JP2995229B2 - Car route guidance 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 vehicle route guidance device for automatically guiding a route on which a vehicle should travel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some prior arts, the position of an automobile is generally detected by map matching. Map matching is a method of comparing a traveling trajectory obtained by a sensor or the like attached to a car with a road shape of a map stored in a car route guidance device of the car to determine a passing road of the car, thereby obtaining a map of the car. Find the position above,
It is displayed on the display device. In the prior art, in addition to displaying the current position of the automobile on a display device, guidance of a traveling route from the current position to a destination is performed. When performing the guidance of the traveling route, first, a destination is set, and a road to travel to reach the destination is searched from the road shape of the map stored in the vehicle route guidance device. At this time, if there is a turn on the road on which the car should travel, a sound indicating that the vehicle should turn right or left just before the turn is displayed.

[0003]

As described above, in the prior art, a sound indicating that a right turn or a left turn should be made immediately before a corner is provided. For example, when a car is traveling on the left side of a wide road, Even if an attempt is made to make a right turn in accordance with an instruction to make a right turn, it may be difficult to make a right turn immediately because it is necessary to ensure safety due to the surrounding traffic conditions.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile route guidance device that can safely turn right or left on a corner of a route to be traveled.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises means for detecting the position of a vehicle, means for searching for and determining a route to be traveled, and a first distance from a corner of the searched route. First detecting means for detecting that the vehicle position has reached within R1, and second detecting means for detecting that the vehicle position has reached within a second distance L1 set before the first distance R1. Detecting means for guiding a lane to take a right or left turn at a corner based on the second detecting means;
And control means for giving a first instruction for guiding a right turn or a left turn at a corner based on the first detection means, the control means comprising: Distance R1 or second distance L1
Is set in the vehicle route guidance apparatus.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the control means performs the second instruction in a plurality of times according to the number of lanes on the road. The present invention also provides a means for detecting the position of the vehicle, a means for searching for and determining a route to be traveled, and a first turn and a second turn next to the first turn of the searched route.
When the distance from the corner is smaller than a predetermined value, the first
A vehicle route guidance apparatus comprising: control means for editing guidance for a corner and guidance for a second corner and outputting the guidance as one voice guidance.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when the second detecting means detects that the own vehicle position has reached the second distance L1, a second instruction for guiding the lane is issued first. Then the first
When the detecting means detects that the vehicle position has reached the first distance R1 from the corner, a first instruction for guiding a right turn or a left turn is issued. Therefore, by using this vehicle route guidance device, when making a right turn or left turn on a corner of a route to be traveled, a second instruction of a lane to be taken prior to a right turn or a left turn is given, and then a right turn or Since the first instruction is to turn left and turn, the vehicle can safely turn right or left. In particular, according to the present invention, the control means sets the first or second distance R1, L1 at least according to the condition of the lane on the road, and thereby sets the output timing of the first and second instructions at the turning angle. be able to. Therefore, for example, when there are many lanes, it is possible to make a right or left turn by traveling in the lane to be turned with a margin by providing guidance from the front,
Safety is improved. According to the present invention, the second instruction is
Since the operation is divided into a plurality of times according to the number of lanes on the road, for example, in the case of three lanes, the safety can be improved by instructing the lane change in two stages without instructing the lane change at once.

Further, according to the present invention, when the distance between the first and second corners is smaller than a predetermined value, it is edited and output as one voice guide. Therefore, by using this vehicle route guidance device, even when the vehicle turns right at the first turn and immediately turns left at the second turn, for example, the vehicle prepares for a left turn at the second turn when turning right at the first turn. Thus, it is possible to safely make preparations for turning at the first turn and at the same time as turning at the second turn.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a vehicle route guidance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The input unit 1 sets destination information for the processing unit 2.
It is for input. The vehicle position detecting means 3 detects the position of the own vehicle by the method based on the map matching described above. Compact disk-read only memory (hereinafter "C
The D-ROM 4) stores road data for displaying a road map and guiding a vehicle. The processing means 2 performs overall control of the entire vehicle route guidance device, and is configured by a microcomputer or the like. The processing unit 2 includes a storage unit 5 and a storage unit 6, and the storage unit 4 stores instruction data (hereinafter, abbreviated as “route guidance instruction data”) for performing a route guidance of an automobile, and the like. Stores data obtained by editing the route guidance instruction data. The display means 7 displays a road map around the automobile and route guidance instruction data, and is controlled by the processing means 2. Voice synthesis means 8
Outputs an audio signal to guide the route of the car,
The audio signal is amplified by the amplifier 9 and output from the speaker 10 as audio. The voice synthesizing means 8 includes the storage means 1
The storage unit 11 stores a pattern of the audio signal in advance, and the processing unit 2 selects the pattern.

