JP2948045B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a moving body such as an automobile (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle) and displaying a road to a user such as a driver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a conventional navigation device shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-15095. In the figure, 1 is a map data storage medium storing map data, 2 is a highlighting command input means for designating a route to be highlighted on the map data, and 3 is an input to the highlighting command input means 2. Means for extracting a route to be highlighted according to a given command. 4 is highlight display control means for performing control for highlighting the display of the extracted route;
Reference numeral 5 denotes display means for displaying map data in which the designated route is highlighted, and reference numeral 6 denotes a highlighted route name display control means for controlling display of the route name of the highlighted route on the display means 5. It is.

Next, the operation will be described. The map data storage medium 1 stores in advance information indicating a route type and a route name such as a national highway or an expressway, along with information on points constituting a route. When a specific route or a specific route type is selected by inputting a command to the highlighting command input means 2, the highlighting route extracting means 3 selects a highlighting finger from the information stored in the map data storage medium 1. The route matching the specific route or the specific route type selected by the command input means 2 is extracted. The emphasis display control means 4 instructs the display means 5 to emphasize the route extracted by the emphasis display route extraction means 3 by, for example, increasing the luminance, and to perform a normal display for a road which is not a target of the emphasis display. Control. On the other hand, the highlighting route name display control means 6 searches the information stored in the map data storage medium 1 for a route name of the route for which the highlighting control means 4 has performed the highlighting control, and displays it. Display means 5 for control
Do for The display unit 5 highlights the specified route specified under the control of the highlighting control unit 4, and displays the route name of the route according to the control of the highlighting route name display control unit 6. FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing an example of the display on the display means 5, in which the highlighted route is indicated by a bold line, and the route name of the route is displayed in the frame at the lower left corner.

[0004]

Since the conventional navigation device is configured as described above, all roads other than the route to be noticed are normally displayed, so that it is difficult to operate a distant road with low importance in driving. The display is also complicated because the display is complicated, it is difficult for the driver to see at a glance and there is a problem with safety, and even if a noticeable route is adjusted and displayed, the road around the route is not emphasized However, there is a problem that it is difficult to see whether there is an intersection which is important when traveling on the route.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible for a driver to obtain information on a road having a high degree of importance at a glance and to provide a display which can be easily recognized. The aim is to obtain a possible navigation device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The navigation according to the invention of claim 1 apparatus, the mask generating means, the driver
Without displaying detailed roads unnecessary for
Display the intersection and the location where it is
When the moving object stops, the mask area data is circular, and the moving object
When traveling, the mask area data is stored in the traveling direction according to the vehicle speed.
The road is displayed only in a widened form .

[0007] The navigation device according to the invention of claim 2, a plurality of mass by a plurality of mask area data
Executing the road process, the extracted road data into different tables
And display the road data in each mask area.
It is designed to be able to be displayed.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the mask generating means is a vehicle.
The speed or a predetermined orientation information of both, by generating the mask area data obtained by changing the range of the road to be displayed, unnecessary detail road for the driver is not displayed, and is reliably displayed intersection on the route , the display is in advance of the confirmation shall easily by the driver of the intersection as an indicator of running while preventing from becoming complicated, at the time of traveling when the vehicle is stopped
By providing a wider range of road data to drivers
In both cases, a wider range of road data is
Provide to the driver.

[0009] Synthesis display means that put to the invention of claim 2,
Each display data after mask processing with multiple mask area data
Data in different display styles
This makes it easier for the driver to distinguish and makes the road unnatural.
The display of the road data technique is not to provide.

[0010]

[Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
Is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an embodiment of the invention described in claims 1 and 2, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a device configuration thereof. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 denotes, for example, a device for detecting an absolute position of a vehicle using a global positioning system (hereinafter referred to as GPS), a speed sensor for generating a pulse every time the vehicle travels a certain distance, a gyro or a gyro. This is a current position detection device such as a device that detects the current position of the vehicle by accumulating information from a geomagnetic sensor or the like. Reference numeral 12 denotes, for example, a device that counts a signal of a vehicle speed sensor that generates a pulse every traveling a certain distance to obtain a vehicle speed by counting a certain period, or compares a vehicle position by GPS at a certain period, and calculates a vehicle speed from a moving distance of the position. Is a speed detection device that detects the speed of the vehicle, such as a device that calculates the speed of the vehicle.

