JP2014048076A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus that supports smooth rendezvous by adjusting a joining time of rendezvous.SOLUTION: In a first navigation apparatus and a second navigation apparatus, a joining geographical point, which is a rendezvous place, is set as destination, and the two apparatuses can transmit and receive information by communicating between each other. The first navigation apparatus, when its departure toward the joining geographical point is detected, transmits a departure notice indicating its departure to the second navigation apparatus. The second navigation apparatus, upon receipt of the departure notice from the first navigation apparatus, notifies the user or the departure of the first navigation apparatus.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a function for supporting the joining (waiting) of a plurality of moving objects.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for smoothly waiting using a navigation device having a communication function. The navigation device of Patent Document 1 is such that when a vehicle that has come to the vicinity of a meeting point (meeting place) with a pedestrian who is a meeting partner (hereinafter also referred to as a “merger”) cannot reach the meeting point due to traffic conditions or the like, It has a function of transmitting an instruction for a new meeting point to the mobile terminal of the meeting person.

JP 2009-204457 A

  The technique of Patent Document 1 utilizes the fact that a pedestrian can move regardless of traffic conditions, and is premised on that the pedestrian can arrive at a meeting point as scheduled. Therefore, although the navigation apparatus of patent document 1 can adjust a merge point, it does not have the function to adjust a merge time.

  In the case of a case in which only the joining place is determined without deciding exactly the joining time and it is desired to adjust both to arrive at the joining point at the same time according to the convenience of the self and the joining person, the technique of Patent Document 1 is I can not cope.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a navigation device that supports smooth waiting by guiding the self and the confluence so that the time of confluence with the confluence is substantially the same. The purpose is to do.

  The navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention sets a route to a junction with a communication unit that communicates with a navigation device of a confluence who is a meeting partner, and provides guidance to the junction. And a self-departure detection unit that detects that the vehicle has departed toward the merge point. When the self-departure detection unit detects that the vehicle has departed toward the merge point, communication is performed. Through this part, the departure of the self is notified to the navigation device of the confluence.

  The navigation device according to the second aspect of the present invention sets a route to the junction with the communication unit that communicates with the navigation device of the confluence who is the queuing partner, and provides guidance to the junction. A merger departure detection unit that detects that the navigation device of the merger has departed toward the merge point through the communication unit, and the navigation device of the merger is merged by the merger departure detection unit When it is detected that the vehicle has departed toward the point, the user is notified of the departure of the confluence.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, since it is possible to recognize that the navigation device of the meeting partner has departed toward the meeting point, it is possible to adjust the meeting time based on the timing at which the meeting partner has departed. Therefore, the user of the navigation device can smoothly join.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a departure button of the navigation device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display when the departure button of the navigation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 is pushed.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. This navigation device has a meeting support function that adjusts the meeting time with the navigation device of the meeting partner (joiner) and supports smooth joining.

  The navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 includes a map data storage unit 121, a display / input unit 122, an audio output unit 123, a communication unit 124, and a control unit 100 that controls them.

  The map data storage unit 121 is a storage medium such as a hard disk or a memory card, for example, and stores map data (map information) for the navigation device. The display / input unit 122 is, for example, a touch panel (a display panel with a touch detection function), and has both a function as a display unit that provides information to the user and a function as an input unit that receives user operations.

  Examples of what is displayed on the display and input unit 122 include a map, an icon indicating a point such as a current position and a destination, a line indicating a route from the current position to the destination, and a software key for a user to perform an operation. and so on. Of course, instead of the display and input unit 122, a separate display unit and input unit may be provided.

  The voice output unit 123 is, for example, a speaker, and has a function of outputting voice for route voice guidance, traffic information provision, operation guidance, and the like.

  The communication unit 124 has a communication function with other navigation devices. The communication unit 124 may be configured by a general-purpose communication device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone. When the navigation device enters an operation mode for waiting support (waiting support mode), the communication unit 124 mainly performs communication with the navigation device of the meeting partner (joiner). Note that the communication performed by the navigation device using the communication unit 124 may be performed directly with another navigation device, or may be performed indirectly through a predetermined server.

