JP2010156658A - Navigation system, position information reception method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately relate a digital map to a position on the basis of a small amount of received data. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation system 1 receives traffic information from a traffic information reception part 20. When there is only one combination where the distance between a position indicated by position information indicated only by coordinates (latitude and longitude) included in received service area information and the position of a service area stored in a map DB 51 is equal to or less than a threshold value, the navigation system 1 performs the processing of relating both service areas to each other as they are the same one. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that stores digital map data, a position information receiving method, and a program.

  Currently, traffic information such as traffic congestion information and parking lot availability information is provided from traffic information systems such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System), and traffic jams and parking lot availability are displayed on a digital map. There are navigation devices for vehicles.

  Digital map data is created by a plurality of manufacturers, and there are a plurality of types. For this reason, the digital map data used in the traffic information service on the transmission side and the digital map data used in the navigation device for the vehicle on the reception side may be different types of digital map data. In this case, a positional (coordinate) shift may occur between the digital map data on the transmission side and the reception side. Therefore, there is a possibility that the position of a specific point (such as a traffic jam occurrence point or a parking lot location) included in the traffic information transmitted from the transmitting side cannot be correctly associated with the position on the receiving side map.

  In Patent Document 1, the transmitting side transmits attribute data (position data) and shape data of a reference point to the receiving side, and the receiving side performs map matching based on the received information and its own digital map data. Thus, a technique for correcting the position of the target point on the digital map data is described.

  In Patent Document 2, when the road position is transmitted, the information providing side transmits coordinate information, additional information, and relative information as road position information, and the receiving side performs shape matching to identify the corresponding road section on the digital map. However, a technique is described in which the road shape can be specified with high accuracy even with a small amount of coordinate information by specifying the road position in the road section using relative information.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-300394 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-066146

  In the techniques described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, since it is necessary to transmit the shape data of the surrounding road as additional information to the position information (coordinate information), it is necessary to create additional information on the transmission side, which is troublesome. Further, since additional information is also transmitted, the amount of communication data becomes large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a navigation device, a position information receiving method, and a program capable of accurately associating a position with a digital map with a small amount of received data. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention provides:
A navigation device mounted on a vehicle,
Map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map, including position information of a specific point;
Receiving means for receiving specific point information regarding a specific point whose position is specified by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received by the receiving means Determining means for determining the specific point information;
Associating means for performing an associating process for associating position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining means to correspond to the specific point;
It is characterized by providing.

  The determination means has a distance within a predetermined distance with respect to the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data, and the same position as the position on the road on which the vehicle is traveling The specific point information on the side may be determined as corresponding specific point information.

  The associating means sets the coordinates included in the specific spot information received by the receiving means to the position indicated by the position information of the specific spot on the digital map determined by the determining means when corresponding to the specific spot information. It may be corrected.

  The specific point information may be information related to a highway service area.

In order to achieve the above object, a position information receiving method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes:
A position information receiving method executed by a navigation device having map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map including position information of a specific point,
A receiving step for receiving specific point information about a specific point whose position is specified by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received in the receiving step A determining step of determining the specific point information to be performed;
An associating step for performing an associating process for associating the position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining step to correspond to the specific point;
It is characterized by providing.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to the third aspect of the present invention provides:
The computer installed in the vehicle
Map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map, including position information of a specific point;
Receiving means for receiving specific point information related to a specific point whose position is designated by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received by the receiving means Determining means for determining the specific point information
Associating means for performing an associating process for associating position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining means to correspond to the specific point;
It is made to function as.