Reference numeral 13 denotes an azimuth detecting device for detecting a traveling direction of a vehicle, for example, a device using a geomagnetic sensor for detecting X and Y components of geomagnetism, a device using a gyro compass,
Detects the traveling direction of the vehicle by accumulating a yaw rate gyro signal that detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle in the horizontal direction. Compares the vehicle position by GPS at regular intervals and detects the traveling direction of the vehicle from the moving direction of the position Or a device which is attached to both left and right wheels of the vehicle and detects the traveling direction of the vehicle by cumulatively comparing signals of wheel speed sensors which generate pulses proportional to the rotation of the wheels. Reference numeral 14 denotes an external communication device for obtaining various information such as road information, route information, and traffic information such as traffic regulations.
For example, a communication device that performs communication with ground equipment by a mobile phone, an FM multiplex broadcast receiver, or a communication device that obtains information from a remote control device used in a vehicle is used.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) 16, a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as a ROM) 17,
It is a control unit that includes a random-access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 18, an input / output interface circuit 19, and a road data storage device 20, and controls the entire navigation device. Reference numeral 21 denotes an operation switch operated by the driver when setting a condition, for example, a touch switch configured on a display screen, a keyboard, or the like. Reference numeral 22 denotes a display device on which predetermined road data is displayed, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a liquid crystal (LED) display, or the like.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 denotes road data storage means for storing road data, and reference numeral 32 denotes road data selection means for selecting a route that the driver should pay attention to. Reference numeral 33 denotes a mask generation unit that generates mask area data based on the selected route information. Reference numeral 34 denotes a mask processing unit that cuts out road data in accordance with the mask area data generated by the mask generation unit 33. Reference numeral 35 denotes display means for displaying the road data cut out by the mask processing means 34. The road data storage means 31 is realized by the road data storage device 20, the display means 35 is realized by the display device 22, and the mask generation means 33 and the mask processing means 34 are provided by a ROM.
17 is realized by software by the CPU 16 executing the program. Road data selection means 3
2, the operation switch 21 and the display device 22
, A route that is stored in the ROM 17 in advance, a route that is determined by communication from the external communication device 14, and a route that is determined by a predetermined algorithm from the current position and destination.

Next, the operation will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the road data storage means 31 stores the road code together with the road code as node information indicating connection coordinates when the road shape is approximated by a straight line. Stored as a group. The road data selecting means 32 stores, for example, a predetermined route in the ROM 17.
And a method for selecting it by the operation switch 21 and the screen display of the display device 22, a method for determining a route by communication from the external communication device 14 , and an arbitrary algorithm based on the current position and the destination. The route to be noticed by the driver is determined by a method of determining according to the following. The route data determined by the road data selecting means 32 has a structure including the number of nodes and a group of map coordinates as shown in FIG.

The mask generating means 33 generates mask area data Q based on the route data selected by the road data selecting means 32. FIG. 5 shows this mask generating means 33.
3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the route data has already been developed from the vector data shown in FIG. 4 to the two-dimensional route data of vertical M dots and horizontal N dots shown in FIG. For this expansion process,
For example, as described in the electronic communication handbook of Ohm Co., Ltd., the algorithm of Bresenham is well known in the field of computer graphics and will not be described here.

