JPH09329457A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately guide a route by obtaining conditions relating to the circumference of a current position, and displaying the map information of the accuracy corresponding to the travelling conditions by variably setting the display scale of the map information corresponding to the conditions. SOLUTION: A navigation processing part 9 comprises a condition judging function for judging whether a current travelling position is close within a predetermined distance range from the destination or not in reference to the map information obtained from CD-ROM 11 on the basis of the information on the current position, or whether a vehicle is travelling in an urban area or not on the basis of the density of crossings and that of roads in the map data. And the position is judged as the urban area when the number of crossings per an unit area is more than a predetermined threshold, or when the number of roads are a predetermined number or more, and the position is judged as the suburbs or the mountains when the numbers of these are respectively less than the predetermined numbers. The device comprises a scale controlling function for setting the display scale of the map information to be displayed by a displaying unit, large when the current position is the urban district or near the destination, so that the map information around a vehicle can be enlarged and displayed in detail.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device capable of effectively guiding a route according to road conditions.

[0002]

2. Related Background Art Recently, various in-vehicle navigation devices utilizing GPS (Global Positioning System) signals using satellites have been developed. This type of navigation device basically receives the GPS signal to detect the position of the own vehicle (vehicle), and displays the information of the own vehicle position on a display together with map information stored in a CD-ROM or the like. By doing so, it guides the road around the vehicle and assists the driving of the vehicle. Also, by inputting the information of the moving destination, the optimum route from the vehicle position to the destination can be searched by referring to the map information, and can be displayed on the display together with the map information as a guide route. It is being appreciated.

[0003]

By the way, the display of the map information in the conventional navigation device is exclusively performed at the display scale manually set by the driver (user). For example, when inputting the information of the destination for the optimum route search, the map information is displayed at a display scale including the destination and the current position, and then,
According to the user's scale switching operation, the map information around the vehicle is enlarged (display scale is enlarged) and the display area is enlarged (display scale is reduced). The variable function of the display scale of the map information as described above enables the user to know the surroundings of the vehicle in detail when the display scale is increased, and the overall situation when the display scale is reduced. It is very suitable for accurately obtaining necessary information, such as being able to look over a wide range.

However, it is very troublesome to manually set the display scale variably by manual operation each time depending on the road condition and the like, which hinders the driving operation. Moreover, in general, detailed map information with a large display scale is needed when driving in an urban area where roads are complicated and approaching a destination, and in other cases, the entire map is rather needed. Map information with a small display scale that can be grasped is preferable.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to effectively perform route guidance by presenting map information at an appropriate display scale according to the driving situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly practical navigation device that can be used.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a navigation device according to the present invention has a means for obtaining a situation particularly related to the surroundings of the current position, and a display scale of the map information is variably set according to the situation. And a means for doing so. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle has reached the vicinity of the destination or is traveling in the city area from the map information as a situation related to the surroundings of the current position, and it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in the vicinity of the destination or the city area. The feature is that the display scale of the map information is set to be large.

Further, the situation concerning the surroundings of the current position is obtained by judging the traffic congestion information obtained through the information communication means,
When a detour is detected from the map information during a traffic jam, the display scale of the map information is set to be large. In other words, the feature is that the display scale of the map information is automatically variably set according to the surrounding situation of the current position to present the appropriate information necessary for route guidance.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment, and 1 is a GPS receiver and 2 is a vehicle sensor such as a gyro. Further, 3 is an operation unit equipped with various switches, and 4 is a traffic information receiver.

The navigation device body 5 is the GPS device.
A vehicle position detection unit 6 that obtains the current position (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle on the ground based on the output received by the receiver 1.
And a vehicle direction detection unit 7 for determining the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the output of the vehicle sensor 2, and the traffic information receiver 4
An information determination unit 8 for determining traffic congestion information and the like around the vehicle according to the reception output by the vehicle. Further, the navigation processing unit 9 which is the main body of this device basically provides the map information of the area based on the current position of the vehicle according to the information of the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit 6, For example, it is obtained from the CD-ROM 11 as an external memory, a predetermined navigation process is executed, and map information etc. is displayed on the display (display) 12 to the driver (user).
To be presented to.

The basic processing functions of the navigation processing unit 9 will be briefly described. The navigation processing unit 9 includes information on the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit 6 and the operation unit 3. A route search function is provided for searching the optimum route from the current location to the destination by referring to the map information obtained from the CD-ROM 11 according to the destination information input from the user. Then, the optimum route presenting function of displaying the searched optimum route on the map information and displaying it on the display device 12 and presenting it to the driver (user) is provided. When presenting the optimum route, for example, the position of the vehicle on the map is simultaneously displayed as a vehicle mark or the like. Further, when the map information and the optimum route are displayed in this manner, display control is performed in which the traveling direction is set to the upper side of the display screen, for example, according to the direction information indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle obtained from the vehicle sensor 2. .

However, when the current position changes as the vehicle travels (moves), the navigation processing unit 9 changes the position of the vehicle mark in the displayed map information according to the moved and displaced current position. By changing the display area of the map information based on the own vehicle position, the relationship between the map information (optimal route) and the own vehicle position is shown, and thereby route guidance is executed. The display area (display scale) of the map information displayed on the display unit 12 is arbitrarily set according to an instruction from the operation unit 3.

