchanged for data in different areas and latest data. CD-ROM disc 1
Since the road map data and road information recorded in 1 are transformed into a specific code form in advance so that as much information as possible can be recorded in a highly reliable state, it can be easily processed by the decoder 12. The data is returned to the form of data and is transmitted from the communication bus 10 to the central processing circuit 4 or the current position detecting device 2 by the processing circuit 13.

In the present position detecting device 2, the geomagnetic sensor 2
Signal from 1 is converted from analog to digital (hereinafter "A /
(Hereinafter abbreviated as “D”) input through a circuit 22, receives a signal from a gyro sensor 23 through an A / D circuit 24,
The signal from the wheel speed sensor 25 is counted by the pulse counter 26, the output thereof is input, and the back gear signal 27 is input. The geomagnetic sensor 21 detects the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the geomagnetism. The gyro sensor 23 detects a change in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The wheel speed sensor 25 inputs data corresponding to the vehicle speed from the vehicle wheel speed. The back gear signal 27 is generated when the vehicle is moving backward. According to these input signals, the current position of the vehicle from a reference point, for example, a starting point is relatively calculated. Since it is not possible to know the absolute current position of the vehicle only by such dead reckoning, it is possible to use the radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites received via the GPS antenna 28 to obtain the GPS.
The receiver 29 detects the absolute current position of the vehicle. The processing circuit 20 determines the relative current position of the vehicle or GPS.
The absolute current position obtained from the above is compared with the road map data read from the recording device 1, and the current position of the vehicle is set on the road as a more reliable current position of the vehicle by a map matching method or the like. It may be corrected to. The current position of the vehicle is finally given from the processing circuit 20 to the central processing circuit 4 via the communication bus 10.

Road information such as traffic regulations is based on the data sent from the Traffic Information Service Co., Ltd. to the Japan Road Traffic Center, and is based on the AtiS (Advanced Traffic Inform).
application service), local beacon broadcasting such as VICS, and FM.
It is transmitted through wide area broadcasting waves such as multiplex broadcasting.
Such road information broadcast is received by the road information receiving device 30 and stored in the road information storage device 31. The central processing unit 4 receives the road information storage device 30 via the communication bus 10.
The stored contents are read out and displayed together with the enlarged view of the vicinity of the intersection by the display device 3 as described later. From the above-mentioned information service such as ATiS, it is possible to obtain traffic congestion information, road construction information, accident information, parking lot vacancy information, etc. as real-time information from a telephone line using a car phone, a mobile phone or the like.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the embodiment of FIG. 1 collectively as functional blocks. The current position detector 2 is shown in FIG.
It is realized by the current position detection device 2. The route search processing unit 4a, the route guidance processing unit 4b, and the intersection enlarged view display unit 4c are realized by the central processing circuit 4 in FIG.
The input device 7a is realized by the operation keys 7 of FIG.
These configurations are substantially the same as those of a general navigation device, and a part peculiar to this embodiment is a route guidance device 4d including a route guidance processing unit 4b and an intersection enlarged view display unit 4c.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view creating operation by the route guidance device 4d of FIG. This operation is generally performed before the vehicle starts running. The operation is started in step a1, the operation is started in step a0, and in step a1, each variable is initialized. At step a2, the travel route of the vehicle is searched. For example, it is possible to search a route by inputting a start point and a goal point from the input device 7a of FIG. 2 and referring to the map recording device 1 according to a program predetermined by the route search processing unit 4a. Alternatively, the user can directly create a desired route from the start point to the goal point. The route search result is composed of nodes having information such as position and connection relationship corresponding to intersections and links having information such as direction, length and connection relationship corresponding to roads. At step a3, the parameter i is set to 0 and initialized. This parameter i is
The order of links for investigating a point to be guided at a branch point or the like (hereinafter referred to as a “guidance point”) from the search result is shown. The branch point selected as the guidance point corresponds to, for example, the case where the number of branches is three or more, or the case where the attribute of the road changes from a national road to a highway even when there are two branches.