  The control unit 100 has a function of controlling these operations so that the map data storage unit 121, the display / input unit 122, the audio output unit 123, and the communication unit 124 perform predetermined operations as a part of the navigation device. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 100 includes a map data acquisition unit 101, a self-position calculation unit 102, an external information acquisition unit 103, a route calculation unit 104, a guidance information generation unit 105, a map display generation unit 106, and a display data generation. Unit 107, input analysis unit 108, voice output control unit 109, communication control unit 110, self departure detection unit 111, merger departure detection unit 112, scheduled departure time calculation unit 113, internal data holding unit 116 and overall control unit 117. It is configured. The control unit 100 includes a CPU and a memory as an embedded system, and each element of the control unit 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a functional block realized by software.

  The map data acquisition unit 101 has a function of acquiring map data from the map data storage unit 121.

  The self-position calculation unit 102 calculates the current position of the navigation device from position information such as GPS (Global Positioning System) information, and maps the map by using map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101. It has a function of specifying the current position at. In the case of a car navigation device, in addition to GPS information, vehicle information such as a vehicle speed pulse and a steering angle (steering angle) is also handled as position information for calculating its own relative position. Hereinafter, the current position of the navigation device is referred to as “self position”.

  The external information acquisition unit 103 has a function of acquiring information (external information) related to the external environment of the navigation device such as weather information and traffic information. In the case of a car navigation apparatus, the external information acquisition unit 103 generally obtains information from a dedicated communication device such as a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communications System) (registered trademark) receiver or a TMC (Traffic Message Channel) receiver. However, if the communication unit 124 is a general-purpose communication device, weather information and traffic information may be acquired through it. In addition, the external information acquired by the external information acquisition unit 103 may include information (sensor information) detected by various sensors (rainfall sensor, temperature sensor, optical sensor, etc.) connected to the navigation device. Good. Here, “connection” includes not only direct connection but also a state in which information can be acquired via a network.

  The route calculation unit 104 has a function of searching for a route between two points on the map data, and mainly obtains a route from the current position to the destination. In addition, the route calculation unit 104 has a function of calculating the time required to reach the destination when passing through the obtained route, and the route having the shortest time to the destination is determined as the optimum route. The estimated time of arrival at the destination can be obtained by selecting or adding the required time to the destination when passing through the set route to the current time.

  The guidance information generation unit 105 has a function of generating information (guidance information) for performing guidance for guiding the user to the route set by the route calculation unit 104. The guidance information includes information on what kind of guidance is to be performed at which point on the route. The display / input unit 122 and the voice output unit 123 output images and voices in accordance with the guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 105, whereby route guidance is executed. That is, the route calculation unit 104, the guidance information generation unit 105, the display / input unit 122, and the audio output unit 123 cooperate to set a route to the destination and operate as a guidance unit that guides to the destination. It will be.

  The map display generation unit 106 has a function of generating image data of a map around the current position from the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101.

  The display data generation unit 107 has a function of generating display data for displaying an image on the display / input unit 122. This display data is obtained by combining the image data of the surrounding map generated by the map display generation unit 106 with an icon representing the current position, destination, etc., an image for route guidance, a software key, and the like.

  The input analysis unit 108 has a function of analyzing a user operation performed on the display / input unit 122 and recognizing the intention of the operation and the content of the input information.

  The audio output control unit 109 has a function of generating an audio signal for outputting audio from the audio output unit 123.

  The communication control unit 110 has a function of controlling the communication unit 124 to exchange various data with other navigation devices.

  The self-departure detection unit 111 has a function of detecting that the navigation device has started moving (departed) toward the junction. Further, when detecting the departure of the navigation device, the self departure detection unit 111 transmits a “departure notification” indicating the departure to the navigation device of the queuing partner (joiner) through the communication unit 124.

  The merger departure detection unit 112 has a function of detecting that the merger's navigation device has departed toward the merge point by receiving the departure notification transmitted from the merger's navigation device through the communication unit 124. doing.

  The scheduled departure time calculation unit 113 acquires the scheduled time (the scheduled arrival time of the merger) that the navigation device of the merger arrives at the merge point from the navigation device of the merger through the communication unit 124, and the arrival schedule of the merger. Based on the time and the route set by the route calculation unit 104, the scheduled departure time is calculated.

