JPWO2006126367A1 - POSITION SETTING DEVICE, POSITION SETTING METHOD, POSITION SETTING PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - Google Patents

Abstract

The position setting device includes a branch determination unit (101) that determines that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads having different heights, and a predetermined position of the mobile body after the mobile body reaches the branch point. A calculation unit (102) that calculates the amount of change in altitude of the moving body as the distance moves, and an altitude determination that determines whether or not the amount of change in altitude calculated by the calculation unit (102) is greater than or equal to a predetermined altitude threshold A position setting unit (103) that determines a road where the moving body is located from a plurality of roads based on the determination results of the unit (103) and the altitude determination unit (103), and sets the position of the moving body on the road 104).

Description

  The present invention relates to a position setting device, a position setting method, a position setting program, and a recording medium for setting the position of a moving body.

  In a navigation apparatus or the like, map matching is performed in which the position of a moving body is logically matched on a display road. When this map matching is performed in two dimensions, for example, it is determined which road the moving body is traveling in a place where a plurality of roads with different altitudes run in parallel, such as an elevated road such as an expressway and a general road. It is difficult to do.

  For this reason, for example, the posture of the moving body or altitude obtained from GPS or sensor positioning data is compared with the road gradient or road altitude obtained from the three-dimensional road information included in the map data, so that the moving body There is a technique for determining which road among a plurality of different roads is traveling (see Patent Document 1 below).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-304510

  However, in the above-described technique, when the road gradient or the road altitude cannot be obtained from the map data, it cannot be determined which of the plurality of roads the mobile body is traveling at different altitudes. The problem is an example.

  The position setting device according to the invention of claim 1 includes a branch determination unit that determines that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads having different elevations, and after the mobile body has reached the branch point. Calculating means for calculating an altitude change amount of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body at a predetermined distance, and determining whether the altitude change amount calculated by the calculating means is equal to or greater than a predetermined altitude threshold value. An altitude determining means; a position setting means for determining a road where the moving body is located from the plurality of roads based on a determination result of the altitude determining means and setting the position of the moving body on the road; It is characterized by providing.

  The position setting method according to the invention of claim 8 includes a branch determination step of determining that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads having a difference in elevation, and after the mobile body reaches the branch point. A calculation step of calculating an altitude change amount of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body at a predetermined distance, and determining whether the altitude change amount calculated by the calculation step is equal to or greater than a predetermined altitude threshold Based on the determination result of the altitude determination step and the altitude determination step, the road determination step for determining the road where the moving body is located from among the plurality of roads, and the road determined by the road determination step on the road And a position setting step for setting the position of the moving body.

  A position setting program according to a ninth aspect of the invention causes a computer to execute the position setting method according to the eighth aspect.

  A recording medium according to a tenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that the position setting program according to the ninth aspect is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a position setting device according to the present embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of the processing of the position setting apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus in this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 branch determination unit 102 calculation unit 103 altitude determination unit 104 position setting unit 105 first angle determination unit 106 second angle determination unit

  Exemplary embodiments of a position setting device, a position setting method, a position setting program, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The position setting device in the present embodiment is mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle, for example.

(Functional configuration of position setting device)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a position setting device according to the present embodiment of the present invention. The position setting device according to the present embodiment of the present invention includes a branch determination unit 101, a calculation unit 102, an altitude determination unit 103, a position setting unit 104, a first angle determination unit 105, and a second angle determination unit 106. And.

  The branch determination unit 101 determines that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads with different heights. The branch determination unit 101 may determine that a branch point connected to a road leading to the entrance / exit of the expressway has been reached.

  The calculation unit 102 calculates the amount of change in altitude of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body by a predetermined distance after the mobile body reaches the branch point. The calculation unit 102 may start calculating the altitude change amount from the branch point. Further, the calculation of the altitude change amount may be started from a position where the first angle determination unit 105 described later determines that the inclination angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than the angle threshold. Note that the average tilt angle per unit time is generally used as the tilt angle of the moving body in order to remove the influence of vibration. Further, the angle threshold is set in advance based on, for example, the inclination angle of the moving body that is predicted to occur when changing to a road with a difference in elevation when moving by a certain distance by the moving body. .

  The altitude determination unit 103 determines whether or not the altitude change amount calculated by the calculation unit 102 is greater than or equal to a predetermined altitude threshold. Here, the altitude threshold is set in advance, for example, based on a height difference that is predicted to occur when the vehicle is transferred to a road having a height difference when moving by a certain distance.