  According to the present invention, the data indicating the same point is determined and associated based on the distance between the position indicated by the transmission side data and the position indicated by the reception side data. Can be associated with a position on the digital map.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of SA information included in traffic information, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of SA information contained in map data. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the service area corresponding | compatible process. 5 is a flowchart for explaining determination processing 1; It is a figure which shows the example of matching of SA information. 10 is a flowchart for explaining determination processing 2; It is a figure which shows the example of matching of SA information. It is the figure which showed the example of SA congestion status list screen.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the navigation device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and has a function of displaying the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle on a map on the screen and guiding the route to the destination to the driver.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the navigation device 1. The navigation device 1 includes a position detection unit 10, a traffic information reception unit 20, a display unit 30, an input unit 40, a storage unit 50, and a control unit 60.

  The position detection unit 10 includes sensors such as a GPS module, a gyro sensor, and a vehicle speed pulse sensor, detects the current position (latitude, longitude), traveling direction, and the like of the vehicle, and transmits the detected position to the control unit 60.

  The traffic information receiving unit 20 includes a VICS module and the like, and receives traffic information from a traffic information providing center (not shown). Then, the traffic information receiving unit 20 supplies the received traffic information to the control unit 60 at every predetermined timing. The traffic information is information including road information (for example, information on traffic jams, traffic regulations, traffic accidents, etc.), information on service areas of highways (hereinafter referred to as SA information), and the like. The traffic information receiving unit 20 may acquire road information by performing data communication with a predetermined data transmitter / receiver installed on the road side of the road by a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) method.

  FIG. 2A shows an example of SA information included in the traffic information. The SA information includes position information indicating the position of the service area indicated by coordinates (latitude, longitude), congestion information indicating the congestion status, and the like. The position information included in the SA information is represented only by coordinates (longitude, latitude), and includes information that can identify the name of the route on which the service area is installed and the vertical line, road shape information, and the like. Make it not exist.

  The display unit 30 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like, and displays a navigation map and various information.

  The input unit 40 includes a predetermined operation panel and the like, and supplies various information to the control unit 60 in accordance with an input operation by a user. For example, the input unit 40 supplies coordinate information indicating a destination to the control unit 60 in accordance with a user operation.

The storage unit 50 includes a storage device such as a hard disk drive, and stores various fixed information, various setting information, and the like. The storage unit 50 stores a map database (map DB) 51. The map DB 51 stores digitized map data including road shapes and names, place names, intersection names, and service area SA information (information indicating service area names, positions, and the like).
The map DB 51 may be rewritable at any time with the latest data according to an instruction from the user or the control unit 60. The storage unit 50 may include other memories such as a flash memory, and may write or read arbitrary data to or from a memory card that can be attached and detached by the user.

  FIG. 2B shows an example of SA information included in the map data of the map DB 51. The SA information includes service area name (SA name), route name, vertical line type, and position information indicating the position of the service area indicated by coordinates (latitude, longitude). Note that the SA information stored in the map DB 51 does not include information that changes over time, such as congestion. Further, the coordinate position (latitude, longitude) indicated by the SA information included in the traffic information shown in FIG. 2A and the coordinate position indicated by the SA information included in the map data shown in FIG. (Latitude, Longitude) may indicate the same service area position, but the coordinates may not match due to differences in the types of digital maps.

  The storage unit 50 also stores data such as a candidate number counter CA and distance determination thresholds L1 and L2 used in a service area association process described later. The threshold values L1 and L2 have a relationship such that the lengths are L1> L2.

  The control unit 60 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a 1-chip microcomputer provided with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like, and controls the entire navigation device 1. The ROM stores in advance a program for causing the CPU to execute a service area association process, which will be described later, and the like. A predetermined work area is secured in the RAM. That is, when the program stored in the ROM is executed by the CPU, the control unit 60 executes a service area association process described later. Specifically, when the control unit 60 acquires the SA information from the traffic information receiving unit 20, the service area indicated by the service area information and the map DB 51 based on the position information indicated by the coordinates included in the acquired SA information. The process for associating with one of the service areas defined by the map data stored in is performed.

