JP4825898B2 - Navigation device, method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus, method, and program for searching and guiding a route that returns to a departure place, that is, a current location through a given stop.

  In recent years, with the spread of automobiles and the progress of information processing technology, technologies related to navigation devices are rapidly progressing. The navigation device performs route guidance (also simply referred to as “guidance”, “guide”, “route guide”, etc.) regarding a moving body such as an automobile, and road map data representing a road network structure, surrounding facilities, and the like is stored in advance. Prepare and calculate the optimum route (also called route) to the specified destination based on the data and set it as a guidance route (also called route setting), and the vehicle position determined in real time by GPS or the like While displaying the surrounding map on the screen, guidance guidance such as turning left and right is output by synthetic voice or screen display.

  In order to specify the destination with the conventional technology as described above, for example, scroll the map displayed on the screen and specify it with the cursor, or search for facilities such as stores by address, name, phone number, name, etc. Specify from candidates. In addition, when the vehicle position approaches within a predetermined distance of the designated destination in this way, the destination arrival judgment is performed, and the arrival to the destination is notified to the user by voice or screen display, and the route guide Exit.

  In other words, when the destination is close in this way, the route guide will end immediately even if the route is set, so there is little profit, so conventionally, when searching for a route, a message to that effect is displayed on the screen. In addition, the route search itself was not performed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-074486

  By the way, in an actual car use scene, there may be a case where the user wants to stop at a place some distance from the current location and then return to the current location or the vicinity again. However, if the destination designated in this way is within a predetermined distance from the current location, or if it is at the same point as the current location, for example, as described above, in the conventional technology, it is determined that the destination has been reached by the destination arrival determination. The user is notified by voice or screen display and the route guide ends.

  For this reason, in the prior art, there is a problem that it is difficult to use navigation based on the destination. In particular, if you really want to take a detour and return to your current location, first make a route search using the stop as the destination, then use the route guide, and then select the location you want to return from the stop. The route search must be performed again, and the operation is complicated.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to search and guide a route for returning to a departure place, that is, a current location, etc. via a given stop, It is to provide a method and program.

The navigation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein means for setting a destination and waypoint, means for detecting a current location of a vehicle, and route setting for setting a route from a departure point to the destination via the waypoint said means, and route guidance means based on the set route performing route guidance to the destination by the route setting means, determination means for determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, by the determination unit Control means for terminating the route guidance when it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, and the determination means sets the destination to be the same as or close to the departure place if it is, the vehicle is configured to determine the arrival to the destination after predetermined distance from the departure point, the control means, the destination is the departure point and the same or the departure point If it is set in the vicinity, until the vehicle has moved by a predetermined distance from the departure point is characterized by controlling so as to prohibit the end of route guidance by the route guidance means.

The navigation method of claim 2 captures the invention of claim 1 from the viewpoint of a method, wherein the computer sets the destination and waypoint, detects the current location of the vehicle, and and through to the set route setting processing for the route to the destination and stopover and a route guidance process of performing route guidance to the destination based on the route set by the route setting processing, the vehicle is said A process for determining that the vehicle has arrived at a destination, and a control process for ending the route guidance when it is determined by the determination process that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the determination process, when the destination is set in the vicinity of the starting point and the same or the departure point, the vehicle is determined arrival to the destination after predetermined distance from the departure point In the control process, when the destination is set to be the same as the vicinity of the departure place or in the vicinity of the departure place, the route guidance unit performs route guidance until the vehicle moves a predetermined distance from the departure place. It is characterized by prohibiting termination .

The navigation program according to claim 3 has a function of setting a destination and a waypoint in a computer, a function of detecting a current location of a vehicle, and a route setting from a departure point to the destination via the waypoint. a routing function to perform, and the route guidance function of performing route guidance to the destination based on the route set by the route setting function, a function of determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the determination function And a control function for ending the route guidance when it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, wherein the determination function is the same as the starting point or wherein when it is set in the vicinity of the departure, the is vehicle a functionality that is configured to determine the arrival from the departure point to the destination after predetermined distance, the control function , When the destination is set in the vicinity of the starting point and the same or the departure point, until the vehicle has moved by a predetermined distance from the departure point prohibits completion of route guidance by the route guidance means It is a function.