  The position setting unit 104 determines a road where the moving body is located from a plurality of roads having a difference in height based on the determination result of the altitude determination unit 103, and places the road on the road based on the travel distance from the branch point. Set the position of the moving object. And the information of the position of the set moving body is output. Here, when the amount of change in altitude is less than the altitude threshold, the position setting unit 104 selects a road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point among a plurality of roads having a difference in altitude. If the road is determined to be located and the amount of change in altitude is greater than or equal to the altitude threshold, the road where the moving object is located on a road of a different road type from the road before reaching the branch point among multiple roads with different altitudes Determine as.

  The 1st angle determination part 105 determines whether the inclination | tilt angle of a moving body is more than a predetermined angle threshold value. Then, when the position determination unit 104 determines that the inclination angle of the moving body continues to be less than the angle threshold by the angle determination unit until the moving distance from the branch point of the moving body becomes equal to or greater than the distance threshold. In addition, a road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point among a plurality of roads having a difference in altitude is determined as the road on which the mobile body is located.

  The second angle determination unit 106 determines whether or not the inclination angle of the moving body is greater than or equal to a predetermined maximum angle threshold value. Then, the position setting unit 104, when the moving body moves at a predetermined distance, when the moving body has an inclination angle equal to or larger than a predetermined maximum angle threshold, before reaching the branch point among a plurality of roads having different altitudes. A road with a different road type from the other road is determined as the road on which the moving body is located. Here, the maximum angle threshold is set in advance based on, for example, the inclination angle of the moving body, which is predicted to occur when changing to a road with a difference in elevation when the moving body moves a certain distance. Is done.

(Contents of position setting device processing)
First, the contents of the processing of the position setting device according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of the processing of the position setting apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, first, it is determined whether or not the mobile object has reached a branch point (step S201). When it is determined that the mobile body has not reached the branch point (step S201: No), the mobile body waits for the mobile body to reach the branch point.

  When it is determined that the moving body has reached the branch point (step S201: Yes), it is determined whether or not the inclination angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than the angle threshold (step S202). When it is determined that the tilt angle of the moving body is not equal to or greater than the angle threshold (step S202: No), the process proceeds to step S203, and when it is determined that the tilt angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than the angle threshold (step S202: Yes). The process proceeds to step S204.

  In step S203, it is determined whether or not the mobile object has traveled a distance equal to or greater than the distance threshold from the branch point, and it is determined that the mobile object has traveled a distance equal to or greater than the distance threshold value from the branch point (step S203: Yes). ) Proceeds to step S207. On the other hand, when the moving body is not traveling a certain distance (step S203: No), the process returns to step S202.

  In step S204, the amount of change in altitude between a predetermined distance from the position determined in step S202 that the tilt angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than the angle threshold is calculated.

  In step S205, it is determined whether or not the altitude change amount calculated in step S204 is greater than or equal to the altitude threshold. If it is determined that the altitude change amount is greater than or equal to the altitude threshold (step S205: Yes). Then, a road of a different road type from the road before the mobile body reaches the branch point is determined as the road where the mobile body is located (step S206), and the process proceeds to step S208.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the amount of change in altitude is less than the altitude threshold (step S205: No), the moving body is located on a road of the same road type as the road before the moving body reaches the branch point. The road is determined (step S207), and the process proceeds to step S208.

  In step S208, the position of the moving body is set on the road determined in step S206 or step S207 based on the travel distance from the branch point. Then, a series of processing ends.

  When calculating the amount of change in altitude in step S204, if the tilt angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than the maximum angle threshold, the calculation of the amount of change in altitude is terminated and the process proceeds to step S206. Also good.

  Moreover, you may perform the process which determines the road where a mobile body is located with the moving state of the horizontal direction of a mobile body instead of the process of step S207. For example, if the moving state of the moving body is a state that moves along the same road type road as the road before the branch point, the same road type road is determined as the road where the moving body is located. decide. In addition, when the moving state of the moving body is a state of moving along a road of a different road type from the road before the branch point and moving along the road of the different road type, the different road type Is determined as the road where the moving body is located. In this way, in areas where there is almost no difference in altitude between expressways and ordinary roads, roads of the same road type as before reaching the branch point are always determined after the branch point is reached. Can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the position setting device of the present embodiment, the road on which the moving body is located is based on the amount of change in altitude of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body after a predetermined distance after the branch point. It is determined. Therefore, when traveling on roads where roads with different elevations run side by side, it is possible to determine which road is being traveled even if information on the road gradient and road height for these roads cannot be obtained. .

