JP2008122352A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guide a road to be avoided in consideration of children, elderly people, etc. when all roads existing in a guidance avoidance area can be a target of guidance.
In the map data according to the present embodiment, a guide route is a link string and a node provided between a point on a road (hereinafter referred to as an entrance node) and a facility point (hereinafter referred to as a facility node). Defined in at least one of the columns. Each facility is associated with the guidance route (i). Each facility exists in the school zone. The guidance route (i) includes an entry node (i), a facility node (i), and nodes constituting a guidance route therebetween. Further, the guidance route (i) includes at least a part of a link indicating a road where a sidewalk and a roadway are partitioned by a card rail, or a node indicating a start point and an end point of the road.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a portable device, an in-vehicle device, etc. including a navigation function.

As a background art, if the destination does not exist in an area including a shopping street or a school road, a guidance route that avoids this area is displayed. On the other hand, if the destination exists in the region, the guidance route described above is displayed. There is known an in-vehicle navigation device that does not display (for example, see Patent Document 1). Further, an in-vehicle navigation device that hides narrow streets existing in the above-described area using map data in which an area including a shopping street, a school zone, or the like is set is known (for example, see Patent Document 2). reference).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-261817 (refer to FIG. 1 in particular) JP 2003-315064 A (refer to FIG. 7 in particular)

  According to the background art, when a destination exists in an area including a shopping street or a school road (hereinafter referred to as a guidance avoidance area), a flag attached to a road existing in the guidance avoidance area is ignored. That is, a road existing in the guidance avoidance area can be guided as a guidance route.

  However, when all roads existing in the guidance avoidance area can be targeted for guidance, the roads to be avoided will be guided in consideration of children, the elderly, and the like. In other words, there was a problem that the technical significance of providing a guidance avoidance area was lost.

  A navigation apparatus according to the present invention is a navigation apparatus that includes a road existing in a guidance avoidance area in a route to a target facility existing in the guidance avoidance area. The navigation apparatus includes a facility, a point on the road, and a point on the road to the facility. A processing unit that outputs, to the output device, a search route to a point on the road associated with the destination facility and a guidance related to the guidance route associated with the destination facility using map data that associates the guidance route with the destination facility Is provided. The interpretation of the lexical terms in the present invention is as follows.

  The “guidance avoidance area” is an area that includes a road that is not suitable for guidance, and more preferably an area that includes a road that should be avoided in consideration of pedestrians (children, elderly people, etc.). For example, there are an area around a hospital, an area around a shopping street, an area around a school (so-called school zone), and the like. Whether or not “not suitable for guidance” is preferably set for each temporal element (time, date, day of the week, season, etc.) in the map data.

  A “destination facility” is a facility set as a destination. It does not matter whether “setting” is made manually or automatically.

  The “point on the road” is preferably provided on a boundary line that defines the road outside the guidance avoidance area or the inside and outside of the guidance avoidance area.

“Map data” is data having a data structure that associates facilities, points on the road, and guide routes from the points on the road to the facilities. The “map data” is “when a destination facility existing in the guidance avoidance area is set, a route to a point on the road associated with the destination facility is searched for, and the map is associated with the destination facility. And used by a computer that guides the searched route and the read guidance route ”.

  The “search route” is a route from a certain point to a point on the road. Here, as a “certain point”, there are a current location, a departure location, and the like.

  The “guidance route” is a route for guiding from a point on the road to a facility, and considers pedestrians. As the “guide route”, there is preferably a route including at least a part of a road on which a sidewalk is provided. As the “guide route”, more preferably, there is a route including at least a part of a road in which a sidewalk and a roadway are partitioned by a card rail or a road in which the sidewalk and the roadway are stepped.

  The “output device” is a concept including an audio output device (so-called speaker) and a display device.

  The “processing unit” is for realizing information processing according to the present invention by hardware alone or by cooperation of hardware and software. “Hardware” and “software” correspond to the aforementioned “computer”.