  The scheduled departure time calculation unit 113 subtracts the required time to the destination (confluence) when the route is set from the scheduled arrival time of the confluencer, so that the self-departure time calculation unit 113 is in time for the estimated arrival time. Find the scheduled departure time to arrive at the meeting point.

  The internal data holding unit 116 has a function of holding data necessary for the operation of each element of the control unit 100. The data stored in the internal data holding unit 116 includes the self position obtained by the self position calculating unit 102, the destination set in the route calculating unit 104, the route obtained by the route calculating unit 104, and the scheduled departure time calculating unit 113. There is a scheduled departure time and so on.

  The operation of each element of the control unit 100 is comprehensively controlled by the overall control unit 117.

  A waiting support function of the navigation device according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation (waiting support operation) in the waiting support mode of the navigation device according to the first embodiment.

  Here, it is assumed that two users who own the navigation device of FIG. One of the two navigation devices is defined as a “first navigation device” (first navigation device), and the other is defined as a “second navigation device” (second navigation device). These may be a navigation device mounted on a vehicle or a portable navigation device.

  As a premise of the operation in FIG. 2, the first navigation device and the second navigation device recognize that they are each other's waiting navigation device, and can transmit and receive information to and from each other by communication using the communication unit 124. It is assumed that it is in a state. In the first navigation device and the second navigation device, a junction point is set as a common destination, and a route from the current position to the junction point is also set by the route calculation unit 104. However, no specific merging time agreement is made between the first navigation device and the second navigation device.

  In the present embodiment, the display / input unit 122 (touch panel) of the first navigation device and the second navigation device in the waiting support mode includes a message indicating that the user is waiting, and a meeting point as shown in FIG. A departure button (a button that says “to go to the meeting place”) is displayed to inform the confluence about the departure for. When each user of the first navigation device and the second navigation device starts moving toward the meeting point, he / she presses a departure button to inform the opponent of his / her departure.

  FIG. 2 shows a case where the user of the first navigation device departs toward the junction before the user of the second navigation device. When the user of the first navigation device departs toward the junction, the user pushes the departure button of the first navigation device. Then, in the first navigation device, when the departure button is pressed, the self-departure detection unit 111 detects its own departure (step S11), and transmits a departure notification to the second navigation device.

  In the second navigation device, the merger departure detection unit 112 detects the departure of the first navigation device by receiving the departure notification from the first navigation device (step S21).

  After transmitting the departure notice, the first navigation device starts route guidance to the junction (step S12). At this time, the first navigation device calculates a scheduled arrival time at the destination (junction point) (step S13), and notifies the second navigation device of the estimated arrival time. Further, the display / input unit 122 (touch panel) of the first navigation device is switched to a guidance screen (navigation screen) displaying a map and a route to the destination (junction point) as shown in FIG.

  The second navigation device notifies the user that the first navigation device has started (step S22). At this time, the user may also be notified of the estimated arrival time at the meeting point of the first navigation device received from the first navigation device. As this notification, for example, a message by voice or text such as “The meeting partner has departed. It is scheduled to arrive at the meeting place at around ○ hour ○ minute” can be considered.

  In the second navigation device, the scheduled departure time calculation unit 113 is based on the estimated arrival time at the junction of the first navigation device and the route to the destination set by the route calculation unit 104 of the second navigation device. Thus, the scheduled departure time of the second navigation device is calculated (step S23). The scheduled departure time is preferably determined such that the second navigation device arrives at the destination earlier than or earlier than the first navigation device.

  In this way, by determining the scheduled departure time of the second navigation device based on the estimated arrival time of the first navigation device at the meeting point, the first navigation device and the second navigation device can be assigned to the respective users. The route will be guided so that it will arrive at the junction at the same time, and smooth waiting will be possible.

  Thereafter, the second navigation device sends a notification prompting the user to leave at a predetermined timing before the scheduled departure time so that the user can leave at the scheduled departure time (step S24). As this notification, for example, a message by voice or text such as “The meeting partner is scheduled to arrive at the meeting place at around XX hours. In addition, before outputting the notification (message) which prompts the user to depart, when the user departs toward the junction, it is not necessary to output the notification. Therefore, the second navigation device may not output the notification when it detects that it has departed toward the joining point before the timing of outputting the notification prompting the user to leave.