  Further, according to the position setting device of the present embodiment, the amount of change in altitude from the position where the inclination angle of the moving body is determined to be equal to or greater than the angle threshold is calculated. Therefore, the amount of change in altitude is calculated only when it is determined that there is a high possibility that the transfer to a road with a difference in height is started. As a result, it is possible to reduce the processing burden on the position setting device without calculating unnecessary amount of change in altitude.

  Furthermore, when the moving body moves more than a predetermined distance threshold from the branch point while the inclination angle of the moving body is less than the angle threshold, the road is moved by determining the same road type road as the road before the branch point is reached. Although the body travels on the same road before and after the branch point, mismatching can be prevented when the road after the branch point has a slight inclination.

  When calculating the amount of change in altitude, if the inclination angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than a predetermined maximum angle threshold, a road of a different road type from the road before reaching the branch point is determined as the road on which the moving body is located. Thus, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining the road on which the moving body is located using a plurality of determination elements such as altitude and inclination angle.

  Further, in the position setting device of the present embodiment, by determining that the road leading to the entrance / exit of the highway has reached a branch point where the road is connected, even if there is no information about the altitude at which the road is located, the height difference When a branch point that is highly likely to be involved in a transfer of a certain road is reached, a difference in elevation can be determined.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, an example in which the position setting device of the present invention is implemented by a navigation device mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle (including a four-wheeled vehicle and a two-wheeled vehicle) will be described.

(Hardware configuration of navigation device)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus in this embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device includes a navigation control unit 301, a user operation unit 302, a display unit 303, a position acquisition unit 304, a recording medium 305, a recording medium decoding unit 306, an audio output unit 307, a speaker 308, and a communication. 309, a route search unit 310, a route guidance unit 311, a voice generation unit 312, an altitude calculation unit 313, and an angle determination unit 314.

  The navigation control unit 301 controls the entire navigation device. The navigation control unit 301 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes predetermined arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various control programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that functions as a work area of the CPU. It is realizable with the microcomputer etc. comprised by these.

  In addition, the navigation control unit 301 inputs / outputs information regarding route guidance between the route search unit 310, the route guidance unit 311, and the voice generation unit 312, and displays information obtained as a result of the display unit 303 and the route guidance unit 310. Output to the audio output unit 307.

  The user operation unit 302 outputs information input by the user, such as characters, numerical values, and various instructions, to the navigation control unit 301. The user operation unit 302 is, for example, a push button switch, a touch panel, a remote control, or the like. Further, the user operation unit 302 may be configured to perform an input operation by voice using a microphone that inputs voice from the outside.

  The display unit 303 includes, for example, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a TFT liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, and the like. Specifically, the display unit 303 can be configured by, for example, a video I / F or a video display device connected to the video I / F. Specifically, the video I / F includes, for example, a graphic controller that controls the entire display device, a buffer memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily stores image information that can be displayed immediately, and a graphic controller. Based on the output image information, the display device is configured by a control IC or the like. The display unit 303 displays map information, information on route guidance, and other various information.

  The position acquisition unit 304 includes a GPS receiver and various sensors, and acquires information on the position of the moving body (the position of the navigation device). Then, the acquired position information is output to the navigation control unit 301. The GPS receiver receives radio waves from a GPS satellite and obtains a geometric position with respect to the GPS satellite. GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System, and is a system for accurately obtaining a position on the ground by receiving radio waves from four or more satellites. The GPS receiver includes an antenna for receiving radio waves from GPS satellites, a tuner for demodulating the received radio waves, an arithmetic circuit for calculating the current position based on the demodulated information, and the like.

  The various sensors are sensors mounted on a moving body or a navigation device such as a speed sensor, an angular speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc., and from the information output from these sensors, the moving displacement, moving speed, moving direction, inclination angle of the moving body. Etc. are calculated. Thus, the position of the moving body can be recognized with higher accuracy by using the output information of the various sensors together with the information obtained from the received radio wave of the GPS receiver.