  The “processing unit” is preferably one that “displays the guidance route and the search route connected to the guidance route in a distinguishable manner on the display device”.

  “Preliminary” means that data has already been prepared. That is, the “guidance route” itself can be obtained without going through the search process.

  “Distinction” has a technical significance in that the user recognizes that a road existing in the “guidance avoidance area” is to be guided and alerts the user. Specific modes of “display distinctively” include display in a color different from the searched route, display in a different shape (broken line, dotted line, etc.), blink display of the route, a combination thereof, and the like. In particular, regarding “color”, it is preferable from the viewpoint of alerting to display “guidance route” in red.

  The “processing unit” is preferably configured to determine whether or not to output a notice of guidance that the guidance route is guided to the output device based on the distance from the current location to a point on the road included in the guidance route. To control accordingly. "

  The “notice guidance” has a technical significance in that the user is made aware that a road existing in the “guidance avoidance area” is to be guided and alerts the user. For example, “notice guidance” includes voice guidance, text on the screen, mark display, and combinations thereof.

  As “depending on the distance”, a branching condition of whether or not the “distance” has reached a predetermined value can be considered. The “predetermined value” is, for example, 300 m or 500 m.

  The “processing unit” is preferably one that “outputs a confirmation guidance to the effect that the guidance route is being guided to the output device on the condition that the current location is on the guidance route”.

  The “confirmation guidance” has a technical significance in that the user recognizes that a road existing in the “guidance avoidance area” is being guided and alerts the user. For example, “confirmation guidance” includes voice guidance, text on a screen, mark display, and combinations thereof.

  The present invention adopts a data structure that associates a facility, a point on the road, and a guidance route from the point on the road to the facility, and considers the route to the target facility existing in the guidance avoidance area for pedestrians. It has the effect that it can be done.

  The best mode for carrying out the navigation device according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.

  <Example of Output> An example of output according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a guide route and a search route connected to this at a point on the road are displayed. The guidance route is a route to a school (corresponding to “target facility”) existing in a school zone (corresponding to “guidance avoidance area”). Moreover, the guide route includes a road in which a sidewalk and a roadway are separated by a guardrail.

  By the way, conventionally, when the target facility is a school, a flag set in the guidance avoidance area is ignored and a search route with the lowest search cost is displayed (see FIG. 2). Moreover, since the presence or absence of the guardrail is not reflected in the search cost, a road where the sidewalk and the roadway are not partitioned by the card rail has been guided.

  However, when a road where the sidewalk and the roadway are not partitioned by the card rail is guided, the problems caused thereby are as described above. Therefore, a specific technique for realizing an output example according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  <Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The navigation device 1 includes a processing device (corresponding to a “processing unit”) 2, a display device 3, a speaker 4, and an operation device 5. Here, the display device 3 and the speaker 4 are subordinate concepts of the “output device”.

  The processing device 2 includes an I / O 10, a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a HDD 14, a drawing IC 15, a VRAM 16, a sound IC 17 and a GPS device 18. A vehicle speed sensor 20 is connected to the processing device 2. These devices are known for realizing a navigation function.

  A display device 3, a speaker 4 operation device 5, and a vehicle speed sensor 20 are connected to the I / O 10.

  The ROM 12 stores basic programs such as a BIOS program.

  The HDD 14 stores a navigation program and map data for realizing a navigation function.

  <Data Structure of Map Data> Map data according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. The guide route is defined by at least one of a link row and a node row provided between a point on the road (hereinafter referred to as an entrance node) and a facility point (hereinafter referred to as a facility node) (see FIG. 4). ).

  Each facility is associated with the guidance route (i). Each facility exists in the school zone.

  The guidance route (i) includes an entry node (i), a facility node (i), and nodes constituting a guidance route therebetween (see FIG. 5). In addition, the guidance route (i) includes at least a part of a link indicating a road where a sidewalk and a roadway are partitioned by a card rail, or a node indicating a start point and an end point of the road.

  A link (a line having two nodes as end points) may be used instead of the node.