Here, the feature of the present apparatus is that the CD-ROM 1 is based on the information of the current position as one of the processing functions of the navigation processing unit 9.
Refer to the map information obtained from 1 to determine whether the current driving position approaches within a predetermined distance from the destination, and whether the vehicle is driving in the city area based on the intersection density and road density in the map data. There is a situation function to do.
Specifically, if the number of intersections per unit area is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value or if the number of roads is equal to or larger than a predetermined number, it is determined that the area is an urban area, and otherwise the area is a suburban area or a mountain area. When the current position is in the vicinity of the city or the destination, the display scale of the map information displayed on the display 12 is set to a large scale, and the display scale control function of enlarging and displaying the map information around the vehicle in detail is displayed. Is equipped with. That is,
By setting the display scale of the map information displayed on the display unit 12 to a small value in a steady state, a wide range of map information based on the position of the own vehicle is displayed, thereby making it possible to grasp the overall driving situation. , When driving around the city or destination,
The display scale is automatically changed to an enlarged display, and detailed map information around the vehicle is displayed.

In the navigation processing unit 9, when the information judging unit 8 indicates that the road condition in the traveling direction of the vehicle is congested and the map information demands that there is a detour. In addition, it also has a processing function of setting a large display scale of the map information displayed on the display unit 12 and presenting detailed map information such as a detour by this.

FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure for realizing the control function of the map information display scale of the navigation processing section 9 described above, in which the optimum route is searched (step S1) based on the destination setting in advance. To be executed after.
However, this processing is performed by detecting the current position of the own vehicle from the output of the own vehicle position detection unit 6 (step S2) and determining where the current position is while referring to the map information ( Step S3). This determination is made by determining whether the vehicle is traveling in the city or at the destination, and whether it is traveling in the vicinity of the city or in the vicinity of the destination. Done.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, an optimum route R from the starting point S, which is the current position at the start of traveling, to the destination E is determined. This is done by determining where on the route R the position is. This is determined when the vehicle is traveling in the city T or when the vehicle approaches the destination E within a predetermined distance range. At the same time, even when the vehicle is traveling in the vicinity of the city area T or when the vehicle approaches a certain distance from the destination E, this is similarly determined.

As shown in FIG. 4, the display 12
The display scale of the map information displayed in is divided into, for example, a wide range (long range; L), a middle range (middle range; M), and a narrow range (short range; S) in three stages, and the current position is determined by the determination process. If it is determined to be T or destination E, detailed map information of the narrow range having a large scale is displayed (step S4). When the current position is near the city area T or near the destination E, the map information of the above-mentioned medium range with a medium scale is displayed (step S5). And in other cases, the scale is small,
The wide-range map information that can be grasped as a whole is displayed (step S6).

Incidentally, as described above, even when traffic congestion information is required as traffic information and there is a detour around it, the display scale of the display map information is similarly expanded.

Thus, in the navigation device for guiding the route by displaying the map information and the optimum route to the destination on the display unit 12 as described above, the display of the map information according to the traveling condition of the current position as described above. According to the present invention in which the scale is automatically and variably set, the information most needed at each time can be accurately presented to the driver (user). Specifically, when driving in an urban area or when reaching the vicinity of a destination, it is possible to present detailed information about the surrounding area, and when moving between urban areas, display the overall map information If possible, grasp the situation. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of the variable setting operation of the display scale of the map information by the user.

On the contrary, since the display scale of the map information is automatically switched, it is possible to suggest what should be paid attention at the present time by recognizing the switching of the display scale. Then, as you get closer to your destination, you can assist in narrowing down from a large target to a small target, and it will be possible to give detailed information necessary for route guidance appropriately even while driving, so perform effective route guidance. Is possible.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the display scale of the map information may be set in advance according to the specifications of the device, and may be preset according to the user specifications as needed. Further, even during the variable setting control of the display scale according to the traveling situation described above, when the user manually designates the display scale, the manual designation may be prioritized. Further, it is of course possible to change the display scale of the traffic information based on not only the traffic congestion information but also the detour information associated with the construction. Also, regarding the number of display scale steps to be variably set and the judgment threshold value for executing the variable setting,
It may be determined according to the specifications of the device. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is provided with the means for obtaining the situation concerning the surroundings of the current position and the means for variably setting the display scale of the map information according to the situation. For example, as the situation around the current position, when the own vehicle reaches the vicinity of the destination, is driving in the city area, or when guiding the detour due to congestion or construction, the map information is displayed. Since the reduced scale is set to a large scale, it is possible to present a great effect in practical use, such as presenting the map information with accuracy according to the traveling situation and accurately guiding the route.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block configuration diagram of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of variable display scale control of map information in the embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a relationship between an optimum route to a destination and a variable area of display scale.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a relationship between map information having different display scales.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 GPS receiver 2 Vehicle sensor 3 Operation part 4 Traffic information receiver 5 Navigation device main body 6 Own vehicle position detecting part 7 Own vehicle direction detecting part 8 Information judging part 9 Navigation processing part 11 CD-ROM 12 Display part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device for guiding a route by displaying an optimum route obtained according to a current position and information of a destination on a map information obtained according to the current position so as to guide a route. A navigation device comprising: means for obtaining a situation regarding the above-mentioned situation; and means for variably setting a display scale of the map information according to the situation. 2. Regarding the surroundings of the current position, whether the current position is near the destination or in the city area is obtained from the map information, and when the area is around the destination or in the city area, the display scale of the map information is reduced. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is set to a large size. 3. A situation relating to the surroundings of the current position is obtained by determining traffic congestion information obtained through the information communication means, and a display scale of the map information is displayed when a detour is detected from the map information during the traffic congestion. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is set to a large size.