  The recording medium 305 records various control programs and various information in a state that can be read by a computer. The recording medium 305 can be realized by, for example, an HD (Hard Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a CD (Compact Disk), a memory card, or the like. Note that the recording medium 305 may accept writing of information by the recording medium decoding unit 306 and record the written information in a nonvolatile manner.

  The recording medium 305 stores map information used for route search and route guidance. The map information stored in the recording medium 305 includes background data representing features (features) such as buildings, rivers, and the ground surface, and road shape data representing the shape of the road. It is drawn in two or three dimensions on the screen. When the navigation device is guiding a route, the map information read from the recording medium 305 by the recording medium decoding unit 306 and the position of the moving body set by the navigation control unit 301 are displayed in an overlapping manner.

  The background data includes background shape data representing the shape of the background and background type data representing the type of the background. The background shape data includes, for example, feature representative points, polylines, polygons, feature coordinates, and the like. The background type data includes, for example, text data representing the name, address, and telephone number of a feature, and type data of a feature such as a building, river, or ground surface.

  The road shape information is information relating to a road network having a plurality of nodes and links. The node is information indicating an intersection where a plurality of roads such as a three-way intersection, a crossroad, and a five-way intersection intersect. A link is information indicating a road connecting nodes. Some links have shape complement points that allow the expression of curved roads. The road shape information includes traffic condition information. The traffic condition information is information indicating the characteristics of the intersection, the length (distance) of each link, the vehicle width, the traveling direction, the traffic prohibition, the road type, and the like.

  In this embodiment, each link includes elevated data indicating whether the road indicated by the link is an elevated road in the information indicating the road type. The elevated road refers to a road having a certain level difference with respect to the ground, such as an expressway. In the present embodiment, roads that constitute a three-dimensional intersection on a general road are also included in the elevated road. In addition, in this embodiment, in addition to the overpass that intersects from the upper side of the road constructed on the ground surface, the underpass that intersects from the lower side of the road constructed on the ground surface is also included in the elevated road in a broad sense. .

  Further, the map information stored in the recording medium 305 has elevated frame data indicating whether or not it is in the elevated frame. Here, an elevated frame refers to an area on a map where multiple roads with different elevations exist, such as an expressway constructed parallel to a general road (or even underground). It is a frame surrounded by. The elevated frame is represented by a quadrangle such as a rectangle on the map. In this case, the elevated frame data is represented by coordinate data indicating a pair of diagonal positions of the elevated frame. That is, on the map displayed with north as the upper position, the elevated frame data is represented by coordinate data indicating the vertex positions of the upper left and lower right (or upper right and lower left) corners.

  In this embodiment, the map information is recorded on the recording medium 305. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The map information is not recorded only on information provided integrally with the hardware of the navigation device, and may be provided outside the navigation device. In this case, the navigation device acquires map information via the network through the communication unit 309, for example. The acquired map information is stored in a RAM or the like.

  The recording medium decoding unit 306 controls reading / writing of information with respect to the recording medium 305. For example, when HD is used as a recording medium, the recording medium decoding unit 306 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  The audio output unit 307 reproduces sound such as guidance sound by controlling output to the connected speaker 308. There may be one or more speakers 308. Specifically, the audio output unit 307 includes, for example, a D / A converter that performs D / A conversion of audio digital information, an amplifier that amplifies an audio analog signal output from the D / A converter, and audio analog information And an A / D converter that performs A / D conversion.

  The communication unit 309 includes, for example, an FM tuner, a VICS / beacon receiver, a wireless communication device, and other communication devices, and performs communication with other communication devices. Examples of information acquired by the communication unit 309 include road traffic information such as traffic congestion and traffic regulations distributed from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center. Further, the road traffic information in a desired area may be requested via a network to a server that accumulates road traffic information nationwide, and the requested road traffic information may be acquired.

  The route search unit 310 uses the map information acquired from the recording medium 305 via the recording medium decoding unit 306, the VICS information acquired via the communication unit 309, and the like to optimize the route from the departure point to the destination. Search for a route. Here, the optimal route is a route that best matches the condition specified by the user. In general, there are an infinite number of routes from the departure point to the destination. For this reason, items to be considered in the route search are set to search for a route that matches the condition.