  In these aspects, the route guidance is prohibited from being terminated until the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance from the departure place. Therefore, the route search is not performed or the route guidance is started without determining whether or not the vehicle has stopped by Inconveniences such as termination immediately after are avoided, reducing the number of user operations such as searching for a route separately before and after the stop-by, and reducing the burden.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program for searching and guiding a route that returns to a departure place, that is, the current location through a given stop.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of the program in embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the example of a setting of the "stop destination" in embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the route | root which returns via "stop-by" in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which illustrates the process sequence of the route guide in embodiment of this invention.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Note that this embodiment can be realized by controlling a computer including a peripheral device with a program. However, in this case, the hardware and program implementation modes can be variously changed. A virtual circuit block that realizes each function of this embodiment is used.

[1. Constitution〕
The present embodiment is the navigation device of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present device”), but the navigation method and (computer) program of the present invention, and such a computer program and a recording medium on which road map data is recorded. It is also an aspect of the present invention to download and execute such programs and road map data to the navigation device of each vehicle via a communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network. .

[1-1. overall structure〕
First, this apparatus includes the following elements shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. That is, the absolute position / orientation detection unit 1 sequentially detects or calculates absolute position coordinates and orientations on the ground surface with respect to the current position of the automobile (referred to as the own vehicle) on which the apparatus is mounted, that is, the own vehicle position. For example, it is a part for receiving GPS radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites with an antenna or a receiver. The relative orientation detection unit 2 is a part for detecting the relative orientation of the host vehicle using a gyro or the like. Moreover, the vehicle speed detection part 3 is a part which calculates the speed of the own vehicle by processing the vehicle speed pulse obtained from a motor vehicle.

  The main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are parts that serve as a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus. The memory group M is various memories necessary for the operation of the apparatus. For example, the ROM 5 for storing a program is accessed by the main CPU when the apparatus is activated. The dynamic RAM (DRAM) 6 is used for providing a main program load area and a data processing work area. An SRAM (static RAM) 7 holds information such as settings by battery backup even when the main power is off, and provides memory contents when the main power is turned on again. A display VRAM (video RAM) 8 stores bitmap data of an image to be displayed on the display unit 10.

  The display unit 10 is a part for outputting various information such as a map and an operation menu on a liquid crystal display screen or voice synthesis (not shown). The input unit 11 is a part for a user to input various information such as commands from a switch or the like, and includes a touch sensor function, a remote control unit, an infrared transmission / reception unit, and the like. The user interface unit 9 is a user interface that connects the display unit 10 and the input unit 11 to the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 using an I / O control circuit, a device driver, or the like.

  The CD / DVD-ROM control unit 12 is means for reading various data such as road map data recorded on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM from a database, and includes a road network structure, roads including information such as facilities. The storage means stores map data in advance.

[1-2. Role of main CPU and its peripheral circuits]
Further, the main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are configured to serve as the following parts shown in FIG. 1 by the operation of the program as described above. In other words, the current position detection unit 40 is a means for calculating the current position of the own vehicle, that is, the own vehicle position. Specifically, the current position detecting unit 40 calculates the own vehicle position by combining GPS navigation positioning and autonomous navigation positioning. Configured as follows.

  Here, in GPS navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained from the absolute position / orientation detection unit 1 based on radio waves from an artificial satellite. In the autonomous navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained from the relative bearing detection unit 2 and the vehicle speed detection unit 3 based on the geomagnetism and the speed of the host vehicle.

  In addition, the destination designation unit 41 designates a destination and a stop-by destination by designating with a cursor on a map displayed based on the road map data or by selecting from a facility included in the road map data. It is a designation means for designating, and when only the stop-by destination is designated, the current location may be automatically regarded as the destination.

