JP2002005670A - Navigation system for moving objects - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To receive map information of a scale suitable for a moving speed and a road type and to display the map information together with a current position. A map center (1) is provided with a map information storage means (11) for storing and managing map information of a plurality of scales, and a map information search means (13) for extracting necessary map information from the map information storage means (11). The navigation device 2 transmits the moving speed and the current position information detected by the moving speed detecting means 27 and the current position detecting means 22 to the map center 1. The map center 1 retrieves the corresponding scaled map information from the current position information and the moving speed received from the navigation device 2 by using the map information search means 13 and the map information storage means 1.
1 and transmits it to the navigation device 2. The navigation device 2 displays the map information received from the map center 1 on the monitor 23 together with the current position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus for a mobile object which acquires map information from a map center provided outside the mobile object via communication means and displays a map together with a current position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, current position information is acquired by current position detecting means such as a GPS receiver, and map information is stored on a CD-ROM.
2. Description of the Related Art There is known an apparatus that reads map information near a current position from map information storage means stored in a storage means such as a ROM and displays the current position and a map near the current position on a display device such as a monitor.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-67385 discloses a map information storage means for storing and managing map information, a map information search means for extracting necessary map information from the map information storage means, A map center provided outside the navigation device having communication means for receiving information and transmitting map information corresponding to the received position information to the navigation device;
There is disclosed a navigation system including a navigation device that transmits current position information obtained by a current position detecting means such as a PS receiver to a map center, obtains corresponding map information from the map center, and displays the map information together with the current position. I have.

[0004]

However, according to a conventional navigation device equipped with a storage means such as a CD-ROM, map information not required by the user must be stored in the navigation device. ,
It is necessary to equip a storage means such as a CD-ROM for managing large-capacity map information. In addition, when a situation such as new construction or deletion of a road occurs, the CD-ROM needs to be changed or the storage memory has to be changed. Unless rewriting is performed, the latest information cannot be received.

Although the above problem can be solved in a navigation device that obtains map information by communication from outside the navigation device, the above-described conventional communication type navigation device transmits a plurality of maps of a reduced scale to the navigation device. In such a case, if the communication speed is low, it is necessary to frequently communicate with the map center depending on the moving speed, and the communication cost increases. In addition, even if an attempt is made to acquire necessary map information, there is a possibility that a problem may occur such that the user has already passed the location of the acquired map by the time the acquisition is completed. In addition, a more detailed map with a larger amount of information is often required when moving at a lower speed.

Therefore, it is conceivable to receive only detailed map information in order to reduce the amount of information received by the navigation device. However, since the moving speed increases and it is easy to deviate from the area of the map information currently held, More area must be acquired and the navigation device memory must be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a communication type navigation system and a navigation apparatus which can receive map information of a scale corresponding to the traveling speed and the type of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling. Aim.

[0008]

To solve the above problems, the following means are employed. According to the invention described in claim 1, the map information is transmitted from a map center (for example, the map center 1 in the embodiment) provided outside the moving body (for example, the vehicle in the embodiment) to communication means (for example, the embodiment). In the navigation device for a mobile object (for example, the navigation device 2 in the embodiment) obtained through the communication unit 25 in the first embodiment, the moving speed detection unit provided in the mobile object (for example, the movement speed detection unit 27 in the embodiment). ) And the current position detecting means (for example, the current position detecting means 22 in the embodiment) transmit the moving speed and the current position of the moving object to the map center via the communication means. Receiving the transmitted current position information and map information of a reduced scale corresponding to the moving speed via the communication means. In a navigation apparatus for a mobile body, which acquires map information via a communication means from a map center provided outside the mobile body,

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation apparatus for a mobile unit according to the first aspect, the map center specifies a road type based on the current position information and the moving speed received from the mobile unit, and directs the map to the mobile unit. And determining the scale of the map to be transmitted.

According to the above configuration, the scale of the map sent from the map center can be automatically changed according to the moving speed (vehicle speed) and the road type. When traveling on a road of a low road type, it is easier to provide guidance to the driver by transmitting and receiving smaller scale detailed map information, and when traveling on a road with a relatively high speed range By transmitting and receiving map information of a large scale, the communication frequency can be reduced.

