JP2008032629A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a navigation system capable of informing the driver in a vehicle, even regarding a destination that is not indicated on an area guide signboard, at an intersection forward of the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: When a place name portion for a destination of "A-city" is specified by operating a touch panel from among place name portions for a destination in each movement direction that are indicated in a simulation image 32 in an area guide signboard, a rectilinear propagation direction that is a movement direction, corresponding to the location name portion for the destination of "A-city" is identified as the target direction, when informing a non-notified location name. Thus, "D-city" of the location name portion for the destination, at a next intersection, when the vehicle has advanced at an intersection 31 in a rectilinear propagation direction, is displayed in a display monitor 16 by a blow out 33 as a non-notified location name. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle.

  Conventionally, in front of an intersection in front of the vehicle, by displaying an image simulating a direction signboard installed near the intersection, it is possible to determine which direction to proceed when passing the intersection. 2. Description of the Related Art A navigation device that makes it easy for a person to make a determination is widely known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-311625 A

  In the conventional navigation device as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an image simulating a direction guide sign at a front intersection is simply displayed on the screen, so that the driver of the vehicle is shown on the direction guide sign. I don't know where to go.

The navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes display control means for displaying a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the front intersection on the display monitor, and the direction of travel indicated by the simulated image of the direction guidance signage displayed on the display monitor. Among them, target direction specifying means for specifying one of the traveling directions as the target direction, and a non-posted place name that is a destination name not shown on the direction guide signboard for the target direction specified by the target direction specifying means to the user Notification means for notifying.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first aspect, the notifying means notifies the user of the name of the non-posted place by displaying or outputting the name of the non-posted place in the target direction on the display monitor. It is.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the second aspect, the notifying means displays the destination name at the next intersection when traveling ahead in the target direction as a non-posted name for the target direction. Display or audio output.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the second aspect, the destination name in the target direction at the front intersection is the same as the destination name in the next intersection when traveling in the target direction at the front intersection. In this case, the notifying means further displays or outputs the destination name at the next intersection on the display monitor as a non-posted place name for the target direction.
Invention of Claim 5 is a navigation apparatus as described in any one of Claims 2-4. WHEREIN: The touchscreen means which detects the touchscreen operation with respect to a display monitor is further provided, and object direction specific | specification means is the direction displayed on the display monitor. When a touch panel operation for designating any one of the destination name portions shown in the simulated image of the guidance signboard is detected by the touch panel means, the traveling direction corresponding to the destination name portion is specified as the target direction.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first aspect, the notifying means displays the simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard including the name of the non-posted place in the target direction on the display monitor. The place name is notified to the user.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the sixth aspect, the notifying means displays a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection when the forward intersection is advanced in the target direction, and the new direction guidance signboard This is displayed on the display monitor as a simulated image.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device of the seventh aspect, one of the traveling directions indicated in the simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard is identified as the target direction by the target direction identifying means. In this case, the notification means displays a simulated image of the direction guide signboard at the next intersection after the next intersection on the display monitor.
The invention according to claim 9 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising touch panel means for detecting a touch panel operation on the display monitor, wherein the target direction specifying means is a direction displayed on the display monitor. When a touch panel operation for designating any one of the arrow parts indicated in the simulated image of the guide sign is detected by the touch panel means, the traveling direction corresponding to the arrow part is specified as the target direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to notify the driver of the vehicle also about a destination that is not shown in the direction guidance signboard at the front intersection.

  A configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. This navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, and when the vehicle approaches an intersection or a branch point, the driver (user) of the vehicle determines which direction to proceed when passing through the intersection or branch point. In order to make it easier, an image simulating a direction guide signboard at the intersection or branching point is displayed on the screen. Further, when the user selects one of the traveling directions in the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard displayed on the screen, the user is notified of a destination name that is not shown in the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard regarding the traveling direction. This allows the user to determine the direction of travel without notifying the user of the destination of the vehicle when the destination indicated on the direction guide sign is further advanced or without knowing the location of the destination name indicated on the direction guide sign I can do it. In the following description, the intersection and the branch point are collectively referred to as an intersection.