When the destination is set by the input means 1, the processing means 2 outputs the information of the destination and the current position information of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detecting means,
According to the road data and the like read from the D-ROM 4,
The travel route from the current location of the car to the destination is searched for and the travel route is determined. Route guidance instruction data is created from the traveling route, stored in the storage unit 5, and the data is edited and stored in the storage unit 6. Further, while the vehicle is running, the processing unit 2 compares the position information of the own vehicle obtained by the vehicle position detection unit 3 with the road data stored in the CD-ROM 4 to determine the road on which the vehicle passes. , The position of the car on the map is obtained and displayed on the display device 7. Further, the processing means 2 displays instruction information for guiding a route to be traveled by the car by the sound display means 12 including the voice synthesizing means 8, the amplifying means 9 and the speaker 10, and displays the information on the display means 7. Let it.

FIG. 2 shows a travel route of the vehicle when the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1 turns right at a corner. When it is assumed that the traveling route of the automobile makes a right turn at a corner as shown by an arrow, when the corner is an intersection where the roads 21 to 24 intersect with a cross, the radius is the first distance R1 from the center position A1 of the intersection. Define the A2 area. A second distance L1 is determined on the upstream side in the traveling direction from the center position A1 of the intersection. When the vehicle travels on the road 21 from the upstream side, when the vehicle reaches the second distance L1 (point B1), an instruction to bring the vehicle to the right lane is displayed in an acoustic display in order to prepare for turning at the intersection. This is performed by the means 12 and the display means 7. Also, the car passes through the second distance L1,
When the vehicle enters the area A2 and reaches the first distance R1 (point B2), an instruction to turn right at the intersection is issued by the sound display unit 12 and the display unit 7. When the vehicle reaches the second distance L1 in this way, the driver can turn right at the intersection by preparing a turn signal in advance and approaching the right side of the road in preparation for turning right. The second distance L1 and the first distance R1 are set according to the number of lanes, road width, adjacent roads, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows a traveling route in the case where the vehicle continuously turns three corners by the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. The road 31 has lanes 31a, 31b, 3
A one-lane three-lane road 1c intersects one-lane roads 32 and 33. The road 33 has lanes 33a and 3
A three-lane road consisting of 3b and 33c crosses the road. The road 34 is a two-lane road composed of lanes 34a and 34b, and intersects with a one-lane road 35. Here, the intersection of the road 30 and the road 33 is referred to as a first intersection 40, and the intersection of the road 33 and the road 34 is referred to as a second intersection 41. The intersection between the road 34 and the road 35 is referred to as a third intersection 42. The direction of travel of the vehicle on each road is indicated by an arrow. An A12 area having a radius equal to the first distance R11 from the center position A11 of the first intersection of the road 31 and the road 33 is determined. A second distance L12 is determined on the upstream side in the traveling direction from the center position A11 of the intersection, and the second distance L11 is further on the upstream side.
Is determined. Further, an area A22 having a radius equal to the first distance R21 from the position A21 intersecting with the center line of the road 34 on the extension of the left shoulder with respect to the traveling direction of the road 33 is determined. A second distance L21 is provided upstream from the position A21 in the traveling direction.
And the distance between the second distance L21 and the first distance R21 is defined as ΔL21. Further, an area A32 having a radius equal to the first distance R31 from the center position A31 of the third intersection between the road 34 and the road 35 is determined. A second distance L31 is determined on the upstream side in the traveling direction from the center position A31 of the intersection. L12, L
21 and L31 are all set at the same distance.