  The route guidance unit 311 includes the guidance route information searched by the route search unit 310, the output of the position acquisition unit 304, and the position information of the moving body set by the navigation control unit 301 based on the result of the position setting process described later, the recording medium Based on the map information obtained from the recording medium decoding unit 306 from 305, route guidance information for guiding the user to the destination is generated. The route guidance information generated at this time may be information that considers the traffic jam information received by the communication unit 309. The route guidance information generated by the route guidance unit 311 is output to the display unit 303 via the navigation control unit 301.

  The voice generation unit 312 generates various types of voice information such as guidance sounds. That is, based on the route guidance information generated by the route guidance unit 311, the virtual sound source corresponding to the guidance point is set and the voice guidance information is generated, and this is output to the voice output unit 307 via the navigation control unit 301. To do.

  The altitude calculation unit 313 calculates the altitude at which the moving body is located based on the moving distance and the inclination angle of the moving body calculated from the outputs of the various sensors. In this embodiment, the amount of change in altitude of the moving body during a predetermined distance is calculated after reaching a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads with different heights.

  The angle determination unit 314 compares the inclination angle of the moving object calculated from the outputs of various sensors with a preset threshold value. The angle determination unit 314 calculates the average tilt angle of the moving body per unit time. The unit time is set to 1 second, for example. The reason for using the average inclination angle is to remove the influence of vibration and the like. In addition, the angle determination unit 314 stores the maximum value among the calculated average inclination angles until the road on which the moving body is located after the branch point is reached.

  The branch determination unit 101, the calculation unit 102, the altitude determination unit 103, the position setting unit 104, the first angle determination unit 105, and the second angle determination unit 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 are the navigation control unit 301 illustrated in FIG. The function is realized by the navigation control unit 301 executing the program recorded in the ROM, the RAM, the recording medium 305, and the like.

(Contents of position setting process)
Next, the contents of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the position setting process according to this embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, first, based on the position of the moving object acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 and the elevated frame data in the map information, it is determined whether or not the moving object is located within the elevated frame (step S401). .

  Waiting for the moving body to be positioned within the elevated frame (step S401: No), and if the moving body is positioned within the elevated frame (step S401: Yes), then whether or not the branch point has been reached is determined. Determination is made (step S402). Here, the branching point is an intersection where a plurality of roads with different heights are connected. When this branch point is viewed from the side of the road on which the mobile object is located, the plurality of roads connected to the branch point are each branched from the branch point. In this embodiment, based on the elevated data included in the road type, it is determined whether or not a branch point where a plurality of roads with different elevations are connected has been reached.

  In step S402, when the branch point has not been reached (step S402: No), the process returns to step S401. When the branch point is reached (step S402: Yes), calculation of the average inclination angle is started (step S403), and it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 2 ° or more. (Step S404).

  Here, the situation where the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 2 ° or more has started to transfer roads between roads with different heights, such as highway to general road or general road to highway. Is the lowest angle expected.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 2 ° or more (step S404: Yes), the calculation of the altitude change amount is started (step S405).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S404 that the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is less than 2 ° (step S404: No), the distance traveled by the moving object after reaching the branch point (hereinafter, referred to as “no”). , “Branch distance”) is determined to be 400 m or more (step S406). When it determines with a branch distance being 400 m or more (step S406: Yes), it transfers to step S411. When it is determined that the branch distance is less than 400 m (step S406: No), the process returns to step S404.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 3 ° or more (step S407). When the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 3 ° or more, the moving body is almost certain when changing roads between roads with different elevations, such as highways to ordinary roads or ordinary roads to expressways. It is the angle that is expected to tilt to. When it is determined that the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is 3 ° or more (step S407: Yes), the process proceeds to step S410.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S407 that the absolute value of the average inclination angle per unit time is less than 3 ° (step S407: No), the mobile object starts calculating the altitude change amount in step S405. It is determined whether the moved distance (hereinafter referred to as “calculated distance”) is 180 m or more (step S408). When it is determined that the calculated distance is 180 m or more (step S408: Yes), the process proceeds to step S409. If it is determined in step S408 that the calculated distance is less than 180 m (step S408: No), the process returns to step S407.

  When it is determined in step S408 that the calculated distance is 180 m or more (step S408: Yes), it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the altitude change amount while moving 180 m is 7 m or more (step S409). . Here, the absolute value of the amount of change in altitude while moving 180 m (7 m or more in this embodiment) is the transfer of roads between roads with different elevations, such as from a highway to a general road or from a general road to a highway. At this time, it is set based on an altitude value that is predicted to change almost certainly.