  The navigation device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control circuit 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, current location detection device 14, image memory 15, display monitor 16, input device 17, disk drive 18, microphone 20, and speaker 21. The disc drive 18 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 19 in which map data is recorded.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various processes and controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19, the control circuit 11 performs processing such as displaying a map, setting a destination, and searching for a recommended route to the set destination. Further, by performing a known voice recognition process in the control circuit 11 using a method such as collating a voice signal input from the microphone 20 with a voice signal pattern stored in advance, the user's speech content is voice-recognized. .

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle, that is, the location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro sensor 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects the vehicle speed, and a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. It consists of various sensors, such as a GPS sensor 14c for detecting. The navigation device 1 can determine a route search start point, which will be described later, based on the vehicle position detected by the current location detection device 14, or can display a vehicle position mark on a map.

  The image memory 15 temporarily stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes map drawing data for displaying a map, various graphic data, and the like, and is created by the control circuit 11 based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19. The created image data is output from the control circuit 11 to the image memory 15, whereby a map and various images are displayed on the display monitor 16.

  A touch panel 16a is combined with the display monitor 16, and when any position on the display monitor 16 is touched by a user's finger or the like, information indicating the touch position is output from the touch panel 16a to the control circuit 11. . Based on the touch position information, the control circuit 11 determines which part of the image displayed on the display monitor 16 is touched at that time. The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment performs various processes according to touch panel operations from the user detected by the touch panel 16a and the control circuit 11.

  The input device 17 has various input switches for the user to set a destination and a transit point of the vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a destination). The input device 17 is realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. The user operates the input device 17 to input an address, a telephone number, a facility name, specify a specific point on the map, or select one of registered locations registered in advance. , You can set the destination.

  The disk drive 18 reads map data for displaying a map from the loaded DVD-ROM 19. This map data includes route calculation data used for route search to the destination, route guidance data used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the set route, such as intersection name and road name, and road The road data that represents is included. The map data also includes background data representing map shapes other than roads such as rivers, railways, various facilities on the map (landmarks), and the like.

  In the road data, the minimum unit representing a road section is called a link, and each road is composed of a plurality of links. A point connecting the links is called a node, and each node has position information (coordinate information). The link shape, that is, the shape of the road is determined based on the position information of the node.

  Although an example using a DVD-ROM is described here, the map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM, such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, or a memory card. Or it is good also as receiving the map data transmitted via a mobile telephone line etc. from the outside, and using the map data. That is, any method may be used for acquiring map data.

  When the user operates the input device 17 to set the destination by the method as described above, the navigation device 1 uses the current location detected by the current location detection device 14 as a route search start point based on the above-described route calculation data. A route search from the current location to the destination is performed by calculating a predetermined algorithm. The recommended route obtained as a result of the route search is displayed on the map separately from other roads by changing its display form, for example, display color. Thus, the user can recognize the recommended route on the map displayed on the display monitor 16. In addition, the navigation device 1 guides the host vehicle by instructing the traveling direction by an image or voice to the user so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. Thus, route guidance to the destination is performed by displaying the map and guiding the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route.

  The microphone 20 detects the voice uttered by the user, converts it into a voice signal, and outputs it to the control circuit 11. Note that the microphone 20 has been provided with driving information that will be described later when a voice recognition button (not shown) is pressed by the user in order to prevent erroneous voice recognition other than when the user speaks. Sometimes start detecting voice.

  The speaker 21 outputs various sounds based on the audio signal output from the control circuit 11. For example, a voice for instructing a traveling direction at the time of route guidance is output from the speaker 21. Note that the speaker 21 is also used when outputting a non-posted place name that is not posted on a direction guide sign as described later.

  Next, the operation content when displaying the direction guidance signboard in the navigation device 1 will be described. When the distance to the intersection in front of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance, the navigation device 1 displays a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the intersection on the display monitor 16. The direction guide signboard is a guide plate for notifying the vehicle driver of the destination in each traveling direction at an actual intersection, and is installed in the vicinity of the intersection such as above the road ahead of the intersection. In this direction guide signboard, a plurality of arrows indicating the traveling direction of the intersection and a destination name for each traveling direction are shown. An image simulating such a direction guide sign is displayed on the screen of the navigation device 1 until the vehicle passes through the intersection.