When the vehicle travels on the road 31 from the upstream side, when the vehicle reaches the second distance L11 (point B11), the vehicle is moved from the lane 31a to the lane 31b so as to be ready for turning at the first intersection 40. An instruction to shift to the right is given by the sound display means 12 and the display means 7. Also, the car is located at the second distance L12 (point B12).
When the vehicle has reached, the acoustic display means 12 and the display means 7 give an instruction to move the vehicle to the right from the lane 31b to the lane 31c in order to make the vehicle again ready to turn at the first intersection. Further, when the vehicle enters the area A12 and reaches the first distance R11 (point B13), a signal for turning right at the first intersection 40 is provided by the sound display means 12 and the display means 7. In this way, if the intersection has three lanes, there is a safety problem if the lane change is instructed at a time. Therefore, the instruction is given in two steps to guide the appropriate lane change. Also, if an instruction to turn right at the first intersection 40 is issued on the upstream side in the traveling direction from the point B13, the road 32 will be turned right, so the setting of the first distance R11 depends on the positional relationship with the road 32. It is set in consideration of.

Next, when the vehicle is traveling on the road 33 by making a right turn at the first intersection 40, it is necessary to prepare for making a left turn at the second intersection 41. The right turn point B14 has already passed the second distance L21 of the second intersection 41. Second distance L2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a distance set for safely changing a vehicle traveling on the lane 33b from the upstream side of the road 33 to the lane 33c. Therefore, temporarily instructing the driver to change lanes at the point B14 forces the driver of the vehicle to change lanes within a short distance, which poses a safety problem.
Therefore, the distance ΔL2 which is the difference between the point B14 where the preparation state for turning the second intersection 41 needs to be set and the first distance R21 for giving an instruction to turn the second intersection 41 is given.
If 1 ′ is smaller than the predetermined distance ΔL21 between the second distance L21 and the first distance R21 of the intersection 21, that is, the first and second intersections 40,
If the distance 41 is smaller than a predetermined value, an instruction is given in advance before turning at the first intersection 40.
At this time, when the vehicle reaches the first distance R11 of the first intersection 40, an instruction to change lanes to turn at the second intersection 41 is issued at the same time as an instruction to turn at the first intersection 40. By doing so, the driver of the vehicle can recognize the lane change on the road 33 in advance, so that the vehicle can make a lane change more safely while turning right at the first intersection 40.

Next, when the vehicle is instructed to change lanes at the point B13, the vehicle changes from the lane 33a to the lane 33c on the road 33.
The lane change to the left is performed to prepare for turning left at the intersection 41. When the vehicle enters the area A22 and reaches the first distance R21 (point B21) of the second intersection 41, an instruction to turn left at the intersection is issued by the sound display unit 12 and the display unit 7.

Next, when the car is turning left at the second intersection 41 and traveling on the road 34, the car is moved to the second distance L31.
When the vehicle arrives at (point B31), the vehicle enters a preparation state for making a right turn at the third intersection, and an instruction to move the vehicle to the right is given by the sound display means 1 and 2 and the display means 7.
When the vehicle passes through the second distance L31, enters the area A32, and reaches the first distance R31 (point B32), the acoustic display unit and the display unit 7 issue an instruction to turn right at the intersection. When the road is a single lane, it is not necessary to prepare for driving such as changing lanes. In this case, deceleration and blinker operation are instructed as driving preparation.

Table 1 shows data contents of voice signals for instructing the route guidance of the vehicle stored in the storage means 11 of the voice synthesis means 8 in the vehicle route guidance apparatus shown in FIG.

[0018]

[Table 1]

By outputting a control signal for selecting a code from the processing device 2 to the voice synthesizing means 8, a voice signal corresponding to the code is output, and the voice signal is transmitted through the amplifying unit 9 and the speaker 10. Is output as For example, when a control signal for selecting the code C is output from the processing device 2 to the voice synthesizing means 8, the speaker 1
From 0, you can hear the voice "turn right".

Table 2 shows the data contents of the route guidance instruction when the vehicle travels on the traveling route shown in FIG.
This is the content of the edited data.

[0021]

[Table 2]

[0022]

[Table 3]