  <Navigation Process> The flow of the navigation process according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 expands the navigation program and map data stored in the HDD 14 in the RAM 13. The CPU 11 implements navigation processing using the developed program and map data.

  When a facility (hereinafter referred to as a destination facility) is set by the operation device 5 as a destination, it is determined whether or not the guidance route (i) associated with the destination facility exists in the RAM 13 (the number of guidance routes ≧ 1). (S1).

  If it is determined in S1 that the guidance route (i) exists ("Yes" in S1), "i" is set to "1" (S2). Here, “i” is the order in which each guide route related to one destination facility is stored. For example, if there are n guidance routes, the order is defined from the first to the nth.

  When “i” is set to “1”, “entry node (i)” is set as the end node (S3).

  When “entrance node (i)” is set as the end node, a search route to the end node is obtained (S4). At this time, the start point node is set to the current location node, for example (see FIG. 4). The obtained combination of the searched route (i) and the guidance route (i) is stored in the RAM 13 as the optimum route candidate (i) (see FIG. 4). Of course, the so-called route search process is known and can be implemented by a widely used API (function). In addition, this route search process searches for a route that avoids the school zone regardless of whether the target facility exists in the school zone.

  When the optimum route candidate (i) is stored in the RAM 13, “i” is set (incremented) to “i + 1” (S5).

  When “i” is set to “i + 1”, it is determined whether “i” is “n” (S6). That is, it is confirmed whether route search processing has been performed for all the guidance routes.

  If it is not determined that “i” is “n” (No in S6), the processing from S3 is executed.

  If it is determined that “i” is “n” (Yes in S6), the optimum route is selected from the optimum route candidates (i) stored in the RAM 13 (S7). The selection criterion is the one with the lowest search cost (“advantageous”) by the combination of the search route (i) and the guidance route (i).

  If it is not determined in S1 that the guidance route (i) exists ("No" in S1), the destination node is set as the end node (S8).

  When the destination node is set as the end node, a route to the end node is searched (S9). At this time, the start point node is set to the current location node, for example.

  When the optimum route is obtained in step S7 or the route is obtained in step S9, guidance related to these routes is executed (S10). The so-called route search process is known and can be implemented by a widely used API (function). In this route guidance processing, the CPU 11 outputs a command to the drawing IC 15 and the voice IC 17 to the effect that guidance is performed according to the route obtained in step S7 or step S9. The drawing IC 15 develops an image related to route guidance in the VRAM 16 in accordance with a command from the CPU 11 and outputs the developed images to the display device 3 in order. As a result, the display device 3 displays an image relating to guidance (see FIGS. 1, 7, 8, and 9). The voice IC 17 outputs voice related to route guidance from the RAM 13 to the speaker 4 in accordance with a command from the CPU 11. As a result, the speaker 4 outputs a voice related to the guidance.

  <Effects of the present embodiment> According to the present embodiment, the facility, the point on the road (entrance node), and the guidance route from the point on the road to the facility are associated with each other, and therefore exist in the school zone. The route to school can be considered for pedestrians.

  <Modification 1> In the present embodiment, the target facility exists in the school zone. However, an area including a road that is not suitable for guidance is considered as an area where the target facility exists. More specifically, there are areas including roads that should be avoided from consideration for pedestrians (children, elderly people, etc.).

  According to this modification, a route to a school existing in an area including a road that is not suitable for guidance can be considered for pedestrians.

  <Modification 2> In this embodiment, the guidance route and the search route are not distinguished on the display. However, both may be distinguished on the display. In this modification, the guidance route is displayed in red (solid line in FIG. 7), and the searched route is displayed in another color (dotted line in FIG. 7). Of course, a distinction may be made by line type, thickness, or the like.

  According to this modification, the user can recognize that a road existing in the school zone is guided as a guidance route. That is, the user can be alerted.