The two-dimensional route data R is two-dimensional array data in which a road is represented by a value of 1 and other roads are represented by a value of 0. First, in step ST1, initial settings such as clearing of mask area data are performed, and then, for such two-dimensional route data R, steps ST2 and ST1 are performed.
From 1 to ST14, N and M are determined by variables n and m.
The two-dimensional scanning up to is performed. Meanwhile, step S
At T3, it is determined whether or not the two-dimensional route data R (n, m) is a point on the route by "R (n, m) = 1". If the determination result is "Yes", the vertical J The thick line processing using the dot and horizontal I dot pattern data P is performed in step ST.
4 to step ST10. That is, steps ST4, ST5 and steps ST7 to ST10
In step ST6, while performing a two-dimensional scan up to I and J using the variables i and j, the logical sum operation of the mask area data Q and the pattern data P (in step ST6 in FIG. + ”). FIG. 7 shows an example of pattern data P as I = 7, J =
7, the pattern data P can take any size and pattern data depending on the size or shape of the bold line in the bold line processing. By the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the mask area data Q shown in FIG. 8 having a value of “1” around the route to which the driver should pay attention and a value of “0” otherwise is generated. In FIG. 8, the portion of the value “0” is shaded by a vertical line, and the portion of the value “1” is outlined.

The mask processing means 34 cuts out road data according to the mask area data Q. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing of the mask processing means 34. Here, it is assumed that the road data has already been developed in the two-dimensional road data D shown in FIG. First, in step ST21, initial settings such as clearing of display data are performed.
In T22 and steps ST25 to ST28,
Two-dimensional scanning up to N and M by the variables n and m is performed. Meanwhile, in step ST23, "Q (n, m) =
It is determined whether or not the mask area data Q (n, m) is around the route according to "1".
At T24, the two-dimensional road data D (n, m) is displayed as display data H.
(N, m). Therefore, the display data H is data obtained by cutting out roads around the route as shown in FIG. By displaying the display data H on the display device 22 such as a CRT display or an LCD display, a detailed road unnecessary for the driver is not displayed and an intersection on the route is displayed. The intersection can be checked in advance, and the preventive safety of the driver is improved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the first embodiment, the case has been described in which the mask generation unit 33 generates the mask area data based on the route data from the road data selection unit 32. However, the mask area generated according to the speed and the traveling direction of the vehicle is described. The data may be changed. FIG. 12 shows a mask generating means 3 according to an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 .
9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation of FIG. First, in step ST31, the vehicle speed information is received from the speed detection device 12, and the presence or absence of the vehicle speed is determined. as a result,
If there is no vehicle speed, the process proceeds to step ST32, and based on the vehicle position information from the current position detecting device 11, mask area data covering a relatively wide range with a circle as shown in FIG. Generate. On the other hand, if there is a vehicle speed, the process proceeds to step ST33, and the radius r of the fan-shaped pattern shown in FIG.

R = α · V + β

Note that α and β in the above equation are constants,
V is the speed of the vehicle. After that, the process proceeds to step ST34, and the fan-shaped pattern having the radius r is detected by the current position detecting device 11.
Is rotated based on the azimuth information indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle from the azimuth detecting device 13 around the vehicle position detected in step (1), thereby generating mask area data shown in FIG. Mask processing is performed using this mask area data in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and display data is displayed together with the automatic position mark and the frame indicating the mask area. As a result, at the time of stoppage, FIG.
And the display shown in FIG. 17 is obtained during traveling. In this way, when the vehicle stops, detailed roads are displayed widely,
By displaying the road only wide in the traveling direction according to the vehicle speed during traveling, the display is not complicated, and the display can be performed according to the situation of the driver.

Embodiment 3 FIG. In the second embodiment, the case where the mask area data is generated by the figure rotation as a function of the azimuth has been described. However, a plurality of mask area data are prepared in advance, and one of them is selected according to the azimuth information. The processing may be provided to the mask processing means 34, and the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