When the vehicle travels along the travel route shown in FIG. 3, if the destination is set by the input means 1 of the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle travels from the current position to the destination as described above. The traveling route is searched, the traveling route shown in FIG. 3 is determined, and the route guidance instruction data shown in Table 2 is stored in the storage unit 5 of the processing unit 2. In the instruction content data, a logical value of a header, a first distance and a second distance from an intersection at which an instruction is made, and a code representing the instruction content are stored for each point of right or left turn. This code corresponds to the code in Table 1. Here, the address indicates the address of the storage means in which the route guidance instruction data is stored. When the logical value of the header is “1”, it indicates an instruction to turn right or left, and the logical value of the header is “0”. The case indicates an instruction to change lanes in preparation for making a right or left turn. For example, the intersection 40 shown in FIG.
At the point B11 shown in FIG. 3 corresponding to the right / left turn point 1 of FIG. 3 and corresponding to the address 1 in Table 2, the instruction "Please drive in the lane near the center" is given by the acoustic display means 12 and the display means 7. At the point B12 shown in FIG. 3 corresponding to the address 2 in Table 2, the instruction "Please drive in the right lane" is issued. Also, address 3 in Table 2
At the point B13 shown in FIG. 3 corresponding to the address, an instruction to "turn right" is issued, and the instruction is similarly issued at the right or left turn points 2 and 3 in Table 2. In the route guidance instruction data of Table 2, point B1 shown in FIG.
At 4, the data of the instruction content of "please by left" is set.
The data at address 4 in Table 2 is deleted according to the relationship of L21 ′ <ΔL21, edited into the instruction content data in Table 3, and stored in the storage unit 6 of the processing unit 2. In the route guidance instruction data of Table 3, the instruction content of address 3 is the combined instruction content of addresses 3 and 4 in Table 2, and is changed to the instruction content "turn right and turn left".

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the vehicle route guidance apparatus shown in FIG. The process is started in step a1. In step a2, the input unit 1
Then, the destination is set, and the process proceeds to step a3. In step a3, a search is made for a traveling route from the current location of the automobile to the destination, the traveling route is determined, and the process proceeds to step a4. At step a4, route guidance instruction data at a point where the vehicle turns right or left is created and edited based on the travel route determined at step a3.
Move to 5. For example, when the route guidance instruction data in Table 2 is created and the data is edited, it becomes the route guidance instruction data in Table 3. At step a5, at the time of the first processing, the pointer is set to 1 for the route guidance instruction data created and edited at step a4, the data at the address 1 is read, and the routine proceeds to step a6. In step a6, the route guidance instruction data read in step a5 is decoded to determine whether the logical value of the header is "0" or "1". In step a6, when the logical value of the header of the decoded route guidance instruction data is “0”, the data indicates the preparation state of the right turn or the left turn. Step a9
Move on to Also, in step a6, if the logical value of the header of the decoded route guidance instruction data is “1”, it is data for instructing a right turn or a left turn. The process proceeds to step 9 with the first distance R. In step a9, it is determined whether or not the distance d from the current vehicle position to the point where the vehicle turns right or left is equal to L or R set in steps a7 and a8. If there is a vacant time for the process, the route guidance instruction data for turning right or left, which will be used in the future, is created and edited, and the process returns to step a9. In step a9, if the distance d of the point until the right or left turn becomes equal to L or R, an instruction content corresponding to the distance data for giving the instruction is instructed by the display means 7 or the acoustic means 12, and the process proceeds to step a11. Move on. In step a11, the pointer is updated, the set value of the pointer is increased by one, and the process proceeds to step a12. In step a12, if there is route guidance instruction data in the instruction value of the pointer, the process returns to step a5 to perform data processing of the instruction value, and repeats the processing of step a5 and subsequent steps. If there is no route guidance instruction data in the pointer indicated value in step a12, all the created and edited route guidance instruction data has been processed, so the process returns to step a4 to newly create and edit the next route guidance instruction data. And repeat the above processing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents for editing the created route guidance instruction data in the automatic route guidance device shown in FIG. The process is started in step b1. In step b2, it is determined whether or not the logical value of the header of the route guidance instruction data is "0". If not, the process proceeds to step b6 and the editing process is not performed. Move to b3. In step b3, it is determined whether the logical values of the headers of the data at the addresses before and after the route guidance instruction data are all "1", and if both are "1", the process proceeds to step b4.
If none of them is "1", the process proceeds to step b6 and the editing process is not performed. Step b4 indicates that the vehicle travels on a route having a front and rear corner, depending on the conditions of the header in steps b1 to b3. When turning around this corner, a second distance for instructing a preparation state such as a lane change and a first distance for instructing a right or left turn.
It is determined whether or not the difference ΔL from the distance is smaller than a predetermined difference C between the second distance L and the first distance R. If the difference ΔL is smaller, the process proceeds to Step b5, and the editing process is performed. And the editing process is not performed.