  If it is determined in step S409 that the absolute value of the altitude change during the movement of 180 m is 7 m or more (step S409: Yes), a road of a different road type from the road that has traveled before reaching the branch point is selected. Then, the road is determined as the road where the moving body is located (step S410), and the process proceeds to step S412.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S409 that the absolute value of the altitude change amount during the movement of 180 m is less than 7 m (step S409: No), the same road type as the road traveled before reaching the branch point Is determined as the road where the moving body is located (step S411), and the process proceeds to step S412.

  In step S412, the position of the moving body is set on the road determined in step S410 or step S411 based on the travel distance from the branch point. Then, a series of processing ends.

  It should be noted that the road type information does not include elevated data, and the processing of the present embodiment may be executed only with the type information such as general roads and highways. In this case, in step S402, it is determined whether or not a branch point where a plurality of roads having different elevations are connected is reached, a branch point where a road of a different road type from the currently traveling road is connected is reached. Judgment is based on whether or not. Alternatively, the determination may be made based on whether or not a road that connects to the entrance / exit of the expressway has reached a branch point.

  Further, instead of the process of step S411, the horizontal movement state of the moving body is calculated based on the output information of the position acquisition unit 304 and the map information obtained from the recording medium 305 via the recording medium decoding unit 306. The process for determining the road on which the moving body is located may be executed according to the moving state of the moving body in the horizontal direction. For example, if the moving state of the moving body is a state that moves along the same road type road as the road before the branch point, the same road type road is determined as the road where the moving body is located. decide. In addition, when the moving state of the moving body is a state of moving along a road of a different road type from the road before the branch point and moving along the road of the different road type, the different road type Is determined as the road where the moving body is located.

  Next, a specific example of the position setting process will be described. 5-8 is explanatory drawing explaining the specific example of a position setting process. In FIG. 5, highways L1 and L2 are connected via a first branch point N1. Further, general roads L4 and L5 are connected via the second branch point N2. The highways L1 and L2 and the general roads L4 and L5 are connected by a connecting road L3 that connects the first branch point N1 and the second branch point N2.

  In this specific example, the highways L1 and L2 are elevated roads, and the highways L1 and L2 and the general roads L4 and L5 are running side by side with a height difference. Here, a case will be described in which a moving body traveling on the general road L4 changes to the highway L1 or L2 via the connecting road L3. In addition, let the 1st branch point N1 be an entrance of a highway. On the display unit 303, the position of the moving body represented by the mark indicated by the symbol m in FIGS. 5 to 8 is displayed superimposed on the map information. Normally, the display position of the mark m indicating the position of the moving body is updated as the moving body moves, and a substantially real-time position is displayed superimposed on the map information.

  In determining the road on which the moving body is located, when the moving body (see FIG. 5) traveling on the general road L4 reaches the second branch point N2 (see FIG. 6), the second branch point is determined based on a speed sensor or the like. The moving distance d1 of the moving body after reaching is calculated. Then, based on this moving distance d1, a candidate position where the moving body is estimated to be located is calculated. In FIG. 7, the marks C1 and C2 on the connecting road L3 and the general road L5 connected to the second branch point N2 are candidate positions where the moving body is estimated to be located.

  In FIG. 7, marks C1 and C2 have the same distance d1 from the branch point N2. In addition, after passing through the second branch point N2, until the road on which the moving body is located is determined, the road of the same road type as the traveling road (general road L4) before reaching the second branch point The mark m is displayed at the candidate position (mark C2) on the general road L5, and navigation processing such as route guidance is executed based on the candidate position on the general road L5.

  When it is determined by the execution of the processing shown in FIG. 4 that the vehicle has moved to a road (link road L3) of a different road type from the travel road (general road L4) before reaching the second branch point, the link road L3 Is determined as the road where the moving body is located, and the candidate position on the connecting road L3 is set as the position of the moving body. And the mark m which shows the position of the moving body in the display part 303 is updated to the set position on the connection road L3 (refer FIG. 8), and navigation processing, such as route guidance, is performed based on the position on this connection road L3. Execute.

  On the other hand, if it is determined by the execution of the process shown in FIG. 4 that the vehicle has moved to the same road type road (general road L5) as the traveling road (general road L4) before reaching the second branch point The road corresponding to the general road L5 is determined as the road where the moving body is located, and the candidate position on the general road L5 is set as the position of the moving body. And the mark m which shows the position of the mobile body in a display part is decided to the set position on the general road L5, and navigation processing, such as route guidance, is continued based on the position on this general road L5.