In addition, a large-scale map, that is, a map that can cover a wide area, can be obtained while traveling on a road of a road type that allows high-speed traveling even during high-speed traveling and low-speed traveling. In addition, it is not necessary to acquire a large number of maps that can cover only a small area in detail, and the memory for storing map information can be reduced. Furthermore, since the map information is collectively managed by the map center, the latest map information can always be obtained.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [System Configuration of Map Center] As shown in FIG. 1, the map center 1 is provided with a map information storage means 11 for storing maps at a plurality of scales. Map information updating means 12 for updating;
A map information search unit 13 for searching a map is connected.

The map information search means 13 further includes:
Additional information storage means 14 for storing information on shops along the road and additional information such as road conditions such as traffic jams and regulations, and communication means 15 for transmitting and receiving information to and from the navigation device 2
And are connected. The outline of the operation of the map center 1 will be described. The map center 1 receives the current position information, the moving speed, and the user setting items from the navigation device 2 via the communication unit 15.

The map information retrieving means 13 contains the current position information based on the received current position information and the moving speed, and stores the map information of the optimum scale according to the moving speed.
1 and retrieves additional information desired by the user from the additional information storage unit 14 based on the received user setting items. Then, the retrieved map information and additional information are transmitted to the navigation device 2 via the communication means 15.

[Configuration of Navigation Apparatus] The navigation apparatus 2 is mounted on a vehicle (moving body) and has input means 26 for setting additional information and the like desired by the user.
A communication unit 25 for transmitting and receiving information to and from the map center 1, an information storage unit 21 for storing the received map information and additional information, and displaying the map information and the additional information stored in the information storage unit 21. A monitor 23 and a control means 24 connected to these means 21, 22,... For controlling the overall operation are provided.

As the communication means 25, for example, adoption of a mobile phone is conceivable. Of the mobile phones, the use of IMT2000 or the like, which is called a next-generation mobile phone, is more preferable because the communication speed is high, so that more map information and additional information can be transmitted and received. The moving speed detecting means 27 for detecting the moving speed (vehicle speed) and the current position detecting means (for example, GPS) 22 for detecting the current position are provided on the vehicle side.

The operation of the navigation device 2 will be described briefly.
, The current position information detected by the current position detection unit 22, and the user setting items set by the input unit 26 are transmitted to the map center 1 via the communication unit 25. When the map information and additional information retrieved by the map center 1 on the basis of the transmitted information are received via the communication means 15, these are temporarily stored in the information storage means 21 by the control means 24, and are stored in the information storage means 21. Reads out the map including the current position and displays the map on the monitor 23 together with the current position.

[Main Flow] Next, the flow of processing performed on the navigation device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Navigation device 2
When the power is turned on, a system check is first performed. When the system check is completed, in step S1, the setting items of the user are confirmed.

The setting items are restaurant,
There are items for displaying landmarks such as convenience stores, gas stations, and shopping centers, and for displaying road congestion and regulations, and the driver selects or inputs using the input means 26. Also, the user can select the scale of the map acquired from the map center 1 in advance. In this case, the selection request is also set by the user.

In step S2, the moving speed detecting means 27
It is determined whether or not it is possible to detect the moving speed. If the result of the determination is "YES", the moving speed is detected, and the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the determination result of step S2 is "NO", for example, if the moving speed cannot be detected due to a failure of the moving speed detecting means 27 or the like, step S31 is performed.
Then, a warning such as "The vehicle speed cannot be detected." Is displayed on the monitor 23, voice guidance is prompted, and the process returns to step S2.

In step S3, the current position detecting means 22
It is determined whether or not the current position can be detected by using, and if the determination result is “YES”, the current position is detected, and the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, when the result of the determination in step S3 is "NO" (for example, when the current position cannot be detected because the radio wave of the GPS satellite does not reach in an underground parking lot or the like)
Proceeds to step S21.