The processing content of this flowchart shows that the route guidance instruction data prepared in Table 2 is edited into the route guidance instruction data in Table 3 for the route shown in FIG. 3, for example. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the content of the editing process at this time is "Please turn right" shown in FIG. 6 (1), which is the code content of the address 1 in Table 2, as shown in FIG. 6 (2). The content of the reference numeral 61 in the figure is the reference numeral 6
2 and becomes “turn right”, and is combined with the code content of the reference numeral 63 at address 4 in Table 2 and “turn right” in FIG. To the left. "

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the vehicle is traveling on a path having a corner, if the vehicle is located within a second distance from the corner, prior to turning right or left at the corner. A vehicle that performs a first instruction for guiding a lane to be ready to make a turn, and that performs a second instruction to turn right or left and turn at a corner when the vehicle position is within a first distance from the corner. A route guidance device can be obtained. Therefore, by using the vehicle route guidance device, it is possible to provide guidance such as changing lanes for turning at a corner prior to the driver of the vehicle on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the corner of the route to be traveled. The driver can safely and smoothly make a right or left turn. In particular, according to the invention, the control means comprises:
Since the first or second distances R1 and L1 are set at least according to the condition of the lane of the road, for example, when the number of lanes is large, guidance is provided from the near side,
It is possible to make a right or left turn while driving in a lane that should be able to turn with a margin, which improves safety. Further, according to the present invention, the second instruction is divided into a plurality of times according to the number of lanes on the road. For example, in the case of three lanes, the lane change is not instructed at a time, and the instruction is divided into two steps. , Safety is further improved.

According to the present invention, when the vehicle is traveling on a path having a plurality of turns, the guidance for the first turn and the guidance for the second turn are output in this order. , The distance between the first turn and the second turn is
When the value is smaller than the predetermined value, the guidance for the first turning angle and the guidance for the second turning angle are edited, and an automobile route guidance device that issues an edited instruction as one voice guide can be obtained. Therefore, by using this vehicle route guidance device, when the vehicle is traveling on a route in which the first turning angle and the second turning angle are continuous at a short distance, the second turning is performed when performing guidance to turn around the first turning angle. Since the driver can guide the driver of the turn to prepare for driving, the driver can safely and smoothly turn right or left at the second turn. In particular, according to the present invention, the first
In addition, it is possible to provide guidance that summarizes the essential points for traveling on the second corner, so that the guidance is very easy for the driver to understand. Also, by outputting one voice guidance edited in this way, the length of the phrase guided by the voice is prevented from being lengthened, so that the timing of the voice guidance at the position of the driving and driving of the car is not shifted. Can be guided, and thus safe driving is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a vehicle route guidance device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a traveling route of the vehicle when the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1 turns right at a corner.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a traveling route in a case where the vehicle continuously turns three corners by the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing contents of the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing contents for editing created route guidance instruction data in the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process of editing audio data stored in the vehicle route guidance device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input means 2 Processing means 3 Vehicle position detection means 4 CD-ROM 5 Storage means 6 Storage means 7 Display means 8 Voice synthesis means 9 Amplification means 10 Speaker 11 Storage means 12 Sound display means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-64-16915 (JP, A) JP-A-64-16916 (JP, A) JP-A-3-154200 (JP, A) JP-A-1- 119897 (JP, A) JP-A-62-93617 (JP, A) JP-A-49-55297 (JP, A) JP-A-4-108300 (JP, U) JP-A-1-112414 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G08G 1/0969 G01C 21/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A means for detecting the position of the vehicle, a means for searching for and determining a route to be traveled, and a first distance R before a corner of the searched route.
A first detecting means for detecting that the own vehicle position has arrived within the first distance; a second distance L set before the first distance R1;
A second detecting means for detecting that the vehicle position has reached within 1; and a second instruction for guiding a lane to take a right turn or a left turn at a turn based on the second detecting means. Control means for giving a first instruction to guide a right turn or left turn at a corner based on the first detection means, wherein the control means is configured to control the first distance R1 or the second distance according to at least the condition of a lane on a road. An automobile route guidance device, wherein L1 is set. 2. The vehicle route guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the second instruction in a plurality of times according to the number of lanes on the road. 3. A means for detecting a position of the own vehicle, a means for searching for and determining a route to be traveled, and a distance between a first turn of the searched route and a second turn next to the first turn. When the value is smaller than a predetermined value, the guidance for the first corner and the guidance for the second corner are edited, and control means for outputting as one voice guidance is provided.