  In this specific example, the case where the moving body traveling on the general road L4 is transferred to the highway L1 or L2 via the connecting road L3 has been described. Of course, the moving body traveling on the highway is from the highway. Similar processing can be executed when switching to a general road.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the road on which the moving body is located based on the amount of change in altitude of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body by a predetermined distance after reaching the branch point of the moving body. Is set. Therefore, when traveling on roads that run parallel with different heights, it is possible to determine which road is being traveled even when information on the road gradient and road height for these roads cannot be obtained.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the process shown in FIG. 4 is executed only when the moving body is located in the elevated frame, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary calculation process of the altitude change amount.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the amount of change in altitude from the position where the average inclination angle per unit time of the moving body is determined to be equal to or greater than the angle threshold (2 °) is calculated. Therefore, the amount of change in altitude is calculated only when it is determined that there is a high possibility that an altitude change due to a transfer to a road with a level difference will occur. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden of calculation processing in the navigation control unit 301 and the like without calculating unnecessary amount of change in altitude.

  In this embodiment, the angle threshold is set to 2 °, but the present invention is not limited to this. The angle threshold is not limited to a single value, and may be set for each elevated frame, for example. Thereby, for example, even when the height of the elevated road and the inclination of the road connecting the elevated road and the general road differ from city to city, the accuracy of determination of the road on which the moving body is located can be improved.

  According to the present embodiment, when the amount of change in altitude is less than the altitude threshold (7 m), a road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point is determined as the road on which the moving body is located. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent mismatching when the mobile object passes through the same road before and after the branch point and there is a slight change in altitude on the road after passing through the branch point.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, if the average inclination angle equal to or greater than the angle threshold does not occur even when moving from the branch point by 400 m or more, the road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point is moved. Determine the road where the body is located. Accordingly, the process shown in FIG. 4 can be prevented from continuing after the branch point is reached until an average inclination angle equal to or greater than the angle threshold is generated. The value of 400 m from the branch point is a value that can be arbitrarily set, and an optimal value can be appropriately set according to the region, country, and the like.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when calculating the amount of change in altitude, if the absolute value of the average inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined maximum angle threshold (3 °), the road type is different from the road before reaching the branch point. You may make it determine a road as a road where a mobile body is located. Thereby, the accuracy of determining the road on which the moving body is located can be improved by using a plurality of determination elements such as altitude and inclination angle.

  In addition, in this embodiment, it is determined that the road leading to the entrance / exit of the expressway has reached a branch point where the road is connected. When a branch point that is highly likely to be involved in a transfer of a certain road is reached, the processing shown in FIG. 4 can be executed.

  Further, instead of the processing of step S411 of the present embodiment, the altitude difference between the highway and the general road is determined by executing processing for determining the road on which the moving body is located according to the moving state of the moving body in the horizontal direction. In an area where there is almost no road, it is possible to prevent a road of the same road type from being determined after reaching the branch point before the branch point is reached. Therefore, the accuracy of determining the road on which the moving body is located in such a case can be improved.

  The position setting method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0001]
Technical field [0001]
The present invention relates to a position setting device, a position setting method, a position setting program, and a recording medium for setting the position of a moving body.
Background art [0002]
In a navigation apparatus or the like, map matching is performed in which the position of a moving body is logically matched on a display road. When this map matching is performed in two dimensions, for example, it is determined which road the moving body is traveling in a place where a plurality of roads with different altitudes run in parallel, such as an elevated road such as an expressway and a general road. It is difficult to do.
[0003]
For this reason, for example, the posture of the moving body or altitude obtained from GPS or sensor positioning data is compared with the road gradient or road altitude obtained from the three-dimensional road information included in the map data, so that the moving body There is a technique for determining which road among a plurality of different roads is traveling (see Patent Document 1 below).
[0004]
Patent Document 1: Problem to be Solved by the Invention Disclosure of the Invention of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-304510 [0005]
However, in the above-described technique, when the road gradient or the road altitude cannot be obtained from the map data, it cannot be determined which of the plurality of roads the mobile body is traveling at different altitudes. The problem is an example.
Means for Solving the Problems [0006]
The position setting device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a branch determination unit that determines that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads having different elevations, and an inclination angle of the mobile body is a predetermined angle threshold value. The first angle determination means for determining that the above is the case, and the movement of the movable body by a predetermined distance from the position where the inclination angle of the movable body is determined to be equal to or greater than the angle threshold by the first angle determination means A calculating means for calculating an altitude change amount of the moving body, an altitude determining means for determining whether the altitude change amount calculated by the calculating means is equal to or higher than a predetermined altitude threshold, and the altitude determining means.