  At this time, it is not necessary to display a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard for all the intersections. That is, an intersection or the like where no direction guide sign is present on an actual road may be excluded from a target for displaying a simulated image of the direction guide sign. Alternatively, a simulated image of a direction guide sign indicating an appropriate destination name may be displayed even if there is no direction guide sign on an actual road.

  Further, when a simulated image of the direction guide sign is displayed on the display monitor 16 when the navigation device 1 designates one of the traveling directions in the simulated image of the direction guide sign by the touch panel operation, The user is notified of the name of the destination that is not indicated on the direction guide signboard in the direction of travel. The specific method will be described below. In the following description, a destination name that is not shown in the direction guide signboard is referred to as a non-posted place name.

  There are the following two methods for notifying users of non-posted place names. The first notification method is to display or voice output a destination name at the next intersection (hereinafter simply referred to as the next intersection) when the intersection ahead of the vehicle is advanced in the direction of travel specified by the user. This is a method for notifying the name of the non-posting place. In the first notification method, the destination place name at the next intersection is displayed or output as a non-posted place name while the simulated image of the direction guide sign for the intersection in front of the vehicle is still displayed. The second notification method is a method of notifying the name of a non-posted place by displaying a simulated image of a direction guide signboard at the next intersection. In this second notification method, instead of the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard for the intersection in front of the vehicle, the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection changes the name of the non-posted place in the previous direction guidance signboard to the destination name. It is displayed as a simulated image of a new direction guide signboard that includes it.

  A specific example of the first notification method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is an example of a screen when a simulated image of a direction guide sign at an intersection in front of the vehicle is displayed on the display monitor 16. In the screen example of FIG. 2A, a map around the vehicle is displayed, and a host vehicle position mark 30 indicating the vehicle position is displayed on the map. When the vehicle represented by the vehicle position mark 30 approaches within a predetermined distance from the front intersection 31, a simulated image 32 simulating a direction guide sign is displayed at the intersection 31.

  In the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard, similarly to the actual direction guidance signage installed in the vicinity of the intersection 31, three-direction arrows representing the traveling directions at the intersection 31 and destination names in the respective traveling directions are displayed. It is shown. As a result, the user can see that the straight ahead at the intersection 31 is toward “A city”, the left turn toward “B town”, and the right turn toward “C town”. By displaying such a simulated image 32 of the direction guide signboard, the user can know in which direction to proceed at the intersection 31 before the intersection 31.

  In the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19, direction guidance signboard data for displaying a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard as described above is recorded for each intersection. A simulated image 32 of the direction guide sign is displayed at the intersection 31 based on the direction guide sign data included in the map data. At this time, the display content of the simulated image of the direction guide sign changes depending on the direction in which the vehicle enters the intersection 31. That is, when the vehicle enters the intersection 31 from the direction shown in FIG. 2A, a simulated image of the direction guide sign as shown by reference numeral 32 is displayed, but when the vehicle enters from another direction, Displays a simulated image of the direction signboard with different contents. For this purpose, in the direction guidance signboard data, a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard is set with different contents depending on the approach direction of the intersection.

  In addition to the information for displaying the simulated image of the direction guide signboard as described above for each intersection, the direction guide signboard data further includes destination place name information that represents the destination name for each traveling direction of each intersection, Connection information representing a connection relationship with an adjacent intersection is included for each traveling direction of each intersection. By using this destination name information and connection information, the destination name can be obtained for the next intersection, and a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection can be quickly retrieved and displayed.

  In the state where the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard described above is displayed, among the destination name portions in the respective traveling directions shown in the simulated image 32, as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the destination name portion is designated by the user's touch panel operation. At this time, the straight direction corresponding to the destination name of “A city” is specified as the target direction when notifying the non-posted place name. Then, the name of the destination at the next intersection when traveling in the straight direction at the intersection 31 is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a non-posted place name.