  Next, the service area association processing of the navigation device 1 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This service area association process is a process that can be executed in the background, and the navigation device 1 displays a surrounding map on the display unit 30 based on an instruction from the driver even during the service area association process. It is assumed that a route guidance process for displaying or guiding the vehicle to the destination by a screen or voice is performed in real time.

  Each time the control unit 60 receives traffic information from the traffic information receiving unit 20, the control unit 60 performs the service area association processing shown in FIG.

First, the control unit 60 extracts the SA information of the service area existing in the peripheral area of the host vehicle from the map data stored in the map DB 51 based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 10 ( Step S101). In addition, when the route guidance process is being executed, the control unit 60 determines the service area existing in front of the route in the peripheral area of the host vehicle based on the position and the traveling direction of the host vehicle detected by the position detection unit 10. The SA information may be extracted. Moreover, the control part 60 may extract all the SA information contained in the map data memorize | stored in map DB51 irrespective of the position of the own vehicle.
In the following description, it is assumed that n pieces of SA information A (A1 to An) have been extracted in the process of step S101.

Subsequently, based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 10, the control unit 60 extracts SA information located in the peripheral area of the host vehicle from the traffic information received by the traffic information reception unit 20 (step S102). ). When the route guidance process is being executed, the control unit 60 determines the SA information located in front of the route in the peripheral area of the host vehicle based on the position and traveling direction of the host vehicle detected by the position detection unit 10. May be extracted. Moreover, the control part 60 may extract all SA information from the traffic information which the traffic information receiving part 20 received irrespective of the position of the own vehicle.
In the following description, it is assumed that m pieces of SA information B (B1 to Bm) have been extracted in the process of step S102.

  Subsequently, the control unit 60 resets (initializes) the value of the candidate number counter CA stored in the storage unit 50 (step S103). In addition, if there is SA information temporarily stored in the storage unit 50 in the process of step S107 to be described later, the control unit 60 deletes the SA information.

  Subsequently, the control unit 60 selects one Ax that is unselected SA information from the n pieces of SA information A1 to An extracted in Step S101 (Step S104).

  Subsequently, the control unit 60 selects one By that is unselected SA information from the m pieces of SA information B1 to Bn extracted in Step S102 (Step S105).

  Then, the control unit 60 determines the distance between the position indicated by the SA information Ax selected in step S104 and the position indicated by the SA information By selected in step S105 as the position information (latitude, Longitude) and the like, and it is determined whether or not the calculated distance is equal to or less than a threshold value L1 (step S106).

  When it is determined that it is not equal to or less than the threshold value L1 (step S106; No), the control unit 60 moves the process to step S108. When it is determined that the threshold value is equal to or less than the threshold value L1 (step S106; Yes), the control unit 60 temporarily stores in the storage unit 50 a set of SA information Ax and By whose distance is equal to or less than the threshold value L1, and The value of the candidate number counter CA is incremented by 1 (step S107).

  Subsequently, the control unit 60 determines whether or not all of the SA information B1 to Bm has been selected in the process of step S105 (step S108).

  If there is SA information B1 to Bm that has not been selected (step S108; No), the process returns to step S105, and for all the SA information B1 to Bm, the distance from the SA information Ax is less than or equal to the threshold L1. It is determined whether or not there is (Step S106), and if it is equal to or less than the threshold L1 (Step S106; Yes), the process of incrementing the value of the candidate number counter CA (Step S107) is repeated.

  When all of the SA information B1 to Bm are selected (step S108; Yes), the control unit 60 determines the value of the candidate number counter CA (step S109).

  When the value of the candidate number counter CA is 1 (step S109; CA = 1), the control unit 60 executes a determination process 1 described later (step S110). When the determination process 1 ends, the control unit 60 moves the process to step S112.

  When the value of the candidate number counter CA is 2 or more (step S109; CA ≧ 2), the control unit 60 executes a determination process 2 described later (step S111). When the determination process 2 ends, the control unit 60 moves the process to step S112.