In step a4, the i-th link and i +
Investigate whether the connection with the first is a guide point. For example, the extension direction of the road corresponding to the i-th link and i +
The angle difference from the direction of the road corresponding to the first link is 45
If it is more than °, it is determined to be a guidance point. When it is determined to be the guidance point in step a5, step a6
Move to and read the map data around the guide point. At step a7, the nodes and links used for the enlarged map of the guide point are extracted from the read road map data. At this time,
The road attributes stored in the road map data are also extracted at the same time. At step a8, display data for enlarged view is created. The structure of the road map data will be described later with reference to FIG.

When it is determined in step a5 that the point is not a guidance point, and when step a8 ends, step a
At 9, the parameter i is incremented and incremented by 1. In step a10, it is determined whether or not the investigation up to the last link of the route search result has been completed. If it is in the middle, the process returns to step a4, and if it is the last, the process ends in step a11.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of displaying an enlarged view while the vehicle is traveling. The operation is started from step b0, the current position is detected in step b1, and it is drawn on the display device together with the road map around the current position. Step b2
Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the set route. When it is determined that the vehicle is traveling outside the route, the process returns to step b1. When it is determined in step b2 that the vehicle is traveling on a route, the distance (len) from the current position to the next guidance point is calculated in step b3. At step b4, it is determined whether or not there is an enlarged view request at the guide point. As for the enlargement request, how close to the guidance point and how much to display is input in advance through the operation keys 7 of FIG. 1 or the like. If there is no request, the process proceeds to step b5, and it is determined whether or not there is a request to delete the enlarged view. If there is an erase request,
The enlarged view is erased in step b6. When there is no enlarged view deletion request in step b5 and when step b6 ends, the process proceeds to step b7, and the parameter oldlen is set to -1. For example, the request to delete the enlarged view is given by the parameter
Is 600 m or more. Parameter oldlen
Represents the distance to the guide point when the enlarged map was previously drawn. Setting this value to -1 indicates that the enlarged view has been deleted.

When it is determined in step b4 that there is an enlarged view display request, it is determined in step b8 whether the parameter oldlen is not equal to the parameter len. When it is determined that they are not equal to each other, it is understood that the vehicle is moving after the enlarged view is displayed, so that the drawing is performed again. In step b9, it is checked whether or not the road information data stored in the road information storage device 31 of FIG. 1 contains information corresponding to the area of the enlarged view to be drawn.
If there is, step b10 follows and road information is added to the enlarged map data. When it is determined that it is not step b9 or when step b10 ends, step b11
Move on to. The road information data has a data structure as shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, and the latest information is irregularly stored in the road information receiver 3.
0 is received and stored in the road information storage device 31.

At step b11, the road attribute actually displayed is determined from the data recorded in the enlarged view data. Road attributes are static information recorded in advance, such as traffic regulations and road structures. The display of each attribute can be set ON / OFF in advance by the user from the input device 7a of FIG. 2 in the form of a menu or the like. According to this setting,
At step b11, ON / OF for each road attribute display
Process F. Next, in step b12, the position, size, shape, etc. of the enlarged display are changed according to len. At step b13, an enlarged view is drawn on the display screen of the display device 3 of FIG. Parameters in step b14
The value of the parameter len is substituted for oldlen, and the process returns to step b1. When it is determined in step b2 that it is not on the route,
Value of parameter oldlen and parameter len in step b8
When it is determined that the two values are the same and after step b7 is completed, the process returns to step b1.

FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the road map data read in step a6 of FIG. Road map data 4
0 has a header 41, a node table 42, and a link table 43. The header 41 includes “total data size”, “latitude / longitude”, “node table size”, “start address of node table”, “link table size”, “start address of link table”, and the like. The node table 42 includes a plurality of nodes up to node 1, node 2, ... Node n, and each node has “node coordinates”, “branch number”, “connection link list”, “connection node list”, It includes “intersection name” and “right / left turn prohibition information”. Link table 4
3, a plurality of links up to link 1, link 2, ... Link m, "road type", "width", "traffic regulation (one-way traffic, speed regulation, etc.)", "for each link", "Tunnel attribute", "overpass attribute", "pay attribute", "road name", etc. are included.