  FIG. 2C shows an example of a screen when the destination name at the next intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a non-posted place name as described above. In this screen example, “D city”, which is a non-posted place name, is displayed by a balloon 33 for the destination name “A city” touched by the user in the simulated image 32 of the direction guide signboard. This “D city” is the name of the destination at the next intersection, where the name of the destination in the case of continuing straight ahead is displayed as a non-posted place name. In this way, the non-posted place name is notified to the user. At this time, if the destination name at the next intersection is also “A city”, the destination name at the next intersection is further displayed as a non-posted place name. In addition, the destination name displayed at this time may not be only “D city” in the straight direction. You may display the destination name of all the advancing directions in the next intersection as a non-posting place name.

  In addition, when a traveling direction other than the straight traveling direction is specified as the target direction, the destination name at the next intersection when the vehicle travels in the target direction is not displayed in the same manner as the straight traveling direction described above. The place name is displayed on the display monitor 16. That is, when the destination name portion of “B town” is specified by the user's touch panel operation in the simulated image 32 of the direction guide signboard, the corresponding left turn direction is specified as the target direction. Then, the destination name at the next intersection when traveling in the left turn direction at the intersection 31 is displayed in a balloon as indicated by reference numeral 33 as a non-posted place name. Similarly, when the destination name portion of “C town” is designated by the user's touch panel operation, the corresponding right turn direction is specified as the target direction, and the destination name at the next intersection when the intersection 31 is advanced in the right turn direction is It is displayed as a non-posted place name.

  In the above description, the example of notifying the user of the non-posted place name by displaying “D city”, which is the destination name of the next intersection, on the display monitor 16 is described using the screen example of FIG. This may be notified to the user by outputting the sound. In other words, the name of the non-posting place name can be notified by outputting the text of the balloon 33 from the speaker 21 by voice. Furthermore, both display on the display monitor 16 and sound output may be performed.

  In the above description, the example in which the user specifies the target direction for notifying the non-posted place name by operating the touch panel has been described, but this may be performed by voice recognition. That is, when the user designates one of the traveling directions by uttering voice to the microphone 20, the voice is recognized by the voice recognition process of the control circuit 11. Based on the result of the speech recognition, the traveling direction designated by the user is specified as the target direction. For example, when the user utters “A city”, the corresponding straight traveling direction is specified as the target direction in the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard. Similarly, when the user utters “B town”, the corresponding left turn direction is specified as the target direction, and when the user utters “C town”, the corresponding right turn direction is specified as the target direction.

  In the first notification method, the non-posted place name is notified to the user as described above. Next, a specific example of the second notification method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A shows an example of a screen when a simulated image 32 of a direction guide sign at an intersection 31 in front of the vehicle is displayed on the display monitor 16. This screen example is the same as the screen example in FIG.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is assumed that the straight arrow portion of the arrow portion shown in the simulated image 32 of the direction guide signboard is designated by the user's touch panel operation. At this time, the traveling direction corresponding to the touched arrow portion, that is, the straight traveling direction, is specified as the target direction when the non-posted place name is notified. Then, instead of the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard, the simulated image of the direction guidance signage at the next intersection when traveling straight in the intersection 31 is a new direction guidance including the name of the unposted place in the previous direction guidance signage. It is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a simulated image of a signboard.

  FIG. 3C shows a screen example when a simulated image of the direction guide signboard at the next intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16 as described above. In this screen example, instead of the simulated image 32 of the direction guide sign displayed for the intersection 31, the simulated image 34 of the direction guide sign at the next intersection is displayed as a non-posted place name on the screen of FIG. It is displayed as a simulated image of a new direction guide signboard including a certain “D city” and “E village”. In this way, the non-posted place name is notified to the user.