  The route setting unit 42 is a means for performing route search and setting based on the road map data for a route to the designated destination via the designated stop-by destination. Further, the map display unit 43 is means for displaying the detected current position in an overlapping manner on a map around the current position based on the road map data, and the guide unit 44 displays the screen along the set route. It is a means for performing route guidance by display or synthesized voice.

  Further, the stop destination determination unit 45 is a stop destination determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle has passed the stop point in the set route, and the destination arrival determination unit 46 determines whether the host vehicle Destination arrival determination means for determining whether the vehicle has arrived at the destination after passing the stop. The destination arrival determination unit 46 does not determine whether the destination has arrived before the stopover has passed. The control unit 47 is means for terminating the route guidance by the guide unit 44 when the destination arrival determination unit 46 determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination.

[2. Action)
The present embodiment configured as described above operates as follows.
[2-1. (Overview)
At the start of driving, the user first designates with the cursor on the map displayed based on the road map data in the destination etc. designating part 41, or by selecting from facilities included in the road map data, etc. Specify the destination and stopover. At this time, for example, when only a stop is specified, the current location is automatically regarded as the destination.

  When the stop and destination are specified in this way, the route setting unit 42 searches and sets the route based on the road map data for the route to the specified destination via the specified stop. Thereafter, the map display unit 43 starts a process of displaying the detected current position on the map around the current position based on the road map data, and the guide unit 44 displays the screen along the set route. And route guidance using synthetic voice.

  Further, the stop destination determination unit 45 sequentially determines whether or not the host vehicle has passed the stop point in the set route, and the destination arrival determination unit 46 determines that the host vehicle has passed the stop destination and then It is sequentially determined whether or not has arrived at the destination. However, the destination arrival determination unit 46 does not determine whether the destination has been reached before the stopover passes. When the destination arrival determination unit 46 determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the control unit 47 ends the route guidance by the guide unit 44.

[2-2. Program example)
Next, in the present embodiment as described above, a configuration example of a program stored in the ROM 5 is shown in a conceptual diagram of FIG. Among these, the key input process (S51) processes a key input from the input unit 11 by a user operation. For example, information such as a key press is output to the search process (S52) or the scroll process (S53). To do.

  The search process (S52) reads a database from the CD / DVD-ROM control unit 12 and performs a necessary search such as a facility search from an address, an industry name, a telephone number, etc. The scroll process (S53) This is a process of moving the map and the cursor according to the operation. These search processing (S52) and scroll processing (S53) output information such as longitude and latitude regarding the destination / stop-by destination obtained by the search or scroll to the route search processing (S56).

  When the route search process (S56) receives the information as described above, the route search process (S56) receives the current travel position (also referred to as the current position or the vehicle position) from the travel position detection process (S55), and reaches the destination from the current position. Search for the route. Here, the travel position detection process (S55) is performed based on outputs from the absolute position / direction detection unit 1, the relative direction detection unit 2, and the vehicle speed detection unit 3 every time a predetermined time has passed or a predetermined distance has been moved. The position is calculated. When the route search process (S56) finishes searching for a route, the route information is output to the display process (S54) and the route guide process (S57).

  Of these, the route guide process (S57) creates guide information including right and left turns at the intersection and outputs it to the display process (S54). In this display process (S54), the route information including the road shape of the route output from the route search process (S56) and the guide information output from the route guide process (S57) are displayed on the display unit 10. It is.

[2-3. (Setting example of stopover)
Next, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method of setting a stopover destination. That is, the user operates the input unit 11 to search for a destination to stop from the database stored in the CD / DVD-ROM by the action of the destination designation unit 41 (FIG. 3A) or map scroll ( Search by FIG. 3 (b)). At this time, in the program (FIG. 2), the search process (S52) or the scroll process (S53) is executed according to each. Among these, in the case of a search (FIG. 3A), when a facility is selected, a map including the facility is processed as a search result by the display process (S54), and is displayed on the display unit 10 to display the facility. The cursor (cross-dot line in the figure) points to a state (FIG. 3 (c)).