When the road map data is divided into meshes, "connecting data (mesh) code" and "connecting node list" are added to the connecting node list of the node table as information about adjacent meshes.
By including information such as, different mesh relationships can be expressed.

FIG. 6 shows the format of the road information data in relation to step b10 of FIG. The road information data 50 includes a header 51, a traffic jam information table 52, a lamp closing information table 53, and a link table 54. The header 51 includes "total data size", "latitude / longitude", "congestion information table size", "congestion information table top address", "lamp closing information table top address", "lamp closing information table size", and "link". "Table size" and "link table start address" are included. The traffic congestion information table 52 includes a plurality of traffic congestion information 1, traffic congestion information 2, ... Traffic congestion information n. Each congestion information includes "congestion type (natural, accident, etc.)", "start time", "congestion direction", "congestion length", "link table number", "link table top address", etc. Be done. The lamp closing information table 53 includes a plurality of pieces of lamp closing information: lamp closing information 1, lamp closing information 2, ... Lamp closing information m. Each lamp closing information includes "lamp closing cause", "start / end time", "node number", and the like. The link table 54 includes a plurality of pieces of traffic congestion information 1, traffic congestion information 2, ... Traffic congestion information n. A corresponding "link number" is designated for each piece of traffic jam information.

The road information data format of FIG. 6 is based on the premise that the same road map data is used on the road information transmitting side and the road information receiving side. If the road map data is divided into meshes, it is necessary to add the unit unit number. In the case of a system with different road map data, it is necessary to add data such as coordinates.

FIG. 7 shows the format of the enlarged view data in relation to step b12 of FIG. Enlarged data 60
Is composed of a header 61, a guide point data table 62 and a road data table 63. In the header 61, "guidance point data table size", "guidance point data table top address", "enlarged map data table size" and "enlarged map data table top address"
Is included. The guide point data table 62 includes a plurality of data of a guide point data table 1, a guide point data table 2, ... A guide point data table n. Each guidance point data table includes “guidance content”, “latitude / longitude”, “enlarged map data table size”, and “enlarged map data table top address”. The road data table 63 includes a plurality of data of a road data table 1, a road data table 2, ... Road data table n. In each road data table, "one-way information", "right / left turn prohibition information", "speed regulation information", "road type information", "overpass attribute", "tunnel attribute", "congestion information", "lamp""Closedinformation","Route entry / exit attribute", "Link number" and "Start point / End point node number"
Etc. are included. If the road map data is mesh-divided, it is necessary to add the unit unit number.

FIG. 8 shows an example of enlarged display near the intersection. FIG. 8 (1) shows a route 73 from the departure point to the destination mark 71 where the vehicle mark 70 indicating the current position of the vehicle is on the way to the goal point indicated by the destination mark 71 and the guide point 72 exists. An enlarged display of the intersection of the guide points 72 is added to a part of the display screen. The route 73 is displayed with a thicker line than the other roads 74. FIG. 8 (2) shows only the enlarged display portion. At this intersection, the route 73 indicates that the vehicle makes a right turn, and the road regulation display 75 indicates that the right turn side is one-way and the left turn side is prohibited. Such a regulation display 75 is displayed so as to be easily understood even at an actual intersection, and even if similar intersections continue due to this combination, the intersection can be easily identified.

FIG. 9 shows an example of displaying other attributes in the enlarged display similar to the intersection enlarged display of FIG. 8A. Figure 9
(1) shows a state in which the restriction display 75 indicating the right turn prohibition and the route 73 are displayed. FIG. 9B shows an example in which the speed regulation is displayed as the regulation display 75. FIG. 9C is an example of a road type attribute display in which the solid line indicates the national road 76 and the broken line indicates the prefectural road 77. It is also possible to display not by line type but by color.