  When the value of the candidate number counter CA is 0 (step S109; CA = 0), the distances between the position indicated by the SA information Ax and the positions indicated by the SA information B1 to Bm are all separated by a threshold L1 or more. It will be. Therefore, the SA information corresponding to the SA information Ax in the map DB 51 is not included in the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving unit 20, and the control unit 60 moves the process to step S112.

  In step S112, the control unit 60 determines whether or not all the SA information A1 to An has been selected in the process of step S104 (step S112).

  If there is SA information A1 to An that has not been selected (step S112; No), the process returns to step S103, and the same process (steps S103 to S111) is subsequently performed for all the SA information A1 to An. repeat.

  When all of the SA information A1 to An is selected (step S112; Yes), the process ends.

(Judgment process 1)
Next, the determination process 1 (step S110) of the service area association process described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the determination process 1 uses the value of the candidate number counter CA as 1 as a start condition (step S109; CA = 1), so the SA information A determined that the distance therebetween is within the threshold L1, One set of B is temporarily stored in the storage unit 50.

  When the determination process 1 (step S110) is started, the control unit 60 determines that the distance between them is within the threshold L1 based on the map data in the map DB 51 and the position data and direction data detected by the position detection unit 10. It is determined whether or not the positions indicated by the set of SA information A and B determined to be present are in the same direction as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling (step S201).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the SA information A and the SA information B are located on the same left side as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and therefore it is determined Yes in the process of step S201. In the example of FIG. 5B, the SA information A and the SA information B are located on the left and right sides as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling, so that it is determined as No in the process of step S201. .

  Returning to FIG. 4, when it is determined that the SA information A and B are not located in the same direction (step S201; No), the SA information A and B does not indicate the same service area. The determination process 1 ends.

When it is determined that the SA information A and B are located in the same direction (step S201; Yes), the control unit 60 performs a process of associating the SA information A and B as indicating the same service area. It performs (step S202). Specifically, as the association process, a process of correcting the position of the SA information B of the received traffic information to the position of the SA information A of the map data to be associated may be performed. Note that the SA information A and B to be associated may be stored in association with a correspondence table (not shown) to store the association information.
Thus, the determination process 1 ends.

(Judgment process 2)
Subsequently, the determination process 2 (step S111) of the service area association process described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Since the determination process 2 uses the value of the candidate number counter CA as 2 or more as a starting condition (step S109; CA ≧ 2), the SA information A and the SA information A and the distance are within the threshold L1. A plurality of sets of two or more pieces of SA information B are temporarily stored in the storage unit 50.

  When the determination process 2 (step S111) is started, the control unit 60 determines that the distance between them is within the threshold L1 based on the map data in the map DB 51 and the position data and direction data detected by the position detection unit 10. Among the plurality of sets of SA information A and B determined to be present, the number of sets in which the positions indicated by the SA information A and B are in the same direction as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling is determined (step) S301).

For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, 3 of (A, B1), (A, B2), and (A, B3) are formed of SA information A and SA information B whose distance is within L1. Consider the case where there are two pairs.
In FIG. 7A, in all of these SA information sets, the SA information A and B are located on the left and right sides as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling, so the determination result of the process in step S301 Becomes 0.
In FIG. 7B, only (A, B1) of these SA information sets is located on the same left side as SA information A and B when viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling. The determination result of the process in step S301 is 1.
In FIG. 7C, of these SA information sets, two sets (A, B1) and (A, B2) are SA information A and B as viewed from the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Are located on the same left side, the determination result of the process of step S301 is 2.

  Returning to FIG. 6, when there is no pair of SA information A and B in the same direction (step S301; 0), there is no combination to associate SA information, and the determination process 2 ends.

When there is only one set of SA information A and B in the same direction (step S301; 1), the control unit 60 indicates the same service area with the SA information A and B of the set Associating with each other (step S302). This process is substantially equivalent to step S202 of the determination process 1 described above.
Thus, the determination process 2 ends.