  When the user of the second navigation device departs toward the meeting point, the user pushes the departure button of the second navigation device. This time, in the second navigation device, when the departure button is pressed, the self-departure detection unit 111 detects its own departure (step S25), and transmits a departure notification to the first navigation device.

  In the first navigation device, the merger departure detection unit 112 detects the departure of the second navigation device by receiving the departure notification from the second navigation device (step S14).

  After transmitting the departure notice, the second navigation device starts route guidance to the junction (step S26). At this time, the second navigation device calculates a scheduled arrival time at the destination (junction point) (step S27), and notifies the first navigation device of the estimated arrival time. In addition, the display / input unit 122 (touch panel) of the second navigation device is switched to a guidance screen displaying a map and a route to the destination (junction point) as shown in FIG.

  The first navigation device notifies the user that the second navigation device has started (step S15). At this time, the user may also be notified of the estimated arrival time at the junction of the second navigation device received from the second navigation device. As this notification, for example, a message by voice or text such as “The meeting partner has departed. It is scheduled to arrive at the meeting place at around ○ hour ○ minute” can be considered.

  Since the first navigation device and the second navigation device guide the user to the same destination (merging point), if each user moves according to the guidance, the user's merging is achieved. Further, since the departure time of the second navigation device is calculated based on the estimated arrival time of the first navigation device, the user of the first navigation device and the user of the second navigation device almost meet at the same time. You will be able to merge smoothly.

  Here, it is preferable that the first navigation device and the second navigation device are configured such that the user can check the estimated arrival time received from the other party at any time. As a result, the user of each navigation device can grasp the scheduled arrival time of the meeting partner, and even if one user arrives late, the other user can relieve the heart and can smoothly meet by time adjustment etc. become. For example, if the user of the first navigation device is near the joining point and the user of the second navigation device is far from the joining point, when the user of the first navigation device departs first, the user of the second navigation device It is expected that the arrival will be delayed, but it is effective in such a case.

  In addition, when the first navigation device and the second navigation device predict that the arrival time of the opponent or the user will be delayed beyond a predetermined threshold value, a special notification (display or notification) indicating the fact to the user is given. ) May be performed. As the special notification, for example, a notification that the vehicle of the meeting partner has not yet started or a notification that the opponent's delay is large may be considered. Similarly, when the user is behind the other party, a special notification (such as a notification that the user's own delay is large) may be given to the user.

  Further, it may be configured such that a message of the reason for delay (for example, traffic jam) is transmitted to the partner navigation device, and the partner navigation device that has received the message notifies the user of the reason. The reason for the delay of the meeting partner can be grasped, and a more convenient navigation device can be realized.

  Further, since the estimated arrival time changes depending on traffic conditions and the like, as shown in FIG. 2, the first navigation device and the second navigation device repeat notification of the estimated arrival time until they arrive at the junction. It is preferable.

  FIG. 2 shows the case where the user of the first navigation device departs first, but the same applies even if the user of the second navigation device departs first. When the user of the second navigation device departs first, the operations of the first navigation device and the second navigation device are simply switched, and the description in that case is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the two navigation devices that wait for each other calculate their own estimated arrival times and transmit them to each other. However, the first navigation device is based on the position information of the second navigation device. The estimated arrival time of the second navigation device may be calculated. In this case, the first navigation device may acquire not only the position information but also information on a route (set route) to the set junction point from the second navigation device. By considering the route of the second navigation device, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the estimated arrival time of the second navigation device. Further, the second navigation device may acquire its own estimated arrival time calculated by the first navigation device (that is, the first navigation device may calculate both estimated arrival times).

  In addition, both navigation devices transmit their position information and destination (joining point) to a predetermined server, and the server calculates the estimated arrival times of both navigation devices based on the traffic information. May be notified to both navigation devices.

  3 and 4 show a configuration in which the navigation device is provided with a dedicated departure button for notifying the confluence of departure to the meeting point, but the departure button may be used in combination with other buttons. Good. For example, if the navigation device displays a map or a guidance screen displaying the route to the destination (junction point), the button for starting guidance (guidance start button) should have the function of a departure button. May be.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, the self-departure detection unit 111 of each navigation device detects that the self has departed toward the joining point when the departure button is pressed by the user, but in the second embodiment, Automate the detection.