FIG. 10 shows a display example of a three-dimensional structure of a road. FIG. 10 (1) shows an example in which an elevated road and a road passing below are displayed separately. FIG. 10 (2) shows that there is a road passing by a tunnel below the intersection. FIG. 11 shows dynamic restrictions such as congestion and lamp closure. Figure 11 (1)
Displays a traffic jam display 78, for example, indicating that there is 1 km of traffic jam in the north direction. FIG. 11 (2) shows
A lamp closing indicator 79 indicates that the lamp is closed from 9 to 11 o'clock. When displaying the dynamic information, more useful information can be obtained by simultaneously displaying the cause thereof, for example, natural traffic jam, accident traffic jam, side-view traffic jam, or traffic concentration.

FIG. 12 shows an example in which an enlarged display near the intersection is three-dimensionally displayed according to the distance parameter len to the guide point. In FIG. 12 (1), len is 600 (m)
12 (2), len is 300.
(M), the len is 1 in FIG. 12 (3).
The respective states at 50 (m) are shown. As the vehicle approaches the guide point, the display is switched from a perspective view to a plan view to facilitate correspondence with the actual driver's visual field.
If the same information as in FIGS. 8 to 11 is added and displayed in such a three-dimensional display, a more understandable display can be performed. Further, since the display of each information is difficult to see even if it is too much, ON / OFF is set as necessary.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is easy to specify an intersection to be enlarged and display related information of the road according to the enlarged display, so that the intersection can be easily specified and the driver is anxious. This makes it easier to drive on a safe route as instructed.

Further, according to the present invention, since the enlarged display of the intersection is three-dimensionally displayed, the comparison with the driver's visual field is facilitated and the information necessary for traveling can be grasped quickly.

Further, according to the present invention, since the traffic regulation information is displayed at the time of the enlarged display in the vicinity of the intersection, the driver's anxiety that he or she may enter an incorrect route can be reduced.
Safe guidance can be realized.

Further, according to the present invention, since the traffic regulation information regarding the road is received as data and displayed at the time of the enlarged display in the vicinity of the intersection, the traffic regulation can be dynamically grasped and is effective for the actual traveling. Various information can be displayed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation before traveling of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation during traveling of the embodiment shown in FIG.

5 is a data structure diagram showing a format of road map data of the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram showing a format of road information data in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a data structure diagram showing a format of enlarged view data of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a state of enlarged display at a guide point according to the embodiment of FIG.

9 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of enlarged display of the intersection in FIG.

10 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of enlarged display at the intersection of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of enlarged display at the intersection of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing display contents of an embodiment in which enlarged display at the intersection of FIG. 8 is performed three-dimensionally.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Map Recording Device 2 Current Position Detection Device 3 Display Device 4 Central Processing Circuit 5 Main Memory 6 Image Output Drive Circuit 7 Operation Key 7a Input Device 10 Communication Bus 11 CD-ROM Disk 20 Processing Circuit 21 Geomagnetic Sensor 23 Gyro Sensor 25 Wheel Speed Sensor 27 Back gear signal 28 GPS antenna 29 GPS receiver 30 Road information receiving device 31 Road information storage device 40 Road map data 50 Road information data 60 Enlarged view data 70 Vehicle mark 71 Destination mark 72 Guide point 73 Route 74 Road 75 Regulation display 78 Traffic jam display 79 Lamp closing display

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle route guidance device having a function of displaying a current position of a vehicle with respect to pre-recorded road map data and enlarging and displaying the intersection near the intersection on the travel route. It is characterized by including information storage means for storing road-related information included in the data, and information display means for reading out and displaying road information related to the intersection from the information storage means when the intersection is enlarged and displayed. And a vehicle route guidance device. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising image processing means for three-dimensionally displaying the road map data related to the intersection when the intersection is enlarged and displayed. Route guidance device. 3. A regulation storage means for storing traffic regulation information for a road included in the road map data, and a traffic regulation information for a road related to the intersection when the intersection is enlarged and displayed. 3. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 1, further comprising a regulation display unit for reading and displaying. 4. The route guidance device for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a regulation reception unit that receives traffic regulation information for a road as data and stores the data in the regulation storage unit.