  In addition, if any arrow part shown in the simulated image 34 of the direction guidance signboard is further designated by the user's touch panel operation on the screen of FIG. 3C, the traveling direction corresponding to the arrow part is further increased. A simulated image of the direction guide signboard at the next intersection is newly displayed. In this way, each time the arrow portion is touched in the displayed simulated image of the direction guide signboard, new simulated image of the direction guide signboard is displayed one after another in the traveling direction. At this time, for example, characters such as “first forward” shown in FIG. 3C are displayed together so that it can be understood what number the intersection is in the direction guide.

  Even when a traveling direction other than the straight traveling direction is specified as the target direction, in the same way as in the case of the straight traveling direction described above, a direction guide signboard at the next intersection when traveling in the target direction is simulated. An image is displayed on the display monitor 16. That is, in the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard, when the arrow portion in the left turn direction is designated by the user's touch panel operation, the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection when the intersection 31 is advanced in the left turn direction is displayed. The Similarly, when the arrow portion in the right turn direction is designated by the touch panel operation by the user, a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection when the intersection 31 is advanced in the right turn direction is displayed.

  In the second notification method, as described in the first notification method, the user may specify the target direction for notifying the non-posted place name by voice recognition. That is, when the user designates one of the traveling directions by uttering voice to the microphone 20, the voice is recognized by the voice recognition process of the control circuit 11. Based on the result of the speech recognition, the traveling direction designated by the user is specified as the target direction. For example, when the user utters “straight ahead”, the straight direction is specified as the target direction in the simulated image 32 of the direction guide signboard. Similarly, when the user utters “left”, the left turn direction is specified as the target direction, and when the user utters “right”, the right turn direction is specified as the target direction.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart executed in the control circuit 11 when notifying the user of the non-posted place name as described above. In step S10, it is determined whether there is an intersection within a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle. If there is an intersection within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S20, it is determined whether there is a direction guide sign at the intersection determined to be within the predetermined distance in step S10. This determination is made based on the above-mentioned direction guidance signboard data included in the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19. If there is a direction guide sign, the process proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, if there is no direction guide sign, the process returns to step S10 and stays at step S10 until another intersection comes within a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle.

  In step S30, a simulated image of the direction guidance sign is displayed for the intersection determined to be within the predetermined distance in step S10. Thereby, on the display monitor 16, the simulated image 32 of the direction guidance signboard about the intersection 31 is displayed as shown to Fig.2 (a) and Fig.3 (a).

  In step S40, it is determined whether or not any of the destination name portions shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed in step S30 has been selected by the user. This selection is performed by touch panel operation or voice recognition as described above. If any one of the destination name portions is selected, the process proceeds to step S50, and if not selected, the process proceeds to step S100. Hereinafter, the case where the process proceeds to step S50 will be described first.

  When the process proceeds from step S40 to step S50, in step S50, the target direction for notifying the user of the non-posted place name is specified. Here, the traveling direction corresponding to the destination name portion determined to be selected by the user in step S40 is specified as the target direction. Thus, for example, when the destination name portion of “A city” is selected as shown in FIG. 2B, the straight direction corresponding to the destination name portion is specified as the target direction.

  In step S60, the next intersection in the target direction specified in step S50 is specified. Here, the next intersection when the intersection ahead of the vehicle detected in step S10 is advanced in the target direction specified in step S50 is specified as the next intersection in the target direction.

  In step S70, it is determined whether or not there is a direction guidance signboard at the intersection specified in step S60. This determination is also made on the basis of the direction guide signboard data included in the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19 as in step S20. If there is a direction guide sign, the process proceeds to step S80. On the other hand, if there is no direction guide signboard, the process returns to step S60, and the next intersection is further specified in step S60, and then the determination in step S70 is performed again. As a result, intersections without direction guidance signs are excluded from processing targets.

  In step S80, the destination name in the target direction at the intersection in front of the vehicle, that is, the destination name indicated in the target direction in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed in step S30, and the destination name in the next intersection specified in step S60 Are determined to be the same. If these destination names are the same, the process returns to step S60, the next intersection is further specified in step S60, and the determinations in steps S70 and S80 are performed again. As a result, when the destination name at the intersection in front of the vehicle is the same as the destination name at the next intersection, the next intersection is excluded from processing, and the next intersection is further processed.