  When there are a plurality of sets of SA information A and B positioned in the same direction (step S301; a plurality), the control unit 60 determines the distance between the positions indicated by the SA information A and B for each of these sets as a threshold value. It is determined whether or not it is equal to or smaller than L2, and it is determined whether or not there is only one SA information set whose distance is equal to or smaller than the threshold L2 (step S303).

  If there is one or more sets of SA information A and B whose distance is equal to or less than the threshold L2 or none (step S303; No), there is no combination that associates SA information, and the determination process 2 ends.

When there is only one set of SA information whose distance is equal to or less than the threshold L2 (step S303; Yes), the control unit 60 associates the SA information A and B of the set as indicating the same service area. Is performed (step S302).
Thus, the determination process 2 ends.

  As described above, in this embodiment, even if the position information of the SA information received by the traffic information receiving unit 20 is only the data of the coordinates (latitude, longitude), the distance from the SA information on the map data and the traveling road can be viewed. SA information corresponding to the same service area can be associated with each other with high accuracy based on the determined direction.

  Then, after the service area association processing is completed, for example, when the traffic information reception unit 20 receives congestion information of the SA information received by the user or the like on the map of the map DB 51, the icon is received. By correcting and displaying the position of the SA information to the position of the SA information of the map data associated by the service area association processing, the information can be displayed with high accuracy.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, when a list of service area names and vertical line types defined in the map DB 51 is associated with the congestion status acquired from the received SA information, the service area can be displayed. It is possible to display accurately based on the relationship associated in the attaching process.

The present embodiment can be variously modified and applied.
For example, in the present embodiment, the received SA information is associated with the SA information of the map data, but the present invention can also be applied to a process of associating information indicating a parking lot or a specific facility.

  A program for operating the navigation device 1 as all or part of the device is stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a memory card, CD-ROM, DVD, MO (Magneto Optical disk) and distributed. This may be installed in another computer and operated as the above-described means, or the above-described steps may be executed.

  Furthermore, the program may be stored in a disk device or the like included in a server device on the Internet, and may be downloaded onto a computer by being superimposed on a carrier wave, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 10 Position detection part 20 Traffic information receiving part 30 Display part 40 Input part 50 Storage part 66 Control part

Claims (6)

A navigation device mounted on a vehicle,
Map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map, including position information of a specific point;
Receiving means for receiving specific point information regarding a specific point whose position is specified by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received by the receiving means Determining means for determining the specific point information;
Associating means for performing an associating process for associating position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining means to correspond to the specific point;
A navigation device comprising: The determination means has a distance within a predetermined distance with respect to the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data, and the same position as the position on the road on which the vehicle is traveling The specific point information on the side is determined as corresponding specific point information,
The navigation device according to claim 1. The associating means sets the coordinates included in the specific spot information received by the receiving means to the position indicated by the position information of the specific spot on the digital map determined by the determining means when corresponding to the specific spot information. to correct,
The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The specific point information is information related to a highway service area.
The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein A position information receiving method executed by a navigation device having map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map including position information of a specific point,
A receiving step for receiving specific point information about a specific point whose position is specified by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received in the receiving step A determining step of determining the specific point information to be performed;
An associating step for performing an associating process for associating the position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining step to correspond to the specific point;
A position information receiving method comprising: The computer installed in the vehicle
Map data storage means for storing map data for displaying a digital map, including position information of a specific point;
Receiving means for receiving specific point information related to a specific point whose position is designated by coordinates distributed from an external system;
Corresponding to a specific point on the digital map based on the distance between the position indicated by the position information of the specific point included in the map data and the position indicated by the coordinates included in the specific point information received by the receiving means Determining means for determining the specific point information
Associating means for performing an associating process for associating position information of the specific point on the digital map with the specific point information determined by the determining means to correspond to the specific point;
A program characterized by functioning as

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