[0002]
And a position setting unit that determines a road on which the moving body is located from the plurality of roads based on the determination result, and sets the position of the moving body on the road.
[0007]
The position setting method according to the invention of claim 8 includes a branch determination step of determining that the mobile body has reached a branch point where the mobile body branches to a plurality of roads having different elevations, and an inclination angle of the mobile body is a predetermined angle threshold value. The angle determination step for determining that the above is the case, and the movement associated with the movement of the moving body by a predetermined distance from the position where the inclination angle of the moving body is determined to be equal to or greater than the angle threshold by the angle determination step. Based on a calculation step for calculating an altitude change amount of the body, an altitude determination step for determining whether the altitude change amount calculated by the calculation step is equal to or greater than a predetermined altitude threshold, and a determination result of the altitude determination step A road determining step for determining a road on which the moving body is located from among the plurality of roads, and a position setting step for setting the position of the moving body on the road determined by the road determining step. Is And wherein the door.
[0008]
A position setting program according to a ninth aspect of the invention causes a computer to execute the position setting method according to the eighth aspect.
[0009]
A recording medium according to a tenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that the position setting program according to the ninth aspect is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a position setting device according to the present embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the position setting apparatus concerning this Embodiment of this invention.
[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus in the present embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the position setting process according to the present embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific example of the position setting process according to the present embodiment of the invention.

Claims (10)

Branch determination means for determining that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads with different elevations;
A calculating means for calculating an amount of change in altitude of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body by a predetermined distance after the moving body reaches the branch point;
Altitude determination means for determining whether or not the altitude change calculated by the calculating means is greater than or equal to a predetermined altitude threshold;
Based on the determination result of the altitude determination means, a position setting means for determining a road where the moving body is located from among the plurality of roads and setting the position of the moving body on the road;
A position setting device comprising:   When the amount of change in altitude is less than the altitude threshold, the position setting means sets the road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point among the plurality of roads as the road where the moving body is located. The position setting device according to claim 1, wherein the position setting device is determined.   The position setting means determines, when the amount of change in altitude is equal to or greater than the altitude threshold, a road of a different road type from the road before reaching the branch point among the plurality of roads as the road on which the moving body is located. The position setting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein First angle determination means for determining that the inclination angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle threshold;
2. The calculation unit according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the amount of change in altitude from a position at which the inclination angle of the moving body is determined to be equal to or greater than the angle threshold by the first angle determination unit. Position setting device.   The position setting means, when the inclination angle of the moving body continues to be less than the angle threshold until the moving distance of the moving body from the branch point becomes equal to or greater than a distance threshold, The position setting device according to claim 4, wherein a road of the same road type as the road before reaching the branch point is determined as a road on which the moving body is located. A second angle determination means for determining that the inclination angle of the mobile body is equal to or greater than a predetermined maximum angle threshold;
The position setting means, when the inclination angle of the moving body is equal to or greater than a predetermined maximum angle threshold during the altitude change calculation by the calculation means, the road before reaching the branch point among the plurality of roads The position setting device according to claim 1, wherein roads of different road types are determined as roads on which the moving body is located.   The position setting device according to claim 1, wherein the branch determination unit determines that the moving body has reached a branch point to which a road connected to an entrance / exit of an expressway is connected. A branch determination step for determining that the mobile body has reached a branch point that branches to a plurality of roads with different elevations;
A calculation step of calculating the amount of change in altitude of the moving body accompanying the movement of the moving body by a predetermined distance after the moving body reaches the branch point;
An altitude determination step of determining whether or not the altitude change amount calculated by the calculation step is greater than or equal to a predetermined altitude threshold;
Based on the determination result of the altitude determination step, a road determination step for determining a road where the moving body is located from among the plurality of roads;
A position setting step of setting the position of the moving body on the road determined by the road determination step;
The position setting method characterized by including.   A position setting program for causing a computer to execute the position setting method according to claim 8.   A recording medium in which the position setting program according to claim 9 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

Images