In step S21, it is determined whether or not the map information and the additional information obtained when the map center 1 was accessed last time are present (stored) in the information storage means 21. If the result of this determination is "YES", the operation proceeds to step S22, where the map information and the additional information are displayed on the display means 23, and the operation returns to step S2. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S21 is "NO", the process proceeds to a step S21 to display a warning such as "move to a position where the GPS can reach" on the monitor 23 and to prompt the voice guidance, It returns to step S2.

In step S4, similarly to step S21, it is determined whether the map information and the additional information obtained when the map center 1 was accessed last time are present in the information storage means. If the result of the determination is "YES", the operation proceeds to step S5, where it is determined whether or not the current position detected in step S3 is on a map stored in the information storage means 21. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S4 is "NO", the process proceeds to a step S11 to determine whether the communication means 25 is usable.

If the determination result in step S11 is "NO", for example, if the communication means 25 cannot be used because the power is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S31 and the monitor 2
3 displays a warning such as "The communication device is not turned on or is not connected", prompts voice guidance, and returns to step S2. In contrast, step S
If the determination result in Step 11 is "YES", Step S12 is performed.
To the map center 1 to acquire the map information and the additional information, and then proceeds to step S6.

In step S12, the map center 1
The data to be transmitted to the user are current position information, user setting items, and moving speed. The map information and additional information obtained from the map center 1 are temporarily stored in the information storage unit 21 by the control unit 24. The map information acquisition flow in step S12 will be described later in detail with reference to the subroutine flowcharts in FIGS.

If the result of the determination in step S5 is "NO", the process proceeds to step S11 as in the case where "NO" is determined in step S4. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step 5 is "YES", the process proceeds to a step S6 to decide whether or not the vehicle has moved and the current position has entered a predetermined area. The “predetermined area” refers to, for example, an outer edge of a map displayed on the monitor 23.

More specifically, an example will be described. In FIG. 5, the maps obtained last time are maps 14 to 16, 24 to 2
If the current position is present in the area displayed on the map 34, the point at the current position may soon disappear from the map. In the present embodiment, such an area is referred to as a “predetermined area”.

This “predetermined area” is simply referred to as the monitor 2
The determination may be made not only based on whether or not it is on the outer edge of the map displayed in FIG. 3 but also in consideration of the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, in the example of FIG. 5 described above, even if the current position is in the area of the map 34, if the traveling direction is toward the area of the map 25, the point of the current position may disappear from the map for a while. Since there is no such area, in this case, the area of the map 34 may not be the “predetermined area”.

If the decision result in the step S6 is "NO", the process proceeds to a step S7 to display the map information and the additional information on the monitor 23 and the point of the current position. On the other hand, the determination result of step S6 is “YES”
In the case of, the process proceeds to step S13, and it is determined whether the communication means 25 is usable. If the result of this determination is "NO",
Proceeding to step S31, a warning such as "the communication device is not turned on or not connected" is displayed on the monitor 23, and voice guidance is prompted, and step S31 is performed.
Return to 2.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S13 is "YES", the process proceeds to a step S14 to access the map center to acquire the map information and the additional information, and then proceeds to the step S7. The data transmitted to the map center 1 in step S14 includes the current position information, the user setting items, and the moving speed, as in step S12. The moving speed transmitted to the map center 1 is a vehicle speed at the time when the vehicle enters a predetermined area.
The average speed per minute) may be calculated and used as the latest information.

The map information and additional information obtained from the map center 1 are temporarily stored in the information storage means 21 by the control means 24. Also, a predetermined area is deleted from the passed areas. At this time, the amount of the area to be deleted is set equal to the amount of the newly acquired area. Proceeding to step 8,
It is determined whether there is an end request, and if the determination result is “NO”, that is, unless there is an end request, the above control continues.

[Map Acquisition Flow] Next, the flow of map acquisition processing performed on the navigation device 2 will be described with reference to the subroutine flowchart of FIG. This subroutine is performed when the communication unit 25 is determined to be usable in steps S11 and S13 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 (when the determination result in each of steps S11 and S13 is “YES”). Flows when there is a command to acquire map information and additional information from the user.

First, in step S41, the communication means 25
The connection to the map center 1 is made. Next, in step S42, the user ID for identifying the user
And the user's approval is obtained at the map center 1.
In step S43, it is determined whether the user's approval result received from the map center 1 is "OK".