  Here, when the execution key provided in the input unit 11 is pressed, the menu created by the search process (S52) appears on the display unit 10 (FIG. 3D). With this menu, the user can select whether to set the point indicated by the cursor as a transit point, a destination, or a stopover by operating the input unit.

  Here, the “route point” is specified by the user as a condition for route calculation (route search). Unlike a stopover, the vehicle is near the destination even if the vehicle does not pass within a predetermined distance from the route point. When approaching, it shifts to guidance to the destination. On the other hand, the “stop-by place” (stop-by place) must pass, and it does not shift to the next waypoint or destination guidance unless it passes through the stop-by place.

  When “Destination” is selected on the screen illustrated in FIG. 3D, the destination is passed to the route search process (S56) as in the conventional case. On the other hand, when “Destination” is selected, that point is set as a destination. In addition, when “route point” is selected, the point is set as a route point. That is, when a point is specified by scrolling the map, a menu as shown in FIG. 3 (d) appears at the position indicated by the cursor when the execution key is pressed. It becomes the ground or a stopover.

  When the stop is set as described above, the route setting unit 42 realized by the CPU 4 starts route search processing (S56). At this time, the current location is automatically set as the destination, and the stop is regarded as a transit point (relay point). However, as another example, the destination may be designated separately. For example, after designating a stopover destination, the cursor automatically moves to the current location, and if the confirmation operation is performed as it is, the current location becomes the destination, but if a desired position is designated again by the cursor movement operation, that location becomes the destination.

  In addition, the basic algorithm for route search including a waypoint may be the same as in the past. For example, a route search algorithm such as a bidirectional search or a route-by-route search method is separately and independently obtained from the route point and beyond. Search by section cost integrated value comparison. Here, FIG. 4 shows a route search result displayed on the display unit when the stop-by destination is set.

  When the route search process is thus completed, the guide unit 44 realized by the CPU 4 starts the route guide process (S57). For this route guide processing, guidance by the same screen and voice output as in the conventional case is possible. However, in this embodiment, the stop destination (route stop point) is caused by the actions of the stop destination passage determination unit 45 and the destination arrival determination unit 46. ) Is different from the conventional point in that the destination arrival determination is not performed until it passes.

[2-4. Example of route guide processing procedure)
Here, FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of route guide processing in the present embodiment. In this route guide process, at the time of initialization (steps 1 to 3), when there is no stop destination (step 1), the stop destination passing flag is turned on (step 3). (Step 1), the stopover passing flag is turned off (Step 2).

  After such initialization, the system enters a loop and executes conventional branch / intersection guidance (step 4). Then, the distance from the traveling position to the stop is checked (step 10). If it is less than a predetermined value (step 11), the stop pass flag is turned on (step 12). On the premise of such processing, while the stopover passing flag is off (step 5), the determination and guidance (steps 15 to 23) of passing through and destination arrival are skipped. As a result, even if the departure place is the same as the destination, it is not determined that the destination has arrived while at the departure place as in the prior art, and a route guide to the destination is possible.

  Then, after passing the stop (step 11) and when the stop destination passing flag is turned on (step 12), arrival judgment at the destination is entered in the processing flow (steps 5 and 19). (Step 19) A message to that effect is provided (Step 20), and the route guide process is terminated.

  If a stopover is set (step 21) before passing by the stopover (step 21), if the distance to the stopover (step 22) is less than a predetermined distance (step 23), the passage of the stopover is guided (step 14) and the stopover passes After (step 15), if the distance to the destination (step 16) is smaller than the distance to the waypoint (step 17) (step 18), that is, if the destination is closer to the waypoint, the destination arrival determination ( Step 19) and guidance (Step 20) are prioritized, but if the waypoint is closer to the destination (Step 18), the passage point determination (Step 23) and guidance (Step 14) are prioritized.