  In step S90, the name of the next destination is output by displaying or outputting the destination name of the next intersection specified in step S60. Thereby, when the next destination name is displayed, the balloon 33 shown in FIG. 2C is displayed on the display monitor 16. If step S90 is performed, it will progress to step S150.

  On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S40 to step S100, in step S100, it is determined whether any of the arrow portions indicated in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed in step S30 has been selected by the user. This selection is also performed by touch panel operation or voice recognition as in step S40 described above. If any of the arrow portions is selected, the process proceeds to step S110, and if not selected, the process proceeds to step S150.

  In step S110, the target direction when notifying the user of the non-posted place name is specified. Here, the traveling direction corresponding to the arrow portion determined to be selected by the user in step S100 is specified as the target direction. Thereby, for example, when an arrow portion in the straight direction is selected as shown in FIG. 3B, the straight direction is specified as the target direction.

  In step S120, the next intersection in the target direction specified in step S110 is specified as in step S60 described above. That is, the next intersection when the intersection in front of the vehicle detected in step S10 proceeds in the target direction specified in step S110 is specified as the next intersection in the target direction.

  In step S130, as in step S70 described above, based on the direction guide signboard data included in the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19, it is determined whether or not there is a direction guide signboard at the intersection specified in step S120. . If there is a direction guide sign, the process proceeds to step S140. On the other hand, when there is no direction guidance signboard, the process returns to step S120, and the next intersection is further specified in step S120, and then the determination in step S130 is performed again. As a result, intersections without direction guidance signs are excluded from processing targets.

  In step S140, the simulated image of the next direction guidance signboard is displayed by displaying the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard of the intersection specified in step S120 on the display monitor 16. Thereby, the simulation image 34 of the new direction guidance signboard shown in FIG.3 (c) is displayed. If step S140 is performed, it will progress to step S150.

  In step S150, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the forward intersection detected in step S10. If it has not passed yet, it returns to Step S40 and repeats processing after Step S40 explained above. If a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard for the next intersection is displayed by executing step S140 at this time, the determination of step S40 and step S100 is executed for the simulated image of the direction guidance signage. To do. As a result, the destination name at the next intersection and the simulated image of the direction guide sign are displayed on the display monitor 16 in accordance with the user's operation. On the other hand, if the vehicle passes through the front intersection, the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S160, the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed in step S30 or step S140 is erased from the display monitor 16. If step S160 is performed, it will return to step S10 and the above processes will be repeated. As described above, the non-posted place name is notified to the user.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) A simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the front intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16 (step S30), and any one of the traveling directions indicated in the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard is set as the target direction. Specify (steps S50 and S110). For the target direction thus identified, the destination name at the next intersection is output and the direction guidance sign is displayed (steps S90 and S140), so that the non-posted place name that is not indicated on the direction guidance sign is displayed. It was decided to notify the user. Since it did in this way, the driver | operator of a vehicle can be notified also about the destination which is not shown by the direction guidance signboard in the front intersection.

(2) In step S90, the name of the non-posted place for the specified target direction is displayed on the display monitor 16 or output by voice so that the name of the non-posted place is notified to the user. Specifically, the next intersection when proceeding in the target direction at the preceding intersection is specified (step S60), and the destination name at the intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16 in step S90 as a non-posted place name for the target direction. Or decided to output the voice. Since it did in this way, an appropriate non-posting place name can be notified to a user.

(3) It is determined whether the destination name in the target direction at the preceding intersection is the same as the destination name in the next intersection when the forward intersection is advanced in the target direction (step S80). If the place names are the same, the next intersection is further specified in step S60, and the destination name at the intersection is displayed or voice-output on the display monitor 16 in step S90 as a non-posted place name for the target direction. Since it did in this way, even if the destination name in the next intersection is not a non-posted place name, the user can be notified of the non-posted place name by the destination name in the next intersection.