  <Modification 3> In the present embodiment, there is no prior notice that the guidance route will be guided. However, a notice to that effect may be given by voice or display. In this modified example, a notice of guidance is made by voice, “I will guide the route in the Avoid area. Please reduce the speed” (see FIG. 8). Also, a notice of guidance “I will guide the route in the void area” is displayed (see FIG. 8). Moreover, the timing of the advance notice is set when the distance between the current location and the point on the road reaches a predetermined value (for example, 300 m).

  According to this modification, the user can recognize that a road existing in the school zone is guided as a guidance route. That is, the user can be alerted.

  <Modification 4> In this embodiment, it is not confirmed that the guidance route is being guided. However, confirmation guidance to that effect may be made by voice or display. In this modified example, the confirmation guidance “I am guiding the route in the Avoid area now. Please be careful about the movement of the child” is made by voice. (See FIG. 9). In addition, a confirmation guidance “I will guide the route in the void area” is displayed (see FIG. 9). Moreover, the timing of confirmation guidance is set when the current location is on the guidance route.

  According to this modification, the user can recognize that a road existing in the school zone is guided as a guidance route. That is, the user can be alerted.

  <Modification 5> In the present embodiment, the map data is stored in the HDD 14. However, the map data need only be stored in various storage media.

  <Modification 6> In the present embodiment, the target facility exists in the guidance avoidance area. However, the present invention can also be applied when the target facility is a commercial facility (such as a hotel or shopping center). In this modification, the navigation device uses a map data that associates a facility, a point on the road, and a guide route from the point on the road to the facility, and a point on the road that is associated with the target facility with respect to the output device. And a processing unit that outputs guidance related to the searched route and the guidance route associated with the destination facility. In this variation, “map data” is data having a data structure that associates facilities, points on the road, and guide routes from the points on the road to the facilities. Further, the “map data” indicates that “when a destination facility existing in the guidance avoidance area is set, a route to a point on the road associated with the destination facility is searched for and associated with the destination facility. And used by a computer that guides the searched route and the read guidance route ”.

  According to this modification, the guidance route recommended by the destination facility is realized by the navigation function, so that traffic congestion around the destination facility is avoided.

  Furthermore, in this modification, if the map data associates points on a plurality of roads and a plurality of guidance routes with one facility, traffic to the commercial facility is distributed according to the departure place. That is, traffic congestion around commercial facilities is avoided.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect that a route to a target facility existing in a guidance avoidance area can be considered for pedestrians, and is useful for portable devices, in-vehicle devices, and the like.

The figure which shows the example of an output which concerns on this Embodiment Figure showing a conventional output example The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the navigation apparatus concerning this Embodiment The figure which shows the concept of the link and node of map data which concern on this Embodiment The figure which shows the structure of the map data based on this Embodiment Flow chart showing the flow of navigation processing in the present embodiment The figure which shows the example of an output which concerns on the modification 1. The figure which shows the example of an output which concerns on the modification 2. The figure which shows the example of an output which concerns on the modification 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 2 Processing apparatus (processing part)
3. Display device (output device)
4 Speaker (output device)

Claims (5)

A navigation device that includes a road existing in the guidance avoidance area in a route to the target facility existing in the guidance avoidance area,
The search route to the point on the road associated with the target facility and the target facility using the map data associating the facility, the point on the road and the guide route from the point on the road to the facility, and the target facility A navigation apparatus comprising a processing unit that outputs guidance related to a guidance route associated with a navigation route.   The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit displays the guidance route and a search route connected to the guidance route separately on the display device.   The processing unit controls whether to output a notice of guidance that the guidance route is guided to the output device according to a distance from a current location to a point on the road included in the guidance route. The navigation device according to claim 1.   The navigation according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit causes the output device to output a confirmation guidance indicating that the guidance route is being guided on the condition that a current location is on the guidance route. apparatus. Map data having a data structure for associating facilities, points on the road, and guide routes from the points on the road to the facilities,
When a destination facility existing in the guidance avoidance area is set, a route to a point on the road associated with the destination facility is searched, and a guidance route associated with the destination facility is read and searched. Map data used by the computer to guide the route and the read guidance route.

Images