[3. effect〕
As described above, in the present embodiment, simply by setting a desired stop, a route search is performed by receiving a search and guidance for a route that returns from the current location to the current location and the vicinity thereof again. Inconveniences such as the absence of route guidance and the termination of route guidance immediately after the start are avoided, so that it is possible to reduce the burden on the user by eliminating the trouble of searching again for a route returning from the stop.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the destination arrival determination is not performed until the stop destination passes, and after the stop destination passes, the destination arrival determination is performed regardless of whether or not the route has passed. For this reason, inconveniences such as route search not being performed or termination of route guidance immediately after starting are avoided, reducing the number of user operations such as searching for a route separately before and after the stop and reducing the burden. In addition to being able to do so, navigation processing according to the types of stopovers that must be passed and the waypoints that are not required is realized.

[4. Other embodiments]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Other embodiments which are illustrated next are included. For example, the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the program configuration shown in FIG. 2, the screen example shown in FIG. 3, the example shown in FIG. 4, and the example of the processing procedure shown in FIG. This aspect can also be adopted.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the destination arrival is determined after determining the passing of the stop, but instead, it is determined whether or not the destination has been reached until the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance from the departure point. It may not be performed.

  In this way, until the vehicle travels a predetermined distance from the departure place, the route search is not performed without determining whether or not the destination has been reached by not determining whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the destination. Inconveniences such as route guidance being terminated immediately after the start of the route guidance can be avoided, and the number of user operations such as searching for a route separately before and after the stop-by destination can be reduced and the burden can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Absolute position and direction detection part 2 ... Relative direction detection part 3 ... Vehicle speed detection part 4 ... Main CPU and its peripheral circuit 5 ... ROM
6 ... DRAM
7 ... SRAM
8 ... VRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... User interface part 10 ... Display part 11 ... Input part 12 ... CD / DVD-ROM control part 40 ... Current position detection part 41 ... Destination etc. designation part 42 ... Route setting part 43 ... Map display part 44 ... Guide part 45 ... Destination pass determination unit 46 ... Destination arrival determination unit 47 ... Control unit M ... Memory group

Claims (3)

Means for setting the destination and waypoint;
Means for detecting the current location of the vehicle;
Route setting means for setting a route from a starting point via the waypoint to the destination;
And route guidance means for performing route guidance to the destination based on the route set by said route setting means,
Determining means for determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
Control means for terminating the route guidance when the determination means determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
The determination means determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination after moving a predetermined distance from the departure place when the destination is set to be the same as or close to the departure place. Configure
When the destination is set to be the same as or close to the departure place, the control means performs route guidance by the route guidance means until the vehicle moves a predetermined distance from the departure place. A navigation device that is controlled to prohibit termination . Computer
Processing to set the destination and waypoint,
Processing to detect the current location of the vehicle;
A route setting process for setting a route from a starting point via the waypoint to the destination;
A route guidance process of performing route guidance to the destination based on the route set by the route setting processing,
A process for determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
A control process for terminating the route guidance when the determination process determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
In the determination process, when the destination is set to be the same as or close to the departure place, the vehicle determines arrival at the destination after moving a predetermined distance from the departure place ,
In the control process, when the destination is set to be the same as the vicinity of the departure place or in the vicinity of the departure place, the route guidance unit performs route guidance until the vehicle moves a predetermined distance from the departure place. A navigation method characterized by prohibiting termination . On the computer,
A function to set the destination and waypoint,
A function to detect the current location of the vehicle,
A route setting function for setting a route from a starting point via the waypoint to the destination;
A route guidance function of performing route guidance to the destination based on the route set by the route setting function,
A function of determining that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
A control function for ending the route guidance when the determination function determines that the vehicle has arrived at the destination;
The determination function is configured to determine whether the vehicle has arrived at the destination after moving a predetermined distance from the departure place when the destination is set to be the same as or close to the departure place. Configured function,
When the destination is set to be the same as or close to the departure place, the control function is configured to perform route guidance by the route guidance means until the vehicle moves a predetermined distance from the departure place. A navigation program characterized by being a function that prohibits termination .

Images