If the decision result in the step S43 is "NO", that is, if the user approval is not obtained, the process proceeds to a step S51, where the connection with the map center 1 is released. Next, the process proceeds to step S52, in which a warning such as "Could not be connected to the map center" is displayed on the monitor 23, voice guidance is prompted, and the processing of this subroutine is terminated.

If the decision result in the step S43 is "YES", that is, if the user approval is obtained, the process proceeds to a step S44 to transmit the current position information, the moving speed, and the user setting items. When the map information and the additional information are received from the map center 1 in step 45, the information is temporarily stored in the information storage unit 21.

Next, in step 46, the connection with the map center 21 is released, and in step 47, the passed map information and a predetermined area of the additional information are deleted from the information storage means 21, and the processing of this subroutine is executed. finish.

[Map Center Flow] Next, referring to the subroutine flowchart of FIG. 4, the map acquisition processing of the navigation device 2 shown in FIG.
The flow of processing performed on the map center 1 side will be described. This subroutine is executed when a request for outputting map information and additional information is received from the navigation device 2.

First, in step S61, when the user ID is received from the navigation device 2 via the communication means 15, the user ID is received in step S62.
It is determined whether D is registered in advance. If the result of the determination is "NO", that is, if the user ID has not been registered, the process proceeds to step S71, where the communication means 15
, A signal of “user approval NO” is transmitted to the navigation device 2 and the processing of this subroutine ends.

If the decision result in the step S62 is "YES", that is, if the user ID has been registered, the flow advances to a step S63 to send a "user approval OK" signal via the communication means 15 to the navigation device 2. Send to Next, in step S64, the communication unit 15
, The current position information, the moving speed, and the user setting items are received from the navigation device 2.

In step S65, the scale of the map stored in the map information storage unit 11 to be transmitted to the navigation device 2 is selected from the moving speed received in step S64. Next, in Step S66, Step S
Based on the current position information received in step 64, the map information search unit 13 searches the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 and the map information of the reduced scale selected in step S65. Extract map information to be sent to.

Similarly, in step S67, step S
The additional information storage unit 14 is searched by the map information search unit 13 from the user setting items received at 64, and the additional information to be transmitted to the navigation device 2 is extracted. Thereafter, in step S68, the map information extracted in step S66 and the additional information extracted in step S67 are
Transmitted to the navigation device 2 via the communication means 15,
The processing of this subroutine ends.

[Map Information Acquisition / Save Method] Next, a map information acquisition / save method will be described with reference to FIG. As an example, at present maps 14-16, 24-2
6, 34-36 are stored in the information storage means 21,
When the current position is on the map 25, it is assumed that the vehicle has moved and the current position has moved from the map 25 to the map 34.

In this case, the maps 23, 33, 43 to 45
Is acquired from the map center 1 and unnecessary maps 14 to 16, 26, and 36 are deleted from the information storage unit 21. Note that the map area that can be acquired is not limited to nine areas as shown in FIG. 5, but can be changed according to the capacity of the installed memory. Acquisition / deletion can also be changed depending on the capacity of the memory.

[Map Area Acquired by One Communication]
The map area acquired in one communication will be described with reference to FIG. When driving at low speed, a detailed map is often required. However, detailed maps have a large amount of data,
You cannot get a very large area. On the other hand,
When driving at high speed, detailed maps are not required. This is because if the user runs at high speed while displaying the detailed map, the area must be switched immediately, and the communication frequency will increase.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the above-mentioned problem can be solved by changing only the scale while keeping the area of the map at the time of running at low speed and the map at the time of running at high speed. Specifically, when the vehicle is traveling at a low speed of 30 km / h or less, a map having a scale of about 1/1500 is used to calculate the speed from 80 km / h to 30 km.
At a medium speed running in the range of km / h, from a map of about 1 / 12,500, at a high speed running at 80 km / h or more, 1/50.
Search from about 000 maps. This is merely an example, and it is possible to have more speed ranges by increasing the scale of the map stored by the map center.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the scale of the map sent from the map center 1 to the navigation device 2 can be automatically changed according to the moving speed. If you are traveling at a high speed, you can send and receive detailed map information with a smaller scale to make it easier to guide the driver.If you are traveling at a relatively high speed, a large scale map information is transmitted. -Communication costs can be reduced by reducing the frequency of communication upon reception.