(4) When a touch panel operation for designating any one of the destination name portions shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed on the display monitor 16 is detected by the touch panel 16a and the control circuit 11 (step S40), the destination The traveling direction corresponding to the place name portion is set as the target direction, and the target direction is specified in step S50. Since it did in this way, the user can designate the object direction which displays a non-posting place name with respect to the navigation apparatus 1 by simple operation.

(5) In step S140, a simulated image of a new direction guidance signboard including the name of the non-posted place for the specified target direction is displayed on the display monitor 16, thereby notifying the user of the non-posted place name. Specifically, the next intersection when the forward intersection is advanced in the target direction is specified (step S120), and the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the intersection is used as a simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard in step S140. It was decided to display on the display monitor 16. Since it did in this way, an appropriate non-posting place name can be notified to a user like (2) above.

(6) If any one of the traveling directions indicated in the simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard displayed in step S140 is specified as the target direction in step S110, the next intersection is further stepped. A simulation image of the direction guidance signboard specified at S120 and displayed at the intersection is displayed on the display monitor 16 at step S140. Since it did in this way, the simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard about the intersection which continues in an object direction is displayed one after another according to a user's operation, and this can notify a user of various non-posting place names.

(7) When a touch panel operation for designating any one of the arrow parts shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed on the display monitor 16 is detected by the touch panel 16a and the control circuit 11 (step S100), the arrow part In step S110, the target direction is specified with the traveling direction corresponding to the target direction as the target direction. Since it did in this way, similarly to said (4), the user can designate the object direction which displays a non-posting place name with respect to the navigation apparatus 1 by simple operation.

  The embodiment and various modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the 1st notification method of a non-posting place name. It is a figure for demonstrating the 2nd notification method of a non-posting place name. It is a flowchart performed when notifying a user of a non-posting place name.

Explanation of symbols

1 Navigation device 11 Control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 17 Input device 18 Disk drive 19 DVD-ROM
20 Microphone 21 Speaker

Claims (9)

Display control means for displaying a simulated image of the direction guide signboard at the front intersection on a display monitor;
A target direction specifying means for specifying one of the traveling directions as the target direction among the traveling directions shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed on the display monitor;
A navigation device comprising: a notification means for notifying a user of a non-posted place name which is a destination place name not indicated on the direction guide signboard for the target direction specified by the target direction specifying means. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The said notification means displays the non-posting place name about the said direction on the said display monitor, or outputs it by voice, The navigation apparatus characterized by notifying a user of the non-posting place name. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein
The notification means displays or outputs a destination name at the next intersection when traveling forward in the target direction on the display monitor or as a non-posted name for the target direction. apparatus. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein
When the destination name in the target direction at the front intersection is the same as the destination name at the next intersection when the forward intersection is advanced in the target direction,
The notification means further displays a destination name at the next intersection on the display monitor or outputs a voice as a non-posted place name for the target direction. In the navigation apparatus as described in any one of Claims 2-4,
Touch panel means for detecting a touch panel operation on the display monitor,
When the touch panel operation is detected by the touch panel means to specify any one of the destination name portions shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed on the display monitor, the target direction specifying means A navigation device characterized by specifying a corresponding traveling direction as a target direction. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The said notification means displays the non-posting place name to a user by displaying the simulation image of the new direction guidance signboard containing the non-posting place name about the said direction on the said display monitor. The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein
The notification means displays on the display monitor a simulated image of the direction guidance signboard at the next intersection when traveling in the target direction at the front intersection on the display monitor as a simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard. Navigation device. The navigation device according to claim 7,
Among the traveling directions shown in the simulated image of the new direction guidance signboard, when any traveling direction is specified as the target direction by the target direction specifying means,
The said notification means displays the simulated image of the direction guidance signboard in the next intersection further on the said next intersection on the said display monitor. The navigation device according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
Touch panel means for detecting a touch panel operation on the display monitor,
The target direction specifying means corresponds to an arrow portion when a touch panel operation for designating any one of the arrow portions shown in the simulated image of the direction guide sign displayed on the display monitor is detected by the touch panel means. A navigation device that identifies a traveling direction as a target direction.

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