Embodiment 4 FIG. In each of the above embodiments, the display means 35 displays the display data after the mask processing using the single mask area data as it is. However, each of the mask processing is executed using the mask area data. The display data may be combined and displayed in different display modes. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in one embodiment of such an invention described in claim 2 .
First, in step ST41, the mask generating means 33 generates circular mask area data having a radius r1. In step ST42, the two-dimensional road data inside the circle is used in the first and second embodiments.
In the same manner as in the case (1), the mask processing unit 34 cuts out the cut road data and writes the cut road data into the display data H (n, m) as low-luminance display data. Next, in step ST43, circular mask area data having a radius r2 smaller than r1 is similarly generated, and in step ST44, two-dimensional road data inside the circle is cut out in the same manner. The extracted road data is used as display data H
Write to (n, m). At this time, for the position where the low luminance display data already exists, it is replaced with the medium luminance display data. Next, in step ST45, the mask area around the route is determined by the mask generation unit 33 according to the first embodiment.
The corresponding road data is generated by the mask processing means 34 in step ST46. The extracted road data is written into the display data H (n, m) as high-luminance display data. Again, in this case,
For the position where the low-luminance display data and the medium-luminance display data already exist, they are rewritten with the high-luminance display data. The low-, medium-, and high-luminance display data H synthesized in this way is displayed on the display means 35 in step ST47.

FIG. 19 shows a display example of the display data together with a vehicle position mark and a circular pattern indicating a circular mask area. In FIG. 19, the low-luminance display data is represented by a dotted line, the middle-luminance display data is represented by a solid line, and the high-luminance display data is represented by a thick line. However, the luminance may be changed or the color tone may be changed. It may be displayed. In this way, by displaying the display data after the mask processing based on the plurality of mask area data in different display modes and displaying them, it is possible to obtain a display in which the road is not unnaturally disconnected. Further, in the example of FIG. 19, the vehicle position mark and the circular pattern indicating the circular mask area are displayed, but may be displayed together with the terrain information and the main road information.

[0024]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the mask generation means, unnecessary details for the driver are provided.
Do not display narrow roads and display intersections on routes
And when the moving object on which it is mounted is stopped
The mask area data is circular, and the
Data in the direction of travel in accordance with vehicle speed
Because the roads are configured to be displayed, detailed roads that are unnecessary for the driver are not displayed, and intersections on the route are reliably displayed, so check the intersection as an index during driving in advance It ’s easier to do
The driver's preventive safety is improved ,
A wider range of road data can be displayed than when
Wider range of road data for the region from which you will travel
Provision of road data according to driving conditions, such as the ability to display
There is an effect that becomes possible .

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, a plurality of masks are provided.
Mask area data and perform mask processing on each
Each display data is synthesized in a different display mode
Display and road data can be displayed in each mask area.
Since it is configured so that, it is easy to determine the driver, and road
There is an effect that it is possible to provide a display with good visibility without unnaturally breaking the road .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a navigation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of road data in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of route data in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of a mask generation unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing two-dimensional route data in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing pattern data in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing mask area data in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of the mask processing means in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing two-dimensional road data in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing display data in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an operation of a mask generation unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing mask area data at the time of stopping in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a mask area data pattern in the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing mask area data during traveling in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing display data at the time of stoppage in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing display data during traveling in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an operation according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing display data in the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a navigation device according to a conventional invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the display data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Speed detection apparatus 13 Direction detection apparatus 31 Road data storage means 32 Road data selection means 33 Mask generation means 34 Mask processing means 35 Display means

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A road data storage unit that stores road data, a mask generation unit that generates mask region data indicating an area to be cut out from the road data, and a mask region data generated by the mask generation unit. A mask processing means for cutting out a necessary area from the road data, and a display means for displaying the road data cut out by the mask processing means, wherein the mask generation means is unnecessary for a driver. Detailed road
Is displayed, and the intersection on the route is displayed
In addition, when the moving object on which the
Disk area data is circular, and the
Make the mask area data wider only in the traveling direction according to the vehicle speed.
The road is displayed as an
A navigation device for rotating a mask area . (2)The mask generation means includes a plurality of types of masks.
Has the function of generating The display means is based on the plurality of types of mask area data.
The road data cut out by the mask processing means is
Combined display in different display modes, each mask
A road data display area.
The navigation device according to claim 1 .