In addition, since a large scale map, that is, a map that can cover a wide area can be acquired when moving at high speed, it is necessary to acquire many maps that are detailed but can cover only a small area. Disappears. As a result, it is possible to reduce the memory of the information storage means 21 for storing the map information, and it is possible to reduce the cost.

Further, the map information is updated by the map information updating means 12.
When there is a change in the road information, the road information is updated and is managed collectively by the map information storage means 11 of the map center 1. Therefore, even when a situation such as new construction or deletion of a road occurs, The user can always obtain the latest map information without changing the CD-ROM or rewriting the storage memory.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the specific numerical values described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the moving speed is transmitted from the navigation device 2 to the map center 1 as information for determining the scale of the map information, but the user inputs the moving speed instead of or together with the moving speed. The type of moving road selected or input by the means 26 may be transmitted.

In other words, if the scale of the map information to be transmitted to the navigation device 2 is determined by the map center 1 only based on the traveling speed, for example, during the movement on an expressway that generally does not require detailed map information around the current position. Also, in the case where the user is forced to run at low speed due to traffic congestion or the like, a detailed map may be displayed on the monitor 23 even though the user still wants wide area road information.

Therefore, as described above, if the type of the moving road is transmitted from the navigation device 2 to the map center 1 and this road type is used as a parameter at the time of selecting the scale, congestion or the like may occur during the movement of the expressway. In addition, unnecessary small scale map information is not selected, and the wide area road information that the user really wants can be displayed on the monitor 23.

It is not necessary for the user to set and transmit the type of the moving road on the navigation device 2 side, and the road type may be determined on the map center 1 side. For example, in the map center 1, it is possible to automatically determine the road type from the map information stored in the map information storage means 11 and the current position information received from the navigation device 2.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the scale of the map sent from the map center to the navigation device can be automatically changed according to the moving speed and the road type. When driving on a road of a road type with a relatively low speed range while driving at low speed, it is easier to guide the driver by transmitting and receiving detailed map information with a smaller scale, making it easier to guide to the driver. When traveling on a high road, the communication cost can be reduced by transmitting / receiving large scale map information and reducing the communication frequency.

Furthermore, a large scale map, that is, a map that can cover a wide area can be obtained while traveling on a road of a road type that allows high-speed traveling even during high-speed traveling and low-speed traveling. This eliminates the need to acquire many maps that are detailed but can only cover a small area. As a result, it is possible to reduce the memory of the information storage means for storing the map information, and it is possible to reduce the cost.

Further, since the map information is collectively managed by the map information storage means of the map center, the CD-RO can be used even when a new road or a new road is deleted.
The user can always obtain the latest map information without changing the M or rewriting the storage memory.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main control flow performed by the navigation device.

FIG. 3 is a subroutine flowchart showing a flow of a map acquisition process performed by the navigation device.

FIG. 4 is a subroutine flowchart showing a flow of processing performed in a map center corresponding to the map acquisition processing of the navigation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a method for acquiring / saving map information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the concept of a map area acquired in one communication.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Map center 2 Navigation apparatus 22 Current position detecting means 25 Communication means 26 Input means 27 Moving speed detecting means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C032 HB22 HB25 HC08 HC24 2F029 AA02 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC14 AC19 AD07 5H180 AA01 BB05 CC27 EE01 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF27

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A mobile navigation device for acquiring map information via a communication means from a map center provided outside a mobile body, wherein the navigation information is detected by a moving speed detecting means and a current position detecting means provided on the mobile body. The moving speed and the current position of the moving object transmitted to the map center are transmitted to the map center via the communication unit. From the map center, the transmitted current position information and the scaled map information corresponding to the moving speed are transmitted via the communication unit. A navigation device for a mobile object, characterized in that the navigation device receives the data. 2. The map center according to claim 1, wherein the map center specifies a road type based on the current position information and the moving speed received from the moving body, and determines a scale of a map transmitted to the moving body. Navigation device for mobile objects.