  In the second embodiment, the self-departure detection unit 111 determines whether or not the self-departure detection unit 111 has departed toward the junction using the self-position history obtained by the self-position calculation unit 102. This will be specifically described below.

  First, the self departure detection unit 111 obtains a movement locus from the history of the self position. Then, the movement trajectory is compared with the route (set route) to the junction point set in the navigation device, and the degree of coincidence between the two is determined. If the movement trajectory matches the set route, there is a high possibility that the user is moving toward the destination. The self-departure detection unit 111 determines that the self departs toward the joining point when the movement trajectory and the set route coincide with each other continuously for a predetermined distance or more.

  As described above, the self-departure detecting unit 111 automatically detects the self-departure, so that no user operation is required, and the operation of the navigation device can be simplified. Further, when combined with the first embodiment, even when the user forgets to press the departure button, it is possible to detect the departure to the junction.

  In the second embodiment, the navigation device determines whether or not the user has departed toward the joining point based on the history of the self-location, but may also determine whether or not the navigation device is based on the operation by the user and the change in the self-location. Good. For example, when a user starts (departs) after setting a destination at a junction and searching for a route to the destination using a navigation device, the user starts to move along the set route. In this case, it may be determined that the self has departed toward the meeting point. In this case, the load on the user can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment, and the determination accuracy of whether or not the user has departed toward the joining point can be increased as compared with the second embodiment. In this case, unlike the first embodiment, the navigation device transmits its scheduled arrival time to the other party after performing a route search, but the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  The navigation device according to the present invention may be any of an in-vehicle type, a PND (Portable Navigation Device) type, and an application type that operates on a mobile phone or a smartphone.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Control part, 101 Map data acquisition part, 102 Self-position calculation part, 103 External information acquisition part, 104 Route calculation part, 105 Guide information generation part, 106 Map display generation part, 107 Display data generation part, 108 Input analysis part, 109 voice output control unit, 110 communication control unit, 111 self departure detection unit, 112 confluence departure detection unit, 113 scheduled departure time calculation unit, 116 internal data holding unit, 117 overall control unit, 121 map data storage unit, 122 display Cum input unit, 123 voice output unit, 124 communication unit.

Claims (9)

A communication unit that communicates with the navigation device of the confluence who is the meeting partner,
A guide unit for setting a route to the meeting point with the confluence and performing guidance to the meeting point;
A self-departure detector for detecting that the self has departed toward the junction;
With
When the self-departure detection unit detects that it has departed toward the merge point, the navigation device notifies the merger's navigation device of the self-departure through the communication unit. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the self-departure detection unit detects that the self departs toward the joining point based on an operation by a user. The self-departure detection unit detects that the self departs toward the confluence on the basis of the self-movement trajectory or the departure after setting a destination at the confluence. The navigation device described. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: notifying the merging person's navigation device of the estimated arrival time at the merging point calculated based on the route set in the guiding unit through the communication unit. 5. The navigation device according to one item. A communication unit that communicates with the navigation device of the confluence who is the meeting partner,
A guide unit for setting a route to the meeting point with the confluence and performing guidance to the meeting point;
Through the communication unit, a merger departure detection unit that detects that the navigation device of the merger has departed toward the junction,
With
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein when the confluencer's navigation device detects that the confluencer's navigation device has departed toward the confluence, the user is notified of the departure of the confluence. Through the communication unit, the scheduled arrival time at the junction in the navigation device of the confluencer is acquired, and the scheduled departure time is calculated based on the scheduled arrival time and the route set in the guide unit. The navigation apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a scheduled departure time calculation unit. The navigation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the scheduled departure time calculation unit determines the scheduled departure time of the self so that the self arrives at the junction before the scheduled arrival time. The navigation apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a notification prompting the user to leave is made at a predetermined timing before the scheduled departure time of the user. The navigation device according to claim 8, wherein a notification that prompts the user to leave is not performed when it is detected that the vehicle has departed toward the junction before the predetermined timing.

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